The Tijuana River Valley is a rural community in the southern section of San Diego, California. It neighbors Imperial Beach to the north and west, Egger Highlands and Nestor to the north, San Ysidro to the east, and the Mexico–United States border to the south. Major thoroughfares include Hollister Street, Monument Road, and Dairy Mart Road.
The valley was home to the Kumeyaay people, who established the village of Melijo near Smuggler's Gulch. [1]
The area became part of Rancho Melijo as part of a Mexican land grant to Santiago E. Argüello.
The Tijuana River Valley, along with other portions of South San Diego, was annexed from San Diego County in 1957.
The community contains 71.5 miles of dirt roads and paths. [2] A number of horse stables are located in the valley. The valley is home to the Tijuana River Valley Regional Park, and is near Border Field State Park and the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, both located in Imperial Beach.
The Tijuana River Valley community is at risk of flooding from the Tijuana River. [3] The Tijuana River is considerably polluted with trash, sewage, and other pollutants that threaten the valley community, and the community's environmental resources whenever it floods. [4] Flooding is contained for the most part during dry periods. Yet when it rains the risk of floods and the associated pollution are a significant problem for the Tijuana River Valley. [5] In addition to damage to the Valley's environmental and recreational resources, the pollution present in the floodwaters can spread diseases. [4] Area beaches had almost 1,600 closed days because of this pollution between 2007 and 2017, far more than beaches North of the Valley. [6]
Imperial Beach is a beach city in San Diego County, California, with a population of 26,137 as of the 2020 United States census. It is in the South Bay area of San Diego County, 14.1 miles (22.7 km) south of downtown San Diego and 5 miles (8 km) northwest of downtown Tijuana, Mexico. Imperial Beach is the southernmost city in California and the West Coast of the United States.
San Ysidro is a district of San Diego, California, immediately north of the Mexico–United States border. It neighbors Otay Mesa West to the north, Otay Mesa to the east, and Nestor and the Tijuana River Valley to the west; together these communities form South San Diego, a practical exclave of the City of San Diego. Major thoroughfares include Beyer Boulevard and San Ysidro Boulevard.
Border Field State Park is a state park of California, United States, containing beach and coastal habitat on the Mexico–United States border. The park is within the city limits of Imperial Beach in San Diego County, next to the suburb of Playas de Tijuana in Mexico. It contains the southernmost point in the state of California. The refuge forms the southern part of Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve.
The Tijuana River is an intermittent river, 120 mi (195 km) long, near the Pacific coast of northern Baja California state in northwestern Mexico and Southern California in the western United States. The river is heavily polluted with raw sewage from the city of Tijuana, Mexico.
The San Diego and Imperial Valley Railroad (SD&IV) is a class III railroad operating freight rail service in the San Diego area, providing service to customers in the region and moving railcars between the end of BNSF Railway in downtown San Diego and the Mexico–United States border in San Ysidro. It was established in October 1984 and is owned and operated by Genesee & Wyoming.
The New River flows north from near Cerro Prieto, through the city of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, into the United States through the city of Calexico, California, towards the Salton Sea. The river channel has existed since pre-historic times. The river as known today formed from a levee failure and massive flooding that filled the Salton Sea.
The South Bay, also known as South County, is a region in southwestern San Diego County, California, consisting of the cities and unincorporated communities of Bonita, Chula Vista, East Otay Mesa, Imperial Beach, Lincoln Acres, National City, and South San Diego.
San Diego–Tijuana is an international transborder agglomeration, straddling the border of the adjacent North American coastal cities of San Diego, California, United States, and Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The 2020 population of the region was 5,456,577, making it the largest bi-national conurbation shared between the United States and Mexico, and the second-largest shared between the US and another country. The conurbation consists of San Diego County, in the United States and the municipalities of Tijuana, Rosarito Beach (126,980), and Tecate (108,440) in Mexico. It is the third most populous region in the California–Baja California region, smaller only than the metropolitan areas of Greater Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Los Peñasquitos Marsh Natural Preserve and Lagoon is a coastal marsh in San Diego County, California, United States situated at the northern edge of the City of San Diego, forming the natural border with Del Mar, California. This bar-built estuary divides a colony of the endangered Torrey pine on a narrow coastal strip. Three streams empty into the lagoon: Carroll Creek, Carmel Creek, and Los Peñasquitos Creek, with a total drainage basin area of 95 square miles.
Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve is a natural reserve in Imperial Beach, California, and San Ysidro, San Diego. It encompasses the Tijuana River Estuary, located on the Mexico–United States border. It is divided into two parts: Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge on the north, and Border Field State Park in the south.
Palm City is a neighborhood in the southern section of San Diego, California. Its neighbors are Otay Mesa West to the south and east, Egger Highlands and Nestor to the west, and Chula Vista to the north. It also serves as a gateway to the beach cities of Imperial Beach, and Coronado, by way of the Silver Strand isthmus, due to it being where California State Route 75 meets Interstate 5. Major thoroughfares include Coronado Avenue, Hollister Street, Beyer Boulevard, and Palm Avenue.
The Tijuana River Estuary is an intertidal coastal wetland at the mouth of the Tijuana River in San Diego County, California, United States, bordering Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. It is the location of Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge, Border Field State Park, and the Tijuana River Valley Regional Park. The estuary is a shallow water habitat. Often termed an intermittent estuary since its volume is subject to the discharge controlled by the seasons of the year, the volume of the estuary fluctuates and at times there is dry land, or flooded areas. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1973.
Transportation in San Diego–Tijuana occurs by various means. Though, in the four cities of San Diego, Tijuana, Tecate, and Rosarito Beach, the automobile serves as most important means of transportation. The international metropolitan region maintains an intricate highway infrastructure. As a large metropolitan area in Western North America, many roadways, including Interstates, State Routes, and Mexican Federal Highways, hold a terminus in the area. These roads have grown accustomed to support the masses of the commuting populace within the international region and are constantly being expanded and/or renovated. Transportation is a crucial issue in the metropolitan area. The streets and highways of the region affect environmental health and have influence over the degree of regional connectivity. Binational discussions about coordinating public transportation across the border are currently underway. San Diego–Tijuana is the site of two major international airports and numerous regional airports. It is also the site of the Port of San Diego and miles from the nearby Port of Ensenada.
The International Wastewater Treatment Plant (IWTP) was developed by the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) in the South Bay area of San Diego, California. Construction began on a 75-acre site (30 ha), west of San Ysidro in the Tijuana River Valley. The project, authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1989 and formally agreed between the two countries in July 1990, was part of a regional approach to solve long-standing problems, particularly the flow of sewage-contaminated water into the ocean via the Tijuana River.
Friendship Park is a binational park located along the United States-Mexico border in the San Diego–Tijuana region. Located within the larger Border Field State Park in California's San Diego County, the half-acre (0.20 ha) park includes the border fence dividing the two countries, where residents of both countries can meet in person. The park is the only place along the border that is operated by the US and Mexico as a meeting area.
Rancho San Antonio Abad, a land grant in what is now the western part of Tijuana in the Tijuana Municipality of Baja California, Mexico. The name of the rancho derives from Saint Anthony the Abbot.
Rancho Melijo, or Milijo, was a Mexican land grant rancho, named after a local Kumeyaay village. It was later called Rancho La Punta for the location of the Arguello family ranch house, on a point of hills overlooking the south end of San Diego Bay, north of the Otay River and east of where the river entered the south bend of the bay. It was granted by Governor José Figueroa in 1833 to Santiago E. Argüello.
Rio Alamar or Arroyo de Alamar is a river mainly in northern Baja California, Mexico with a small portion in California, United States. The riparian corridor that is the Alamar has a wooded area home to: riparian, aquatic and migratory birds, abundant species of fish, and amphibians. The wildlife and natural vegetation in the Arroyo Alamar was historically a vital resource for fishing, bathing, and even drinking. The stream is formed by the confluence of Cottonwood Creek and Tecate Creek a short distance north of the Mexico–United States border. It flows generally west for about 25 kilometres (16 mi) through the San Ysidro Mountains and the Tijuana urban area before joining with the Arroyo de las Palmas in central Tijuana, to form the Tijuana River. The Rio Alamar tributary makes up almost one third of the larger bi-national Tijuana River Watershed that spans approximately 1,750 square miles and impacts the lives of more than 1.4 million people. The major tributary as part of the Tijuana River Estuary has been deemed one of the 21 wetlands of international importance by the RAMSAR Convention.
Goat Canyon also known as Cañón de los Laureles, begins in Tijuana, Mexico, and ends in the United States just north of the Mexico–U.S. border. The canyon is formed by Goat Canyon Creek, which receives water and other runoff from areas south of the border. Most of the canyon and its watershed lies within Baja California.
The Smuggler's Gulch is part of a steep walled canyon about 2 miles (3.2 km) inland of the Pacific Ocean. The canyon crosses the Mexico–United States border, between Tijuana, Baja California, and San Diego, California, and Smuggler's Gulch is the part of the canyon on the US side of the border. It may also be called Cañón del Matadero or Valle Montezuma in Spanish, but these names apply more generally to the whole canyon. Smuggling activities within Smuggler's Gulch have occurred since the 19th century, giving this part of the canyon its name.
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