"San Diego "The Southern Calif ..." a San Diego Travel Page by spartan

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The San Diego area has been inhabited for thousands of years by Yuman-speaking people the Spanish missionaries called the Diegueño. Although Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailed into San Diego Bay as early as 1542, and other Spanish expeditions followed, Spain did not establish a colony there until 1769. During that year, Father Junipero Serra founded California's first European fortress and mission at San Diego, with the intention of converting the local Native Americans to Catholicism.

Two centuries of somewhat languid growth followed under Spanish, Mexican, and United States flags. San Diego's birth as a modern city was in 1867, when a San Francisco merchant named Alonzo Horton founded New Town. Over the next 60 years, San Diego sprouted hundreds of new homes and businesses, established Balboa Park, welcomed countless U.S. Navy ships, opened the Hotel del Coronado (the picture to the left), and hosted two world fairs—the 1915–1916 Panama-California Exposition and the 1935–1936 California Pacific International Exposition.

Famed as a port for the U.S. Navy and a year-round vacation resort, San Diego carries huge economic clout as California's second largest city, with a population of 1,110,554 people in 1990. The city enjoys a dazzling Mediterranean climate and a rich Latino heritage. It has magnificent beaches and two of the world's most famous zoos. Surrounding San Diego County embraces many more sunny beaches, as well as forested mountains and vast desert lands, richly diversifying the recreational opportunities for residents and visitors alike.