SAN DIEGO

port, city, and important U.S. military and naval base, seat (1850) of San Diego county, southern California, U.S. It lies along the Pacific Ocean at San Diego Bay (there bridged to Coronado). Sighted in 1542 and named San Miguel by Juan Rodrguez Cabrillo, the area was renamed San Diego de Alcal de Henares in 1602 by Sebastin Vizcano. Gaspar de Portol founded a presidio (military post) there on July 16, 1769, and on the same day Father Junpero Serra dedicated the first of the California missions (restored, 1931). Settlement was confined inside the presidio walls until control of the area was assumed by Mexico in 1834 and a pueblo was built. After the American conquest in 1846, the village was incorporated in 1850 as Old Town but lost its charter two years later. The new city of San Diego was laid out 3 miles (5 km) south of the presidio by Alonzo E. Horton in 1867, and its growth was assured by the promotion of its salubrious climate and the arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad in 1884. Landlocked San Diego Bay (22 square miles [57 square km]) is a natural deepwater harbour sheltered by overlapping peninsulas (Point Loma, west; Coronado, east). Besides serving as home port for a commercial fishing fleet, the bay is the headquarters of the 11th U.S. Naval District and is a base of operations for Army, Marine, and Coast Guard installations. The bay, one of the great natural harbours of the world, is a first port of call for coastal and foreign shipping. It functions as an outlet for large amounts of cotton grown in the Imperial Valley. Industrial development in San Diego is dominated by aerospace, electronics, and shipbuilding, and the city is the main commercial outlet for the farm produce of southern California. Equable climate and recreational facilities have encouraged a considerable tourist trade. Before World War II, climatic factors attracted San Diego's principal industry, aircraft construction, and later stimulated an increase of management personnel and the establishment of important new industries, such as electronics and rocketry. San Diego also is one of the leading agricultural counties in the United States in the value of production. Citrus, avocado, truck-garden crops, and livestock are the major products. Nearby beach resorts, Mission Bay Aquatic Park, restored Old Town, Cleveland National Forest (headquartered in the city), and Mexican border attractions help make tourism a major economic factor. Balboa Park contains the San Diego Zoo, one of the world's largest. San Diego State University (1897), the University of San Diego (1949), and several junior colleges serve the city. The University of California at San Diego (1912), located in neighbouring La Jolla, includes the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (1903). Cabrillo National Monument was established in 1913 and includes Point Loma Lighthouse (built in 1855). Inc. 1850. Pop. (1990) city, 1,110,623; San Diego MSA, 2,498,016; (1998 est.) city, 1,220,666; (1996 est.) San Diego MSA, 2,655,463.