Del Mar (;
Spanish for "Of the Sea") is a beach city in
San Diego County, California
San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county (United States), county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its Mexico-United States border, border with Mexico. As of the 2020 United States Cen ...
, located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Established in 1885 as a seaside resort, the city incorporated in 1959. The population was 3,954 at the
2020 census, down from 4,161 at the
2010 census.
The
San Diego County Fair
The San Diego County Fair is an annual fair held in Del Mar, California. It is held every summer at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Established in 1880, the fair is the longest running event in San Diego County, California, San Diego County.
History
The ...
is an annual fair held at the
Del Mar Fairgrounds.
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
is hosted at the
Del Mar Racetrack
The Del Mar Fairgrounds is an event venue in Del Mar, California. It hosts the annual San Diego County Fair. The venue sits on a property along the Pacific Ocean coastline. It includes the Del Mar Racetrack, built in 1936 by the Del Mar Thoroug ...
every summer.
History
Del Mar was first settled in the early 1880s by Theodore M. Loop, a railroad official, and his wife Ella. Ella gave the site its name, inspired by
Bayard Taylor
Bayard Taylor (January 11, 1825December 19, 1878) was an American poet, literary critic, translator, travel author, and diplomat. As a poet, he was very popular, with a crowd of more than 4,000 attending a poetry reading once, which was a record ...
's poem "The Fight of Paso del Mar". In 1885, Colonel Jacob Taylor purchased from Enoch Talbert, with visions of building a seaside resort for the rich and famous.
The
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
operated a
Naval Auxiliary Air Facility for
blimp
A non-rigid airship, commonly called a blimp (Help:IPA/English, /blɪmp/), is an airship (dirigible) without an internal structural framework or a keel. Unlike semi-rigid airship, semi-rigid and rigid airships (e.g. Zeppelins), blimps rely on th ...
s at Del Mar during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
Much of the population is on the coast and nearby
bluff which are vulnerable to sea level rise caused by climate change.
In 2019, the city refused to develop a
managed retreat strategy for moving infrastructure and population centers from the water.
This decision was made against the recommendation of the
California Coastal Commission
The California Coastal Commission (CCC) is a state agency within the California Natural Resources Agency with quasi-judicial control of land and public access along the state's of coastline. Its mission as defined in the California Coastal Ac ...
.
Instead the city is planning on using other
climate change adaptation
Climate change adaptation is the process of adjusting to the effects of climate change, both current and anticipated.IPCC, 2022Annex II: Glossary strategies, such as
öller, V., R. van Diemen, J.B.R. Matthews, C. Méndez, S. Semenov, J.S. Fuglestvedt, A. Reisinger ...
strategies, such as seawalls and beach nourishment">seawall">öller, V., R. van Diemen, J.B.R. Matthews, C. Méndez, S. Semenov, J.S. Fuglestvedt, A. Reisinger ...