Otay Mesa West is a residential neighborhood in the

southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

section of

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. It borders

Interstate 805 Interstate 805 (I-805) is a major north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway in Southern California. It is a bypass auxiliary route of I-5, running roughly through the center of the Greater San Diego region from San Ysidro (part of the c ...

to the east, Interstate 5 to the west, and

California State Route 905 State Route 905 (SR 905), also known as the Otay Mesa Freeway, is an State highway (US), state highway in San Diego, in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of California. It connects Interstate 5 in California, I-5 and Interstate ...

to the south. It neighbors Ocean View Hills to the east,

Nestor Nestor may refer to: * Nestor (mythology), King of Pylos in Greek mythology Arts and entertainment * "Nestor" (''Ulysses'' episode) an episode in James Joyce's novel ''Ulysses'' * Nestor Studios, first-ever motion picture studio in Hollywood, L ...

and

Palm City Palm City is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Martin County, Florida, United States. The population was 25,883 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Port St. Lucie Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Palm City is i ...

to the west and Chula Vista to the north. The northern boundary of Otay Mesa West roughly coincides with the

Otay River The Otay River () is a river in southern San Diego County, California. The river begins at San Miguel Mountain, flows through the Upper and Lower Otay Reservoirs, and continues on between the southern part of the Chula Vista and the Otay Mesa ...

. Just north of the Otay River the community of Otay resides within the city of Chula Vista. Major thoroughfares include Palm Avenue, Coronado Avenue, Picador Boulevard, Del Sol Boulevard, Beyer Boulevard, and Beyer Way.

History

''Otay'' (pronounced ''Oh-Tie'') is derived from the

Kumeyaay language Kumeyaay (Kumiai), also known as Central Diegueño, Kamia, and Campo, is the Native American language spoken by the Kumeyaay people of southern San Diego County, California, San Diego and Imperial County, California, Imperial counties in Californ ...

. Although its meaning is disputed, possible derivations include "otai", meaning "brushy"; "Tou-ti" meaning "big mountain"; or "etaay" meaning "big". ''Mesa'' is the Spanish word for

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

, table or tableland. The Otay Mesa West area was used by

John J. Montgomery John Joseph Montgomery (February 15, 1858 – October 31, 1911) was an American inventor, physicist, engineer, and professor at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California, who is best known for his invention of controlled heavier-than-air ...

for his experimentation with manned gliders in the 1880s. The Montgomery family ranch was located in the

valley below. The area which now includes Otay Mesa West was annexed from

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the fi ...

along with other portions of South San Diego in 1957.

Landmarks and facilities

Otay Mesa West abuts the

Otay Valley Regional Park Otay may refer to: Locations * Otay Centenario * Otay Mesa, San Diego * Otay Mesa Port of Entry * Otay Mesa West, San Diego * Otay Ranch High School * Otay Ranch Town Center *Otay River *Lower Otay Reservoir *Rancho Otay Rancho Otay was a Mexican ...

, a regional natural resource. Within the neighborhood's boundaries are Palm Ridge Park, Silverwing Park, and

Montgomery Waller Community Park Montgomery refers to: People For people with the name Montgomery, see Montgomery (name) Places Belgium * Montgomery Square, Brussels * Montgomery metro station, Brussels Pakistan * Montgomery (town), British India, former name of Sahiwal, Punja ...

Education

Public schools in Otay Mesa West include Pence Elementary, Los Altos Elementary, Southwest Middle, Montgomery Middle, Silver Wing Elementary and Montgomery High School.

References

Harwood, Craig S. and Fogel, Gary B. ''Quest for Flight: John J. Montgomery and the Dawn of Aviation in the West,'' University of Oklahoma Press 2012. {{coord, 32, 34, 50, N, 117, 3, 37, W, type:adm3rd_region:US_dim:4100, display=title Neighborhoods in San Diego South Bay (San Diego County)