Cuyamaca ( Kumeyaay: ''‘Ekwiiyemak'') is a region of eastern

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 f ...

. It lies east of the Capitan Grande Indian Reservation in the western

Laguna Mountains The Laguna Mountains are a mountain range of the Peninsular Ranges System in eastern San Diego County, southern California. The mountains run in a northwest/southeast alignment for approximately . The mountains have long been inhabited by the i ...

, north of

Descanso Descanso may refer to: * Descanso (roadside memorial) * ''Descanso'' (spider), a genus of jumping spider * Descanso, California, an unincorporated community in the United States * Descanso, Santa Catarina, a town and municipality in Brazil * Des ...

and south of Julian. Named for the 1845

Rancho Cuyamaca Rancho Cuyamaca was a Mexican land grant in the Cuyamaca Mountains and Laguna Mountains, in present-day San Diego County, California, United States. It was given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to Agustín Olvera. The grant extended south of ...

Mexican land grant The Spanish and Mexican governments made many concessions and land grants in Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish Concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an inducement for ...

, the region is now dominated by the

Cuyamaca Rancho State Park Cuyamaca Rancho State Park is a state park in Southern California, United States, located east of San Diego in the Cuyamaca and Laguna Mountains of the Peninsular Ranges. The park's feature pine, fir, and oak forests, with meadows and streams ...

. Within the park is the prominent

Cuyamaca Peak Cuyamaca Peak is a mountain peak of the Cuyamaca Mountains range, in San Diego County, Southern California. Geography At , its summit is the second highest point in San Diego County. Cuyamaca Peak is located roughly from the Pacific Ocean, wi ...

, the second-highest mountain in San Diego County at . The name is a Spanish corruption of the Kumeyaay phrase "'Ekwiiyemak", which means, according to

Margaret Langdon Margaret Langdon (c. 1926 in Louvain, Belgium – October 25, 2005) was a US linguist who studied and documented many languages of the American Southwest and California, including Kumeyaay, Northern Diegueño (Ipai), and Luiseño. Academic car ...

's translation, "Behind the clouds". It has also been translated as "the place where it rains", a reference to the region's higher average precipitation than San Diego County's low coastal areas. Cuyamaca is a popular

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

lending its name to streets, businesses and a

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior se ...

in the

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 eighth most populous city in the United State ...

area.

History

During the Julian Gold Rush, a quartz gold mine; the Stonewall Mine, was found on the south side of what is now

Lake Cuyamaca Lake Cuyamaca, also called Cuyamaca Reservoir, is a reservoir and a recreation area in the eastern Cuyamaca Mountains, located in eastern San Diego County, California. Geography California State Route 79 wraps around three shores, and provides ...

. First a mining camp called Stonewall (1873–1876), then the mining company town of Stratton (1887–1888), renamed Cuyamaca City (1888–1906), at its peak had a population of 500 and served the Stonewall Mine. In 1906, the post office was closed and service moved to Descanso. The town was abandoned after mining operations ceased, and few traces of it exist. The site of the town now lies within

Sampson, Michael, ''Recent Archaeological Investigations at the Stonewall Mine Site''
/ref> at . The modern community of Cuyamaca later developed on the north side of the lake. Before the

Cedar Fire The Cedar Fire was a massive, highly-destructive wildfire, which burned of land in San Diego County, California, San Diego County, California, during October and November 2003. The fire's rapid growth was driven by the Santa Ana wind, causing ...

of 2003, the community of Cuyamaca consisted of approximately 145 homes on a mountain (North Peak) north of the reservoir.

Cedar Fire

In October 2003, most of the Cuyamaca region was consumed by the

. Nearly in the state park and 120 homes in the community of Cuyamaca were incinerated. The historic

Dyer Ranch Dyer often refers to: * Dyer (occupation), a person who is involved in dyeing Dyer may also refer to: Places * Dyer, Arkansas, a town * Dyer, Indiana, a town ** Dyer (Amtrak station) * Dyer, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in Breckinri ...

house in the center of the state park, which functioned as a museum and the park headquarters, was also destroyed."California wildfires burn through 600,000 acres", CNN, October 29, 2003, retrieved August 30, 2007

Climate

References

External links

Photo of Lake Cuyamaca
{{authority control Geography of San Diego County, California East County (San Diego County) Ghost towns in California History of San Diego Kumeyaay Former settlements in San Diego County, California Populated places established in 1887