San Diego–Tijuana is an international
transborder agglomeration
A transborder agglomeration is an urban area, urban agglomeration or conurbation that extends into multiple sovereign states and/or dependent territory, dependent territories. It includes city-states that agglomerate with their neighbouring countr ...
, straddling the border of the adjacent
North American
North America is a continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the sou ...
coastal cities of
San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, California, United States, and
Tijuana
Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...
, Baja California, Mexico. The 2020 population of the region was 5,456,577, making it the largest bi-national
conurbation
A conurbation is a region consisting of a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ...
shared between the United States and Mexico, and the second-largest shared between the US and another country.
The conurbation consists of
San Diego County
San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...
, (2020 population 3,298,634)
in the United States and the
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
of
Tijuana
Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...
(2020 pop. 1,922,523),
Rosarito Beach
Rosarito is a coastal city in Playas de Rosarito Municipality, Baja California, on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. As of 2010, the city had a population of 65,278. Located south of the US–Mexico border, Rosarito is a part of the greater San Diego� ...
(126,980), and
Tecate
Tecate () is a city in Tecate Municipality, Baja California. It is across the Mexico–United States border, Mexico–US border from Tecate, California. As of 2019, the city had a population of 108,860 inhabitants, while the metropolitan area ha ...
(108,440) in Mexico. It is the third-most populous region in the California–Baja California region, smaller only than the metropolitan areas of
Greater Los Angeles
Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the eas ...
and the
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
.
San Diego–Tijuana traces its European roots to 1542, when the land was explored by
Portuguese explorers on behalf of the
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...
. In 1601, it was mandated by the Spanish
viceroy
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory.
The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...
in
Mexico City
Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
that safe ports be found, one of which would be
San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port in San Diego County, California, near the Mexico–United States border. The bay, which is long and wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's of ...
, for ships of the
Manila galleon
The Manila galleon (; ) refers to the Spain, Spanish trading Sailing ship, ships that linked the Philippines in the Spanish East Indies to Mexico (New Spain), across the Pacific Ocean. The ships made one or two round-trip voyages per year betwe ...
.
During this mission, explorer
Sebastián Vizcaíno
Sebastián Vizcaíno (c. 1548–1624) was a Spanish soldier, entrepreneur, explorer, and diplomat whose varied roles took him to New Spain, the Baja California peninsula, the California coast and Asia.
Early career
Vizcaíno was born in ...
was also told to map the California coast in great detail, leading to the further exploration of the modern-day site of San Diego–Tijuana.
Since 2010, statewide
droughts in California and in northern Mexico have further strained the San Diego–Tijuana binational region's
water security
The aim of water security is to maximize the benefits of water for humans and ecosystems. The second aim is to limit the risks of destructive impacts of water to an acceptable level. These risks include too much water (flood), too little water (d ...
.
The metropolitan region is host to 13 consulates for several countries. Over fifty million people cross the border each year between San Diego and Tijuana; it is the busiest land-border crossing in the Western Hemisphere. Since the implementation of the
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement (, TLCAN; , ALÉNA), referred to colloquially in the Anglosphere as NAFTA, ( ) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that created a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The ...
(NAFTA) in 1994, San Diego–Tijuana has become a dominant commercial center in the United States and Mexico. The economic success of
globalization
Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...
has allowed San Diego–Tijuana to grow to the third richest region in the former
Californias region, with a
GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performance o ...
of $136.3 billion in 2002.
Tourism is a leading industry in the region and its coastal environs have been paramount factors in the growth of
action sports
Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk of injury or death. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extre ...
–lifestyle companies; other key industries include military,
biotech
Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists in the field are kn ...
, and manufacturing.
History
The
Kumeyaay
The Kumeyaay, also known as 'Iipai-Tiipai or by the historical Spanish name Diegueño, is a tribe of Indigenous peoples of the Americas who live at the northern border of Baja California in Mexico and the southern border of California in the Uni ...
, referred to as Diegueño by the Spanish, are the original inhabitants of
San Diego County
San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...
and northern
Baja California
Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...
.
The Kumeyaay lived in this region for over 10,000 years as
hunter-gatherers
A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, especially w ...
and
horticulturists
Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...
.
The boundaries of the Kumeyaay lands once extended from the Pacific Ocean, south to
Ensenada, Baja California
Ensenada ("inlet") is a city in Ensenada Municipality, Baja California, situated on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Located on Bahía de Todos Santos, the city had a population of 279,765 in 2018, making it the List of cities in Baja California, th ...
, east into the
Imperial Valley
The Imperial Valley ( or ''Valle Imperial'') of Southern California lies in Imperial and Riverside counties, with an urban area centered on the city of El Centro. The Valley is bordered by the Colorado River to the east and, in part, the S ...
and north to
Warner Springs
Warner Springs is set of springs and a small unincorporated area, unincorporated community in northern San Diego County, California. It is on the Pacific Crest Trail.
Geography
Warner Springs has a post office; its ZIP Code is 92086. It is loca ...
.
The
Luiseño
The Luiseño or Payómkawichum are an Indigenous people of California who, at the time of the first contacts with the Spanish in the 16th century, inhabited the coastal area of southern California, ranging from the present-day southern part of ...
, or Payómkawichum, also had a presence in modern-day
North County San Diego.
Western exploration of the Californias dates back to the 16th century when in 1535
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (December 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions o ...
first visited the Baja California Peninsula in his search for
Calafia.
Subsequent exploration in 1542 by
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo (; 1497 – January 3, 1543) was a Portuguese maritime explorer best known for investigations of the west coast of North America, undertaken on behalf of the Spanish Empire. He was the first European to explore presen ...
brought the western explorers to what is now the California-Baja California region. Cabrillo first named
San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
,
San Miguel.
Initial expeditions by the west to the Californias were followed by pacification and conversion efforts by the Spanish Empire and the Catholic Church. The first Catholic religious order to visit the region was the
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
in 1683, followed by the
Franciscans
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...
in 1768, and the
Dominicans
Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic.
The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...
in the 1770s.
The California mission system is a reminder of the Pacific Coast's colonial era.
In 1769 Father
Junípero Serra
Saint Junípero Serra Ferrer (; ; November 24, 1713August 28, 1784), popularly known simply as Junipero Serra, was a Spanish Roman Catholic, Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Order. He is credited with establishing the Francis ...
founded San Diego after occupying the Kumeyaay village of
Kosa'aay and created the first of the
California missions
The Spanish missions in California () formed a series of 21 religious outposts or missions established between 1769 and 1833 in what is now the U.S. state of California. The missions were established by Catholic priests of the Franciscan ord ...
,
Mission San Diego de Alcalá
Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá (, lit. The Mission of Saint Didacus of Acalá) was the second Franciscan founded mission in the Californias (after San Fernando de Velicata), a province of New Spain. Located in present-day San Diego, C ...
. The Valley of Tijuana was explored the same year by
Juan Crespí
Juan Crespí, OFM (Catalan language, Catalan: ''Joan Crespí''; 1 March 1721 – 1 January 1782) was a Franciscan missionary and explorer of The Californias, Las Californias.
Biography
A native of Majorca, Crespí entered the Franciscan ord ...
. In 1829
Santiago Argüello, a
Californio
Californios (singular Californio) are Californians of Spaniards, Spanish descent, especially those descended from settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries before California was annexed by the United States. California's Spanish language in C ...
and a major Mexican land grant ranchos owner, obtained ownership of a parcel of land known as
Rancho Tía Juana and in 1889 was Tijuana officially founded on this parcel when descendants of Argüello and
Agustin Olvera, an early
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
pioneer, agreed to develop the city.

The metropolitan region was historically united as part of the province of
Alta California
Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...
under the
Viceroyalty of New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...
. In 1821, Mexico won its independence from the Spanish crown and kept the area under the jurisdiction of Alta California. From the late 1860s Mission lands were granted as
ranchos to Californio gentry. These distributions of lands accelerated after the Missions were
secularized in 1833, ending the dominance of the Missions in the economy.
San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port in San Diego County, California, near the Mexico–United States border. The bay, which is long and wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's of ...
became a port of call for
whaler
A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales.
Terminology
The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Jap ...
s and
hide traders from the United States.
The region started depopulating, as settlements in the region began to be raided between 1836 and 1842 by the Kumeyaay resistance, with both
Rancho Tía Juana (1839) and San Diego (~1840 & 1842) raided during that period.
In 1846, the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...
began and the United States continued to expand its borders under the doctrine of
Manifest Destiny
Manifest destiny was the belief in the 19th century in the United States, 19th-century United States that American pioneer, American settlers were destined to expand westward across North America, and that this belief was both obvious ("''m ...
. As the war came to California, the
Battle of San Pasqual
The Battle of San Pasqual, also spelled San Pascual, was a military encounter that occurred during the Mexican–American War in what is now the San Pasqual Valley, San Diego, California, San Pasqual Valley community in the county of San Diego, ...
was fought in the northern areas of modern-day San Diego. In 1848 the war ended with the
Fall of Mexico City and boundaries were redrawn which created a border between San Diego and Tijuana, south of
San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port in San Diego County, California, near the Mexico–United States border. The bay, which is long and wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's of ...
. 1919 saw the implementation of
Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
and the rapid growth of Tijuana tourism. Americans flocked to the city, which had become a major destination for the
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood ...
elite, which led to the construction of the
Agua Caliente Tourist Complex which in turn spurred the rise of hotels and overall growth in the city.
Urban landscape
San Diego–Tijuana urbanity stretches along the coastline from the northernmost city of Oceanside to the southernmost city of Rosarito Beach. The urban area of San Diego–Tijuana is the
72nd largest in the world and 11th largest in North America, with a population of 5,330,000.
The highest population densities are located in the San Diego neighborhoods of
University City,
La Jolla
La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...
,
Mission Valley
Mission Valley is a wide river valley trending east–west in San Diego, California, United States, through which the San Diego River flows to the Pacific Ocean. For planning purposes the City of San Diego divides it into two neighborhoods: Mi ...
,
Pacific Beach the
downtown San Diego
Downtown San Diego is the central business district of San Diego, California, the eighth largest city in the United States. It houses the major local headquarters of the city, county, state, and federal governments. The area comprises seven d ...
district of the
East Village among others, and areas of Tijuana. An area of 116 census tracts in the
North County region of the conurbation has a population of 615,092 and a per capita income of $44,131 which is about 50 percent more than that of California and the entire United States.
[U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Tables B01003 and B19025]
U.S. Census website
. Retrieved October 26, 2013. This area contains nearly all of the area located in the cities of Carlsbad,
Encinitas
Encinitas (Spanish language, Spanish for "Small Oaks") is a beach city in the North County (San Diego area), North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. Located in Southern California, it is approximately north of San Di ...
,
Solana Beach
Solana Beach (''Solana'', Spanish for "sunny side") is a beach city in San Diego County, California, on the South Coast. Its population was at 12,940 at the 2020 U.S. census, up from 12,867 at the 2010 census.
History
The area was first set ...
, and
Del Mar. A part of this region are the communities of
Rancho Santa Fe,
Carmel Valley and La Jolla which have consistently been among the ranks of some of the richest neighborhoods in the United States.
Outside of the urban centers, older regions of San Diego County south of the
San Diego River, as well as La Jolla and Pacific Beach, are built on a street grid. Suburban growth north of the San Diego river were built as master planned suburban communities on top of mesas with the "city of villages" concept in mind, built around car-dependency. Tijuana's suburban landscape is made up densely packed low-density mixed land uses, with patches of street grids east of the city and more organic growth influenced by topography. Cities like Tecate and Rosarito are built on street grid systems.
Geography
The metropolitan region is situated along the
Pacific coast
Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean.
Geography Americas North America
Countries on the western side of North America have a Pacific coast as their western or south-western border. One of th ...
, on the border between the United States and Mexico. The region lies just south of
Orange County and west of
Imperial County, and shares borders with
Greater Los Angeles
Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the eas ...
. The area has a varied topography with over seventy miles of coastline and snow-capped mountains that rise to the northeast, in San Diego County. The terrain includes flood plains, canyons, steep hills, and
mesa
A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge, or hill, bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and standing distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks, such as shales, capped by a ...
s. The region has its eastern terminus in the
Colorado Desert
The Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert located in California, United States, and Baja California, Mexico. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella, Imperial and Mexicali valleys. It is home to ...
and
Imperial Valley
The Imperial Valley ( or ''Valle Imperial'') of Southern California lies in Imperial and Riverside counties, with an urban area centered on the city of El Centro. The Valley is bordered by the Colorado River to the east and, in part, the S ...
regions, where another conurbation –
Mexicali–Calexico – is formed. The urbanized area where San Diego and Tijuana meet is known as
San Ysidro on the American side of the border and Colonia Federal/Colonia Libertad on the Mexican side. East from the coast , the Tijuanense boroughs of
Mesa de Otay and
Centenario are heavy urbanized whereas the corresponding American area of
Otay Mesa is composed of primarily dispersed industrial and distribution facilities. At the Pacific Ocean region of the border, the border is urbanized on the Mexican side while the adjacent American side is in
Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, and thus not urbanized.

According to the
U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...
, San Diego County has a total area of , of that of it is land and of it (7.20%) is water. The area of Tijuana Municipality is ; the municipality includes part of the
Coronado Islands, located off the coast of the municipality in the Pacific Ocean. This combined area, with the additional areas of Tecate, , and Rosarito Beach, , place the area of San Diego–Tijuana at .
San Diego is by far the most populated county though population density is much higher in the immediate border area adjacent to the south in Baja California than it is in San Diego County. Urban growth is currently developing regions to the east of Tijuana Municipality and south of Rosarito Beach, where developers are building many new residential communities while in San Diego it is observed to the northeast along the
Interstate 15
Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway in the Western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexican border in San Diego County and stretches north to Alberta, Ca ...
corridor to
Temecula
Temecula (; , ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a tourist and ...
and
Murrieta.
Greater
Ensenada is more frequently than not considered part of the region given its proximity and inter-connectivity with the metropolitan area. While it is from the cities of San Diego and Tijuana respectively, recent developments between the port city and Rosarito Beach including upscale,
Americanized
Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of the American culture and economy on other countries outside the United States, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, technology ...
subdivisions and resorts such as Punta Azul,
Baja Mar
Baja Mar (or Bajamar) is a seaside resort community twenty minutes north of Ensenada, Baja California, Ensenada and forty minutes south of Greater San Diego–Tijuana in Ensenada Municipality, Baja California, Mexico. The resort community is locate ...
, and
La Salina have greatly increased the
urbanity of the corridor between Rosarito Beach and Ensenada. Transportation infrastructure increasingly binds the region, as the under-construction Ensenada International Airport is expected to serve as the third major airport of the metropolitan region, offering flights to Europe, South America, and East Asia.
Climate
San Diego–Tijuana straddles a
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
and
semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...
area. The Mediterranean climate is characterized by generally warm, dry summers on the near coastal regions with a slight temperature increase westward, and relatively cool, mild, wet winters; this is the climate that dominates northern San Diego–Tijuana. In southern San Diego–Tijuana, the semi-arid climate is observed, though characteristics of the Dry-Summer Subtropical Mediterranean climate are present, with most of the annual precipitation falling in the winter.
The
Peninsular Ranges
The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province) are a group of mountain ranges that stretch from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Pacific Coast Range ...
assist in containing moisture to the coastal areas and create a
rain shadow
A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side.
Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...
to the east as they are west-facing mountains.
The climate of the area often varies significantly due to the abundance of
microclimate
A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often slightly but sometimes substantially. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square m ...
s characterizing the region. San Diego–Tijuana's topography, bays, coastal hills, mountains, canyons and gorges maintain their own climates while being relatively near to each other. During the May gray and
June gloom
June Gloom is a mainly Southern California term for a weather pattern that results in cloud cover, cloudy, overcast skies with cool temperatures during the late spring and early summer. While the marine layer is most common in the month of June ...
seasons, a dense cloak of coastal clouds, known as
marine layer
A marine layer is an air mass that develops over the surface of a large body of water, such as an ocean or large lake, in the presence of a Inversion (meteorology), temperature inversion. The inversion itself is usually initiated by the cooling ...
, covers the coastal areas, keeping the area cool and moist to up to inland. This coastal cloud cover is frequently observed reaching as far inland as
Poway
Poway () is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. Poway's rural roots influenced its motto "The City in the Country". The city had a population of 48,841 as of the 2020 United States census.
Poway is part of San Diego's Eas ...
and in some cases,
San Diego Country Estates. Yet once outside this cloud, the weather in sharp contrast can be warm and sunny. In some cases, June gloom lasts into July, creating cloudy skies over the coastal regions for entire days.
An example of the regional temperature fluctuations is shown in the varying averages of downtown San Diego, averaging January lows of 50 °F and August highs of 78 °F;
El Cajon, just northeast of downtown San Diego, averaging January lows of 42 °F and August highs of 88 °F; Tijuana, averaging January lows of 45 °F and August highs of 78 °F.
The differences are even more observed in North County, where coastal
Oceanside maintains an average January low of 45 °F and August highs of 73 °F, while inland
Escondido maintains average January lows of 42 °F and August highs of 89 °F.
San Diego–Tijuana is also subject to
El Niño
EL, El or el may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional entities
* El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit
* Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things''
* El, fami ...
weather events. In extreme cases, the overwhelming fall of
rain
Rain is a form of precipitation where water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is res ...
creates
mudslide
A mudflow, also known as mudslide or mud flow, is a form of mass wasting involving fast-moving flow of debris and dirt that has become liquified by the addition of water. Such flows can move at speeds ranging from 3 meters/minute to 5 meters/ ...
s and greatly increases the flow of
urban rivers. This sudden influx of water has the potential to flood populated places and drown out wetland habitat; measures have been taken to reduce this potential negative affect while simultaneously restoring the rivers and their watersheds to a pristine and natural state.
Ecology
This regional climate supports a
chaparral and woodlands ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...
that is further divided in three sub-regions where two are observed in San Diego–Tijuana. These are the
coastal sage and chaparral and
montane chaparral and woodlands ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...
s. In the montane region, fire serves a unique purpose as a medium of change, and while fire typically can threaten urban development, it is essential for the historically annual cleanse of the woodlands and reproduction of
pyrophytes.
Southern
coastal sage scrub
Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is ...
is further observed on the coast.
This is an ecoregion with extremely high levels
biodiversity
Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...
where its
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
species are endangered by human encroachment.
In this
terrestrial ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...
, the coastal lowlands are within a semi, semi-arid Mediterranean climate, inhabited by low-growing aromatic, and
drought
A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, ...
-
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
shrub
A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...
s.
In the water, the
Intertidal,
estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...
and
kelp forest
Kelp forests are underwater areas with a high density of kelp, which covers a large part of the world's coastlines. Smaller areas of anchored kelp are called kelp beds. They are recognized as one of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on E ...
biomes
A biome () is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community (ecology), community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Art ...
dominate the aquatic world; home to an equally diverse set of flora and fauna. The cool nutrient-rich waters of the
north Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
are able to provide kelp forests with millions of
plankton
Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms that drift in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) but are unable to actively propel themselves against ocean current, currents (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are ca ...
– the base of the
aquatic food chain
A food chain is a linear network of links in a food web, often starting with an autotroph (such as grass or algae), also called a producer, and typically ending at an apex predator (such as grizzly bears or killer whales), detritivore (such as ...
– due to an upwelling of water from the deep sea in the stormy, winter months.
Flora and fauna
Trees of San Diego–Tijuana included
chamise,
scrub oak Scrub oak is a common name for several species of small, shrubby oaks. It may refer to:
*the Chaparral plant community in California, or to one of the following species.
In California
*California scrub oak ('' Quercus berberidifolia''), a widesp ...
,
manzanita,
live oak
Live oak or evergreen oak is any of a number of oaks in several different sections of the genus ''Quercus'' that share the characteristic of evergreen foliage. These oaks are generally not more closely related to each other than they are to o ...
,
lodgepole pine
''Pinus contorta'', with the common names lodgepole pine and shore pine, and also known as twisted pine, and contorta pine, is a common tree in western North America. It is common near the ocean shore and in dry montane forests to the subalpin ...
,
black oak and
closed-cone pine forests. Lowland
shrubs
A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...
included
California sagebrush,
black sage,
white sage,
California buckwheat, as well as
cacti
A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...
and
succulents.
Terrestrial mammals included the
mountain lion
The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...
,
bobcat
The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the wildcat, bay lynx, or red lynx, is one of the four extant species within the medium-sized wild cat genus '' Lynx''. Native to North America, it ranges from southern Canada through most of the c ...
,
bighorn sheep
The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of Ovis, sheep native to North America. It is named for its large Horn (anatomy), horns. A pair of horns may weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates th ...
,
mule deer
The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer.
Unlike the related whit ...
as well as a variety of
rodents
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...
and
lagomorphs including the
California ground squirrel,
San Diego kangaroo rat, and
brush rabbit.
Black bears,
jaguars
The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat species in the Americas an ...
and
sea otters
The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of the weasel fa ...
historically populated the area, but their range has been restricted by human encroachment and the jaguar and the sea otter are now rarely, if ever, observed. Aquatic mammals included the
gray whale
The gray whale (''Eschrichtius robustus''), also known as the grey whale,Britannica Micro.: v. IV, p. 693. is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. It reaches a length of , a weight of up to and lives between ...
, a seasonal migratory animal, as well as the
bottlenose dolphin
The bottlenose dolphin is a toothed whale in the genus ''Tursiops''. They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus contains three species: the common bot ...
,
great white shark
The great white shark (''Carcharodon carcharias''), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large Lamniformes, mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major ocea ...
,
killer whale
The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopolit ...
, and
California sea lion
The California sea lion (''Zalophus californianus'') is a coastal eared seal native to western North America. It is one of six species of sea lions. Its natural habitat ranges from southeast Alaska to central Mexico, including the Gulf of Califo ...
and on rare occasion,
Guadalupe fur seal. In recent times the region has seen the rebound of
artiodactyls
Artiodactyls are placental mammals belonging to the order Artiodactyla ( , ). Typically, they are ungulates which bear weight equally on two (an even number) of their five toes (the third and fourth, often in the form of a hoof). The other thre ...
such as the Peninsular bighorn sheep, a
distinct population segment {{no footnotes, date=February 2018
A distinct population segment (DPS) is the smallest division of a taxonomic species permitted to be protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. ''Species'', as defined in the Act for listing purposes, is a ...
of the
desert bighorn sheep.
Reptiles include
olive ridley sea turtle
The olive ridley sea turtle (''Lepidochelys olivacea''), also known commonly as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Cheloniidae. The species is the second-smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in t ...
,
western fence lizard, various
rattlesnake
Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genus, genera ''Crotalus'' and ''Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting sm ...
species and species of
blind snake and
gopher snake. Amphibians included the
barred tiger salamander and
California tree frog. With a mostly arid climate, reptile species outnumber amphibians by a margin of seven to one.
Bird species popular to the region are the
California quail,
California condor,
California least tern,
peregrine falcon
The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...
and
golden eagle
The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of pr ...
. Introduced
parrot
Parrots (Psittaciformes), also known as psittacines (), are birds with a strong curved beak, upright stance, and clawed feet. They are classified in four families that contain roughly 410 species in 101 genus (biology), genera, found mostly in ...
species such as the
red-crowned amazon parrot have also been found living and breeding in San Diego County and parts of Tijuana Metro.
The waters off of the coast of San Diego–Tijuana are densely populate by the denizens of the
kelp forest
Kelp forests are underwater areas with a high density of kelp, which covers a large part of the world's coastlines. Smaller areas of anchored kelp are called kelp beds. They are recognized as one of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on E ...
s. Kelp forests are found to a great extent and are populated by
Garibaldi
Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...
,
leopard shark
The leopard shark (''Triakis semifasciata'') is a species of houndshark, in the family (biology), family Houndshark, Triakidae. It is found along the Pacific coast of North America, from the U.S. state of Oregon to Mazatlán in Mexico. Typically ...
s,
gobies
Gobiidae or gobies is a family of bony fish in the order Gobiiformes, one of the largest fish families comprising over 2,000 species in more than 200 genera. Most of gobiid fish are relatively small, typically less than in length, and the fam ...
,
rockfish, and
sculpins.
Great white shark
The great white shark (''Carcharodon carcharias''), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large Lamniformes, mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major ocea ...
s have been observed in the waters off the coast, while there are numerous documentations of their occurrence in the waters off
Guadalupe Island
Guadalupe Island () is a volcanic island located off the western coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula and about southwest of the city of Ensenada in the state of Baja California, in the Pacific Ocean. The various volcanoes are extinc ...
. From the confines of the forests, ocean-going species such as the
Ocean sunfish
The ocean sunfish (''Mola mola''), also known as the common mola, is one of the largest bony fish in the world. It is the type species of the genus ''Mola'', and one of five extant species in the family Molidae. It was once misidentified as th ...
are observed.
Environmental research in climate and biodiversity is conducted at the
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) is the center for oceanography and Earth science at the University of California, San Diego. Its main campus is located in La Jolla, with additional facilities in Point Loma.
Founded in 1903 and incorpo ...
and by the Biodiversity Research Center of the Californias of the
San Diego Natural History Museum.
Geology

The land on which San Diego–Tijuana sits is due west of a major
transform fault
A transform fault or transform boundary, is a fault (geology), fault along a plate boundary where the motion (physics), motion is predominantly Horizontal plane, horizontal. It ends abruptly where it connects to another plate boundary, either an ...
. The transform fault, known as the
San Andreas Fault
The San Andreas Fault is a continental Fault (geology)#Strike-slip faults, right-lateral strike-slip transform fault that extends roughly through the U.S. state of California. It forms part of the tectonics, tectonic boundary between the Paci ...
was created during the
Cenozoic
The Cenozoic Era ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterized by the dominance of mammals, insects, birds and angiosperms (flowering plants). It is the latest of three g ...
by the movements of the
Pacific plate and the
North American plate. The region experiences earthquakes and felt the shocks of the
2009 Gulf of California earthquake and
2010 Baja California earthquake
The 2010 Baja California earthquake (also known as 2010 Easter earthquake, 2010 Sierra El Mayor earthquake, or 2010 El Mayor – Cucapah earthquake) occurred on April 4 (Easter Sunday) with a moment magnitude scale, moment magnitude of 7.2 and a ...
.
The main mountain ranges of the
Peninsular Ranges
The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province) are a group of mountain ranges that stretch from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Pacific Coast Range ...
ridging eastern San Diego–Tijuana is
Palomar Mountain
Palomar Mountain ( ; ) is a mountain ridge in the Peninsular Ranges in northern San Diego County, California. It is known as the location of Palomar Observatory and Hale Telescope, and known for Palomar Mountain State Park.
History
The Luise� ...
, the
Laguna Mountains,
Sierra de Juárez, and the peaks of the Cuyamacas including
Cuyamaca Peak. The highest points are located in the Lagunas at 6,378 feet (1,944 m) and in the Cuyumacas at 6,512 feet (1,985 m) while the highest is the peak of
Hot Springs Mountain at 6,535 feet (1,992 m).
[
][
] These mountain ranges constitute part of the
Salinian Block, a largely
granitic
A granitoid is a broad term referring to a diverse group of coarse-grained igneous rocks that are widely distributed across the globe, covering a significant portion of the Earth's exposed surface and constituting a large part of the continental ...
terrane
In geology, a terrane (; in full, a tectonostratigraphic terrane) is a crust fragment formed on a tectonic plate (or broken off from it) and accreted or " sutured" to crust lying on another plate. The crustal block or fragment preserves its d ...
dating back to the
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic Era is the Era (geology), era of Earth's Geologic time scale, geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Period (geology), Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of archosaurian r ...
era and thus explaining the abundance of such stone throughout the region. Once part of the North American Plate, the Salinian block broke off due to the formation of the San Andreas Fault and rift resulting in the
Gulf of California
The Gulf of California (), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Vermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja California peninsula from ...
and its extension of the
Salton Trough
The Salton Trough is an active tectonic pull-apart basin, or graben. It lies within the Imperial, Riverside, and San Diego counties of southeastern California and extends south of the Mexico–United States border into the state of Baja Califo ...
.
The faults nearest the urban area are the
Elsinore and
Laguna Salada faults, both secondary to the San Andreas fault.
Major coastal water bodies
The region is set with many natural coastal
harbors,
estuaries
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...
,
inlets,
lagoons
A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into '' coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...
, and
bays. These included the major water bodies known as:
*
Buena Vista Lagoon
Buena Vista Lagoon is a freshwater lagoon adjacent to the Pacific Ocean in the South Coast (California), South Coast region of Southern California within the North County, San Diego, North County region of San Diego County, California, San Diego ...
*
Agua Hedionda Lagoon
*
Batiquitos Lagoon
*
San Elijo Lagoon
*
Mission Bay
*
San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port in San Diego County, California, near the Mexico–United States border. The bay, which is long and wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's of ...
*
Tijuana River Estuary
Populace
The populace of the San Diego–Tijuana is
cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan may refer to:
Internationalism
* World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship
* Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community
* Cosmopolitan ...
in that many cultures and ethnic groups are present. A large transitory population exists due to Tijuana's border proximity to the United States. This location draws many
Latin Americans
Latin Americans (; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America).
Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-ethnic and multi-racial. Latin Americans are ...
, including
Argentines
Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...
,
Cubans
Cubans () are the citizens and nationals of Cuba. The Cuban people have varied origins with the most spoken language being Spanish. The larger Cuban diaspora includes individuals that trace ancestry to Cuba and self-identify as Cuban but are n ...
,
Guatemalans
Guatemalans ( or less commonly ) are people connected to the country of Guatemala. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Guatemalans, several (if not all) of these connections exist.
Guatemala is a multicultu ...
, and
Andean
The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...
nationalities, as well as Chinese,
Korean, and Japanese people;
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
, French, Spanish and
Lebanese also reside in the region. With a population of approximately five million people, the San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area accounts for 40% of the United States – Mexico border population.
The metropolitan area experiences the largest rates of growth in an urban area that stretches from Los Angeles to Tijuana.
An analysis of age groups in the region found a relatively older population lives on the San Diegan side of the border while a relatively younger population the Tijuana side.
The Tijuana region also maintains a population largely composed of people born outside of Baja California.
Cities
;San Diego and Tijuana
San Diego is located at , just north of Tijuana. The city is divided into eight districts by the municipal government of the City of San Diego in accordance with policing and community service areas. The city lies south of
North County, and west of
East County, while also being north of parts of
South Bay. Though the city boundaries grace Tijuana's,
Centre City lies approximately north of Tijuana. San Diego has deep canyons separating its mesas, creating small pockets of natural parkland scattered throughout the city. This makes San Diego a hilly city. The
Coronado Coronado may refer to:
People
* Coronado (surname) Coronado is a Spanish surname derived from the village of Cornado, near A Coruña, Galicia.
People with the name
* Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (1510–1554), Spanish explorer often referred t ...
and
Point Loma peninsulas separate San Diego Bay from the ocean.
Tijuana is located at , just south of San Diego. The city is divided into
nine administrative boroughs, which are in turn divided into
neighborhoods
A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...
. These boroughs offer administrative services such as
urban planning
Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...
,
civil registry
Civil registration is the system by which a government records the vital events ( births, marriages, and deaths) of its citizens and residents. The resulting repository or database has different names in different countries and even in diffe ...
, inspection, verification,
public works and community development, served by a delegate. As Tijuana ranks higher in the Mexican
urban hierarchy
The urban hierarchy ranks each city based on the size of population residing within the nationally defined statistical urban area. Because urban population depends on how governments define their metropolitan areas, urban hierarchies are convention ...
than San Diego does in the American urban hierarchy, Tijuana contains many
foreign consulates including those of China, Korea, Finland, the United States, Germany, Spain, Honduras, France, Austria, Gambia, the United Kingdom, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Israel, Canada, and the Czech Republic. Tijuana does not receive competition from a larger urban center as San Diego does from Los Angeles. However, with
Mexicali
Mexicali (; ) is the capital city of the States of Mexico, Mexican state of Baja California. The city, which is the seat of the Mexicali Municipality, has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the Calexico–Mexicali, Cale ...
growing rapidly, a possible canal project planned and
Silicon Border development under way, Tijuana will soon face similar competition.
Population figures for California cities are from 2010 U.S. Census data. Population figures for Baja California cities are from 2010 INEG census data.
;Major cities – 100,000+ inhabitants
*
Tijuana
Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...
– 1,810,645
*
San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
– 1,386,932
*
Chula Vista
Chula Vista ( ; , ) is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. It is the second-most populous city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh-most populous city in Southern California, the 15th-most populous city in the ...
– 275,487
*
Oceanside – 174,068
*
Escondido – 151,038
*
Carlsbad – 114,746
*
El Cajon – 106,215
;Other cities – 40,000+ inhabitants
*
Vista – 98,381
*
San Marcos – 94,833
*
Rosarito Beach
Rosarito is a coastal city in Playas de Rosarito Municipality, Baja California, on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. As of 2010, the city had a population of 65,278. Located south of the US–Mexico border, Rosarito is a part of the greater San Diego� ...
– 90,022
*
Tecate
Tecate () is a city in Tecate Municipality, Baja California. It is across the Mexico–United States border, Mexico–US border from Tecate, California. As of 2019, the city had a population of 108,860 inhabitants, while the metropolitan area ha ...
– 64,764
*
Encinitas
Encinitas (Spanish language, Spanish for "Small Oaks") is a beach city in the North County (San Diego area), North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. Located in Southern California, it is approximately north of San Di ...
– 62,007
*
La Mesa – 61,121
*
Santee – 60,037
*
National City – 56,173
*
Poway
Poway () is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. Poway's rural roots influenced its motto "The City in the Country". The city had a population of 48,841 as of the 2020 United States census.
Poway is part of San Diego's Eas ...
– 48,481
Mexico – United States border
The international border between the United States and Mexico runs from San Diego–Tijuana eastward towards the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
. The Pacific Ocean terminus of the border was defined as a line passing from the confluence of the
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
and
Gila rivers (now the southeastern corner of the U.S. State of California) to the Pacific Ocean such that it would pass one Spanish league south of the southern end of San Diego Bay. This ensured that the United States received the natural harbor at San Diego.
There are three existing border crossings in San Diego–Tijuana, with two more planned.
San Ysidro/
El Chaparral
El Chaparral ( Spanish: ''Puerta México el Chaparral'') is a southbound vehicle crossing from San Diego into Tijuana. It is part of the San Ysidro Port of Entry
__NOTOC__
The San Ysidro Port of Entry (aka the San Ysidro Land Port of Entry or t ...
is the busiest
border crossing
Border control comprises measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it als ...
in the world; In 2019 alone, more than 77.2 million people entered the U.S. through this port.
[ 2019 represents the most recent year that the US-Mexico Border was fully open for traffic.] There are maximum 30 vehicle border crossing lanes at the San Ysidro Port of Entry into the United States and 6 or 8 lanes into Mexico from San Ysidro.
The San Diego/Tijuana border is also a major point of entry for
trafficking
Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...
, where 50 brothels of trafficked Mexican girls exist in San Diego County.
The majority of cross-border trips into the United States are those made by
commuters into the Greater San Diego area and
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
as a whole. There is a thriving reverse traffic for entertainment in Tijuana and affordable
goods and services
Goods are items that are usually (but not always) tangible, such as pens or Apple, apples. Services are activities provided by other people, such as teachers or barbers. Taken together, it is the Production (economics), production, distributio ...
.
The San Ysidro port of entry is the main border crossing for non-commercial traffic. Crossing times are notoriously slow at San Ysidro, particularly for those entering the U.S. in cars.
Given delays frequently experienced upon entry to Mexico, many cross-border travelers choose to cross on foot.
Infrastructure on both sides of the border delivers travelers and commuters to border crossings via respective
public transportation
Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whi ...
systems of which includes the
San Diego Trolley
The San Diego Trolley is a light rail system serving San Diego County, California. The trolley's operator, San Diego Trolley, Inc. , is a subsidiary of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS). The trolley operates as a critical componen ...
Blue Line that runs from downtown San Diego to the border crossing.
Economy
Leading industries in San Diego–Tijuana are trade, services, electronics, tourism, life sciences, high-tech and defense sectors.
In 2002 San Diego and Tijuana had a
gross regional product
Gross regional domestic product (GRDP), gross domestic product of region (GDPR), or gross state product (GSP) is a statistic that measures the size of a region's economy. It is the aggregate of gross value added (GVA) of all resident producer unit ...
of $136.3 Billion;
and in 2007 this figure increased to $176 Billion. The greater San Diego area has a
knowledge-based economy
The knowledge economy, or knowledge-based economy, is an economic system in which the production of goods and services is based principally on Knowledge intensive services, knowledge-intensive activities that contribute to advancement in Technol ...
that is only growing; Tijuana's sub-metropolitan region is reliant on a diversified manufacturing sector.
Leading private employers to the metropolitan region are
Qualcomm
Qualcomm Incorporated () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software and services related to wireless techn ...
,
SAIC,
Sempra Energy
Sempra is a North American public utility holding company based in San Diego, California. The company is one of the largest utility holding companies in the United States with nearly 40 million consumers. Sempra's focus is on electric and natur ...
,
Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
,
Kyocera
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational ceramics and electronics manufacturer headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It was founded as in 1959 by Kazuo Inamori and renamed in 1982. It manufactures industrial ceramics, solar power genera ...
,
Pfizer Global Research & Development,
Callaway Golf
Callaway, legally Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp., is an American global sports equipment manufacturing company that designs, manufactures, markets and sells golf equipment, more specifically golf club, clubs and golf ball, balls, also including a ...
,
Sharp HealthCare
Sharp HealthCare is a not-for-profit regional health care group based in San Diego, California. Sharp includes four acute care hospitals, three specialty hospitals, and three affiliated medical groups. It has approximately 2,700 affiliated physi ...
,
Scripps Health
Scripps Health is a nonprofit health care system based in San Diego, California. The system includes five hospital campuses and 30 outpatient centers and clinics, and treats more than 600,000 patients annually through 3,000 affiliated physicians. ...
,
Sanyo
is a former Japanese electronics manufacturer founded in 1947 by Toshio Iue, the brother-in-law of Kōnosuke Matsushita, the founder of Matsushita Electric Industrial, now known as Panasonic. Iue left Matsushita Electric to start his own bu ...
,
Hitachi
() is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable ener ...
,
Panasonic Corporation
is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturer, headquartered in Kadoma, Japan. It was founded in 1918 as in Fukushima by Kōnosuke Matsushita. The company was incorporated in 1935 and renamed and changed its name to in 2008. In 20 ...
,
Samsung
Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...
,
Hyundai,
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...
,
Honeywell
Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building automation, industrial automa ...
,
Pioneer Corporation
, is a Japanese multinational corporation based in Tokyo, that specializes in digital entertainment products. The company was founded by Nozomu Matsumoto on January 1, 1938 in Tokyo as a radio and Loudspeaker, speaker repair shop. Its current pr ...
,
Maxell
, commonly known as Maxell, is a Japanese company (law), company that manufactures consumer electronics.
The company's name is a contraction of "Maximum capacity dry cell". Its main products are Battery (electricity), batteries, wireless chargi ...
, Douglas Furniture, and
International Rectifier.
On the 2020
Globalization and World Cities classification, San Diego was rated as Beta - level global city up from Gamma level, while Tijuana was rated as a high sufficiency city.
Maritime
The economy of the urban area is influenced by the
Port of San Diego which gives the region a strong maritime sector; the conurbation is the location of the only major submarine and shipbuilding yards on the
West Coast and of the largest
naval fleet
A fleet or naval fleet is a large formation of warships – the largest formation in any navy – controlled by one leader. A fleet at sea is the direct equivalent of an army on land.
Purpose
In the modern sense, fleets are usually, but no ...
in the world. The cruise ship industry, which is the second largest in the California-Baja California region, generates an estimated $2 million annually from the purchase of food, fuel, supplies, and maintenance services.
In California alone, the port is the fastest-growing port in terms of cruise ship dockings and the second largest behind the
Port of Los Angeles
The Port of Los Angeles is a seaport managed by the Los Angeles Harbor Department, a unit of the Los Angeles, City of Los Angeles. It occupies of land and water with of waterfront and adjoins the separate Port of Long Beach. Promoted as "Amer ...
.
Manufacturing

Manufacturing accounts for a large part of the regional economy more-so observed in Tijuana.
The focus of manufacturing in the region is on
soft and
hard technological products.
In metropolitan Tijuana, manufacturing has historically allotted for a large sector of the economy
and San Diego County's economy has increasingly focused on manufacturing which 2002 allotted for $25 billion of the county's economic income.
The 2000s decade saw Tijuana overtake the
Twin Cities
Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...
as
medical device
A medical device is any device intended to be used for medical purposes. Significant potential for hazards are inherent when using a device for medical purposes and thus medical devices must be proved safe and effective with reasonable assura ...
manufacture capital of North America. The amount of diverse and numerous manufacture companies in the area have made the metropolitan region one of the world's largest concentrated manufacturing areas.
Tech

San Diego–Tijuana is ground zero for a transborder tech sector.
Engineers and entrepreneurs in the entirety of the border region are fueling the growth of this economic industry in which a symbiotic relationship exists between think-tanks in the north and manufacturing heads in the south that creates a healthy environment for startup companies.
San Diego alone was rated by Forbes in 2014 as one of the best places to start a tech company.
Several areas of San Diego are home to offices and research facilities for numerous biotechnology companies and pharmaceutical companies. Among
American metropolitan areas, metropolitan San Diego is the third largest concentrated area of high technology and biotechnology businesses.
The presence of the
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...
and other research institutions helped fuel biotechnology growth. In June 2004, San Diego was ranked the top biotech cluster in the U.S. by the
Milken Institute
The Milken Institute is an independent economic think tank based in Santa Monica, California, with offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Miami, London, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore. It publishes research and hosts conferences that apply market-bas ...
. San Diego is home to companies that develop wireless cellular technology.
Qualcomm Incorporated was founded and is headquartered in San Diego; Qualcomm is the largest private-sector technology employer (excluding hospitals) in San Diego County. Due to San Diego's military influence, major national defense contractors, such as
General Atomics and
Science Applications International Corporation
Science Applications International Corporation, Inc. (SAIC) is an American technology company headquartered in Reston, Virginia that provides government services and information technology support.
History 20th century
The original SAIC was cr ...
(SAIC), are or have been headquartered in San Diego.
Major business districts
Business districts include the
Columbia district of
downtown San Diego
Downtown San Diego is the central business district of San Diego, California, the eighth largest city in the United States. It houses the major local headquarters of the city, county, state, and federal governments. The area comprises seven d ...
,
downtown Tijuana,
Rancho Bernardo
Rancho Bernardo is a master-planned community in the northern hills of San Diego County, California.
Geography
The topography of Rancho Bernardo consists of canyons and rolling hills that have large bedrock outcroppings. The major floral biomes ...
,
Carmel Valley,
Mission Valley
Mission Valley is a wide river valley trending east–west in San Diego, California, United States, through which the San Diego River flows to the Pacific Ocean. For planning purposes the City of San Diego divides it into two neighborhoods: Mi ...
,
Sorrento Mesa, and
University City neighborhoods of San Diego. Notability among business districts extends to Rancho Bernardo, the site of
Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
US corporate headquarters.
Tourism
Tourism is a major industry of the region, owing much to the area's mild
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
. Tijuana alone is the most visited city in the
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the 180th meridian.- The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Geopolitically, ...
, second only to
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.
50,000,000 people visit the city each year and about 300,000 visitors cross by foot or car from the
San Ysidro point of entry to Tijuana every day.
The
San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in San Diego, California, United States, located in Balboa Park (San Diego), Balboa Park. It began with a collection of animals left over from the 1915 Panama–California Exposition that were brought together by its ...
,
SeaWorld,
Avenida Revolución,
Rosarito, the area's beaches, and the
Farmers Insurance Open are just some of the major tourist destinations in the conurbation. Mexico's
drinking age
The legal drinking age is the minimum age at which a person can legally consume alcoholic beverages. The minimum age alcohol can be legally consumed can be different from the age when it can be purchased in some countries. These laws vary betwee ...
of 18 and
legal and regulated prostitution make Tijuana a common weekend destination for many young Southern Californians and
sex tourists.
Many large
luxury hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suite (hotel), suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a d ...
s line
San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port in San Diego County, California, near the Mexico–United States border. The bay, which is long and wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's of ...
and the coast of
Playas de Tijuana
Playas de Tijuana ( Spanish for "beaches of Tijuana") is the westernmost borough of the municipality of Tijuana, Baja California, stretching from the United States border in the north to Rosarito Beach Municipality in the south. The Bullring by ...
. The bay and its marinas are surrounded by more than
fifteen hotels while historic buildings such as
Hotel del Coronado and Rosarito Beach Hotel lie on the Coronado peninsula and Rosarito coast. In Playas,
Baja Mar
Baja Mar (or Bajamar) is a seaside resort community twenty minutes north of Ensenada, Baja California, Ensenada and forty minutes south of Greater San Diego–Tijuana in Ensenada Municipality, Baja California, Mexico. The resort community is locate ...
, and
Baja Malibu, several luxury hotels and condominiums can be found lining the coast in customary
beach resort fashion, including Park Towers and AQUA condominiums.
Cross-border Trade & NAFTA
The
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement (, TLCAN; , ALÉNA), referred to colloquially in the Anglosphere as NAFTA, ( ) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that created a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The ...
has a great influence on transborder trade in the San Diego–Tijuana economy. Of all the goods exchanged to the north 20% transported are destined for San Diego, 60% are destined for other California counties, and the remaining 20% are destined to other American states.
The metropolitan economy has become increasingly integrated as the NAFTA process has reduced trade and investment barriers which facilitates the trade and extensive sales services via cross-border exchange. San Diego–Tijuana is a critical commercial link to the United States.
In Tijuana, companies that have established assembly plants in industrial parks referred to as ''
maquiladora
A (), or (), is a factory that is largely duty (economics), duty free and tariff free. These factories take raw materials and assemble, manufacture, or process them and export the finished product. These factories and systems are present thro ...
s'' include
Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
,
Toyota
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
,
Samsung
Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...
,
Kodak
The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...
, Matsushita/
Panasonic
is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturer, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Japan. It was founded in 1918 as in Fukushima-ku, Osaka, Fukushima by Kōnosuke Matsushita. The company was incorporated in 1935 and renamed and c ...
,
Nabisco
Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International.
Nabisco' ...
,
Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...
,
Pioneer,
Plantronics
Plantronics, Inc. is an American electronics company producing audio communications equipment for business and consumers. Its products support unified communications, mobile use, gaming and music. Plantronics is headquartered in Santa Cruz, Cal ...
,
Pall Corporation,
Tara Labs
TARA (The Absolute Reference Audio) Labs is a manufacturer of high-end audio cables from Medford, Oregon. It is currently led by president Merrill Bergs. Tara Labs is known for their use of solid wire.
History
TARA Labs was established in ...
, and
Sanyo
is a former Japanese electronics manufacturer founded in 1947 by Toshio Iue, the brother-in-law of Kōnosuke Matsushita, the founder of Matsushita Electric Industrial, now known as Panasonic. Iue left Matsushita Electric to start his own bu ...
, while San Diego supports the expansion of its own industrial parks in Otay Mesa.
Additionally some of these companies, such as Samsung, source the development of items locally.
Even prior to the implementation of NAFTA, Tijuana was home to many businesses selling products and services at a lower rate than in the United States. Today businesses such as
auto detailing,
medical services,
dentistry
Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the Human tooth, teeth, gums, and Human mouth, mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, dis ...
and
plastic surgery are heavily marketed and located near Tijuana's border with San Diego. In addition, there are
high-tech
High technology (high tech or high-tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or ...
firms and
telemarketing
Telemarketing (sometimes known as inside sales, or telesales in the UK and Ireland) is a method of direct marketing in which a salesperson solicits prospective customers to buy products, subscriptions or services, either over the phone or throu ...
companies, including
Medtronic Inc., in the city.
This influx of companies is drawing skilled people from the United States with technical trades and college degrees to Tijuana transforming the city economy into a knowledge-based one.
Transportation
Public transportation
San Diego's primary light rail network is the
San Diego Trolley
The San Diego Trolley is a light rail system serving San Diego County, California. The trolley's operator, San Diego Trolley, Inc. , is a subsidiary of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS). The trolley operates as a critical componen ...
, operated by the
San Diego Metropolitan Transit System
The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) is a public transit service provider for San Diego County, California. The agency operates a transit system that includes the San Diego MTS bus system, San Diego Trolley, and Rapid (San Diego), Rap ...
. The trolley system consist of five lines: the
Blue Line which runs from
San Ysidro Transit Center just north of the border to
UTC Transit Center, the
Orange Line which runs from
Courthouse station to
Santee station, the
Green Line which runs from
12th & Imperial Transit Center to Santee station through
Mission Valley
Mission Valley is a wide river valley trending east–west in San Diego, California, United States, through which the San Diego River flows to the Pacific Ocean. For planning purposes the City of San Diego divides it into two neighborhoods: Mi ...
, the
Copper Line which connects
El Cajon Transit Center and Santee station, and the
Silver Line which is a heritage streetcar line that runs in a loop in
downtown San Diego
Downtown San Diego is the central business district of San Diego, California, the eighth largest city in the United States. It houses the major local headquarters of the city, county, state, and federal governments. The area comprises seven d ...
.
San Diego is served by the ''
Pacific Surfliner
The ''Pacific Surfliner'' is a passenger train service serving the communities on the coast of Southern California between San Diego and San Luis Obispo.
The ''Pacific Surfliner'' is Amtrak's third-busiest service (exceeded in ridership only ...
'', an
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
inter-city rail which terminates at
Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego. San Diego is also served by the
COASTER, a commuter rail service that runs from downtown San Diego to Oceanside, operated by the
North County Transit District. From
Oceanside Transit Center, riders can either take the
SPRINTER hybrid rail to Escondido,
Metrolink Orange County Line to downtown Los Angeles, or the Metrolink
San Bernardino Line to
San Bernardino.
Plenty of free parking is available at
Stadium station on days when
Snapdragon Stadium
Snapdragon Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in San Diego, California, located on the campus of San Diego State University (SDSU). It is the home of the San Diego State Aztecs football team of the Mountain West Conference (MW), San Diego FC o ...
is not hosting events, as well as several other stations throughout the system that have
park and ride
A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail transport, r ...
s. All trolley stations also provide connection points to MTS bus services, as MTS has designed the trolley to be the backbone of the local public transit system.
In Tijuana there is currently no public rail system, although, there is a system of buses that operate in the area. However, it was reported by ''
The San Diego Union-Tribune
''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...
'' that San Diego officials desired that the
California High-Speed Rail
California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR) is a publicly funded high-speed rail system being developed in California by the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Phase 1, about long, is planned to run from San Francisco, California, San Francisco to ...
be extended to Tijuana and
South Bay in order to capitalize on the potential economic benefits. Additionally, there have been plans to extend the Blue Line into Tijuana proper.
Major highways

San Diego–Tijuana is at the junction of major interstates, state routes and federal highways. The region is at the terminus of ten major
Interstate
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National H ...
s and
Federal Highways. Radiating to the east and south are connections to the
Imperial Valley
The Imperial Valley ( or ''Valle Imperial'') of Southern California lies in Imperial and Riverside counties, with an urban area centered on the city of El Centro. The Valley is bordered by the Colorado River to the east and, in part, the S ...
,
Mexicali Valley, and the
Arizona Sun Corridor via
Interstate 8, the
Inland Empire
The Inland Empire (commonly abbreviated as the IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County and Or ...
, the
Las Vegas metropolitan area
Clark County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Nevada with 2,265,461 residents as of the 2020 census. The county is the location of the state's three largest cities, Las Vegas (the county seat), Henderson, and North Las Vegas ...
, and
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
via
Interstate 15
Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway in the Western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexican border in San Diego County and stretches north to Alberta, Ca ...
; and to the Greater Ensenada area via
Federal Highway 1D. To the north and west the area is connected to the
Los Angeles metropolitan area
Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the east, ...
,
Northern California
Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...
, and
Cascadia via
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...
. Interstate 5 and
Federal Highway 1 are critical highways for commercial and international trade due to their junction at the
San Ysidro Port of Entry
__NOTOC__
The San Ysidro Port of Entry (aka the San Ysidro Land Port of Entry or the San Ysidro LPOE) is the largest land border crossing between San Diego and Tijuana, and the fourth- busiest land border crossing in the world (second-busiest exc ...
, linking major industrial regions along the
British Columbia Coast
The British Columbia Coast, popularly referred to as the BC Coast or simply the Coast, is a geographic region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia. As the entire western continental coastline of Canada ...
,
West Coast of the United States
The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast and the Western Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the Contiguous United States, contig ...
, and the
Gold Coast of Baja California at the busiest port of entry in the world. The metropolitan area is linked by
Federal Highway 2 and
State Route 111 to
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
cities.
Within the metropolitan region, there are many transportation routes via
highway
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...
. These included
Interstate 805
Interstate 805 (I-805) is a major north–south List of auxiliary Interstate Highways, auxiliary Interstate Highway in Southern California. It is a bypass (road), bypass auxiliary route of Interstate 5 in California, I-5, running roughly t ...
, connecting
Tijuana
Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...
to
Del Mar.
Many highways have a terminus in South Bay and run north and west towards other agglomerations such as the
Inland Empire
The Inland Empire (commonly abbreviated as the IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County and Or ...
and Los Angeles metropolitan area.
State Routes that link to these urban areas include
State Route 79 and
State Route 78. San Diego–Tijuana is linked to Ensenada by various ways as well; including
Federal Highway 3, Federal Highway 1 and Federal Highway 1D, running from the border cities of Tijuana and
Tecate
Tecate () is a city in Tecate Municipality, Baja California. It is across the Mexico–United States border, Mexico–US border from Tecate, California. As of 2019, the city had a population of 108,860 inhabitants, while the metropolitan area ha ...
to the ''Cinderella of the Pacific''.
In addition to the extensive highway system, the cities and regions within San Diego–Tijuana are interconnected by many
state route
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...
s as well.
State Route 52 connects communities in northern San Diego,
State Route 905 connects the Otay Mesa Port of Entry with South Bay cities,
State Route 125 connects South Bay with
East County,
State Route 94 connects South Bay with the
Mountain Empire, and
State Route 78 connects North County Coastal with North County Inland, as well as to the mountain communities of the San Diego County Peninsular Ranges.
San Diego has a major network of roads, predominantly free Highways with several toll roads, and Interstates.
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...
runs south from the Canadian-border city of
Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
and terminates at the San Ysidro International border where it becomes Federal Highway 1. Another major freeway is Interstate 8 that runs west from the
Arizona Sun Corridor at
Casa Grande, Arizona
Casa Grande (O'odham language, O'odham: ''Wainom Wo:g'') is a city in Pinal County, Arizona, Pinal County, approximately halfway between Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, Tucson, in the U.S. state of Arizona. According to the 2020 ...
, and terminates at
Ocean Beach in San Diego. The roadway system in
Tijuana
Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...
is very low end compared to the quality of streets in the United States. The majority of the roads are in desperate need of repair with many newly constructed off ramps being set up in an impractical method often requiring sharp and hard turns. When it comes to long-distance travel through
Baja California
Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...
, many people use the toll roads that are well maintained and are at a standard comparable to that of U.S. roads.
Port
San Diego–Tijuana's only
deepwater port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manche ...
is both a
container port and
cruise ship
Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...
destination. The
Port of San Diego has recreation terminals and docked ships at the
Maritime Museum of San Diego
The Maritime Museum of San Diego is a maritime museum in San Diego, California. Established in 1948, it preserves one of the largest collections of historic sea vessels in the United States. Located on San Diego Bay, the centerpiece of the museum' ...
, which is located at the
Embarcadero. The port is serviced by nine cruise lines including
Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival Cruise Line is an international cruise line with headquarters in Doral, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Its logo is a funnel (ship), funnel shaped like a whale's tail, with a red, white, and blue colo ...
and
Royal Caribbean International
Royal Caribbean International (RCI), formerly Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL), is a cruise line founded in 1968 in Norway and organized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group since 1997.
Based in Miami, Florida, it is the l ...
. A new cruise terminal was recently constructed at the Port to compensate for the increased levels of maritime tourism.
Cargo and
container terminal
A container port, container terminal, or intermodal terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment may be between container ships and land v ...
s are located to the south of the Embarcadero where two marine cargo facilities are administered. The Port of San Diego was ranked by the United States'
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), part of the United States Department of Transportation, is a government office that compiles, analyzes, and publishes information on the nation's transportation systems across various modes; and str ...
as one of America's top 30 U.S.
container ship
A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...
ports in 2007. The port also serves as the primary port of entry for larger car corporations including
Honda
commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...
,
Volkswagen
Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...
, and
Nissan
is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...
into the United States of America. The
Port of Ensenada
The Port of Ensenada is a marine freight and cruise terminal in Ensenada, Baja California. This deepwater port lies in Bahia de Todos Santos.
Ships arrive from major ports in Asia, North America, and South America. The port accommodates cruise ...
also serves as a transport point where cruise ships arrive and depart from Southern Californian, European, and Central American ports. Cargo arriving at the Port of Ensenada is also transported to the metropolitan region via the
Tijuana-Ensenada Freeway.
The
Port of Punta Colonet is being planned as an alternative port to the West Coast ports of the United States and Canada; though the port is not without its negative environmental impacts. south of Tijuana, the port is intended to compete with the twin ports of
Long Beach
Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
and
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
Once completed the port would serve as the primary dock for Asian vessels unloading shipping containers.
and would have a rail line to San Diego–Tijuana.
Airports
San Diego–Tijuana is served by of two major
international airport
An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...
s:
San Diego International Airport
San Diego International Airport is the primary international airport serving San Diego and its surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of California. The airport is located northwest of downtown San Diego. It is the busiest single- ...
and
Tijuana International Airport
Tijuana International Airport (); officially ''Aeropuerto Internacional General Abelardo L. Rodríguez'' (General Abelardo L. Rodríguez International Airport) , is an international airport located northeast of downtown Tijuana, Baja Califo ...
(General Abelardo L. Rodríguez), and one regional airport
McClellan–Palomar Airport (Carlsbad).
San Diego International Airport is located northwest of Centre City and from Tijuana. Operated by the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, the airport is the busiest single-
runway
In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...
commercial airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
in the world. SAN served 22,009,921 in 2021. As of June 2023, San Diego International Airport is served by 16 passenger airlines.
In 2022 the Tijuana International Airport served 12,324,600 passengers. It is the fourth busiest airport in Mexico and serves as the focus city for
Aeroméxico. The
Cross Border Xpress consists of a pedestrian toll bridge which directly links the terminal in Mexico with the CBX terminal on the U.S. side – the only airport in the world with terminals on the territory of two countries.
McClellan-Palomar Airport is located near the central business district of Carlsbad, serving North County. However, the airport does not currently have any passenger service.
The top ten flights in 2022 to 2023 from all three airports were to
Mexico City
Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
with 1,191,875 passengers,
Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...
with 1,068,321 passengers,
Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
with 837,000 passengers,
Denver
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
with 704,000 passengers,
San Jose with approximately 661,000 passengers,
Sacramento
Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
with 654,000 passengers,
Phoenix with 641,000 passengers,
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
with 625,000,
Seattle/Tacoma with 610,000 passengers,
Dallas/Fort Worth with 532,000 passengers.
Ports of Entry
In 2002, according to the
San Diego Association of Governments
The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) is the metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for San Diego County, California. It is an association of local county governments, with policy makers consisting of mayors, councilmembers, and Coun ...
(SANDAG), the number of trucks driving north through the Otay Mesa Port of Entry numbered over 725,710, representing approximately $20 billion worth of freight.
Over time congestion has increased as the population of the region has grown at a high rate. San Diego and Tijuana have both begun collaborative renovation plans in order to ease border congestion.
The
San Ysidro Land Port of Entry Expansion Project involves adding ten lanes to the San Ysidro border crossing and the creation of the El Chaparral Port of Entry. Another plan includes adding an extra border crossing to the east of Otay Mesa with completion estimated for the year 2015. Projects such as these will attempt to reduce the loss of millions of dollars per day due to waiting at the border.
There are currently three
ports of entry
In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. Internati ...
serving the metropolitan region. The San Ysidro Port of Entry/
El Chaparral
El Chaparral ( Spanish: ''Puerta México el Chaparral'') is a southbound vehicle crossing from San Diego into Tijuana. It is part of the San Ysidro Port of Entry
__NOTOC__
The San Ysidro Port of Entry (aka the San Ysidro Land Port of Entry or t ...
expansion projects, and the opening of the new
Otay Mesa East Port of Entry, will add significant capacity. The most trafficked port of entry is the
San Ysidro Port of Entry
__NOTOC__
The San Ysidro Port of Entry (aka the San Ysidro Land Port of Entry or the San Ysidro LPOE) is the largest land border crossing between San Diego and Tijuana, and the fourth- busiest land border crossing in the world (second-busiest exc ...
—the busiest international crossing in the world. It serves as the primary entry point for the commuting populace of the metropolitan region. The
Cross Border Xpress pedestrian border crossing, which opened December 9, 2015, is for the exclusive use of ticketed passengers at
Tijuana International Airport
Tijuana International Airport (); officially ''Aeropuerto Internacional General Abelardo L. Rodríguez'' (General Abelardo L. Rodríguez International Airport) , is an international airport located northeast of downtown Tijuana, Baja Califo ...
. Further east, the
Otay Mesa Port of Entry deals with high volumes of commercial traffic as it is located in the manufacturing zone of the region. The Otay Mesa Port accounts for billions of dollars worth of product.
Further east, the Otay Mesa East Port of Entry is planned. And the farthest east, the
Tecate Port of Entry is the smallest port of entry and is not designed for dealing with large volumes of traffic as it follows a long winding road through the
Mountain Empire.
Many businesses in South Bay offer Mexican car insurance on a short-term, prepaid basis. Most large car rental companies in San Diego do permit their vehicles to be taken across the border but generally require a hefty fee, sometimes costing more than the rental, for Mexican auto insurance. Visitors to the region should note that automobile insurance does not travel across the international border. Vehicles registered in Mexico may also require separate insurance for use in the United States. In California Automobile insurance is required by the State.
Higher education
The region is home to over twenty higher education schools including numerous universities, private, and state colleges and maintains an excellent educational infrastructure.
Tijuana is home to high ranked national colleges and universities and San Diego is ninth most educated city in the United States.
Notable schools included the
Autonomous University of Baja California (Tijuana campus);
Ibero-American University (Tijuana campus);
CETYS University (Tijuana campus);
University of San Diego
The University of San Diego (USD) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in San Diego, California, United States. Chartered in 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University ...
(USD); San Diego State University (SDSU);
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...
(UC San Diego); California Western School of Law; and Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Of the colleges in San Diego–Tijuana, UC San Diego is the highest ranked college; ranking as 14th best university in the world by the ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' and in 2010 ranking as the top university in the United States by the ''Washington Monthly''.
Communication
Telephone
Telephonic communication between the two cities requires international calling. To call Tijuana from the United States, "011" (the US List of international call prefixes, international call prefix) must be dialed followed by Mexico's List of country calling codes, country calling code "52"; to call San Diego from Mexico, "00" (the International Telecommunication Union, ITU prefix) must be dialed followed by "1" (the North American Numbering Plan calling code). Then the caller will in both cases proceed to dial the area code and the local number.
San Diego County Area Codes
*+1-Area code 619, 619
*+1-Area code 858, 858
*+1-Area code 760, 760
*+1-Area code 442, 442
*+1-Area code 949, 949
Tijuana Metro Area Codes
*+52-665
*+52-664
*+52-663
*+52-646
*+52-661
*+52-686
Broadcasting
Limited San Diego television channels are included in Mexican cable in Tijuana and Ensenada.
Broadcasting is shared between the two cities as necessary, as is the case along both land U.S. borders. Frequency coordination means that all Television station, broadcast stations must be approved by both countries before making any major changes. In this case, approval is required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the U.S. and Federal Telecommunications Institute in Mexico. Additionally, the FCC requires a permit to supply programming to a foreign broadcaster for transmission back into the U.S.
Television
Cooperative frequency coordination between both city regions is quite common; an example is XETV-TV 6, a Tijuana-based television station used to target audiences in San Diego until its US-based studio closure in 2017, where the ''K'' being replaced by the ''X'' as an indicator that it is a Mexican-licensed station. These stations were not required to shut down their NTSC analog TV operations in June 2009, as full-powered FCC-broadcast license, licensed stations must. In 2007, a bill (law), bill in the U.S. Congress called the DTV Border Fix Act was introduced, which would have allowed all stations in San Diego, and all television stations within of the Mexican border, to keep their analog signals active for another five years, delaying the digital television transition in the United States, television transition that the rest of the United States would be going through; while the bill passed the Senate, it did not pass the House.
Prior to the 2017 rules change by the FCC, San Diego was the largest media market in the United States that was legally unable to support a Duopoly (broadcasting), duopoly between two full-power television stations; under the 1999 order, duopolies were not allowed in any U.S. market with fewer than nine full-power stations and once a duopoly is formed, there must be eight unique station owners that remain in a single market. The California side of the market does not fall under either requirement as there are only seven full-power stations in that part of the San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. Though two sister stations existed (the E. W. Scripps Company group of KGTV and KZSD-LD, and the NBC Owned Television Stations group of KNSD and KUAN-LD), they are not considered duopolies under the FCC's legal definition as common ownership between full-power and Low-power broadcasting, low-power television stations in the same market is permitted regardless to the number of stations licensed to the area. On November 20, 2017, the FCC eliminated the "Eight-Voices Test" requirement, allowing media companies to form duopolies regardless of the number of full-powered stations licensed to each market. The decision allowed Nexstar Media Group, owner of Fox affiliate KSWB-TV, to purchase independent station KUSI-TV from McKinnon Broadcasting on May 8, 2023;
the transaction was completed on August 31, creating the first legal duopoly in San Diego.
The Mexico-licensed stations in the market are not subject to the duopoly rules as two or more full-power television stations are allowed to be owned by the same company under Mexican telecommunications law (American-based TelevisaUnivision owns three stations in Tijuana: XETV-TV, XHUAA-TV and XEWT-TV, while Entravision Communications and TV Azteca each own two stations: XHAS-TV and XHDTV-TV, and XHJK-TV and XHTIT-TV, respectively).
Radio
On radio, relaying programming across the border is even more common, with stations like XHITZ-FM 90.3 and XHMORE-FM 98.9 being programmed by U.S. broadcast groups, while being owned by Mexican companies (as required under Mexican law) and operating under Mexican broadcast law. Other American stations relayed via Mexico through local marketing agreements (LMAs) are XEPE-AM, XEPE AM 1700, XEPRS-AM, XEPRS AM 1090 and simulcast XHPRS-FM 105.7, XESPN-AM, XESPN AM 800, XESURF-AM, XESURF AM 540, XETRA-FM, XETRA FM 91.1, XHRM-FM, XHRM FM 92.5, XEWW-AM 690, XHA-FM 94.5, XHFG-FM 107.3, XHGLX-FM 91.7, XHLNC-FM 104.9, and XHTY-FM (Baja California), XHTY-FM 99.7. All of these stations are authorized to simulcast digitally in HD Radio, as are other stations within of the U.S. border.
Because many stations in the reserved band (FM below 92 MHz) are used by Mexican stations, other specific allotments are reserved for non-commercial educational (NCE) radio stations in the San Diego area. However, the lack of such allotments still leaves the area with no college radio stations available except via Internet radio, cable radio, LPAM, and second audio program, TV SAP. These are KCR (SDSU), KCR from San Diego State University, and KSDT Radio, KSDT from the
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...
.
Under Mexican law, radio stations located in Mexico must broadcast the Mexican National Anthem twice daily and broadcast public affairs program ''La Hora Nacional'' on Sunday evenings.
Other infrastructure
The metropolitan region has developed many utilities which have primary focus on energy and environmental health. A focal point of cross-border environmental relations is the care of the Tijuana River Estuary. The International Boundary Wastewater Treatment Plant (IWTP) was developed by the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) as a joint project between the US and Mexico in the mid-1990s following substantial environmental studies regarding the polluting effects of the river system from run-off and untreated water on the Tijuana side of the border region. The facility now treats sewage flows exceeding the capacity of the present Tijuana sewage treatment system.
The plant directly assists in the restoration of the Tijuana River Valley.
Another collaborative effort between the two cities was the environmentally friendly development of paved roads – created by placing concrete blocks on dirt roads – in the San Bernardo neighborhood of northwestern Tijuana.
Whilst being a good example for overall development of Tijuana, it served to retain water in the earth and prevented possible negative impacts from floodwater.
Water
San Diego–Tijuana relies heavily on water from the Colorado River.
Approximately half of San Diego–Tijuana's fresh water is used for non-drinking purposes, including Landscaping, landscape irrigation, commercial enterprise, and industrial processing.
Methods such as seawater, saltwater desalination provides options for obtaining fresh water. Cities in the metropolitan region such as Carlsbad have begun desalination projects of their own, without a bi-national conference. The Carlsbad desalination plant is the largest desalination plant in the United States. It was opened in December 2015, and produces 50-million gallons a day; enough water to supply 10% of San Diego region residents with drinking water.
Energy
The policies shared between San Diego and Tijuana are addressed in a binational way as the effects of actions on one side of the border, with regard to infrastructure, are felt on the neighboring side. In the past decade San Diego–Tijuana has developed new cooperative strategies to make energy consumption more efficient and effectively supply energy.
In 2000
Sempra Energy
Sempra is a North American public utility holding company based in San Diego, California. The company is one of the largest utility holding companies in the United States with nearly 40 million consumers. Sempra's focus is on electric and natur ...
constructed a natural gas pipeline to provide energy to a thermal power plant in Rosarito; also the principle plant in Baja California.
The region was able to reduce levels of air pollution substantially when the conversion to a natural gas fired electrical generation facility was completed.
In the Baja California subregions, unleaded gasoline has also replaced leaded fuel as means for transportation, helping regional air quality.
The new strategies also included plans that worked with the nearby capital of Mexicali, where the pipeline shared between the two states was constructed to supply natural gas to its metropolitan area with energy supplied by Sempra and Proxima.
Sempra Energy has been applauded for its initial development of this cross-border infrastructure.
On April 19, 2011, it was reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune that San Diego Gas & Electric signed a twenty-year deal with Sempra Generation to obtain power generated by the Energia Sierra Juarez Project, a wind farm of 450 wind turbines, taking up an area predominantly in the Tecate region of Baja California larger than Anza Borrego Desert State Park.
Energia Sierra Juarez is slated for construction in 2012, though the deal has yet to be approved by the California Public Utilities Commission.
Culture
The sister cities of the metropolitan region have a complex and rich cultural exchange. The binational art communities are the most progressive yet least funded when compared to other international communities.
The cultural activities present on both sides of the border provide artists a benefited cultural activity sector. Art organizations on both sides of the border have binational programs. Mainly Mozart (Festival Binacional de Mozart) performs, for both cities of California and Baja California, with internationally known musicians and orchestras.
In San Diego, the Opera's Ensemble tours the metropolitan region every year performing over 150 performances in the regions educational institutions, cultural centers, and concert venues.
Additionally, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego actively promotes the binational arts culture in the area and has displayed exhibitions highlighting the border experience.
The metropolitan region has become a magnet for artists from abroad. Musicians and visual artists from Russia, Mexico, and Eastern Europe are now found in organizations such as the Orchestra of Baja California.
The cultural region is the home of many museums and landmarks. The regions cultural institutions and landmarks are in part comprised by the many institutions of Balboa Park (San Diego), Balboa Park, Tijuana Cultural Center, the
Maritime Museum of San Diego
The Maritime Museum of San Diego is a maritime museum in San Diego, California. Established in 1948, it preserves one of the largest collections of historic sea vessels in the United States. Located on San Diego Bay, the centerpiece of the museum' ...
– a collection of large historic American vessels, Cabrillo National Monument, ''Christ of the Sacred Heart'',
Mission San Diego de Alcalá
Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá (, lit. The Mission of Saint Didacus of Acalá) was the second Franciscan founded mission in the Californias (after San Fernando de Velicata), a province of New Spain. Located in present-day San Diego, C ...
, Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, and museum at San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park. Local beach culture is in part represented by the California Surf Museum.
Border influence
In a region where Culture of Mexico, Mexican traditional culture and Culture of the United States, American contemporary culture clash, native artists benefit from the manifested diverse cultural influences.
Tijuana's adjacent location to San Diego fuels its intrigue for artists and art curators.
A growing number of artists and musicians have begun challenging the sometimes negative stereotype of Tijuana through exhibitions displaying the city as a place of contingency and creativity.
San Diego–Tijuana has been considered "''one of the hottest interfaces between first and third worlds''." Artists attraction to San Diego–Tijuana's arts and culture scene was accredited by the Tucson Weekly to the environment created by one of the richest and most developed cities – San Diego – border proximity to a once Developing country, third world type city – Tijuana.
Cuisine
Food in the region has been greatly attributed from its position on the US-Mexican border. The region has also been influenced by immigrants who migrated to the area.
Alcohol
The region is also home to many wineries and craft breweries scattered throughout the region, with Beer in San Diego County, California, San Diego's craft brewery industry, Tijuana's proximity to the wineries in Valle de Guadalupe, and Tecate's Tecate (beer), Cerveza Tecate owned by Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery. Tijuana and Tecate's growth could be attributed to the influx of American alcohol tourism in the 1920s to evade the Prohibition in the United States, US prohibition of alcohol.
International recognition
The culture of San Diego–Tijuana is international and Cosmopolitanism, cosmopolitan, reflecting the values of each city. Tijuana's emerging vibrant culture scene plays and undeniable role in the art enrichment of its neighborhoods.
The metropolitan regions southern anchor city, Tijuana, was identified by Newsweek International as one of the top eight creative cities in the world.
It was recognized for its amalgamation of traditional Mexican Norteño (music), Norteño music by cities as far away as Tokyo and Berlin. Berlin's Haus der Kulturen der Welt attributed Tijuana as the "''cradle of Mexican rock... where the music of the future is being born in Mexico.''" According to Britain's Guardian Newspaper, "''Tijuana is in the middle of an artistic flowering in which artists are re-examining the city's hybrid binational culture.''" Tijuana has been gaining recognition as a culinary center for the Baja Med fusion cuisine.
In the five years prior to 2004 Tijuana's visual arts were sought out by European exhibitions, and received notable focus from Germany. An international exhibition in Hamburg titled ''Unlikely Encounters in Urban Space'' portrayed the developed environment in Eastern Tijuana as well as in New Delhi, Mar de Plata, Milan, Berlin, Munich, and Hamburg.
Cultural enclaves
Additionally, the metropolitan area is home to many cultural enclaves from around the world not including American and Mexican enclaves they have of each other.
Sports
The most prominent sports in the area are baseball and association football. San Diego is the home of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB) and San Diego FC of Major League Soccer (MLS). Tijuana is the home of Club Tijuana of Liga MX and the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League (LMB).
Watersports and boardsports form a large part of San Diego–Tijuana sports culture. Sailing is popular in the
San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port in San Diego County, California, near the Mexico–United States border. The bay, which is long and wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's of ...
and
Mission Bay areas. The San Diego–Ensenada International Yacht Race is hosted by Southwestern Yacht Club of San Diego. The region is known for its avid surfing scene; well-known destinations include Swami's and
Baja Malibu.
In a sign of binational friendship, San Diegans – Team USA – and Tijuanenses – Team Mexico – played in a friendly game of "border volleyball" at Border Field State Park, in which volleyballs were passed over the international border fence splitting the beach.
This was the first game of international border volleyball and garnered national media attention.
In the mid-2000s, the Binational Organizing Committee (BiNOC) of San Diego–Tijuana made it known that the sister-cities were interested in making a bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
The proposed bid intentionally rivaled
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
' bid for the 2016 games.
However, the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) decided against the binational bid.
Further reading
*
*
See also
*
* California megapolitan areas
* List of California urban areas
* List of metropolitan areas in the Americas
Notes
References
External links
International Call Assistance
;Organizations
San Diego Dialogue of UCSDULI San Diego/Tijuana District Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:San Diego-Tijuana
San Diego–Tijuana,
Twin cities
Metropolitan areas of California
Metropolitan areas of Baja California
Transborder agglomerations
Mexico–United States border