San Diego Bay
Encyclopedia
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor
and deepwater port adjacent to San Diego, California
. It is 12 mi/19 km long, 1 mi/1.6 km–3 mi/4.8 km wide. The bay is surrounded by the large San Diego urban area and is bordered by the cities of San Diego, National City
, Chula Vista
, Imperial Beach
and Coronado
.
Considered to be one of the best natural harbors on the western coasts of the North American continent, San Diego Bay was among the earliest portions of those coasts to be settled by Europeans; it was colonized by Spain
beginning in 1769. Later it served, and continues to serve to this day, as the home of the United States Navy
's Pacific Fleet
.
is also adjacent to the bay, across Harbor Drive from the Coast Guard Station. General Dynamics'
National Steel and Shipbuilding Company
(NASSCO), the only shipyard on the west coast capable of building and repairing large ocean-going vessels, is near the San Diego side of the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge.
San Diego Bay's commercial port
has two container ship facilities (one for refrigerated containers) and a cruise ship terminal. The port handles more than 3 million metric tons of cargo annually. The cruise ship terminal hosts more than 250 ship calls a year totaling nearly 1 million passengers. A second cruise ship terminal opened in December 2010. Commercial sport fishing boats depart all year round from two docks in Point Loma
.
Resorts such as the Hotel del Coronado
line the bay shore. Also next to the bay is the San Diego Convention Center
.
Several museum ship
s call San Diego Bay home. They include the USS Midway
, the largest aircraft carrier
museum, and the Star of India
, the oldest iron-hulled merchant ship afloat and the oldest ship of any type still actually sailing. The Star of India and several other ships and boats on San Diego Bay are the floating collection of the San Diego Maritime Museum
; they are open to the public for a fee, and many are in sailing condition.
In the northern part of the bay there are two commercial "islands" (actually peninsulas connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land) called Harbor Island
and Shelter Island
. They were built up from former sand bars and now hold hotels, restaurants, marinas, and public parkland. Across from Harbor Island is a bayside park called Spanish Landing, a historic site which commemorates the meeting in 1769 of two expeditions from Spanish Mexico that made possible the European settlement of California. A dozen other parks are found at various locations along the shoreline.
Small boat sailing is extremely popular, and the bay is lined by dozens of marinas and nine yacht clubs, including the San Diego Yacht Club
which was the home of the America's Cup
from 1988 to 1995. An inlet of the bay was renamed America's Cup Harbor to commemorate that occasion.
by a long, narrow strip of land called the Silver Strand
. The northern end of the Silver Strand expands to become North Island, the location of Naval Air Station North Island
(the home port of several aircraft carriers including the USS Ronald Reagan
) and Coronado. Coronado is the site of the famous Hotel del Coronado
. The U.S. Navy has three other facilities on the bay: Naval Station San Diego
, Naval Base Point Loma
at Ballast Point
, which is a Nuclear
Submarine
base, and Naval Amphibious Base Coronado
. The Coast Guard Air Station San Diego
is across the bay from NAS North Island and the Federal Communications Commission
maintains a monitoring station on the Silver Strand. Several other Navy facilities are located in the surrounding area, and even more existed previously but have since been closed. The U.S. Marine Corps
also operates one of its two Recruit Depots
near the shores of San Diego Bay.
. The area includes the largest contiguous mud-flat in Southern California. It is an important stop on the Pacific Flyway
for migrating birds, and it supports numerous endangered and threatened species of plants and animals. Public access to the bay and wetlands, with walking trails and educational exhibits about the area's ecological resources, is provided at the Chula Vista Nature Center operated by the city of Chula Vista. San Diego Bay is recognized for protection by the California Bays and Estuaries Policy
.
manages the harbor and administers the public lands adjacent to the bay. The Port is a special government entity created by the state legislature in 1962, for which revenue consists of tariffs and rents paid by district tenants.
Harbor
A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
and deepwater port adjacent to San Diego, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It is 12 mi/19 km long, 1 mi/1.6 km–3 mi/4.8 km wide. The bay is surrounded by the large San Diego urban area and is bordered by the cities of San Diego, National City
National City, California
National City is a city in San Diego County, California. The population was 58,582 at the 2010 census, up from 54,260 at the 2000 census. National City is the second oldest city in San Diego County and has a historic past.-History:...
, Chula Vista
Chula Vista, California
Chula Vista is the second largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh largest city in Southern California, the fourteenth largest city in the State of California, and the seventy seventh largest city in the U.S....
, Imperial Beach
Imperial Beach, California
Imperial Beach is a residential beach city in San Diego County, California, with a population of 26,324 at the 2010 census. The city is the most southern beach city in Southern California and the West Coast of the United States...
and Coronado
Coronado, California
Coronado, also known as Coronado Island, is an affluent resort city located in San Diego County, California, 5.2 miles from downtown San Diego. Its population was 24,697 at the 2010 census, up from 24,100 at the 2000 census. U.S. News and World Report lists Coronado as one of the most expensive...
.
Considered to be one of the best natural harbors on the western coasts of the North American continent, San Diego Bay was among the earliest portions of those coasts to be settled by Europeans; it was colonized by Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
beginning in 1769. Later it served, and continues to serve to this day, as the home of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
's Pacific Fleet
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...
.
Ports
San Diego International AirportSan Diego International Airport
San Diego International Airport , sometimes referred to as Lindbergh Field, is a public airport located northwest of the central business district of San Diego, California and from the Mexico – United States border at Tijuana, Mexico...
is also adjacent to the bay, across Harbor Drive from the Coast Guard Station. General Dynamics'
General Dynamics
General Dynamics Corporation is a U.S. defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world. Its headquarters are in West Falls Church , unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Falls Church area.The company has...
National Steel and Shipbuilding Company
National Steel and Shipbuilding Company
National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, commonly referred to as NASSCO, is a shipyard in San Diego, California and Norfolk, Virginia and a division of General Dynamics. The shipyard specializes in constructing commercial cargo ships and auxiliary vessels for the US Navy and Military Sealift...
(NASSCO), the only shipyard on the west coast capable of building and repairing large ocean-going vessels, is near the San Diego side of the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge.
San Diego Bay's commercial port
Port of San Diego
The Port of San Diego is a self-supporting public benefit corporation established in 1962 by an act of the California State Legislature. In 2007, The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics ranked the Port of San Diego as one of America's top 30 U.S. containership ports bringing in nearly of...
has two container ship facilities (one for refrigerated containers) and a cruise ship terminal. The port handles more than 3 million metric tons of cargo annually. The cruise ship terminal hosts more than 250 ship calls a year totaling nearly 1 million passengers. A second cruise ship terminal opened in December 2010. Commercial sport fishing boats depart all year round from two docks in Point Loma
Point Loma, San Diego, California
Point Loma is a seaside community of San Diego, California. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, the east by the San Diego Bay and Old Town and the north by the San Diego River...
.
San Diego – Coronado Bridge
The bay is spanned by the San Diego – Coronado Bridge, built in 1969. The bridge curves and rises to a height of 200 feet above the water so that Navy ships can pass under it. (However, the vertical clearance is insufficient for Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, which is why these are docked north of the bridge.) The bridge was originally a toll bridge; however, toll collection was discontinued several years ago, when the bridge's construction loans were paid in full.Recreation
Hotel del Coronado
Hotel del Coronado is a beachfront luxury hotel in the city of Coronado, just across the San Diego Bay from San Diego, California. It is one of the few surviving examples of an American architectural genre: the wooden Victorian beach resort...
line the bay shore. Also next to the bay is the San Diego Convention Center
San Diego Convention Center
The San Diego Convention Center is the primary convention center in San Diego, California. It is located in the Marina district of downtown San Diego near the Gaslamp Quarter, at 111 West Harbor Drive...
.
Several museum ship
Museum ship
A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...
s call San Diego Bay home. They include the USS Midway
USS Midway (CV-41)
USS Midway was an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, the lead ship of her class, and the first to be commissioned after the end of World War II...
, the largest aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
museum, and the Star of India
Star of India (ship)
Star of India was built in 1863 as Euterpe, a full-rigged iron windjammer ship in Ramsey, Isle of Man. After a full career sailing from Great Britain to India and New Zealand, she became a salmon hauler on the Alaska to California route...
, the oldest iron-hulled merchant ship afloat and the oldest ship of any type still actually sailing. The Star of India and several other ships and boats on San Diego Bay are the floating collection of the San Diego Maritime Museum
Maritime Museum of San Diego
The Maritime Museum of San Diego, established in 1948, preserves one of the largest collections of historic sea vessels in the United States. Located in the San Diego Bay, the centerpiece of the museum's collection is the Star of India, an 1863 iron bark. The museum maintains the MacMullen Library...
; they are open to the public for a fee, and many are in sailing condition.
In the northern part of the bay there are two commercial "islands" (actually peninsulas connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land) called Harbor Island
Harbor Island, San Diego
Harbor Island is a man-made peninsula in San Diego Bay in San Diego, California. It was built in 1961 from harbor dredgings. It lies between Shelter Island and Downtown San Diego, directly across Harbor Drive from San Diego Airport. It is long and only a few hundred feet wide...
and Shelter Island
Shelter Island, San Diego, California
Shelter Island is a neighborhood of Point Loma in San Diego, California. It is actually not an island but is connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land. It was originally a sandbank in San Diego Bay, visible only at low tide. It was built up into dry land using material dredged from the...
. They were built up from former sand bars and now hold hotels, restaurants, marinas, and public parkland. Across from Harbor Island is a bayside park called Spanish Landing, a historic site which commemorates the meeting in 1769 of two expeditions from Spanish Mexico that made possible the European settlement of California. A dozen other parks are found at various locations along the shoreline.
Small boat sailing is extremely popular, and the bay is lined by dozens of marinas and nine yacht clubs, including the San Diego Yacht Club
San Diego Yacht Club
San Diego Yacht Club is a yacht club located in San Diego Bay. Its address is 1011 Anchorage Lane, San Diego, CA 92106. It is located in Point Loma across from a spit of land known as Shelter Island.- Facilities :...
which was the home of the America's Cup
America's Cup
The America’s Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging...
from 1988 to 1995. An inlet of the bay was renamed America's Cup Harbor to commemorate that occasion.
Naval facilities
The western border of the bay is protected from the Pacific OceanPacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
by a long, narrow strip of land called the Silver Strand
Silver Strand (San Diego)
Silver Strand, or simply The Strand, is a low, narrow, sandy isthmus long in San Diego County, California partially within the Silver Strand State Beach. It connects Coronado "Island" with Imperial Beach. Together with the Point Loma peninsula it shelters and defines San Diego Bay...
. The northern end of the Silver Strand expands to become North Island, the location of Naval Air Station North Island
Naval Air Station North Island
Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island is located at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay and is the home port of several aircraft carriers of the United States Navy...
(the home port of several aircraft carriers including the USS Ronald Reagan
USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76)
USS Ronald Reagan is a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier in the service of the United States Navy. The ninth ship of her class, she is named in honor of former President Ronald Reagan, President of the United States from 1981 to 1989...
) and Coronado. Coronado is the site of the famous Hotel del Coronado
Hotel del Coronado
Hotel del Coronado is a beachfront luxury hotel in the city of Coronado, just across the San Diego Bay from San Diego, California. It is one of the few surviving examples of an American architectural genre: the wooden Victorian beach resort...
. The U.S. Navy has three other facilities on the bay: Naval Station San Diego
Naval Station San Diego
Naval Base San Diego is the largest base of the United States Navy on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. Naval Base San Diego is the principal homeport of the Pacific Fleet, consisting of 54 ships and over 120 tenant commands. The base is composed of 13 piers stretched...
, Naval Base Point Loma
Naval Base Point Loma
Located in Point Loma, a neighborhood of San Diego, California, Naval Base Point Loma was established on 1 October 1998 when Navy facilities in the Point Loma area of San Diego were consolidated under Commander, Navy Region Southwest...
at Ballast Point
Ballast Point Light
Ballast Point Light was a lighthouse in California, situated on Ballast Point, a tiny peninsula extending into San Diego Bay from Point Loma, San Diego, California. The lighthouse was torn down in 1960; the site is now on the grounds of Naval Base Point Loma. Ballast Point was the last lighthouse...
, which is a Nuclear
Nuclear navy
Nuclear navy, or nuclear powered navy consists of ships powered by relatively small onboard nuclear reactors known as naval reactors. The concept was revolutionary for naval warfare when first proposed, as it meant that these vessels did not need to stop for fuel like their conventional...
Submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
base, and Naval Amphibious Base Coronado
Naval Amphibious Base Coronado
Naval Amphibious Base Coronado is a naval installation located across the bay from San Diego, CA. The base, situated on Silver Strand, between the San Diego Bay and the Pacific Ocean, is a major Navy shore command, supporting over 30 tenant commands, and is the West Coast focal point for special...
. The Coast Guard Air Station San Diego
Coast Guard Air Station San Diego
U.S. Coast Guard Air Station San Diego is a Coast Guard Air Station based in San Diego, California, United States, across the street from San Diego International Airport...
is across the bay from NAS North Island and the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
maintains a monitoring station on the Silver Strand. Several other Navy facilities are located in the surrounding area, and even more existed previously but have since been closed. The U.S. Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
also operates one of its two Recruit Depots
Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego
Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego is a United States Marine Corps military installation in San Diego, California. It lies between San Diego Bay and Interstate 5, adjacent to San Diego International Airport and the former Naval Training Center San Diego...
near the shores of San Diego Bay.
Ecology
The shallow southern end of the bay is used for evaporation ponds to extract salt from the sea water. The salt ponds, the Sweetwater Marsh, and other areas of the bay are included in the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge ComplexSan Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex
The San Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex is a series of wildlife refuges established by the United States National Wildlife Service beginning in 1972. The complex incorporates six locations in San Diego County and Orange County in California.-History:...
. The area includes the largest contiguous mud-flat in Southern California. It is an important stop on the Pacific Flyway
Pacific Flyway
The Pacific Flyway is a major north-south route of travel for migratory birds in America, extending from Alaska to Patagonia. Every year, migratory birds travel some or all of this distance both in spring and in fall, following food sources, heading to breeding grounds, or travelling to...
for migrating birds, and it supports numerous endangered and threatened species of plants and animals. Public access to the bay and wetlands, with walking trails and educational exhibits about the area's ecological resources, is provided at the Chula Vista Nature Center operated by the city of Chula Vista. San Diego Bay is recognized for protection by the California Bays and Estuaries Policy
California Bays and Estuaries Policy
The Water Quality Control Policy for the Enclosed Bays and Estuaries of California is published by the California State Water Resources Control Board as guidelines to prevent water quality degradation. The policy is revised as needed.-Geography:...
.
Management
The Port of San DiegoPort of San Diego
The Port of San Diego is a self-supporting public benefit corporation established in 1962 by an act of the California State Legislature. In 2007, The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics ranked the Port of San Diego as one of America's top 30 U.S. containership ports bringing in nearly of...
manages the harbor and administers the public lands adjacent to the bay. The Port is a special government entity created by the state legislature in 1962, for which revenue consists of tariffs and rents paid by district tenants.