San Diego Bay Area

The San Diego Bay Area is located in the South Coast region of California within the San Diego metropolitan area. The bay area is an urban area surrounding the San Diego Bay. It is widely known for its ports, tourist destinations, naval facilities, resorts, and culture and is a very large urban area.
Notable cities in the Bay Area include San Diego and Coronado. San Diego is the largest city in the area in terms of population and area. It is considered on of the safest, cleanest, and wealthies cities in the United States. It has dozens of marinas and has nine yacht clubs. San Diego is noted for its mild weather and is even nicknamed America's Finest City. It has many popular resort towns within its limits such as La Jolla and Pacific Beach. Coronado is noted for the Hotel del Coronado, a resort on the ocean side of the bay area.
Subregions
Point Loma
Point Loma, in terms of the bay area and geographically speaking, is a hilly peninsula to the west of Centre City, north of the Coronado Peninsula, and south of Mission Bay, bordered on the east by the Pacific Ocean. This northern penisula is home to one of the oldest communities in the bay area: Point Loma. The nautical industry has a strong presence on the peninsula and makes it home to three yacht clubs, including the San Diego Yacht Club which was the home of the America's Cup from 1988 to 1995. The influence of the industry has made it so that there are now several small-boat marinas and a commerical sport fishing dock on the bay side of the peninsula. Rich in nature and history, there are several distinct neighborhoods in the Point Loma peninsula with the heart of the region being Point Loma Village. Loma Heights, Loma Portal, Sunset Cliffs, La Playa and Ocean Beach are all communities on the peninsula, though Ocean Beach is not part of the community of Point Loma and maintains its own image.
The historic presence of the Point Loma Lighthouse serves as a reminder of the bay areas long history. On the peninsula is the Cabrillo National Monument, the nations second most visited national park in the country. The western shore of the peninsula is home to the Sunset Cliffs, sandstone formations along the ocean that are visited by tourists for views of the ocean and the sunset - hence the name, Sunset Cliffs. Surfing spots below the cliffs include places such as Luscomb's, Gargage Beach, and New Break.
San Diego
San Diego is the nations eighth largest city and is home to approximately 1.3 million people. The city was rated the fifth-best place to live in the United States in 2006 by Money magazine. According to Forbes magazine, San Diego is the fifth-wealthiest city in the United States and the 9th safest city in the top 10 list of safest cities in the U.S. San Diego is also ranked by the census as the ninth most educated city in the United States.
The city is the cultural and economic center of the Bay Area and has the most land area of any city in the bay. Due to its relatively large land area (372.1 sq miles), it has many communities spread from Solana Beach to the head of the bay. Often downtown San Diego is referred to as Centre City. San Diego is connected to the peninsula via the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge.
Peninsula

The Coronado Peninsula is a highly urbanized area of the Bay Area except for parts of the Silver Strand isthmus, which offers a little more solitude than the more popular tourist areas of the north. The peninsula helps define San Diego Bay and is what separates it from the ocean. On the peninsula is a large naval base on the norther half of the main region, known as North Island. The only city on the peninsula is Coronado itself, while the city limits of Imperial Beach in South Bay encroach slightly on the isthmus.
The area became a major resort destination in 1888 with the opening of the Hotel del Coronado. In 1900 a tourist/vacation area just south of the Hotel del Coronado was established by John D. Spreckels and named Tent City. Over the years the tents gave way to cottages, the last of which was torn down in late 1940 or early 1941. Shops, offices, and hotels line Orange Avenue, a major thoroughfare of the peninsula. This part of the Bay Area is home to three major resorts (Hotel Del Coronado, Coronado Island Marriott and Loews Coronado Bay Resort). The beaches of the peninsula have long been considered some of the best in Southern California.
The peninsula has long been a Republican-leaning community; in 2008, about 51% of voters were registered Republican, 25% Democrat and 21% nonpartisan.
South Bay
South Bays' boundaries are the San Diego Bay and Pacific Ocean on the west, the United States-Mexico border on the south, National City's Division Street and the Silver Strand to the north, and the Donovan Correctional Facility to the east. The cities of the region are Chula Vista, National City and the popular Imperial Beach. Imperial Beach is considered one of the last untouched beach cities in California and sports the nickname Classic Southern California.
The population was 462,843 as of 2005. Landmarks within South Bay are the surfhenge in Imperial Beach and the Chula Vista Bayfront. South Bay is also home to parts of Knott's Soak City, a large water park. Compared to the rest of the Bay Area, South Bay is a primarily residential area and is more relaxed than busier parts of the region to the north. South Bay is the southernmost part of the bay area as well as the most southwest part of the United States.
Mission Bay
Whilst being a nearby bay to the north of San Diego Bay, it is more often than not, excluded from the term "San Diego Bay Area." However, some harbor resources indicate the two as being one larger bay area.
Regardless, the Mission Bay area is north of Centre City and Point Loma and south of La Jolla. Mission Bay is part of the recreational Mission Bay Park, which is the largest man-made aquatic park in the country, consisting of 4,235 acres (17.14 km2), approximately 46% land and 54% water. Annual attendance in the park is estimated at 15 million. The combined area makes Mission Bay Park the ninth largest municipally-owned park in the United States. Mission Bay boasts 27 miles of shoreline, 19 of which are sandy beaches with eight locations designated as official swimming areas. Along the bay are close to 14 miles of bike paths. People are drawn to the excellete surf conditions the bay sports and the many sandy beaches on the bay shore. The bay offers many recreational activities including sailing and bicycling. the west end of the bay is a network of channels and islands which allows the presence of wind surfers and water skiers. Also popular on the bay is jet skiing, wakeboarding and camping. Of the two larger islands in the bay, Fiesta Island, is a popular location for charity walks and runs, bicycle races, time trials and other special events. In addition to the regions activities, the bay is also known for SeaWorld San Diego, located on the southern shore of the bay. Communities of this area include Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, and Mission Bay.
Mission Bay Park was developed from the 1940’s through the 1960’s using a tidal marsh named “False Bay” by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo in 1542. Historically, the San Diego River shifted its drainage from San Diego Bay to the south, to Mission Bay to the north. During this process "False Bay" was an estuary for the river. This stopped when in 1852 the United States Army constructed the first dike along the south side of the river to prevent it from shifting back to San Diego Bay. This dike failed, however, it opened plans for the San Diego River flood channel, to the south of the bay. Because of this, the river no longer drains into the bay, and instead makes its way directly to the ocean.

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