San Diego is a city in California, United States. This city is a manufacturing and agricultural trade centre and the transport hub for much of southern California, parts of Arizona and New Mexico, and nearby north-western Mexico. A port of entry on San Diego Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The city has major Pacific fishing fleets and a large shipbuilding industry. It is also an important centre for developing and manufacturing aerospace and electronic equipment. Other products include printed materials, machinery, fabricated metal products, processed foods, furniture, clothing, and chemicals. Important to the city's economy are several major military installations including a big US Navy shipyard and a Navy training base. San Diego's pleasant climate, extensive sandy beaches, and many cultural attractions make it a popular retirement spot and a year-round holiday and convention centre.

San Diego is the seat of San Diego State University (1897); the University of California-San Diego (1912), which includes the Scripps Institution of Oceanography; and the University of San Diego (1949). The cultural heart of San Diego is Balboa Park, which includes the noted San Diego Zoo, the San Diego Museum of Art, the Aerospace Historical Center, and the Hall of Champions, a sports museum. Elsewhere in the city are Sea World, a large oceanarium, and the Civic Theatre, where the San Diego Symphony Orchestra and opera and ballet companies perform. The Jack Murphy Stadium is home to major league baseball and American football teams. Also of note are the Old Town district and the Gaslamp Quarter. Both areas contain museums and examples of 19th-century buildings. Palomar Observatory is nearby, in Cleveland National Forest.

San Diego's excellent deep-water harbour was entered in 1542 by the Portuguese explorer Juan Rodrнguez Cabrillo. Sixty years later Sebastiбn Vizcaнno, a Spanish navigator, visited the site of the city and named the bay after either San Diego de Alcalб (St Didacus) or his flagship, the San Diego. In 1769 Spaniards led by Father Junнpero Serra established here California's first presidio and mission (restored 1931). A community developed slowly and by the early 1800s it had a small trade in furs. Commerce at the harbour increased in 1827 when San Diego began to export cattle hides to New England. In 1846 the United States gained control of the community from Mexico, and from 1850 to 1870 it was known as an important whaling centre. The coming of the railway in 1884 spurred growth, which accelerated in the 20th century, particularly after 1940, with the establishment of military installations and defence-related industries. Population (1980) 875,538; (1990) 1,110,549.

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