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Welcome To San Diego County, California
| San Diego County is a county
located on the Pacific
Ocean in the far southwest of the U.S. state of California, United States along its border with Mexico.
According to the 2000 Census, its
population was 2,813,833, making it the third largest county by population in
the state and the sixth
largest in the country. The state of California estimates its population as
of 2007 to be 3,098,269 people, increasing its rank to second place, ahead of
its northwestern neighbor Orange County.
The county seat is the city of San Diego.
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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has
a total area of 2,455 km² (948 sq mi), making it the smallest county in Southern
California. Surface water accounts for 411 km² (159 sq mi) of the area, 16.73%
of the total; 2,045 km² (789 sq mi) of it is land.
Orange County is bordered on the southwest by the Pacific Ocean, on the north by Los Angeles County, on the
northeast by San Bernardino County, on
the northeast by Riverside County, and on the
southeast by San Diego County.
The northwestern part of the county lies on the coastal plain of the Los Angeles Basin, while the southeastern end
rises into the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. Most of Orange
County's population reside in one of two shallow coastal valleys that lie in the
basin, the Santa Ana
Valley and the Saddleback Valley. The Santa Ana
Mountains lie within the eastern boundaries of the county and of the Cleveland National Forest. The high
point is Santiago Peak
(5,687 ft/1,733 m), about 20 mi (32 km) east of Santa Ana. Santiago Peak and
nearby Modjeska Peak,
just 200 feet (60 m) shorter, form a ridge known as Saddleback,
visible from almost everywhere in the county. The Peralta Hills extend westward from the Santa Ana
Mountains through the communities of Anaheim Hills, Orange, and ending in Olive. The Loma
Ridge is another prominent feature, running parallel to the Santa Ana
Mountains through the central part of the county, separated from the taller
mountains to the east by Santiago Canyon.
The Santa Ana
River is the county's principal watercourse, flowing through the middle of
the county from Northeast to Southwest. Its major tributary to the South and
East is Santiago
Creek. Other watercourses within the county include Aliso Creek, San Juan
Creek, and Horsethief Creek. In the North, the San Gabriel River also
briefly crosses into Orange County and exits into the Pacific on the Los
Angeles-Orange County line between the cities of Long
Beach and Seal Beach. Laguna Beach is home to the
county's only natural lakes, Laguna
Lakes, which are formed by water rising up against an underground fault.
Residents sometimes figuratively divide the county into "North orange County"
and "South County" (meaning Northwest and Southeast --following the county's
natural diagonal orientation along the local coastline). This is more of a
cultural and demographic distinction perpetuated by the popular television shows
"The OC" and "Laguna Beach," between the older areas closer to Los Angeles, and
the more affluent and recently developed areas to the South and East. A
transition between older and newer development may be considered to exist
roughly parallel to State Route 55 (aka the Costa Mesa
Freeway). This transition is accentuated by large flanking tracts of
sparsely developed area occupied until recent years by agriculture and military
airfields.
While there is a natural topographical Northeast-to-Southwest transition from
inland elevations to the lower coastal band, there is no formal geographical
division between North and South County. Perpendicular to that gradient, the Santa Ana River roughly
divides the county between northwestern and southeastern sectors (about 40% to
60% respectively, by area), but does not represent any apparent economic,
political or cultural differences, nor does it significantly affect distribution
of travel, housing, commerce, industry or agriculture from one side to the
other. |
