IV-219 



and extends approximately 15 additional miles inland. Study Area 

 III includes the balance of the County. 



General Description - San Diego County 



San Diego Bay lies in the southwestern corner of the United States. 

 It is the prime economic factor in the development of San Diego 

 County which surrounds it. The County, which corresponds to the 

 San Diego Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area, is bordered on 

 the South by Mexico, on the East by Imperial County, on the North 

 by Riverside and Orange Counties, and on the West by 70 miles of 

 Pacific Ocean shoreline. It is approximately 80 miles wide and 

 encompasses 4,258 square miles (Figure IV. 3. 3). 



The entire San Diego area has many valuable natural features, but 

 the one of greatest influence and value is San Diego Bay. The Bay 

 is crescent-shaped, approximately 15 miles in length, varies in 

 width from one-quarter to two and one-half miles, and has a 

 surface area of approximately 18.5 square miles. It is protected 

 on the west by the high ground of Point Loma and is separated from 

 the Pacific Ocean by a narrow sand spit called the Silver Strand. 

 North Island, once an actual island, forms the northern end of the 

 Silver Strand. 



