San Diego is the 2nd largest city in California and 8th largest in the United States of America. The city is located in San Diego County, at the extreme southwestern corner of the contiguous United States. As of 2006, the city had an estimated population of 1,256,951, with 2,941,454 living in the San Diego metropolitan area (4,922,723 if one counts Tijuana, Mexico).

The name of San Diego originates with Spanish explorer, Sebastián Vizcaíno, who mapped the area in the early 17th century. Vizcaíno is known to have explored the harbor, Mission Bay, and Point Loma. He named the area after Saint St. Didacus, who is more commonly known as "San Diego".

Some of the attractions in the San Diego area include:

- Knott's Soak City

- Maritime Museum of San Diego

- Point Loma (including Cabrillo National Monument)

- San Diego Zoo

- San Diego Wild Animal Park

- SeaWorld San Diego

- Torrey Pines Golf Course

- USS Midway

Here are some other facts about the area:

- Important sectors of San Diego's economy include biotechnology, wireless cellular technology, defense and tourism. Some of the major companies that have based their headquarters in San Diego include General Atomics, Qualcomm, Science Applications International Corporation and Websense.

- Professional sports franchises in San Diego include the baseball team, the San Diego Padres, and the NFL American football team, the San Diego Chargers.

- Probably the best known educational institution in San Diego is the University of California, San Diego ("UCSD"). The University of California, San Diego ("UCSD") is a public coeducational research university that was founded in 1960.

- The principal airport for San Diego is San Diego International Airport ("Lindbergh Field").