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Carlsbad, California

Carlsbad, California
Charter city
City of Carlsbad
Nighttime view of Carlsbad in 2006
Nighttime view of Carlsbad in 2006
Official seal of Carlsbad, California
Seal
Nickname(s): Village by the Sea
Location of Carlsbad within San Diego County, California.
Location of Carlsbad within San Diego County, California.
Carlsbad, California is located in the US
Carlsbad, California
Carlsbad, California
Location in the United States
Coordinates: 33°7′19″N 117°17′49″W / 33.12194°N 117.29694°W / 33.12194; -117.29694Coordinates: 33°7′19″N 117°17′49″W / 33.12194°N 117.29694°W / 33.12194; -117.29694
Country  United States of America
State  California
County San Diego
Incorporated July 16, 1952
Government
 • Type Council–manager
 • Mayor Matt Hall
Area
 • Total 39.110 sq mi (101.295 km2)
 • Land 37.722 sq mi (97.699 km2)
 • Water 1.388 sq mi (3.596 km2)  3.55%
Elevation 52 ft (16 m)
Population (April 1, 2010)
 • Total 105,328
 • Estimate (2014) 112,299
 • Rank 5th in San Diego County
55th in California
 • Density 2,700/sq mi (1,000/km2)
Time zone Pacific (UTC−8)
 • Summer (DST) PDT (UTC−7)
ZIP codes 92008, 92009, 92010, 92011, 92018
Area codes 442/760
FIPS code 06-11194
GNIS feature IDs 1660437, 2409984
City flower Bird‐of‐paradise
Website www.carlsbadca.gov

Carlsbad is an affluent seaside resort city occupying a 7-mile (11 km) stretch of Pacific coastline in northern San Diego County, California. The city is 87 miles (140 km) south of Los Angeles and 35 miles (56 km) north of downtown San Diego and is part of the San Diego-Carlsbad, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Referred to as "The Village by the Sea" by locals, the city is a tourist destination. The city's estimated 2014 population was 112,299.

Carlsbad's history began with the Luiseño people (the Spanish name given to them because of their proximity to Mission San Luis Rey). Nearly every reliable fresh water creek had at least one native village, including one called Palamai. The site is located just south of today's Agua Hedionda Lagoon.

The first European land exploration of Alta California, the Spanish Portolà expedition of 1769, met native villagers while camped on Buena Vista Creek. During the Mexican period, in 1842, the southern portion of Carlsbad, was granted as Rancho Agua Hedionda to Juan María Marrón.

In the 1880s a former sailor named John Frazier dug a well in the area. He began offering his water at the train station and soon the whistle-stop became known as Frazier's Station. A test done on a second fresh-water well discovered the water to be chemically similar to that found in some of the most renowned spas in the world, and the town was named after the famed spa in the Bohemian town of Karlsbad (now Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic).

To take advantage of the find, the Carlsbad Land and Mineral Water Company was formed by a German-born merchant from the Midwest named Gerhard Schutte together with Samuel Church Smith, D. D. Wadsworth and Henry Nelson. The naming of the town followed soon after, along with a major marketing campaign to attract visitors. The area experienced a period of growth, with homes and businesses sprouting up in the 1880s. Agricultural development of citrus fruits, avocados and olives soon changed the landscape. By the end of 1887, land prices fell throughout San Diego County. However, the community survived on the back of its fertile agricultural lands.


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