Otay Mesa, San Diego

This article is about the neighborhood in San Diego. For the borough of Tijuana, see Mesa de Otay.

Otay Mesa
—  Community of San Diego  —
Otay Mesa Location within Southern San Diego
Coordinates: 32°33′30″N 116°56′33″W / 32.5583913°N 116.9425228°W / 32.5583913; -116.9425228
Country	United States
State	California
County	County of San Diego
City	City of San Diego

Otay Mesa is a community in the southern section of the city of San Diego, just north of the U.S.–Mexico border. It is bordered by the Otay River Valley and the city of Chula Vista on the north, Interstate 805 and the neighborhoods of Ocean View Hills and San Ysidro on the west, and unincorporated land of San Diego County on the north and east. Major thoroughfares include Otay Mesa Road/California State Route 905, Otay Valley Road/Heritage Road, Siempre Viva Road, and California State Route 125.

South of the border between the United States and Mexico, the same region continues as a residential and industrial area called "Mesa de Otay", which is one of nine "delegaciones" (boroughs) of Tijuana Municipality.

History

Otay (pronounced Oh-Tie) is derived from the Kumeyaay language. Although its meaning is disputed,^[1] possible derivations include "otai", meaning "brushy"; "Tou-ti" meaning "big mountain";^[2] or "etaay" meaning "big".^[3] Mesa is the Spanish word for plateau, table or tableland.

Aviation pioneer John J. Montgomery made experimental glider aircraft flights from Otay Mesa in 1883.^[4]

The area which now includes Otay Mesa West was annexed from San Diego County along with other portions of South San Diego in 1957.

Landmarks and facilities

The Otay Mesa Port of Entry is one of two border crossings within the city of San Diego, the other being the San Ysidro Port of Entry six miles to the west. Otay Mesa also houses an immigration detention center. Pacific Gateway Park is located between Otay Mesa Road and the international border.

Trucks are generally instructed to use the border crossing in Otay Mesa instead of the San Ysidro one.

Education

Public schools in Otay Mesa include San Ysidro High School.

See also

San Diego portal

• Mexico – United States border

References

1. ^ Google Books, San Diego County Place Names A to Z, Leland Fetzer.
2. ^ Google Books, San Diego County Place Names A to Z, Leland Fetzer.
3. ^ Gudde, Erwin. California Place Names, 4th ed. University of California Press, 1998. http://books.google.com/books?id=Kqwt5RlMVBoC&pg=PA273&dq=otay+otai&hl=en&ei=z19xTZGhEY-osAPLx-XQCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=otay%20otai&f=false p.273
4. ^ Stein, Lou, San Diego County Place-Names, pages 88-89, Rand Editions-Tofua Press, 1975

External links

• Otay Mesa community profile, city of San Diego
• Bureau of Transportation Statistics - Border Crossing/Entry Data
• Trans-Border Institute at the University of San Diego
• Mesa de Otay Delegation ,Tijuana, Mexico (In Spanish)