North County is commonly divided into coastal and inland regions. The coastal region is almost entirely incorporated, consisting of the cities of
Oceanside,
Carlsbad,
Encinitas,
Solana Beach and
Del Mar, along with
Camp Pendleton South. The inland region includes the cities of
Escondido,
Vista,
San Marcos, as well as numerous unincorporated areas. Semi-rural inland communities such as
Valley Center and
Ramona, which have traditionally been primarily agricultural but now function increasingly as bedroom communities for the more populous areas to their south and west, are generally included within inland North County. More remote inland communities like
Julian and
Borrego Springs are generally not included. Some consider communities in the northern parts of the city of San Diego like
Rancho Bernardo,
Rancho Peñasquitos, and
Carmel Valley to be part of North County as well. Both coastal and inland North County contain two types of topography. In coastal areas of North County, the land is generally flat with low rolling hills. The beaches are sandy with occasional
tidepools and rocky reefs. In some cases, the coast is dominated by
bluff type geography, where the land meeting the ocean sharply drops into the sea with a short beach. In some cases, such as in Encinitas, a whole city is bisected by a coastal foothill ridge. The foothills of mountains soon become visible as one travels further east and encounters the rocky peaks of inland North County. Such peaks include
Black Mountain, San Marcos Mountain,
Palomar Mountain. The coastal area also becomes more rugged to the north, where the
Santa Margarita Mountains dominate the area within the
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. North San Diego County is known as one of the most geographically diverse places on earth, with bluffs, sandy beaches, canyons and rolling hills on the coast, humid inland valleys, rocky foothills, temperate mountains, rolling grassland and large lakes and rivers in the interior, and arid deserts, lush oases and sand dunes in the far east region. Rivers and creeks that flow west from the mountains farther inland mostly end up draining into the region's four main lagoons. Throughout their course, these rivers are interrupted by many lakes and reservoirs which support an array of native species. Spanning in the northwestern corner of the county, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton forms a large buffer separating the coastal populated areas of North County from neighboring
Orange County, preventing the creation of a complete coastal megalopolis stretching from
Malibu to
Imperial Beach.
Ecology The region has strong ties to its coastline and has made notable efforts to preserve many marine environments, including
lagoons and
tidal wetlands, many of those being the final few on the
South Coast. Unlike developments in many Orange County coastal cities, the lagoons and large areas of coast have not yet been so heavily developed. Major lagoons and inlets lining the coast from north to south include: Oceanside Harbor,
Buena Vista Lagoon,
Agua Hedionda Lagoon,
Batiquitos Lagoon,
San Elijo Lagoon, and
Los Peñasquitos Lagoon.
Flora and fauna The lagoons provide valuable wetland habitat for many birds, reptiles, fish, and plant species. The waters off the coast are also very rich in species diversity, supporting large
kelp forests and rocky
reefs. Fish species included the
tidewater goby,
topsmelt,
striped mullet,
surfperch and
Pacific staghorn sculpin.
Leopard sharks forage near the lagoons, and their pups frequent the shallow rocky reefs off the coast. Bird species included the
great blue heron,
snowy plover,
Ridgway's rail and
least tern. The lagoons support various species of
shorebirds,
wading birds,
waterfowl,
raptors and
diving birds. The Torrey Pine is also one of the most famous trees in the region. ==Culture==