National City

National City is a city located in the South Bay region of the San Diego metropolitan area, in southwestern San Diego County, California.The population was 58,582 at the 2010 census, up from 54,260 at the 2000 census. National City is the second-oldest city in San Diego County.HistoryFor thousands of years, the Kumeyaay people, also known as Tipai-Ipai and later Diegeño, lived peacefully and prospered in San Diego County's moderate climate. The area known as National City today was part of the Kumeyaay's ancestral territory which ranged east to El Centro, north to Escondido, and south into Baja California. The Kumeyaay were skilled hunters and innovative agriculturists. The Kumeyaay established their rich cultural identity and traditions, many of which are still practiced and honored today. The Kumeyaay first encountered Europeans with the arrival of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo in 1542 in what is now San Diego. By the year 1769, when Spanish soldiers and missionaries, led by Father Junipero Serra, founded the Mission San Diego de Alcalá and the Presidio of San Diego, the destruction of the Kumeyaay way of life had irreversibly begun. By the late 18th century, Spaniards entered Tipai-Ipai (Kumeyaay) territory, bringing with them non-native, invasive flora, and domestic animals like horses and cattle, which brought about degradation to local ecology.