Heading east

There was something very reassuring about switching on my computer today and finding that Mark is now heading east again! Since Melbourne the dominant direction of travel (apart from the air flight) has either been north or south. While it has clocked up the miles, it hasn't taken him longitudinally nearer the finish line. Maybe it's just me but I sense that the right angled bend at San Diego is quite significant......and it is taking him into some really interesting territory.

However, there's the south Californian coast to 'tie up' first....

Shortly after leaving San Clemente yesterday heading south on the San Diego Freeway, Mark cycled past this large 'installation' which is the San Onofre Nuclear Power Station. It is unlikely that Mark will have seen more than these tops of the two reactor towers but if you follow the link, there is a very informative web site about the power station...

USA produces about 20% of its electricity from nuclear power (as compared to UK's 24% and France's 75%). California , which has two nuclear power plants producing 19% of the state's energy requirements, is thus in line with USA national nuclear power output. If you are interested in global patterns of nuclear power production, there is a good description at this link : Nuclear power in the world today .

The question, of course, in the context of San Onofre is why there? The answer is a) far enough away from both LA and San Diego in the case of an 'incident' and b) access to the ocean for water for the cooling process. It is the need for water which explains why, although there are many much more remote areas in California, the nuclear power plant has to be at the coast.

Location...location.... it's what human geography is all about and it again explains the next feature of land use in this part of southern California which Mark encountered yesterday on this the last major undeveloped portion of coastline between LA and San Diego. This is the 506 sq km of the US Marine Corp Base Camp at Pendleton. If you follow the link, you can read about the history of the area and of the conversion of former ranchland in 1942 into a base to train Marines for service in WW2. The area has diverse relief and, most importantly, 17 miles of coastline for amphibious sea-to-shore training.

Quite apart from its military role, Camp Pendleton has undoubtedly helped to preserve this section of the Californian coast from development.

South of Camp Pendleton the coastline is continuously built up with ocean front settlements spread out for some 50 kms north of San Diego. Only where the shallow estuaries of sluggish rivers reach the coast - such as here between Solana Beach and Encinitas -is there any respite from urban sprawl. Most of these areas, such as the San Elijo Lagoon above are recognised as havens of nature amidst the encroaching development and are fiercely protected.

The remainder of the journey yesterday was spent negotiating San Diego , doing the 'left hand down' turn and beginning the climb east out of the city into the Laguna Mountains. These mountains form part of the northern end of the Peninsular Ranges which extend from the extreme SW of the United States into Mexico's Baja California peninsula. After overnighting on the outskirts of San Diego, the next challenge is a climb through these mountains (rising to about 2000m) and a descent into the Colorado Desert. But that is a story for another day.......

In the meantime, here's a flavour of San Diego with some nice Bon Jovi music to go with it....