Nothing Like the Bypassed East

Carlsbad, California is the antithesis of the northern New England area of our country. Carlsbad is known for its sand, sun and warm ocean waters. On the other hand, New England is known for its lack of the aforementioned properties. Carlsbad and its surrounding areas have little to no forest while New England, once had extensive forests, was over-forested and now that has become a new second growth forest. New England has 40 to 60 inches of precipitation with a average midwinter temperature of 5 to 10F. Carlsbad has a typical Southern California Mediterranean like mild climate. Much of New England has rugged terrain and chilly ocean waters due to the Labrador Currents flows. On the contrary, Carlsbad draws thousands of swimmers and surfers each year to its warm and inviting beaches.

Carlsbad's Manufacturing Core

Carlsbad has a varied manufacturing commerce. Its largest employer by far is the Callaway Golf Company which makes golf clubs, golf apparel and other related golf items. Another golf company Taylor Made also resides in Carlsbad. It's next biggest manufacturer is Invitrogen which is a bio science company. There are other notable companies in this field with BeckmanCoulter being another. BeckmanCoulter makes analytical machines like the Coulter Counter with performs cell counts on blood and other products. In my current line of work, we use these counters to count yeast cells as we monitor the fermentation process at our brewery. Isis Pharmaceuticals is also in Carlsbad. This company uses the latest RNA gene technology to discover new drugs with many different applications. The Gemological Institute of America resides in Carlsbad. Their world headquarters are here with a research lab, a school and instrument making division.

As you can see, Carlsbad offers many different manufacture items from local companies.

Urbanization

Carlsbad is located in the suburbs of the greater San Diego metropolitan area. It is situated below the two large California counties of Los Angeles and Orange.

It is not quite the Megalopolis of the eastern seaboard although it does share many similar properties. It has several large interconnected urban areas with several suburban and rural towns in close proximity. Southern California has extensive coastal access. It has many cities extended from the coastal area into deeper inland regions. Southern California also has elaborate import and export trade via the Pacific Rim. The larger cities were developed near good harbors that facilities trade. Southern California has urban cities that have spread out through suburbs that have begun to coalesce into one larger populated area. It is quite possible that someday SoCal might be declared the "Megalopolis of the West Coast".

Changing Culture

The local native Indians in the Carlsbad area, the Quechnajuichom, lived a relatively simple existence until Spanish explorers settled in the area. Eventually the San Luis Mission was built in 1798 nearby in what is now known as Oceanside. The Franciscan mission system built along the length of California changed the culture of these indigenous Indian tribes forever.