Imperial Beach is a beach city in the South Bay region of San Diego County, California, about 14 miles south of downtown San Diego and five miles northwest of downtown Tijuana, Mexico. It is the southernmost coastal city in California and the most southwestern city in the continental United States. With a population of roughly 26,000, Imperial Beach is a compact, walkable community that combines a classic Southern California beach-town character with a distinctly international setting at the U.S.–Mexico border. The city's identity is built around its oceanfront. A long stretch of Pacific shoreline runs along the western edge of town, anchored by the Imperial Beach Pier, and the community has long been a center of surfing culture, with consistent waves drawing surfers year-round. To the south, the Tijuana River meets the Pacific in the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, one of the largest coastal wetlands in Southern California and a significant stop on the Pacific Flyway for migratory birds. Imperial Beach developed as a residential and resort community in the early twentieth century and grew through the postwar decades alongside the military and civilian expansion of the San Diego region. It retains a more laid-back, small-town feel than many of its coastal neighbors, with a mix of longtime residents, military families, and younger surfers and beachgoers. Its proximity to the border gives it a bicultural character, and downtown San Diego, Coronado, and the Tijuana metropolitan area are all within easy reach. The city is bordered by San Diego Bay and the Silver Strand to the north, and it connects to Coronado via the Silver Strand highway and the Bayshore Bikeway. Despite its small geographic footprint — about four and a half square miles — Imperial Beach packs a range of environments into a short distance: oceanfront neighborhoods, estuary wetlands, and bayfront access to the south bay. That compactness is part of its appeal, keeping daily life close to the water and the outdoors.