Goat Canyon (Spanish: Cañón de los Laureles)^[6] also known as Cañón de los Laureles, begins in Tijuana, Mexico, and ends in the United States just north of the Mexico–U.S. border. The canyon is formed by Goat Canyon Creek,^[7] which receives water and other runoff from areas south of the border.^[1] Most of the canyon and its watershed lies within Baja California.^[8]

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Goat Canyon
Cañón de los Laureles[1]
Looking south-southeast within Goat Canyon
Goat Canyon Extreme southwest corner of the United States
Area	4.6 sq mi (12 km2)[2]
Geography
Location	Tijuana River Watershed[1]
Population centers	Playas de Tijuana Tijuana River Valley, San Diego
Borders on	Spooner's Mesa[3] Bunker Hill[3]
Coordinates	32.5367°N 117.0994°W / 32.5367; -117.0994
Traversed by	Mexico–United States barrier[4] Mexican Federal Highway 1D[5]

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The canyon originated during the Quaternary period;^[9] it is bordered by Bunker Hill to its west and Spooner's Mesa to its east.^[3] Part of the canyon contains coastal salt marshland and supports numerous sensitive and endangered species.^[10][11]

Human activity in and around the canyon pre-dates European colonization;^[12] it was part of a route used by the Portolá expedition to San Diego Bay^[13] and later formed part of the Missionary Road, which was abandoned in the late 19th century.^[14] Farms existed in and around Goat Canyon until the area came under the control of the federal government of the United States.^[15] Development south of the Tijuana-Ensenada scenic highway began in the late 20th century,^[5] causing sewage to flow northward, a problem that persisted into the 21st century. ^[16]

Rocks that form the walls of Goat Canyon are relatively young, being no older than 10,000 years; they were formed in the Quaternary period.^[9] The west wall of the canyon is about 5,000 m (16,000 ft) from the ocean.^[17] The eastern wall of the canyon consists of a slope that leads to Spooner's Mesa,^[18] which was named after a couple who had a homestead atop it.^[19]

Numerous sensitive^{[Notes 1]} and endangered plant species including the southern willow, mule fat, maritime succulent scrub varieties; and endangered animals including least Bell's vireo, Belding's savannah sparrow, and California gnatcatcher are found within Goat Canyon.^[9] Within the northern portion of the canyon is an environment categorized as southern coastal salt marsh, which supports some of these species.^[10]

The earliest-known site of human activity in Goat Canyon is a prehistoric campsite with a shell midden.^[22][23] In the area surrounding the canyon, evidence of human activity relating to the San Dieguito and La Jollan prehistoric cultures has been found.^[15][24] Within the canyon there is a San Dieguito-era quarry.^[25] In 1769, the Portolá expedition's overland group, with which Junípero Serra was traveling, traversed Goat Canyon on their way to San Diego Bay.^[13]

In the 1770s, Spaniards recorded that a Native American village, which they named "Milejo", was located at the mouth of the canyon.^[15][26][27] In 1775, members of the Kumeyaay people living in the Tijuana River Valley, of which Goat Canyon forms the southwestern portion, attacked the Mission San Diego de Alcalá, which Serra had helped found several years previously.^[13] During the attack, Friar Luis Jayme was murdered;^[15][28] he is considered to be the first Catholic martyr in Alta California.^[29] During the period when the canyon was within Alta California, it was part of Rancho Tía Juana in 1829.^[15] By 1833, the canyon was part of Rancho Melijo.^[30]

Sometime after the end of the Mexican–American War in 1848 the land between Imperial Beach and Monument Mesa was owned by Elisha Babcock, who went on to develop Coronado.^[31] The land was passed to James Crafton, one of the owners of the Agua Caliente Casino and Hotel, around the time of the Great Depression.^[31] Prior to 1872, the original El Camino Real alignment ran north from Goat Canyon.^[14] In the late 1880s, with the completion of the National City and Otay Railway between San Diego and Tijuana, a city was planned for the area north of the westernmost border monument but this plan was never implemented .^[26][32]

In the early 20th century, a homestead consisting of a house and a farm was built; the homestead was occupied until the 1980s when it was condemned by the city of San Diego.^[33] It operated as a dairy farm and was owned by Harley E. Knox, who was a mayor of San Diego.^[31][34] It remained in the ownership of the Knox Family until at least 1981 but was out of their control due to government control beginning in 1970.^[35] While the early 20th-century structures are no longer present, an excavation found evidence of a prehistoric camp on the site of the homestead.^[33] The camp shows evidence that local materials had been processed into tools, as indicated by two alluvial deposits;^[36] in 2002 it was recommended that this site be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[37][38] There was also a pig farm in the canyon; in the 1940s it was run by a Mexican family.^[39] The father of the family died during the construction of a well at the farm.^[39] The ruins of the home at the pig farm still existed in 2001.^[39]