San Diego–Yuma line

  

Not to be confused with San Diego–Tijuana.

San Diego–Yuma line
Map of the Kingdom of Sierra with historical boundary lines between Sierra and Bajaría:   San Diego–Yuma line   Palóu Line   Disturnell line   Gadsden line
Characteristics
Entities	Sierra Imperial Laguna Bajaría Pacífico Norte
Length	140.5 miles (226.1 km)
History
Established	1848
Treaties	Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Notes	Internal border of the Kingdom of Sierra

Part of a series on the
History of Bajaría
Timeline Prehistoric Province of Las Californias Baja California California Republic Mexican–American War Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo El Norte El Norte Acts Baja California Peninsula and Sonora Land Act Territorial dispute San Diego–Yuma line Disturnell line Gadsden Partition Yaqui Wars Transpeninsular barrier Trans-Sonoran barrier Pass system Organic Acts of 1931 Annexation of the Yucatán Peninsula Yucatán Peninsula retrocession Ortega Spaceport Grand Pacific Promenade Vancouver–Cabo Connection Project Naval Base Magdalena Crown Dependency of Cancún Crown Dependency of Mérida Independence of Cozumel Modern history COVID-19 pandemic Organic Act of 2021
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The San Diego–Yuma line (also known colloquially as Sandy Yuma or Diego Yuma, or the sobriquet, The Red Line) is a demarcation line separating the Sierran provinces of Laguna and Imperial from the Bajarian state of Pacífico Norte. It was described and established by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which determined the official delineation between Alta California and Baja California, west of the Gila River, after the California Republic secured its independence from Mexico and acquired the entirety of the Californias. The line excised portions of Alta California to Baja California, as the previous Alta California was located slightly south of San Diego, just north of present-day Rosarito, of what was known as the Palóu Line. Initially, the line did not bear its modern name, and was only nomenclatured during the early 20th century. The land to the north of the line eventually became Federal Sierra, whereas the land to the south of the line became known as El Norte, and later Bajaría. The border was first officially surveyed and confirmed by the Royal Surveyors Corps in 1860.

According to the Treaty, the border between Alta California and Baja California west of the Gila River began at its mouth just west of present-day Yuma, towards a coastal point located approximately one marine league south of the southernmost point of the Port of San Diego in present-day Imperial Beach, a suburban community of San Diego. Prior to the Treaty, the exact boundary between Alta California and Baja California was ill-defined and was not officially surveyed by either the Spanish or Mexican authorities. Rough approximations were ascertained chiefly from the diseños of ranchos straddling the region where the purported Palóu Line ran. To the east of the San Diego–Yuma continued was the natural course of the Gila River and the Disturnell line, before the latter was later superseded by the boundary created by the Gadsden Partition.

The San Diego–Yuma line has had significant legal consequences. The line was used as the basis for the Baja California Peninsula and Sonora Land Act and other so-called El Norte Acts, and was the primary site of the Transpeninsular barrier, a separation barrier built to enforce the pass system and discriminatory segregation of El Norte from Federal Sierra. In addition, the territories of El Norte maintained their own immigration systems, and thus further reinforced a degree of separation between Federal Sierra and the southern territories. Although internal border control between the two regions were abolished during the 1950s, and the Kingdom of Sierra as a whole joined the border control-free Lincoln Area, the line has endured as an official boundary for various PSAs and remains a figurative, symbolic line that separates the cultural, social, and predominantly Anglosphere nation of Sierra from the predominantly Hispanophone nation of Bajaría, both of which are constituent countries of the sovereign Kingdom of Sierra.

Along the geographic San Diego–Yuma line, there are three major metropolitan areas which straddle the line itself: San Diego–Tijuana (consisting of the sister cities of San Diego and Tijuana, and sometimes including the further southern city of Salsipuedes); Mexierra–Sierrexico (consisting of Mexierra and Sierrexico); and Potrero–Tecate (consisting of Potrero and Tecate). Other nearby cities include Yuma and San Luis Río Colorado. Significant sections of the line, especially in the highly urbanized areas, continue to have still-standing remnants of the now-decommissioned Transpeninsular barrier, which serve as a reminder of the line's internecine past.

Background

Palóu Line

Main article: Palóu Line

1926 map from Sierran Historical Society Quarterly depicting the Palóu line boundary, the San Diego–Yuma line, and other proposed lines during negotiations of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

During the Spanish exploration and colonization of the Californias, the Spanish government established a system of missions to proselytize and convert the indigenous population to Catholicism. Francisco Palóu, a Franciscan, was the one of the leading missionaries of the Franciscan Order at the time, and was sent to Baja California peninsula during the late 18th century. In 1772, Palóu was tasked with the responsibility of determining a jurisdictional boundary between the Franciscans and the Dominicans for their joint role in Spanish colonial missionary work. Palóu erected a large cross on a rock he named "Mesa del Descanso", which marked the latitude towards the Colorado River. Located just north of Misión San Miguel Arcángel de la Frontera, the boundary marker bore the following inscription, translated from Spanish:

San Juan Bautista Creek: Juan Crespí, May 1 for the setting of the first international division line between Old or Lower California (Dominicans) and New or Upper California (Franciscans) five leagues to the north (Valley of the Médanos) being established by: Priest Francisco Palóu on 19 August 1773 (Mojonera of Palou) in compliance with the instructions put forth on the April 7, 1772 Concordato.

Following Palóu's contribution, his line was used and implemented as the unofficial boundary between Alta California and Baja California during the colonial governorship of Diego de Borica. The line became an official boundary in 1804 when interim governor José Joaquín de Arrillaga oversaw the formal division of The Californias between Alta California and Baja California as separate provinces. Following Mexico's independence, Mexico maintained the division between Alta California and Baja California. However, by 1836, the Californias were reunified as a department by order of the Siete Leyes (Seven Laws) reforms, implemented by the conservative Centralist Republic of Mexico, thus dissolving the Palóu Line as a political boundary.

Geography of the line

The initial point of boundary obelisk and decommissioned Transpeninsular barrier can be seen in the background to the left of the Tijuana Lighthouse

The initial point of boundary between Federal Sierra and Bajaría, set as one marine league (three nautical miles south of the southernmost point of San Diego Bay), marks the beginning of the line. Immediately south of the line is the Pacífico Norte city of Tijuana and to the north is the Tijuana River Provincial Park. The nearest city to the north of the point is Imperial Beach, a suburb of San Diego. Originally, the initial point of boundary was physically distinguished as a cairn of rocks, but by 1851, a large marble shaft and 20-feet tall obelisk was erected atop the point. With the installation of the Transpeninsular barrier in the early 1820s, the barrier slightly to the north of the boundary, placing the obelisk's accessibility entirely on the southern side of the boundary. The border then continues northeastward for roughly 141 miles (227 kilometers) in a straight line towards the confluence of the Colorado River and the Gila River, just west of the Imperial city of Yuma and northeast of the Pacífico Norte town of Los Algodones.

Extensions

Main article: Bajaría–Sierra border

Although the San Diego–Yuma line officially refers to the boundary line as it was defined by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, west of the Gila River's mouth, the line has colloquially been understood to encompass the entirety of the border between Federal Sierra and Bajaría. Continuing from the easternmost point of the original San Diego–Yuma line, the border between Bajaría and Federal Sierra continues along the original, natural course of the Colorado River as determined during the 1840s. The line continues before sharply deviating away from the river in a straight line running southeast, along the Gadsden line, between the Pacífico Norte town of Colonia Migel Aleman and the Imperial city of San Luis. Prior to the Gadsden Partition, the border followed the Disturnell line, which followed the Gila River northeastward, rather than southward along the Colorado River.

Gadsden line

Main article: Gadsden Partition

History

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Main article: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was a peace treaty signed and ratified between the Anglo-American powers (comprising California Republic, Texas, and the United States) and Mexico, which included provisions regarding the postwar, internal divisions of ceded Mexican territory. Neither the Baja California peninsula nor the Mexican state of Sonora were part of the historic Alta California, although Baja California had been a part of the Mexican department of The Californias prior to the war. The two regions were seized by the California Republic, with the military assistance of the Americans and Texans, during the course of the war and were occupied while the Mexican heartland was invaded. Despite the capture of Mexico City by Anglo-American forces, the Mexican government remained defiant and resistant towards dramatic territorial cessions to the victoring powers. Baja California was seen as a natural extension to California, whereas both the states of Sonora and Sinaloa were considered as additional spoils of war which could further project Californian and American power southward. With unrest in Sinaloa, Californian negotiators scaled back their plans up to the Sonora–Sinaloa line, but continued demanding and pressuring the Mexican government to cede the balance, including the Baja California peninsula in its entirety. Californian diplomat Sylvester Cooley was the main negotiator who successfully persuaded the Mexican government to cede the desired territory, in part by guaranteeing that the additional territory would be treated differently and separately from the core Californian territory. Among these guarantees included a promise to allow Mexican citizens to reside there without the risk of deportation or disenfranchisement, a continued respect for their property rights and land, and the right of first refusal for new land claims. Cooley also made assurances to the Mexican government that California would take the lead in protecting Mexicans there by handling the O'odham and Yaqui, two groups of indigenous Amerindians who had proven to be a persistent threat to Mexican civilians in the region.

Land Act

Main article: Baja California Peninsula and Sonora Land Act

Internal border controls

Main articles: Pass system of the Kingdom of Sierra, Transpeninsular barrier, and Trans-Sonoran barrier

Deborderization

A section of the San Diego–Yuma line dividing a neighborhood between San Diego, Laguna and Tijuana, Pacífico Norte, with the remnant Transpeninsular barrier running through.

Deborderization is a term, in the context of Sierran public discourse, coined by Bajarian sociologist Ernesto Trenti to refer to the ongoing processes of removing physical, political, and socioeconomic barriers between Federal Sierra and Bajaría as two nations. Deborderization began immediately following the abolition of internal border controls within the Kingdom of Sierra, including in the former territory of El Norte, and the decommissioning of both the pass system and separation barriers which were erected in place under the system. Despite significant investment and assistance from the federal government into El Norte during the second half of the 20th century, modern Bajaría continues to face disproportionately higher levels of poverty, inequality, and crime, and lower rates of educational attainment, affluence, and life expectancy compared to the rest of the Kingdom of Sierra. According to Trenti, deborderization also refers to the process of both restorative and transformative justice for Bajarians, and a phenomenon akin to decolonization as Bajaría asserts itself a dignified, self-sufficient nation in its own right.

In culture

Popular culture, especially from Hollywood, contains numerous references to the San Diego–Yuma line (or its monikers "Sandy Yuma", "Diego Yuma", and sobriquet "The Red Line") as a general geographic division. The line is especially prominent in literature, music, television, and film originating from Hispanic and Latino Sierrans, and Bajarians. Its historical connection with the Transpeninsular barrier plays heavily in popular media and historical fiction set during the El Norte pass system period.

See also

• Borders of the Kingdom of Sierra