Cuyamaca (Kumeyaay:‘Ekwiiyemak)[1] is a region of easternSan Diego County, California. It lies east of theCapitan Grande Reservation in the westernLaguna Mountains, north ofDescanso and south ofJulian. Named for the 1845Rancho CuyamacaMexican land grant, the region is now dominated by the 26,000-acre (110 km2)Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. Within the park is the prominentCuyamaca Peak, the second-highest mountain in San Diego County at 6,512 feet (1,984.9 m). The modern community of Cuyamaca is on the north side of the lake. It consists of the Cuyamaca Woods, Cuyamaca Resort, and North Peak areas.[2]
The name is a Spanish corruption of theKumeyaay phrase "'Ekwiiyemak", which means, according toMargaret Langdon's translation, "Behind the clouds".[3] It has also been translated as "the place where it rains", a reference to the region's higher average precipitation than San Diego County's low coastal areas. Cuyamaca is a populartoponym lending its name to streets, businesses and acommunity college in theSan Diego area.
During the Julian Gold Rush, a quartz gold mine; the Stonewall Mine, was found on the south side of what is nowLake Cuyamaca. First a mining camp calledStonewall (1873–1876), then the mining company town ofStratton (1887–1888), renamed Cuyamaca City (1888–1906),[4] at its peak had a population of 500 and served the Stonewall Mine.
In 1906, the post office was closed and service moved to Descanso. The town was abandoned after mining operations ceased, and few traces of it exist.[5] The site of the town now lies withinCuyamaca Rancho State Park[6] at32°59′05″N116°34′15″W / 32.98472°N 116.57083°W /32.98472; -116.57083.
The modern community of Cuyamaca later developed on the north side of the lake. Before theCedar Fire of 2003, the community of Cuyamaca consisted of approximately 145 homes on a mountain (North Peak) north of the reservoir.
In October 2003, most of the Cuyamaca region was consumed by theCedar Fire. Nearly 25,000 acres (100 km2) in the state park and 120 homes in the community of Cuyamaca were incinerated. The fire also destroyed the Lakeland Resort,Camp Fire's Camp Wolahi and the formerSan Diego-Imperial Council, BSA's Camp Hual-Cu-Cuish .[7]The historicDyer Ranch house in the center of the state park, which functioned as a museum and the park headquarters, was also destroyed.[8]
| Climate data for Cuyamaca, CA (1991-2020 normals) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 51.1 (10.6) | 51.2 (10.7) | 55.2 (12.9) | 59.5 (15.3) | 66.6 (19.2) | 76.0 (24.4) | 83.2 (28.4) | 84.1 (28.9) | 79.1 (26.2) | 68.6 (20.3) | 58.7 (14.8) | 50.8 (10.4) | 65.4 (18.6) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 42.0 (5.6) | 42.4 (5.8) | 45.7 (7.6) | 49.1 (9.5) | 55.3 (12.9) | 63.6 (17.6) | 70.7 (21.5) | 70.8 (21.6) | 65.1 (18.4) | 55.2 (12.9) | 47.0 (8.3) | 41.3 (5.2) | 54.0 (12.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 33.0 (0.6) | 33.5 (0.8) | 36.2 (2.3) | 38.7 (3.7) | 43.9 (6.6) | 51.2 (10.7) | 58.1 (14.5) | 57.6 (14.2) | 51.2 (10.7) | 41.8 (5.4) | 35.3 (1.8) | 31.8 (−0.1) | 42.7 (5.9) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 5.51 (140) | 6.43 (163) | 4.87 (124) | 2.34 (59) | 1.06 (27) | 0.17 (4.3) | 0.35 (8.9) | 0.50 (13) | 0.57 (14) | 1.46 (37) | 2.65 (67) | 4.34 (110) | 30.25 (768) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 3.8 (9.7) | 5.4 (14) | 5.5 (14) | 3.1 (7.9) | 0.1 (0.25) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.7 (1.8) | 1.3 (3.3) | 19.9 (51) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 7.2 | 7.9 | 7.2 | 5.3 | 3.2 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 3.5 | 4.4 | 7.3 | 52.2 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.1 in) | 1.4 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 8.0 |
| Source: NOAA[9][10] | |||||||||||||
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