Located at the southernmost point of California, San Diego County contains about 3.3 million people in the area of 4,200 square miles. Hence, the density of the region is 735.8 individuals per square mile - more than three times the state average of 239.1 ("QuickFacts San Diego County, California," 2018). A significant portion of the land (as seen in further maps) is made up of protected areas, or spaces that are "owned in fee and protected for open space purposes by over 1,000 public agencies or non-profit organizations" ("California Protected Areas Database 2019b," 2019).

California Protected Areas include open spaces such as national/state/regional parks, forests, preserves, and wildlife areas ("About CPAD," 2018). These spaces are designed to protect the ecosystems and/or the species contained within, thus preserving biodiversity and precious natural resources. For instance, the picture on the right displays the Pinus torreyana tree, protected by the Torrey Pines State Reserve in San Diego County. These regions also provide opportunities for outdoor recreation such as hiking.

However, these mapped protected areas do not include military lands, tribal lands, private golf courses, and public lands not used for open space, such as waste disposal facilities ("About CPAD," 2018). As they do not have the primary goal of creating open spaces for protecting biodiversity, they are not considered to be protected areas. In the northwestern portion of the county, for example, there are not a lot of protected areas due to the presence of Camp Pendleton military base.