Rosarito

After conquering the Aztec Empire, Hernán Cortés sent expeditions to explore what he believed to be the Island of California. In 1533, mutineer Fortún Ximénez was the first European to land in Baja California, at La Paz, Baja California Sur. In September 1542, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo passed through the Rosarito area on his way from Ensenada to San Diego Bay. The year of 1697 saw the establishment of the first permanent European settlement in Baja California in a Jesuit mission at Loreto. Rosarito would soon be caught in a power struggle between Jesuits, Dominicans, and Franciscan friars for decades.

In 1773, a frontier was defined separating Nueva ("new") or Alta ("upper") California, under the jurisdiction of the Franciscans, from Antigua ("old") or Baja ("lower") California, which was entrusted to the Dominicans. In 1788, Luis de Sales, a Dominican priest, redrew the boundary, extending Baja California to the Rosarito Arroyo, known at the time as the Barrabas Arroyo.

Lifeguard station and beach houses in Rosarito

Because Mission San Miguel, 13 km (8.1 mi) to the south, was frequently flooded by the Río Guadalupe, Dominican missionary Tomás de Ahumada sought another site on higher ground for at El Descanso. Additional advantages of the northerly location were good grazing and plentiful arable land. In 1817, Ahumada founded the Misión El Descanso or Misión San Miguel la Nueva among the Kumeyaay people 22 km (14 mi) to the south of the present-day Rosarito.

The property of Rancho El Rosario, granted by José María de Echeandía in 1827 to Don José Manuel Machado, one of the first soldiers stationed at the Presidio of San Diego, was the first ranch in the modern-day Rosarito region.[3] The 11 league rancho was bounded on the north by Rancho Tía Juana, on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the south by public lands.

In 1830, Father Félix Caballero constructed an adobe church here and managed both missions from El Descanso, but in 1834, it ceased to function as a mission. At the time it had a population of just 254, including those from Mission San Miguel. By 1853 the mission was deserted. Ruins of Misión El Descanso remain within the community of El Descanso.

José Manuel Machado's son, Don Joaquín Machado, applied for title to the land as Rancho Rosarito to President Porfirio Díaz. On May 14, 1885, Machado received his title and registered it in Ensenada, then the capital city of the Northern District of Baja California Territory. May 14 is now recognized and celebrated as Rosarito's Foundation Day by the Historical Society of Rosarito.

Baja Studios is the world's largest water stage and filming set, used in films such as Titanic.

On December 1, 1995, Rosarito was converted from a suburb of Tijuana to an independent city. Hugo Torres Chabert, current owner of the Rosarito Beach Hotel led the incorporation drive and was subsequently appointed to a three-year term as mayor.

Playas de Rosarito lies on the coast of the Pacific Ocean on the North Baja California Peninsula. The city is positioned between the foothills of the Peninsular Ranges and the ocean. It maintains a relatively uniform topography and displays few variances in terrain.

Urbanization in 1950 marked the beginning of Rosarito's contemporary-era development as planning and construction of streets and city blocks took place. As land sales soared, coupled with the construction of small restaurants, some shops and two hotels, the city began to take shape its present-day appearance. In the 1960s, Playas de Rosarito entered the commercial and industrial era with the constructions of a large thermoelectric power plant and the later installations of Pemex, the state-owned petroleum company.

The city maintains luxury resorts that take the form of skyscrapers on its coast. The majority of these buildings are located on Boulevard Benito Juárez, also the city's main Boulevard. Residential and commercial highrises continue to go up along the coast, towards both Tijuana and Ensenada.

Hotels along the Pacific Coast.

Rosarito has a semi-arid climate with Mediterranean-like precipitation patterns (Köppen climate classification BSh/BSk). The climate is strongly influenced by the cold California Current and, as a result, temperatures are mild throughout the year with average temperatures ranging between 14.3 and 20.9 °C (57.7 and 69.6 °F).

The average annual precipitation is 261 mm (10 in), most of it being concentrated in the winter months. The wettest month is March with 57 mm (2 in) while the driest month is July. It has cool winters with an average temperature of 14.3 °C (57.7 °F) in February and March, and warm summers with an average temperature of 20.9 °C (69.6 °F) in August.

On December 16, 2008, the city center was flooded by heavy rains.