March 26, 1997
Contact: Louise Snider, 619/594-5204

Joint U.S.-Mexico effort produces first binational, transborder
map and database of Tijuana River watershed area

Solving environmental problems, planning land use, setting public policy, and aiding K-12 classroom teaching about the 1,725 square miles of the Tijuana River watershed area just received a big assist from two new products produced through binational cooperation.
A U.S.-Mexico research team led by Dr. Richard Wright, professor of geography at San Diego State University, and Dr. Alain Winckell, of El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, has completed a 36-inch by 46-inch poster/map and a comprehensive Geographic Information System (GIS) for the Tijuana River watershed.
On one side of the poster is a shaded relief map which simulates a view from space and was produced by combining several imaging techniques. On the other side are several smaller maps which depict specific aspects of the watershed: topography, hydrography, vegetation, climate and land use. Included in the GIS, but not on the poster, are data on geology, geomorphology, soils, and major roads.
Faculty and nearly 20 graduate students from the U.S. and Mexico were involved in compiling the GIS. A major portion of the work was done by geography students Harry Johnson and Tom Zmudka under the direction of Wright, Winckell, and also Dr. Elisabeth Nelson of the SDSU geography department.
To complete the project, staff at both institutions had to overcome a number of technical and socio-political problems in gathering and integrating a broad spectrum of data and generating the maps.
The Tijuana River watershed, lying astride California and Baja California, encompasses a wide range of physical and human characteristics
and includes at its mouth in southwestern San Diego County theTijuana River Estuary--a region of high environmental sensitivity and a major stopping place for birds on the Pacific flyway.
The project was carried out with start-up funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and with additional assistance provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of the Navy, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the San Diego Association of Governments.
The poster map is available for purchase at the Tijuana Estuary Visitors' Center; call (619) 575-3613 for information.

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