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148 free San Diego trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
20 free San Diego trivia questions with answers. Think you know San Diego? Put your knowledge to the test with our comprehensive 148-question trivia quiz covering everything from the city's rich history to its iconic landmarks and vibrant culture. Whether you're a local, planning a visit, or just a geography enthusiast, this quiz will challenge what you know about America's Finest City.
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Q 01Which San Diego park, one of North America's largest urban cultural parks, holds the San Diego Zoo and 17 museums?
Balboa Park
Balboa Park packs in the world-renowned San Diego Zoo, 17 museums, gardens and theatres.
Q 02Which body of water borders San Diego to the west?
Pacific Ocean
San Diego is a coastal city located on the Pacific Ocean, offering extensive beaches and a mild climate.
Q 03Which curving bridge, opened in 1969, spans San Diego Bay from downtown?
Coronado Bridge
The Coronado Bridge, formally the San Diego–Coronado Bridge, is a prestressed concrete and steel girder span that links San Diego with Coronado, California.
Q 04After the 1972 Republican convention was pulled from San Diego at the last minute, Mayor Pete Wilson coined which defiant slogan?
America's Finest City
America's Finest City began as a proclamation: Wilson declared the convention week 'America's Finest City Week' after the event moved to Miami Beach, and the boast stuck.
Q 05In what year was California's first mission, San Diego de Alcalá, founded?
1769
Founded on July 16, 1769, it was the first link in the chain of missions that would run up the California coast.
Q 06Which branch of the U.S. military has a major presence in San Diego, including several bases?
Navy
San Diego is a major hub for the U.S. Navy, serving as the homeport for a significant portion of the Pacific Fleet and housing several important naval installations.
Q 07Which San Diego bay, once charted as False Bay, was dredged into an aquatic park?
Mission Bay
Mission Bay, a tidal marsh that Spanish mariners called False Bay, was dredged after World War II into one of the largest man-made aquatic parks in the United States.
Q 08Which historic San Diego district is known for Victorian architecture and nightlife?
Gaslamp Quarter
The Gaslamp Quarter's revival was part of downtown's comeback after the slide of the 1960s and 1970s, alongside Horton Plaza and the convention centre.
Q 09What major annual convention, celebrating comic books and popular arts, takes place in San Diego?
Comic-Con International
San Diego annually hosts Comic-Con International, one of the largest and most famous conventions dedicated to comic books, pop culture, and entertainment.
Q 10Which beach community lies at the foot of Point Loma, south of the San Diego River?
Ocean Beach
Ocean Beach sits at the foot of Point Loma just south of the San Diego River channel; its Dog Beach, opened in 1972, was one of the first official leash-free beaches in the United States.
Q 11Why is San Diego called the 'Birthplace of California'?
It hosted the first European settlement on the West Coast
Cabrillo landed in 1542 and the mission and presidio followed in 1769, making San Diego the first place on what is now the U.S. West Coast that Europeans both visited and settled.
Q 12What is the predominant climate type in San Diego?
Mediterranean
San Diego experiences a mild Mediterranean climate, characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters, often leading to consistently pleasant weather.
Q 13What former aircraft carrier is now a popular museum located on Navy Pier in San Diego?
USS Midway
Q 21Which Spanish explorer gave San Diego its name in 1602, honoring Saint Didacus of Alcalá?
Sebastián Vizcaíno
Sebastián Vizcaíno anchored in the bay in November 1602 and renamed it San Diego after his flagship and the feast day of San Diego de Alcalá, Saint Didacus.
Q 22At the 2020 census, San Diego ranked where among U.S. cities by population?
Eighth
San Diego was the eighth-most populous U.S. city at the 2020 census, with about 1.39 million residents, behind San Antonio and ahead of Dallas.
Q 23Which San Diego–Tijuana border crossing is the busiest land crossing in the Western Hemisphere?
San Ysidro Port of Entry
The USS Midway, an aircraft carrier commissioned in 1945, became the USS Midway Museum on Navy Pier and ranks among San Diego's most-visited attractions.
Q 14Which explorer first claimed San Diego Bay for Spain in 1542, initially naming it San Miguel?
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, sailing the San Salvador, entered the bay in 1542, claimed it for Spain and named it San Miguel; the name was replaced sixty years later.
Q 15To the nearest hundred, how many square miles of land does San Diego County cover?
4,200
The Census Bureau counts 4,207 square miles of land and another 319 of water.
Q 16Which famous oceanography institution, part of UC San Diego, sits in the La Jolla neighbourhood?
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, part of UC San Diego, is a world-renowned centre for ocean and Earth science research and education.
Q 17Which unexpected filling distinguishes San Diego's California burrito?
French fries
French fries went in at a San Diego taco shop in the 1980s: carne asada, cheese and a fistful of fries in a tortilla, a fusion of border food and fast food.
Q 18Which friar founded Mission San Diego de Alcalá, the first California mission?
Junípero Serra
Junípero Serra founded Mission San Diego de Alcalá on July 16, 1769, the first of the 21 California missions, on land long inhabited by the Kumeyaay people.
Q 19What is the approximate population of the city of San Diego?
1.4 million
About 1.4 million people live in the city of San Diego, second in California only to Los Angeles; the wider metropolitan area tops 3.3 million.
Q 20What did the Kumeyaay name Kosa'aay, for the village at today's Old Town, mean?
Drying out place
After the Spanish arrived, the Kumeyaay called the town Tepacul Watai, meaning 'Stacked Big'.
San Ysidro Port of Entry, linking San Diego and Tijuana, is the busiest land border crossing in the Western Hemisphere, with tens of millions of crossings a year; Otay Mesa takes most truck traffic.
Q 24San Diego International Airport holds what distinction among US airports?
Busiest with a single runway
It sits on just 663 acres three miles from downtown and served over 24 million passengers in 2018.
Q 25By what name was San Diego International Airport long known?
Lindbergh Field
Lindbergh Field was the airport's name from its 1928 opening, honoring Charles Lindbergh, whose Spirit of St. Louis was built in San Diego; the San Diego International Airport name came later.
Q 26Which Spanish governor founded the Presidio of San Diego in 1769?
Gaspar de Portolá
Gaspar de Portolá, governor of the Californias, founded the Presidio of San Diego in 1769; the fort on Presidio Hill was the first European settlement in present-day California.
Q 27In 1774, how far up the San Diego River did the mission move from the presidio?
Six miles
The mission moved six miles up the San Diego River in 1774 for better land and water; a Kumeyaay uprising burned the new site in November 1775 and it was rebuilt there.
Q 28Mission San Diego was the southern anchor of which historic California mission trail?
El Camino Real
El Camino Real, the Royal Road, linked the 21 California missions from San Diego north to Sonoma; Mission San Diego de Alcalá was its southern terminus.
Q 29In what year did San Diego become part of newly independent Mexico?
1821
In 1821 Mexico won independence from Spain and San Diego passed to Mexican rule; the government secularized the mission in 1834 and granted its lands to private owners.
Q 30Who was elected San Diego's first alcalde when the town became a pueblo under Mexico?
Juan María Osuna
Juan María Osuna was elected San Diego's first alcalde when the town became a pueblo, defeating Pío Pico; San Diego lost pueblo status in 1838 after its population fell to about 150.