Point Loma is the long rocky peninsula that forms the western arm of San Diego Bay, and it gives the city its dramatic topography. From the ridge of the peninsula, 400 feet above the Pacific, the views extend north along the coast, south toward Tijuana, and east across the entire urban landscape of San Diego and its surrounding hills.
The Cabrillo National Monument marks the southern tip where Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo landed in 1542 — the first European exploration of the Pacific Coast. Below the monument, tide pools expose marine life at low tide. The residential neighbourhood of Point Loma proper, back from the tip, is a quiet district of old navy families and Portuguese fishing community descendants. The neighbourhoods around Shelter Island have a yacht club, a marina, and some good fish restaurants.