Jamacha, San Diego

32°42′31″N 117°01′43″W / 32.7087°N 117.0286°W / 32.7087; -117.0286

Jamacha Neighborhood, City of San Diego Xamca
Community of San Diego
HAM-ə-SHAW
2014 aerial photo of the border of Jamacha Neighborhood, in the City of San Diego and Spring Valley
Jamacha is located in District 4, in the City of San Diego
Jamacha Neighborhood, City of San Diego Location within District 4, San Diego
Coordinates: 32°42′31″N 117°01′43″W / 32.7087°N 117.0286°W / 32.7087; -117.0286
Country	United States of America
State	California
County	San Diego
City	San Diego
ZIP	92114

Jamacha (pronounced: HAM-e-shaw) is a neighborhood in the District 4 area of San Diego, California. It is generally bounded by the city of Lemon Grove to the north, unincorporated La Presa to the east, Imperial Avenue and Encanto to the west, and Skyline and Lomita Village to the south. Major thoroughfares include Lisbon Street, Jamacha Road, Woodrow Avenue, and Imperial Ave. The neighborhood is part of the Skyline-Paradise Hills Community Planning Area.^[1]

Jamacha is named for the Jamacha Valley and Rancho Jamacha, a Mexican land grant estate. The name was variously spelled Xamacha, Jamacha', 'Jamacho, and Gamacha until Jamacha was fixed as the official spelling in the early 20th century. The word is likely derived from a Spanish adaptation of the Kumeyaay Indian word Xamca, meaning "wild gourd."^[2]

Jamacha is a largely residential neighborhood, with mostly single-family houses mixing with some multi-family development. There is also some small-scale commercial development in the neighborhood.^[3]

The Skyline-Paradise Hills Community as a whole make up approximately 4,500 acres. Much like the surrounding neighborhoods of Bay Terraces, Skyline, and Paradise Hills, Jamacha consists predominantly of low-density single-family homes spread across the hilly area. A major geographic feature is Paradise Valley, which runs on an east-west axis through the middle of the community and gives rise to the Paradise Creek, which flows into San Diego Bay. Jamacha, along with Lomita, Skyline, and North Bay Terrace, are directly north of Paradise Valley.^[4]

Demographic statistics are only available for Jamacha in conjunction with bordering Lomita. Jamacha-Lomita is very diverse. Combined, the demographics for Jamacha-Lomita are as follows: Hispanic-Latino are the largest group at 51.1%, followed by African-Americans at 17.7%, Asian at 13.6%, non-Hispanic Whites at 13.0%, Mixed race at 3.9% and others at 0.7%.^[5]