Coronado, also known as
Coronado Island (
Spanish for "crowned one"), is an affluent
resort city located in
San Diego County,
California, across and around
San Diego Bay from downtown
San Diego. Its population was 24,697 at the 2010 census, up from 24,100 at the 2000 census. It is part of the
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Coronado lies on the geographic combination of an
island and a
tombolo connected to the mainland called the
Silver Strand. Coronado is a
tied island, connected by a tombolo. In 2012, Dr.
Stephen Leatherman, Director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research, ranked Coronado Beach as the best beach in the United States.