The Chula Vista Nature Center
The Chula Vista Nature Center is located on the grounds of the Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge
on the San Diego Bay. The facility and the refuge lands are internationally recognized as a significant zoo/aquarium
exhibitor of plants and animals native to San Diego Bay and marsh/wetland habitats.
Learning about the Locals
Visitors to the Chula Vista Nature Center will be introduced to a variety of indigenous shorebirds and hawks as well as
many species of local sea life such as sharks, stingrays, and jellyfish.
Gardens Around the Nature Center
The gardens around the museum display plants that are native and drought-tolerant. Plants are also selected for their wildlife values.
Steelhead Creek
In 1997, funding from the San Diego County Fish and Wildlife Advisory Commission and the San Diego Fly Fishers allowed the Nature Center to construct its only freshwater aquarium exhibit. This exhibit describes the descent of Rainbow Trout from the headwaters of the Sweetwater River at Green Valley Falls, through San Diego Bay to the ocean where they once physiologically changed to Steelhead. Until 1888, when the Sweetwater Dam was built, the Steelhead were able to return to their traditional spawning grounds. Now, the local native Rainbow Trout are unable to make their migration
