On a clear day, the view from this seawall extends
south to La Jolla and north past the Oceanside pier to the sweeping bluffs
and mountains of Camp Pendleton.
Carlsbad seawall is a 3.5 foot-high seawall along 3,504
feet of the beach from Tamarack Surf Beach to Pine Avenue. The barrier
includes 3,104 feet of steel sheetpile and 400 feet of rock. Built in 1996
by federal, state and local funds under the Carlsbad Shore Protection Project,
it was designed to keep sand from blowing into one of Carlsbad's three
lagoons, Agua Hedionda, across the street. Snug Harbor Marina at the lagoon
across the highway offers equipment rentals
for jetskiing, sailboarding and waterskiing.
The wall also protects Carlsbad Boulevard from coastal
flooding on a road which runs along an artificial spit of land separating
the lagoon from the ocean and beach. The spit has two openings for water
to flow to and from the sea. Without the road, traffic would have to travel
around the lagoon.
