Carlsbad, city, San Diego County, southwestern California, on the Pacific Ocean; incorporated 1952. The city's major industries include tourism, farming, and the manufacture of electronic equipment. Tomatoes and flowers are the principal crops of the area. Settled in the 1870s and called Frazier's Station, the community developed as a health resort because of local mineral springs with waters similar to those of the European spa of Karlsbad, or Carlsbad (now Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic). The settlement was renamed for the spa in 1883. Population 35,490 (1980); 63,126 (1990); 78,247 (2000).
