Southernmost of California's 21 Spanish missions

Mission San Diego de Alcalá is the southernmost of the 21 Spanish Franciscan missions established in Alta California during the Spanish colonial period. The chain of missions stretches north from San Diego through present-day California to Sonoma. The mission's status as the first-founded and southernmost site in the mission chain is documented in mission histories and state heritage resources. The mission complex continues to interpret its role within the larger California mission system.