| Pala | |
| Official Name: | San Antonio de Pala |
| Settlement Type: | Census-designated place |
| Pushpin Map: | USA California#USA |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location within the state of California |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | California |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | San Diego |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Population As Of: | 2000 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | Pacific (PST) |
| Utc Offset: | -8 |
| Timezone Dst: | PDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -7 |
| Coordinates: | 33.3653°N -117.0767°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP codes |
| Postal Code: | 92059 |
| Area Code Type: | Area codes |
| Area Code: | 442/760 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
Pala is a small, mostly Native American community and CDP located within the Pala Indian Reservation in San Diego County, California. For centuries a traditional gathering place of native peoples, it was selected in the early 19th century by Spanish Franciscan missionaries as the site of a mission to indoctrinate the Native Americans.
The community is north of Escondido in the San Diego-Carlsbad metro area. In the National Geographic Names Database, it is officially catalogued as feature number 1661174. The community is in ZIP Code 92059, and inside area code 760.
The community name may be derived from the Native American Cupeño or Luiseño language term pal, meaning "water." Another possible origin of the name is the Spanish word pala, which means "shovel."
The community is in the Pacific time zone. Pala is at an altitude of 404 feet, located at 33.3653°N -117.0767°W (latitude 33.365N, longitude 117.075W).
After United States annexation of California following its victory in the Mexican–American War, Pala became known for its mineral resources, including gold and tourmaline. Numerous gem mines were established in 1890s, of which more than twenty are listed in the Mindat database.[1] Gem mines in the Pala District still produce tourmaline, with the pink variety as the regional specialty.
China's Dowager Empress Cixi of Qing Dynasty highly prized the pink tourmaline mined in Pala. Under her influence, China's demand for this gem created a boom in the California tourmaline industry after 1902, particularly at the Himalaya mine. Demand fell off about 1911, declining after the Empress died in 1908.
Pala was the site where morganite beryl was first discovered. In 1902 it was found to have the first commercially significant deposit of kunzite, named after George F. Kunz, the godfather of gemology.