Pala, California

Pala is a small, mostly Native American community and census-designated place located within the Pala Indian Reservation in San Diego County, California. For centuries a traditional gathering place of native peoples. The Mission San Antonio de Pala or Pala Mission was established in Pala by early 19th century as an asistencia or sub-mission.

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 communities name may be derived from the Native American Cupeño or Luiseño language term pale, 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°21′55″N 117°04′36″W / 33.36528°N 117.07667°W / 33.36528; -117.07667 (latitude 33.365N, longitude 117.075W).