Orange County, California
From Wikipedia
| Orange County, California | |
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| Map | |
 Location in the state of California |
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 California's location in the U.S.
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| Statistics | |
| Founded | March 11, 1889 |
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| Seat | Santa Ana |
| Largest city | Santa Ana |
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Area - Total - Land - Water |
948 sq mi (2,455 km²) 789 sq mi (2,045 km²) 159 sq mi (411 km²), 16.43% |
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PopulationEst. - (2008) - Density |
3,010,759 3,815/sq mi (1,472/km²) |
| Time zone | Pacific: UTC-8/-7 |
| Website: www.ocgov.com | |
Orange County is a county in Southern California, United States. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2000 census, its population was 2,846,293, though a July 2008 estimate placed the population at 3,010,759, making it the second most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and ahead of San Diego County.[1]
The county is famous for its tourism, the home of such attractions as Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm, as well as several beaches along more than 40 miles (64 km) of coastline. It is also recognized for its nationally known centers of religious worship, such as Crystal Cathedral, Saddleback Church, Calvary Chapel, and the Newport Beach California Temple. It is known for its affluence and political conservatism.
Whereas most population centers in the United States tend to be identified by a major city, there is no defined urban center to Orange County. It is mostly suburban, except for some traditional downtown areas such as those of Anaheim, Santa Ana, Orange, Huntington Beach, and Fullerton. There are also several edge city-style developments such as the South Coast Metro and Newport Center.
While Santa Ana serves as the governmental center of the county, Anaheim is the main tourist destination and Irvine is the major business and financial hub. Four Orange County cities have populations exceeding 200,000: Santa Ana, Anaheim, Irvine, and Huntington Beach.[2]
Thirty-four incorporated cities are located in Orange County; the newest is Aliso Viejo, which was incorporated in 2001. Anaheim was the first city incorporated in Orange County. It was incorporated in 1870 when the region was still part of neighboring Los Angeles County.
History of Orange County
Members of the Tongva and Juaneño/Luiseño Native American groups long inhabited the area. After the 1769 expedition of Gaspar de Portolà, a Spanish expedition led by Junipero Serra named the area Valle de Santa Ana (Valley of Saint Anne). On November 1, 1776, Mission San Juan Capistrano became the area's first permanent European settlement. Among those who came with Portolá were José Manuel Nieto and José Antonio Yorba. Both of these men were given land grants - Rancho Los Nietos and Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, respectively. The Nieto heirs were granted land in 1834. The Nieto ranches were known as Rancho Los Alamitos, Rancho Las Bolsas, and Rancho Los Coyotes. Yorba heirs Bernardo Yorba and Teodosio Yorba were also granted Rancho Cañón de Santa Ana (Santa Ana Canyon Ranch) and Rancho Lomas de Santiago, respectively. Other ranchos in Orange County were granted by the Mexican government during the Mexican period in Alta California.[3]
A severe drought in the 1860s devastated the prevailing industry, cattle ranching, and much land came into the possession of Richard O'Neill, Sr.,[4] James Irvine and other land barons. In 1887, silver was discovered in the Santa Ana Mountains, attracting settlers via the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific Railroads.
This growth led the California legislature to divide Los Angeles County and create Orange County as a separate political entity on March 11, 1889. The county is generally said to have been named for the citrus fruit (its most famous product).[5] However, in the new county there was already a town by the name of Orange, named for Orange County, Virginia, which itself took its name from William of Orange. The fact the county took the same name as one of its towns may have been coincidence. However it is also possible that the county was named for this city (and thus indirectly for William of Orange, whose family name was itself derived from the French town of Orange named in ancient times in honour of a celtic water deity).
Other citrus crops, avocados, and oil extraction were also important to the early economy. Orange County benefited from the July 4, 1904 completion of the Pacific Electric Railway, a trolley connecting Los Angeles with Santa Ana and Newport Beach . The link made Orange County an accessible weekend retreat for celebrities of early Hollywood. It was deemed so significant that the city of Pacific City changed its name to Huntington Beach in honor of Henry Huntington, president of the Pacific Electric and nephew of Collis Huntington. Transportation further improved with the completion of the State Route and U.S. Route 101 (now mostly Interstate 5) in the 1920s.
Agriculture, such as the boysenberry which was made famous by Buena Park native Walter Knott, began to decline after World War II but the county's prosperity soared. The completion of Interstate 5 in 1954 helped make Orange County a bedroom community for many who moved to Southern California to work in aerospace and manufacturing. Orange County received a further boost in 1955 with the opening of Disneyland.
In 1969, Yorba Linda-born Orange County native Richard Nixon became the 37th President of the United States.
In the 1980s, the population topped two million for the first time; Orange County had become the second-most populated county in California.
An investment fund melt-down in 1994 led to the criminal prosecution of County of Orange treasurer Robert Citron. The county lost at least $1.5 billion through high-risk investments in derivatives.[6] On December 6, 1994, the County of Orange declared Chapter 9 bankruptcy,[6] from which it emerged in June 1995. The Orange County bankruptcy was the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.[6]
In recent years, the county has been characterized by conflict between the older more historic northern and newer southern cities over development, the building of new toll roads, and a recently defeated proposal to build an international airport at the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station that would have reduced operations at the existing John Wayne Airport.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,455 km² (948 sq mi), making it the smallest county in Southern California. Surface water accounts for 411 km² (159 sq mi) of the area, 16.73% of the total; 2,044 km² (789 sq mi) of it is land. The average annual temperature is about 68F.
Orange County is bordered on the southwest by the Pacific Ocean, on the north by Los Angeles County, on the northeast by San Bernardino County and Riverside County, and on the southeast by San Diego County.
The northwestern part of the county lies on the coastal plain of the Los Angeles Basin, while the southeastern end rises into the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. Most of Orange County's population reside in one of two shallow coastal valleys that lie in the basin, the Santa Ana Valley and the Saddleback Valley. The Santa Ana Mountains lie within the eastern boundaries of the county and of the Cleveland National Forest. The high point is Santiago Peak (5,689 feet (1,734 m)[7]), about 20 mi (32 km) east of Santa Ana. Santiago Peak and nearby Modjeska Peak, just 200 feet (60 m) shorter, form a ridge known as Saddleback, visible from almost everywhere in the county. The Peralta Hills extend westward from the Santa Ana Mountains through the communities of Anaheim Hills, Orange, and ending in Olive. The Loma Ridge is another prominent feature, running parallel to the Santa Ana Mountains through the central part of the county, separated from the taller mountains to the east by Santiago Canyon.
The Santa Ana River is the county's principal watercourse, flowing through the middle of the county from northeast to southwest. Its major tributary to the south and east is Santiago Creek. Other watercourses within the county include Aliso Creek, San Juan Creek, and Horsethief Creek. In the North, the San Gabriel River also briefly crosses into Orange County and exits into the Pacific on the Los Angeles-Orange County line between the cities of Long Beach and Seal Beach. Laguna Beach is home to the county's only natural lakes, Laguna Lakes, which are formed by water rising up against an underground fault.
Residents sometimes figuratively divide the county into "North Orange County" and "South County" (meaning Northwest and Southeast—following the county's natural diagonal orientation along the local coastline). This is more of a cultural and demographic distinction perpetuated by the popular television shows "The OC" and "Laguna Beach," between the older areas closer to Los Angeles, and the more affluent and recently developed areas to the South and East. A transition between older and newer development may be considered to exist roughly parallel to State Route 55 (aka the Costa Mesa Freeway). This transition is accentuated by large flanking tracts of sparsely developed area occupied until recent years by agriculture and military airfields.
While there is a natural topographical Northeast-to-Southwest transition from inland elevations to the lower coastal band, there is no formal geographical division between North and South County. Perpendicular to that gradient, the Santa Ana River roughly divides the county between northwestern and southeastern sectors (about 40% to 60% respectively, by area), but does not represent any apparent economic, political or cultural differences, nor does it significantly affect distribution of travel, housing, commerce, industry or agriculture from one side to the other.
Incorporated cities
As of August 2006, Orange County has 34 incorporated cities. The oldest is Anaheim (1870) and the newest is Aliso Viejo (2001).
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Noteworthy communities
Some of the communities that exist within city limits are listed below:
Unincorporated communities
These communities are outside of the city limits in unincorporated county territory:
Planned communities
Orange County has a history of large planned communities. Nearly 30% of the county was created as master planned communities, the most notable being the City of Irvine, Coto de Caza, Anaheim Hills, Tustin Ranch, Ladera Ranch, Talega, Rancho Santa Margarita, and Mission Viejo. Irvine has become the model master planned city, encompassing many villages which were all planned under a master plan by the Irvine Company in the mid-1960s.
Adjacent counties
- Los Angeles County, California - north, west
- San Bernardino County, California - northeast
- Riverside County, California - east
- San Diego County, California - southeast