Riverside County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of California, stretching from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the border with Arizona. The County derives its name from the city of Riverside, which is the county seat.
Riverside County is part of the Southern California Inland Empire region, also referred to as the Riverside-San Bernardino Metropolitan Area. The population of Riverside County was 1,545,387 in 2000, and by 2008 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population had risen to 2,100,516.
Geographically, the county is mostly desert. Most of Joshua Tree National Park is located in the county. Riverside County lies inland of Los Angeles, and south of San Bernardino. Large numbers of Los Angeles workers have moved to the county in recent years to take advantage of relatively affordable housing. Alongside neighboring San Bernardino County, it was one of the fastest growing parts of the Inland Empire prior to the recent changes in the regional economy. This spawned a wave of toll road construction in the area in the 1990s, starting with the addition of toll commuter lanes to the State Route 91 freeway, the main traffic artery to the western metropolitan area. In addition, smaller, but significant, numbers of people have been moving into southern Riverside County from the San Diego metropolitan area. The cities of Temecula and Murrieta account for 20% of increase in population of Riverside County between 2000 and 2007.
The famous resorts of the Coachella Valley such as Indian Wells, La Quinta, Rancho Mirage, Palm Springs and Palm Desert are located in Riverside County. Indio is the center of an important date growing region.
History
When the initial 27 California counties were established in 1850 the area today known as Riverside County was divided between Los Angeles County and San Diego County. In 1853 the eastern part of Los Angeles County was used to create San Bernardino County. Between 1891 and 1893 several proposals, and legislative attempts, were put forth to form new counties in Southern California. These proposals included one for a Pomona County and one for a San Jacinto County. None of the proposals were adopted until a measure to create Riverside County was signed by Governor Henry H. Markham on March 11, 1893.
The new county would be created from parts of San Bernardino County and San Diego County. On May 2, 1893, seventy percent of voters approved the formation of Riverside County. Voters chose the city of Riverside as the county seat, also by a large margin. Riverside County was officially formed on May 9, 1893, when the Board of Commissioners filed the final canvas of the votes.
The county's population surpassed one million people in 1980 when the current trend of high population growth as a major real estate destination began in the 1970s.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 18,915 km 2 (7,303 sq mi) of which 18,667 km 2 (7,207 sq mi) is land and 248 km 2 (96 sq mi), or 1.31%, is water. At roughly 180 miles (290 km) wide in the east-west dimension, the area of the county is massive. County government documents frequently cite the Colorado River town of Blythe as being a "three-hour drive" from the county seat, Riverside. Some view the areas west of San Gorgonio Pass as the Inland Empire portion of the county and the eastern part as either the Mojave Desert or Colorado Desert portion. There are probably at least three geomorphic provinces: the Inland Empire western portion, the Santa Rosa Mountains communities such as Reinhardt Canyon and the desert region. Other possible subdivisions include tribal lands, the Colorado River communities, and the Salton Sink.
Incorporated cities
Unincorporated communities and neighborhoods
Indian reservations
- Agua Caliente Tribal Council
- Cabazon Band of Mission Indians
- Cahuilla Band of Mission Indians
- Morongo Indian Reservation
- Pechanga Band of Mission Indians
- Ramona Band of Cahuilla Indians
- Santa Rosa Indian Reservation
- Soboba Band of Mission Indians
- Torres-Martinez
Adjacent counties
- San Bernardino County, California- north
- La Paz County, Arizona- east
- Imperial County, California- south
- San Diego County, California- south
- Orange County, California- west
National protected areas
- Cleveland National Forest (part)
- Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge
- Joshua Tree National Park (part)
- San Bernardino National Forest (part)
- Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument
Flora & Fauna
There is a diversity of flora and fauna within Riverside County. Vegetative plant associations feature many desert flora, but there are also forested areas within the county. The California endemic Blue oak, Quercus douglasii is at the southernmost part of it its range in Riverside County.
Transportation infrastructure
Major highways
Public transportation
- Riverside Transit Agency serves the city of Riverside and the western third of Riverside County, as far east as Banning.
- Sunline Transit Agency serves Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley area.
- Palo Verde Valley Transit Agency provides service in Blythe, near the Arizona border.
Riverside County is also served by Greyhound buses. Amtrak trains stop in Riverside and Palm Springs. Metrolink trains provide commuter rail service from western Riverside County to Los Angeles and Orange Counties.
Airports
- March Air Reserve Base may be converted to a commercial use municipal airport and, eventually, an alternative international airport. (Although, a proposal for converting the airport into an international airport was rejected in 2005.)
- Palm Springs International Airport offers commercial flights.
- The nearest commercial airport to Western Riverside County is San Bernardino International Airport (SBD) (completed in early 2008) and Ontario International Airport (ONT), both in San Bernardino County.
The other airports in Riverside County are for general aviation only:
- Banning Municipal Airport
- Blythe Municipal Airport
- Corona Municipal Airport
- Flabob Airport, Riverside
- French Valley Airport, Murrieta (Temecula Valley)
- Hemet-Ryan Airport (San Jacinto Valley)
- Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport, Thermal (Coachella Valley)
- Perris Valley Airport
- Riverside Municipal Airport
Law, government and politics
Law
The Riverside Superior Court is responsible for upholding the law for Riverside County. The unified trial court system has a total of 13 courts: Riverside Historic Courthouse, Riverside Hall of Justice, Riverside Family Law Court, Riverside Juvenile Court, Southwest Justice Center - Murrieta, Moreno Valley Court, Banning Court, Hemet Court, Temecula Court, Larson Justice Center - Indio, Larson Justice Center - Annex, Indio Juvenile Court, and Blythe Court.
The main courthouse is the Riverside Historic Courthouse. This landmark, erected in 1904, was modeled after the Grand and Petit Palais in Paris, France. The courthouse, designed by Los Angeles architects Burnham and Bliesner, has a classical design—including a great hall that connects all the departments (courtrooms). In 1994, the courthouse was shut down for seismic retrofits due to the 1992 Landers and 1994 Northridge earthquakes. The courthouse was rededicated in September 1998.
The county continues to feel the impact of a significant backlog of unresolved criminal trials, which has had a ripple effect on civil trials, which had to be suspended altogether on two occasions in the early 2000s.
Politics
Riverside has historically been regarded as a Republican county in presidential and congressional elections. In 1932, it was one of only 2 counties (the other being Benton County, Oregon) on the entire Pacific coast to vote for Hoover over Roosevelt. In recent years, however, Democratic registration numbers have been increasing, and Democrats have made inroads in historically Republican strongholds. In 2008, Barack Obama narrowly carried the county, becoming the first Democrat to do so since Bill Clinton in 1992.
In the House of Representatives, a substantial portion of Riverside County lies in California's 45th congressional district, with parts in the 41st, 44th, and 49th districts. All four districts are held by Republicans, the 41st by Jerry Lewis, the 44th by Ken Calvert, the 45th by Mary Bono Mack, and the 49th by Darrell Issa.
In the State Assembly all of the 64th district and parts of the 63rd, 65th, 66th, 71st, and 80th districts lie in the county. The 63rd is represented by Republican Bill Emmerson, the 64th by Republican Brian Nestande, the 65th by Republican Paul Cook, the 71st by Republican Jeff Miller, and the 80th by Democrat Manuel Perez. In the 80th Assembly District, which has a significant Democratic voter registration edge, Democrats were able to take back the district after 14 years of Republican representation with Perez's victory.
In the State Senate all of the 37t
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