Riverside County, California

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County of Riverside
—  County  —
Flag of County of Riverside Flag Official seal of County of Riverside Seal
Location in the state of California
California's location in the United States
Country	United States
State	California
Region/Metro area	Inland Empire
Incorporated	1893
Named for	Riverside
County seat	Riverside
Largest city	Riverside
Government
• Board of Supervisors	Supervisors Bob Buster John F. Tavaglione Jeff Stone John J. Benoit Marion Ashley
Area
• Total	7,303.13 sq mi (18,915.0 km2)
• Land	7,207.37 sq mi (18,667.0 km2)
• Water	95.76 sq mi (248.0 km2)
Population (2010 Census)	2,189,641
Time zone	Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)
Website	countyofriverside.us

Riverside County is a county in the U.S. state of California. One of 58 California counties, it covers 7,208 sq mi (18,669 km²) in the southern part of the state, and stretches from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the state border with Arizona. The county derives its name from the city of Riverside, which is the county seat. Along with neighboring San Bernardino County, the two counties have been dubbed the 'Inland Empire'.

The population of Riverside County was 2,189,641 in 2010.

Geographically, the county is mostly desert in the central and eastern portions of the county, and is a Mediterranean climate in the western portion of the county. Most of Joshua Tree National Park is located in the county. Riverside County lies inland of Los Angeles County and is bordered by Orange County to the west, San Bernardino County to the north, and San Diego County and Imperial County to the south. Large numbers of Los Angeles area 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 regions in the state prior to the recent changes in the regional economy. In addition, smaller, but significant, numbers of people have been moving into Southwest 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 resort cities 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

The indigenous peoples of what is now Riverside County are the Luiseño, Cupeño and Cahuilla Indians. 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 was 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 canvass of the votes.

Riverside County is the birthplace of lane markings, thanks to Dr. June McCarroll, as well as modern Native American gaming enterprises. In the early 1980s, the county government attempted to shut down small bingo halls operated by the Morongo Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians and the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians. The tribes joined forces and fought the county all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in the tribes' favor on February 25, 1987. In turn, Congress enacted the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988 to establish a legal framework for the relationship between Indian gaming and state governments. Naturally, both tribes now operate large casinos in the county: the Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa and the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino.

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 2000 census, the county has a total area of 7,303.13 square miles (18,915.0 km²), of which 7,207.37 square miles (18,667.0 km²) (or 98.69%) is land and 95.76 square miles (248.0 km²) (or 1.31%) is water. At roughly 180 miles (290 km) wide in the east-west dimension, the area of the county is massive. Riverside County, California is roughly the size of the State of New Jersey in total area. 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 Sea.

Incorporated cities

Riverside County cities	Year incorporated	Population, 2007	Median household income, 2006
Banning	1913	28,272	$41,268
Beaumont	1912	28,250	$39,553
Blythe	1916	22,178	$45,302
Calimesa	1990	7,415	$47,406
Canyon Lake	1990	10,939	$70,106
Cathedral City	1981	51,081	$50,654
Coachella	1946	35,207	$33,402
Corona	1896	144,661	$72,162
Desert Hot Springs	1963	22,011	$33,263
Eastvale	2010	--	--
Hemet	1910	69,544	$31,749
Indian Wells	1967	4,865	$120,074
Indio	1930	71,654	$45,143
Jurupa Valley	2011	88,000
Lake Elsinore	1888	40,985	$54,595
La Quinta	1982	38,340	$71,127
Menifee	2008	60,000	--
Moreno Valley	1984	174,565	$52,426
Murrieta	1991	103,466	$75,102
Norco	1964	27,262	$62,652
Palm Desert	1973	49,539	$61,789
Palm Springs	1938	46,437	$46,399
Perris	1911	47,139	$35,338
Rancho Mirage	1973	16,672	$78,434
Riverside	1883	287,820	$52,023
San Jacinto	1888	31,066	$39,235
Temecula	1989	93,923	$71,754
Wildomar	2008	14,064	$49,081

Unincorporated communities and neighborhoods

• Aguanga
• Alberhill
• Anza
• Belltown, California
• Bermuda Dunes
• Cabazon
• Cherry Valley
• Chiriaco Summit
• Coronita
• Desert Beach
• Desert Center
• East Blythe
• Eagle Mountain
• Eagle Valley
• East Hemet
• El Cerrito

• French Valley
• Glen Avon
• Highgrove
• Home Gardens
• Homeland
• Idyllwild
• Lake Tamarisk
• Lakeland Village
• Lakeview
• Lost Lake
• Mead Valley
• Mecca
• Mesa Verde, California
• Midland (ghost town)
• Mountain Center
• North Shore

• Nuevo
• Pedley
• Pine Cove
• Ripley
• Romoland
• Rubidoux
• Sage
• Sedco Hills
• Sky Valley
• Sunnyslope
• Thermal
• Thousand Palms
• Valle Vista
• Winchester
• Whitewater, California
• Woodcrest

Indian reservations

Riverside County has 12 federally-recognized Indian reservations, which ties it with Sandoval County, New Mexico for second most of any county in the United States. (Sandoval County, however, has two additional joint-use areas, shared between reservations. San Diego County, California has the most, with 18 reservations.)

• Agua Caliente Indian Reservation
• Augustine Indian Reservation
• Cabazon Indian Reservation
• Cahuilla Indian Reservation
• Colorado River Indian Reservation (partly in La Paz County, Arizona and San Bernardino County, California)
• Morongo Indian Reservation
• Pechanga Indian Reservation
• Ramona Village
• Santa Rosa Indian Reservation
• Soboba Band of Mission Indians
• Torres-Martinez Indian Reservation (partly in Imperial County, California)
• Twenty-Nine Palms Indian Reservation (partly in San Bernardino County)

Adjacent counties

• Imperial County, California
• Orange County, California
• San Bernardino County, California
• San Diego County, California

• La Paz County, Arizona

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 and 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

Interstate 10 Interstate 15 Interstate 215 U.S. Route 95 Historic U.S. Route 99

State Route 60 State Route 62 State Route 71 State Route 74 State Route 78 State Route 79

State Route 86 State Route 91 State Route 111 State Route 177 State Route 195

Public transportation

• Riverside Transit Agency serves 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.
• Pass Transit serves the San Gorgonio Pass communities.
• Corona Cruiser serves the community of Corona.

Riverside County is also served by Greyhound buses. Amtrak trains stop in Riverside and Palm Springs, and Amtrak California provides bus connections to the San Joaquins in Riverside, Beaumont, Palm Springs, Thousand Palms, Indio, Moreno Valley, Perris, Sun City and Hemet. Metrolink trains serve five stations in Riverside County: Riverside-Downtown, Riverside-La Sierra, North Main-Corona, West Corona, and Pedley Station (in unincorporated Pedley, California). These trains provide service to Orange, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties seven days a week, with a primarily commuter-oriented schedule.

Airports

Commercial airports

• Palm Springs International Airport
• March Air Reserve Base may be converted to a commercial use municipal airport and, eventually, an alternative international airport. A proposal for converting the airport into an international airport was rejected in 2005.

General aviation airports

• Banning Municipal Airport
• Bermuda Dunes 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

Government, law, and politics

Government

Riverside County is organized as a General Law County under the provision of the California Government Code. The county has five supervisorial districts, and one supervisor is elected from each district every four years.

A General Plan was prepared for the county by the firm of Earth Metrics in the year 1994; in 2003 the County Supervisors authorized updating the plan with respect to certain unincorporated areas.

Law

Riverside County Historic Courthouse

The Riverside Superior Court is the state trial court for Riverside County with 14 courthouses: 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, Corona Court, Temecula Court, Larson Justice Center - Indio, Indio Juvenile Court, Palm Springs Court and Blythe Court.

The main courthouse is the Riverside Historic Courthouse. This landmark, erected in 1903, 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 closed for seismic retrofits due to the 1992 Landers and 1994 Northridge earthquakes. The courthouse was reopened and rededicated in September 1998.

Politics

Riverside County vote
by party in presidential elections

Year	GOP	DEM	Others
2008	48.7% 293,349	49.7% 299,380	1.6% 10,530
2004	57.8% 322,473	41.0% 228,806	1.1% 6,300
2000	51.4% 231,955	44.9% 202,576	3.7% 16,596
1996	45.6% 178,611	43.1% 168,579	11.3% 44,423
1992	37.1% 159,457	38.6% 166,241	24.3% 104,577
1988	59.5% 199,979	39.6% 133,122	1.0% 3,247
1984	63.5% 182,324	35.5% 102,043	1.0% 2,835
1980	59.9% 145,642	31.5% 76,650	8.6% 20,986
1976	49.2% 97,774	48.5% 96,228	2.3% 4,556
1972	58.0% 108,120	38.4% 71,591	3.6% 6,693
1968	52.9% 83,414	38.8% 61,146	8.3% 13,110
1964	43.1% 61,165	56.8% 80,528	0.1% 95
1960	56.2% 65,855	43.4% 50,877	0.5% 544
1956	62.2% 56,766	37.3% 34,098	0.5% 465
1952	65.1% 51,692	33.9% 26,948	1.0% 788
1948	55.7% 32,209	40.3% 23,305	4.1% 2,350
1944	53.9% 23,168	45.3% 19,439	0.8% 346
1940	51.4% 21,779	47.2% 20,003	1.4% 598
1936	48.9% 16,674	49.9% 17,011	1.2% 422
1932	50.2% 14,112	45.4% 12,755	4.4% 1,245
1928	77.9% 17,600	21.1% 4,769	0.9% 212
1924	62.0% 9,619	8.5% 1,318	29.5% 4,579
1920	69.6% 9,124	21.3% 2,798	9.1% 1,196

Riverside has historically been regarded as a Republican county in presidential and congressional elections. In 1932, it was one of only two counties (the other being Benton County, Oregon) on the entire Pacific coast of the United States 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 currently vacant, the 64th is represented 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 37th district and parts of the 31st, 36th, and 40th districts are located in the county. The 31st, 36th, and 37th districts are held by Republicans, Robert Dutton, Dennis Hollingsworth, and Bill Emmerson respectively, and the 40th is held by Democrat Denise Moreno Ducheny.

Riverside County voted 64.8% in favor of Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	17,897		—
1910	34,696		93.9%
1920	50,297		45.0%
1930	81,024		61.1%
1940	105,524		30.2%
1950	170,046		61.1%
1960	306,191		80.1%
1970	459,074		49.9%
1980	663,166		44.5%
1990	1,170,413		76.5%
2000	1,545,387		32.0%
2010	2,189,641		41.7%

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Riverside County had a population of 2,189,641. The racial makeup of Riverside County was 1,335,147 (61.0%) White, 140,543 (6.4%) African American, 23,710 (1.1%) Native American, 130,468 (6.0%) Asian (2.3% Filipino, 0.8% Chinese, 0.7% Vietnamese, 0.6% Korean, 0.5% Indian, 0.2% Japanese, 0.1% Cambodian, 0.1% Laotian, 0.1% Pakistani), 6,874 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 448,235 (20.5%) from other races, and 104,664 (4.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 995,257 persons (45.5%); 39.5% of Riverside County is Mexican, 0.8% Salvadoran, 0.7% Honduran, 0.6% Puerto Rican, 0.3% Cuban, and 0.2% Nicaraguan.

Population reported at 2010 United States Census
The County	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Riverside County	2,189,641	1,335,147	140,543	23,710	130,468	6,874	448,235	104,664	995,257
Incorporated cities	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Banning	29,603	19,164	2,165	641	1,549	39	4,604	1,441	12,181
Beaumont	36,877	23,163	2,276	544	2,845	83	6,058	1,908	14,864
Blythe	20,817	12,396	3,126	243	319	32	4,045	656	11,068
Calimesa	7,879	6,777	88	99	100	10	565	240	1,762
Canyon Lake	10,561	9,495	128	61	190	36	316	335	1,303
Cathedral City	51,200	32,537	1,344	540	2,562	55	12,008	2,154	30,085
Coachella	40,704	19,576	320	290	266	34	19,154	1,064	39,254
Corona	152,374	90,925	8,934	1,153	15,048	552	28,003	7,759	66,447
Desert Hot Springs	25,938	15,053	2,133	357	675	84	6,343	1,293	13,646
Eastvale	53,668	22,998	5,190	290	13,003	198	9,172	2,817	21,445
Hemet	78,657	53,259	5,049	1,223	2,352	284	12,371	4,119	28,150
Indian Wells	4,958	4,721	29	20	83	2	52	51	209
Indio	76,036	46,735	1,805	741	1,693	55	22,394	2,613	51,540
La Quinta	37,467	29,489	713	230	1,176	41	4,595	1,223	11,339
Lake Elsinore	51,821	31,067	2,738	483	2,996	174	11,174	3,189	25,073
Menifee	77,519	55,444	3,858	655	3,788	295	9,642	3,837	25,551
Moreno Valley	193,365	80,969	34,889	1,721	11,867	1,117	51,741	11,061	105,169
Murrieta	103,466	72,137	5,601	741	9,556	391	8,695	6,345	26,792
Norco	27,063	20,641	1,893	248	844	59	2,514	864	8,405
Palm Desert	48,445	39,957	875	249	1,647	55	4,427	1,235	11,038
Palm Springs	44,552	33,720	1,982	467	1,971	71	4,949	1,392	11,286
Perris	68,386	28,937	8,307	589	2,461	286	24,345	3,461	49,079
Rancho Mirage	17,218	15,267	256	94	651	14	598	338	1,964
Riverside	303,871	171,669	21,421	3,467	22,566	1,219	68,111	15,418	148,953
San Jacinto	44,199	25,272	2,928	812	1,341	124	11,208	2,514	23,109
Temecula	100,097	70,880	4,132	1,079	9,765	368	7,928	5,945	24,727
Wildomar	32,176	22,372	1,065	376	1,454	69	5,124	1,716	11,363
Census-designated places	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Aguanga	1,128	929	11	20	24	0	109	35	274
Anza	3,014	2,411	34	57	36	3	347	126	791
Bermuda Dunes	7,282	5,433	180	63	241	11	1,126	228	2,371
Cabazon	2,535	1,751	135	90	38	14	358	149	1,135
Cherry Valley	6,362	5,450	63	102	87	4	451	205	1,347
Coronita	2,608	1,649	38	31	108	12	688	82	1,349
Crestmore Heights	384	229	2	2	6	0	133	12	263
Desert Center	204	164	1	3	2	0	25	9	38
Desert Edge	3,822	3,051	14	34	28	1	624	70	1,220
Desert Palms	6,957	6,728	59	16	95	5	15	39	177
East Hemet	17,418	12,257	679	323	275	29	2,997	858	6,778
El Cerrito	5,100	3,542	91	54	95	11	1,122	185	2,657
El Sobrante	12,723	7,435	1,010	73	2,240	36	1,312	617	3,626
French Valley	23,067	14,827	1,828	229	2,672	134	1,889	1,488	6,318
Garnet	7,543	4,247	203	96	62	10	2,636	289	5,580
Glen Avon	20,199	10,272	805	216	462	34	7,567	843	13,766
Good Hope	9,192	4,156	669	98	64	4	3,885	316	7,319
Green Acres	1,805	1,192	34	41	25	2	396	115	856
Highgrove	3,988	2,104	162	41	113	13	1,388	167	2,604
Home Gardens	11,570	5,275	364	126	667	51	4,500	587	8,524
Homeland	5,969	3,727	130	85	49	15	1,673	290	3,110
Idyllwild-Pine Cove	3,874	3,434	32	30	135	6	88	149	479
Indio Hills	972	542	6	15	5	1	391	12	657
Lake Mathews	5,890	4,239	253	59	193	3	891	252	1,808
Lake Riverside	1,173	1,042	21	16	2	8	46	38	186
Lakeland Village	11,541	7,764	285	131	168	21	2,575	597	5,114
Lakeview	2,104	1,117	15	48	7	2	842	73	1,350
March ARB	1,159	811	171	10	35	2	93	37	172
Mead Valley	18,510	8,383	1,515	179	259	17	7,484	673	13,395
Meadowbrook	3,185	2,034	130	19	51	4	798	149	1,765
Mecca	8,577	2,686	40	47	17	7	5,543	237	8,462
Mesa Verde	1,023	589	8	9	4	1	373	39	715
Mira Loma	21,930	12,577	383	240	465	43	7,250	972	14,846
Mountain Center	63	60	0	1	1	0	0	1	15
North Shore	3,477	1,394	33	26	18	5	1,884	117	3,313
Nuevo	6,447	4,011	113	91	82	16	1,810	324	3,514
Oasis	6,890	1,693	22	96	42	0	4,927	110	6,731
Pedley	12,672	7,509	381	119	554	48	3,520	541	6,773
Ripley	692	393	103	2	1	4	165	24	537
Romoland	1,684	958	65	8	35	12	514	92	865
Rubidoux	34,280	16,935	1,850	391	855	136	12,469	1,644	23,322
Sky Valley	2,406	1,961	35	34	21	3	282	70	682
Sunnyslope	5,153	3,017	96	55	76	10	1,696	203	3,630
Temescal Valley	22,535	14,785	1,507	131	2,157	74	2,565	1,316	6,753
Thermal	2,865	1,034	28	30	32	1	1,685	55	2,730
Thousand Palms	7,715	5,763	105	75	129	10	1,422	211	4,051
Valle Vista	14,578	11,542	440	252	283	41	1,351	669	4,027
Vista Santa Rosa	2,926	1,699	8	140	6	0	942	131	2,487
Warm Springs	2,676	1,673	119	24	102	14	606	138	1,232
Whitewater	859	636	37	31	21	0	97	37	267
Winchester	2,534	1,577	38	17	46	2	728	126	1,233
Woodcrest	14,347	10,418	716	69	715	41	1,716	672	4,113
Unincorporated communities	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
All others not CDPs (combined)	73,117	51,422	2,231	2,102	3,794	206	10,105	3,257	24,128

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,545,387 people, 506,218 households, and 372,576 families residing in the county. The population density was 214 people per square mile (83/km²). There were 584,674 housing units at an average density of 81 per square mile (31/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 65.6% White, 6.2% Black or African American, 1.2% Native American, 3.7% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 18.7% from other races, and 4.4% from two or more races. 36.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 9.2% were of German, 6.9% English, 6.1% Irish and 5.0% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 67.2% spoke English and 27.7% Spanish as their first language.

In 2006 the county had a population of 2,026,803, up 31.2% since 2000. In 2005 45.8% of the population was non-Hispanic whites. The percentages of African Americans, Asians and Native Americans remained relatively similar to their 2000 figures. The percentage of Pacific Islanders had majorly risen to 0.4. Hispanics now constituted 41% of the population.

There were 506,218 households out of which 38.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.5% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.4% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.0 and the average family size was 3.5.

In the county the population was spread out with 30.3% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 99.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.8 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,887, and the median income for a family was $48,409. Males had a median income of $38,639 versus $28,032 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,689. About 10.7% of families and 14.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.5% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Universities and colleges

The 161-foot, 48-bell, carillon tower at the University of California, Riverside.

• Brandman University, part of the Chapman University System -- Moreno Valley, Palm Desert, Temecula
• California Baptist University -- Riverside
• California Southern Law School -- Riverside
• California State University, San Bernardino, Palm Desert Campus -- Palm Desert
• College of the Desert -- Palm Desert
• La Sierra University -- Riverside
• Mayfield College -- Cathedral City
• Mt. San Jacinto College -- Banning, Menifee, San Jacinto, Temecula
• Palo Verde College -- Blythe
• Riverside Community College -- Moreno Valley, Norco, Riverside
• Santa Barbara Business College -- Palm Desert
• University of California, Riverside -- Palm Desert, Riverside
• University of Phoenix -- Murrieta, Palm Desert

Military installations

• Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range
• March Air Reserve Base
• Naval Surface Warfare Center, Corona Division

Places of interest

The Golden Era Productions entrance at Gold Base, with a protester

Gold Base, in an unincorporated area in the county, is the international headquarters of the Church of Scientology. The compound includes the studios of Golden Era Productions. Other sites include:

• California Citrus State Historic Park
• Jensen Alvarado Ranch
• Lake Perris State Recreation Area
• Living Desert Zoo and Gardens
• March Field Air Museum
• Mission Inn
• Mount San Jacinto State Park
• Orange Empire Railway Museum
• Orocopia Mountains Wilderness
• Palm Springs Desert Museum
• Santa Rosa Plateau
• Temecula Valley AVA Wine Region
• Western Science Center
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Riverside County, California

References

Bibliography

• Fitch, Robert J. Profile of a Century: Riverside County, California, 1893-1993. Riverside County Historical Commission Press, 1993.

Sources

• California Department of Health Services
• County of Riverside General Plan (2004).
• US Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics
• US Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration

External links

• Official Riverside County website
• Official Riverside County, Department of Information Technology website
• Official Riverside County Sheriff website
• Official Riverside County Fire Dept. web site
• Official Riverside County District Attorney's Office web site
• Official Riverside County Regional Parks District web site
• SanJacintoValley.info Information for residents and visitors of Hemet and San Jacinto located in San Jacinto Valley, California.
• Western Science Center
• History of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, Volume 1.
• History of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, Volume 2.
• History of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties Volume 3.