Riverside County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the United States. The name was derived from the city of Riverside, which is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

. Riverside County is included in the Riverside- San Bernardino-

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

, also known as the

Inland Empire The Inland Empire (IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County to the west. It includes the citie ...

. The county is also included in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporat ...

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and ...

. Roughly rectangular, Riverside County covers in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

, spanning from the greater Los Angeles area to the

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

border. Geographically, the county is mostly

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

in the central and eastern portions, but has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

in the western portion. Most of Joshua Tree National Park is located in the county. The resort cities of Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Indian Wells,

La Quinta La Quinta (Spanish for "The Fifth") is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States. Located between Indian Wells and Indio, it is one of the nine cities of the Coachella Valley. The population was 37,467 at the 2010 cen ...

Rancho Mirage Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 census, but the seasonal (part-time) population can exceed 20,000. Incorporated in 1973 and located ...

, and

Desert Hot Springs Desert Hot Springs is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The city is located within the Coachella Valley geographic region. The population was 25,938 at the 2010 census, up from 16,582 at the 2000 census. The city has e ...

are all located in the

Coachella Valley , map_image = Wpdms shdrlfi020l coachella valley.jpg , map_caption = Coachella Valley , location = California, United States , coordinates = , width = , boundaries = Salton Sea (southeast), Santa Rosa Mountains (southwest), San Jacin ...

region of central Riverside County. Between 2007 and 2011, large numbers of

-area workers moved to the county to take advantage of more affordable housing. Along with 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 Murrieta is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The population of Murrieta was 110,949 as of the 2020 census. Murrieta experienced a 133.7% population increase between 2000 and 2010, making Murrieta one of the ...

accounted for 20% of the increase in population of the county between 2000 and 2007.

History

Etymology

When Riverside County was formed in 1893 it was named for the city of Riverside, the county seat. The city, founded in 1870, received its name for its location beside the

Santa Ana River The Santa Ana River is the largest river entirely within Southern California in the United States. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows for most of its length through San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, before cutting throug ...

Early history

The indigenous peoples of what is now Riverside County are the Luiseño,

Cupeño The Cupeño (or Kuupangaxwichem) are a Native American tribe of Southern California. They traditionally lived about inland and north of the modern day Mexico–United States border in the Peninsular Range of Southern California. Today thei ...

and

Santa Ana Mountains The Santa Ana Mountains are a short peninsular mountain range along the coast of Southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately southeast of the Los Angeles Basin largely along the border between Orange and Riverside ...

and southward into

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

. The Cahuilla territory is to the east and north of the Luiseño in the inland valleys, in the

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina * Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca *Santa Rosa, La Pampa * S ...

and San Jacinto Mountains and the desert of the

Salton Sink The Salton Sink is the low point of an endorheic basin, a closed drainage system with no outflows to other bodies of water, in the Colorado Desert sub-region of the Sonoran Desert. The sink falls within the larger Salton Trough and separates the ...

. The first European settlement in the county was a Mission San Luis Rey de Francia estancia or farm at the Luiseño village of Temescal. In 1819, the Mission granted Leandro Serrano permission to occupy the land for the purpose of grazing and farming, and Serrano established Rancho Temescal. Serrano was

mayordomo Mayordomo or Chocolate Mayordomo is a brand of Mexican (English: "table chocolate") produced by the company Chocolate Mayordomo De Oaxaca, S. De R.L. De C.V., and based in Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico. The company manufactures mole sauce in additio ...

of San Antonio de Pala Asistencia for the Mission of San Luis Rey. With the signing of the

Treaty of Cordoba A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...

in 1821, Mexico gained its independence from Spain, but the San Gabriel Mission near what is now

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, continued to expand, and established Rancho San Gorgonio in 1824. The ranch was to be one of the Mission's principle ''rancherias'', and the most distant, and it occupied most of today's San Gorgonio Pass area. Following Mexico's confiscation of Mission lands in 1833, a series of rancho land grants were made throughout the state. In the Riverside County this included; Rancho Jurupa in 1838, El Rincon in 1839, Rancho San Jacinto Viejo in 1842, Rancho San Jacinto y San Gorgonio in 1843, Ranchos La Laguna, Pauba, Temecula in 1844, Ranchos Little Temecula, Potreros de San Juan Capistrano in 1845, Ranchos San Jacinto Sobrante, La Sierra (Sepulveda), La Sierra (Yorba),

and San Jacinto Nuevo y Potrero in 1846. New Mexican colonists founded the town of La Placita on the east side of the

at the northern extremity of what is now the city of Riverside in 1843. When the initial 27 California counties were established in 1850, the area today known as Riverside County was divided between

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

and

. 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.Fitch, pages v–viii.

County history

The new county was created from parts of San Bernardino County and

. 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. The county is also the location of the

March Air Reserve Base March Air Reserve Base (March ARB), previously known as March Air Force Base (March AFB) is located in Riverside County, California between the cities of Riverside, Moreno Valley, and Perris. It is the home to the Air Force Reserve Command's ...

, one of the oldest airfields continuously operated by the United States military. Established as the Alessandro Flying Training Field in February 1918, it was one of thirty-two

U.S. Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial war ...

training camps established after the United States entry into World War I in April 1917. The airfield was renamed March Field the following month for 2d Lieutenant Peyton C. March, Jr., the recently deceased son of the then-Army Chief of Staff, General Peyton C. March, who was killed in an air crash in Texas just fifteen days after being commissioned. March Field remained an active Army Air Service, then U.S. Army Air Corps installation throughout the interwar period, later becoming a major installation of the

U.S. Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War ...

during World War II. Renamed March Air Force Base in 1947 following the establishment of the U.S. Air Force, it was a major

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...

(SAC) installation throughout the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

. In 1996, it was transferred to the

Air Force Reserve Command The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...

and gained its current name as a major base for the

Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commi ...

and the California Air National Guard. Riverside county was a major focal point of the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

s in the US, especially the African-American sections of Riverside and heavily Mexican-American communities of the Coachella Valley visited by

Cesar Chavez Cesar Chavez (born Cesario Estrada Chavez ; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later merg ...

of the farm labor union struggle. Riverside county has also been a focus of modern Native American

Gaming Gaming may refer to: Games and sports The act of playing games, as in: * Legalized gambling, playing games of chance for money, often referred to in law as "gaming" * Playing a role-playing game, in which players assume fictional roles * Playing ...

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 Cabazon Band of Mission Indians is a federally recognized tribe of Cahuilla Indians, located in Riverside County, California.Pritzker, 120 Reservation The Cabazon Indian Reservation was founded in 1876. It occupies located in Coachella, ...

. 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 Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa is a Native American gaming casino, of the Morongo Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians, located in Cabazon, California, United States, near San Gorgonio Pass. The casino has 310 rooms and suites. A , 27-story resort, M ...

and the

Fantasy Springs Resort Casino Fantasy Springs Resort Casino is a casino and hotel located southeast of Palm Springs near I-10 in Indio, California. It is owned and operated by the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, a federally recognized tribe. The hotel has 250 rooms and the c ...

adjacent to Spotlight 29 Casino. The county's population surpassed one million people in 1990 (year-round, would be 1980 with seasonal residents) when the current trend of high population growth as a major real estate destination began in the 1970s. Once strictly a place for long-distance commuters to L.A. and later Orange County, the county and city of Riverside started becoming more of a place to establish new or relocated offices, corporations and finance centers in the late 1990s and 2000s. More light industry, manufacturing and truck distribution centers became major regional employers in the county.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.3%) is water. It is the fourth-largest county in California by area. At roughly 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 The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

town of

Blythe The name Blythe ( or ) derives from Old English ''bliþe'' ("joyous, kind, cheerful, pleasant"; modern ''blithe''), and further back from Proto-Germanic ''*blithiz'' ("gentle, kind"). People *Blythe (given name), including a list of people named ...

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 The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...

Colorado Desert California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella and Imperial valleys. It is home to many unique flora and fauna. Geography and geology The Colorado D ...

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.

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'', known as blue oak, is a species of oak endemic to (and found only in) California, common in the Coast Ranges and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. It is California's most drought-tolerant deciduous oak, and is a domina ...

, '' Quercus douglasii'' is at the southernmost part of its range in Riverside County.

National protected areas

Cleveland National Forest Cleveland National Forest encompasses 460,000 acres (), mostly of chaparral, with a few riparian areas. A warm dry mediterranean climate prevails over the forest. It is the southernmost U.S. National Forest of California. It is administered by ...

(part) *

Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area in Riverside County, California's Coachella Valley. It lies within the unincorporated community of Thousand Palms, just north of Palm Desert. The refuge contains the majority of cri ...

* Dos Palmas Preserve * Joshua Tree National Park (part) * San Bernardino National Forest (part) *

Sand to Snow National Monument Sand to Snow National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located in San Bernardino County and northern Riverside County, Southern California. It protects diverse montane and desert habitats of the San Bernardino Mountains, southern Mojave D ...

(part) * Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument There are 19 official wilderness areas in Riverside County that are part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Some are integral parts of the above protected areas, most (11 of the 19) are managed solely by the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's ...

, and some share management between the BLM and the relevant other agencies. Some extend into neighboring counties: *

Agua Tibia Wilderness Agua Tibia Wilderness (ATW) is a protected area in Riverside and San Diego counties, in the U.S. state of California. It is mostly within the Palomar Ranger District of the Cleveland National Forest. The area was originally protected as the Agua ...

(part) * Beauty Mountain Wilderness * Big Maria Mountains Wilderness * Cahuilla Mountain Wilderness * Chuckwalla Mountains Wilderness * Joshua Tree Wilderness (part) * Little Chuckwalla Mountains Wilderness (part) * Mecca Hills Wilderness * Orocopia Mountains Wilderness * Palen/McCoy Wilderness * Palo Verde Mountains Wilderness (part) * Pinto Mountains Wilderness *

Rice Valley Wilderness The Rice Valley Wilderness is a wilderness area near Blythe and Rice in the Mojave Desert region of California, managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

* Riverside Mountains Wilderness * San Gorgonio Wilderness (part) * San Jacinto Wilderness * San Mateo Canyon Wilderness (part) * Santa Rosa Wilderness * South Fork San Jacinto Wilderness

State parks

California Citrus State Historic Park California Citrus State Historic Park is an open-air museum in the state park system of California, United States, interpreting the historic cultural landscape of the citrus industry. The park’s museum exhibits and interpretive features shar ...

* Lake Perris State Recreation Area *

Mount San Jacinto State Park Mount San Jacinto State Park is in the San Jacinto Mountains, of the Peninsular Ranges system, in Riverside County, California, United States. A majority of the park is within the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. The park ...

County parks and trails

* Hurkey Creek Park * Idyllwild Park * Indio Hills Palms * Jensen Alvarado Ranch * Lake Cahuilla Recreation Area *

Lake Skinner Skinner Reservoir, also known as Lake Skinner, is a reservoir in western Riverside County, California, located at the foot of Bachelor Mountain in the Auld Valley, approximately northeast of Temecula. It was created in 1973 by the construction of ...

Recreation Area * McCall Memorial Equestrian Park * Santa Rosa Plateau

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

2011

Places by population, race, and income

2010

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

reported that Riverside County had a population of 2,189,641. The racial makeup of Riverside County was 1,335,147 (61.0%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

(40.7% Non-Hispanic White), 140,543 (6.4%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 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 Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 448,235 (20.5%) from other races, and 104,664 (4.8%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

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.

2000

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 1,545,387 people, 506,218 households, and 372,576 families residing in the county. The population density was . 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%

, 6.2%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

, 1.2% Native American, 3.7% Asian, 0.3%

, 18.7% from other races, and 4.4% from two or more races. 36.2% of the population were

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 Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $18,689. About 10.7% of families and 14.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 18.5% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

Government and law enforcement

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. Riverside County Courthouse, 1903

In 1999, the County Board of Supervisors approved a multimillion-dollar planning effort to create the Riverside County Integrated Plan (RCIP) which was to encompass a completely new General Plan, regional transportation plan (CETAP) and Habitat Conservation Plan. The resultant General Plan adopted in 2003 was considered groundbreaking for its multidisciplinary approach to land use and conservation planning.

Courts

The Riverside Superior Court is the state

trial court A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually made by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). Mos ...

for Riverside County with 14

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

s: 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 Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and comm ...

and Petit Palais in

Paris, France Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. The courthouse, designed by Los Angeles architects Burnham and Bliesner, has a classical design – including a great hall that connects all the departments (

courtroom A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a courthouse. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual ...

s). 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. Riverside County hands down 1 in 6 death sentences in the US, in spite of it having less than 1% of the population.

Law enforcement

Sheriff

The Riverside County Sheriff provides court protection, jail administration, and coroner services for all of Riverside County. It provides patrol, detective, and other police services for the unincorporated areas of the county plus by contract to the cities and towns of Coachella, Eastvale, Indian Wells, Jurupa Valley, La Quinta, Lake Elsinore, Moreno Valley, Norco, Palm Desert, Perris, Rancho Mirage, San Jacinto, Temecula and Wildomar. The Morongo Indian Reservation also contracts with the Sheriff's Office to provide police services to the reservation.

Municipal Police

Municipal departments within the county are Banning, Beaumont, Blythe, Calimesa, Cathedral City, Corona, Desert Hot Springs, Hemet, Indio, Menifee, Murrieta, Palm Springs, Riverside, Riverside Community College.

Politics

Voter registration

Overview

Prior to 2008, Riverside County was historically a Republican stronghold in presidential and congressional elections. Between its creation in 1893 and 2004, it voted for the Democratic presidential nominee only three times: Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936 (by a margin of 337 votes, or 0.99%), Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 (by a margin of 19,363 votes, or 13.65%) and

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

(by a margin of 6,784 votes, or 1.58%). In

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hir ...

, it was one of only two counties on the entire West Coast to vote for Republican president

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gre ...

over Roosevelt. However, in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, consistent with a trend in California and nationwide suburbs towards the Democratic Party,

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

narrowly carried the county with 14,976 votes, a 2.32% margin over Republican

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts ...

lost the county in 2012 in a plurality.

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

continued the Democratic win streak in the 2016 election, and became the first and only losing Democratic nominee to win the county. Former Democratic

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

Joe Biden won the county outright in 2020 with a 79,196 lead over President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

, the largest ever raw vote margin for a Democrat. Despite the federal trend towards Democrats, Republicans have continued to win Riverside County at the state level. During the 2018 gubernatorial election, Republican

John H. Cox John Herman Cox ( Kaplan; born July 15, 1955) is an American businessman, housing developer, and political activist, who has run for public office several times, mostly recently for Governor of California as the GOP candidate. Cox began his po ...

(50.2%) narrowly defeated Democrat

Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California f ...

(49.8%) in the county despite losing in a landslide statewide. During the gubernatorial recall against Newsom held three years later, Riverside County narrowly voted in favor of recalling Newsom despite the recall failing in another landslide. In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, Riverside County is split between 4 congressional districts: * * * and * . In the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. D ...

, the county is split between 3 legislative districts: * , * , and * . In the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The ...

, the county is split between 7 legislative districts: * the 42nd Assembly District, represented by

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

Chad Mayes Chad Jeffrey Mayes (born April 23, 1977) is an American politician currently serving in the California State Assembly. He is an independent representing the 42nd district, encompassing parts of Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Prior to b ...

, * , * , * , * , * , and * . Riverside County voted 64.8% in favor of Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages. Only the city of Palm Springs voted against the measure.

Crime

The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.

Cities by population and crime rates

Education

Universities and colleges

Azusa Pacific University Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a private, evangelical Christian university in Azusa, California. The university was founded in 1899, with classes opening on March 3, 1900, in Whittier, California, and began offering degrees in 1939. The uni ...

– Murrieta
Brandman University
part of the

Chapman University Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California. It encompasses ten schools and colleges, including Fowler School of Engineering, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Fowler School of Law, and Schmid College of Sci ...

System – Moreno Valley, Palm Desert, Riverside and Temecula * California Baptist University – Riverside *

California Southern Law School California Southern Law School (CSLS) was a private part-time evening law school in Riverside, California. It admitted its last entering class in Fall 2016 and closed after the Spring 2020 semester. It is registered with the California State Bar ...

– Riverside * California State University, San Bernardino, Palm Desert Campus – Palm Desert * California State University, San Marcos, Temecula Satellite Campus – Temecula * College of the Desert – Palm Desert and Indio * La Sierra University – Riverside * Mayfield College – Cathedral City *

Mt. San Jacinto College Mt. San Jacinto College (MSJC) is a public community college in Riverside County, California. It is part of the California Community College system and consists of five locations: San Jacinto (San Jacinto Campus), Menifee (Menifee Valley Cam ...

– Banning, Menifee, San Jacinto, Temecula * Olivet University – Anza *

Palo Verde College Palo Verde College, formerly Palo Verde Junior College, is a public community college in Blythe, California. Main Campus Palo Verde College is located along the Colorado River in the fertile Palo Verde Valley The Palo Verde Valley ( Spanish: ' ...

– Blythe *

Riverside Community College District The Riverside Community College District, or RCCD, is the community college district serving Riverside, California, United States, and neighboring cities. It is part of the California Community Colleges System. The California Community College ...

** Riverside City College **

Moreno Valley College Moreno Valley College (MVC) is a public community college in Moreno Valley, California. The college is part of the Riverside Community College District and the larger California Community Colleges System. History Founded in 1991, Moreno ...

Norco College Norco College is a public community college in Norco, California. Norco College is part of the Riverside Community College District (RCCD), which is part of the larger California Community Colleges System. History Pr ...

Santa Barbara Business College Santa Barbara Business College (SBBCollege) was a private, for-profit college with multiple locations in California. It was founded in 1888 as a co-ed finishing college in Santa Barbara. SBBCollege expanded its program fields and campus locatio ...

– Palm Desert *

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban dist ...

– Palm Desert and Riverside *

University of Phoenix University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a private for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree leve ...

– Murrieta and Palm Desert

K-12 schools

; Public school districts K-12 unified: *

Alvord Unified School District Alvord Unified School District (AUSD) is a school district headquartered in Riverside, California, United States. The district boundaries encompasses the western portion of the City of Riverside, the eastern portion of the city of Corona, and s ...

* Banning Unified School District *

Beaumont Unified School District Beaumont Unified School District is located in the central part of Riverside County in California. The district services the city of Beaumont, California Beaumont is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, located at the summi ...

Coachella Valley Unified School District The Coachella Valley Unified School District is a public school district in Riverside County, California, United States, with headquarters in Thermal. The District serves a area, including the cities of Coachella, Indio (southern portion) and L ...

Colton Joint Unified School District The Colton Joint Unified School District (CJUSD) in San Bernardino County, California serves the communities of Colton, Bloomington, and Grand Terrace and small portions of Fontana, Rialto and San Bernardino. The District opened in 1872. High ...

Corona-Norco Unified School District The Corona-Norco Unified School District (CNUSD) is a school district in Riverside County, California, in the United States, serving the cities of Corona, Norco, Eastvale and Jurupa Valley, along with the CDPs of Coronita, El Cerrito, Hom ...

Desert Center Unified School District Desert Center Unified School District is located in the eastern part of Riverside County in California. The district services the unincorporated areas of Eagle Mountain, Desert Center, Lake Tamarisk and Chiriaco Summit. Schools Current Scho ...

* Desert Sands Unified School District * Hemet Unified School District *

Jurupa Unified School District Jurupa Unified School District is grade K-12 school district in Riverside County, California. It has an enrollment of approximately 20,500 students. The geographic location of the Jurupa area is the upper western corner of Riverside County, Cali ...

Lake Elsinore Unified School District Lake Elsinore Unified School District is a public school district located in Lake Elsinore, California, USA. It was formed on July 1, 1989, when the Elsinore Union High School District merged with the Lake Elsinore School District (elementary). ...

* Moreno Valley Unified School District *

Murrieta Valley Unified School District The Murrieta Valley Unified School District is the public school system in the city of Murrieta, California. It is the third largest public school district in Riverside County. High schools Murrieta Mesa High School Murrieta Valley High Scho ...

Palm Springs Unified School District The Palm Springs Unified School District, or PSUSD, is one of three public education governing bodies in the Coachella Valley desert region of Southern California. PSUSD governs the western half of the valley; the Coachella Valley Unified School ...

Palo Verde Unified School District Palo Verde Unified School District is a public school district in Riverside County, California, United States. Schools The public school district's 6 schools are Elementary (K-5) * Felix J. Appleby Elementary - opened 2000s, replaced earlier ...

* Riverside Unified School District * San Jacinto Unified School District *

Temecula Valley Unified School District Temecula Valley Unified School District is a school district located in the southwestern portion of Riverside County, California, serving the city of Temecula and unincorporated parts of nearby Murrieta and French Valley. It is the fourth-larg ...

Val Verde Unified School District The Val Verde Unified School District is one of two public education governing bodies in Moreno Valley, California which stretches into Perris, California. It currently operates 21 schools and is the neighbor to its larger counterpart, the Moreno ...

Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District is a school district serving Yucaipa, California, Yucaipa (an incorporated area of San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County) and Calimesa, California, Calimesa (an incorporated area o ...

Secondary: *

Perris Union High School District The Perris Union High School District is a school district serving Menifee and Perris, California. It is the only high school-only district in Riverside County. The Perris Union High School District educates about 10,000 secondary and middle sch ...

Elementary: *

Menifee Union School District Menifee Union School District is a school district located in the city of Menifee, California Menifee is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and part of the Los Angeles Combined Statistical Area. The city is centrally ...

Nuview Union Elementary School District Nuview Union School District is a public school district in Riverside County, California, United States. External links * School districts in Riverside County, California {{California-school-stub ...

Perris Elementary School District The Perris Elementary School District is the organization responsible for the administration of public elementary schools (K-6) in the city of Perris, California in the United States. The district currently administers 8 elementary schools. T ...

Romoland Elementary School District Romoland School District is a TK–8 public school district based in Riverside County, California, United States serving over 4,500 students residing in Romoland, Homeland, Perris, and Menifee Menifee (May 4, 1996 – June 13, 2019) w ...

; State-operated schools * California School for the Deaf, Riverside ; Bureau of Indian Education-operated schools: * Sherman Indian High School

Transportation

Major highways

Public transportation

* Riverside Transit Agency serves the western third of Riverside County, as far east as Banning. *

SunLine Transit Agency SunLine Transit Agency, a transit operator in Riverside County, California (with over 3.5 million passengers a year), is a transit agency providing bus service in the Palm Springs Area, with service extending into San Bernardino Transit Center du ...

serves Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley area. * Palo Verde Valley Transit Agency provides service in Blythe, near the

border. * Pass Transit serves the San Gorgonio Pass communities. * Corona Cruiser serves the city of Corona. * Riverside County is also served by Greyhound buses.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

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 Indio may refer to: Places * Indio, Bovey Tracey, an historic estate in Devon, England * Indio, California, a city in Riverside County, California, United States People with the name * Indio (musician), Canadian musician Gordon Peterson * Índi ...

Moreno Valley Moreno Valley is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and is part of the Riverside–San Bernardino–Ontario metropolitan area. It is the second-largest city in Riverside County by population and one of the Inland Empire's p ...

Perris Perris is an old railway city in Riverside County, California, United States, located east-southeast of Los Angeles and north of San Diego. It is known for Lake Perris, an artificial lake, skydiving, and its sunny dry climate. Perris is w ...

, Sun City, and Hemet. Metrolink trains serve nine stations in Riverside County: Riverside-Downtown, Riverside-La Sierra, North Main-Corona, West Corona, Jurupa Valley/Pedley, Hunter Park/UCR, March Field-Moreno Valley, Perris-Downtown, and Perris-South. These trains provide service to Orange, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties seven days a week, with a primarily commuter-oriented schedule.

Airports

Military air bases

(former March Air Force Base)

Commercial airports

* Palm Springs International Airport

General aviation airports

Banning Municipal Airport Banning Municipal Airport is a city-owned airport a mile southeast of Banning, in Riverside County, California. Facilities The airport covers at an elevation of 2,222 feet (677 m). Its one runway, 8/26, is 4,955 by 100 feet (1,510 x 30 m) ...

Bermuda Dunes Airport Bermuda Dunes Airport is a public use airport located in Bermuda Dunes, a town 13 nautical miles (15 mi, 24 km) east of the central business district of Palm Springs, a city in the Coachella Valley of Riverside County, Californi ...

Blythe Airport Blythe Airport is seven miles west of Blythe, in Riverside County, California, United States. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a ''general aviation'' facility. History Blythe Airport was estab ...

* Corona Municipal Airport *

Flabob Airport Flabob Airport is a small public-use airport located in Jurupa Valley, California, United States, in Riverside County, seven nautical miles (11 km) northwest of the central business district of Jurupa Valley, California. Location and his ...

, Riverside *

French Valley Airport French Valley Airport is a county-owned public-use airport in southwestern Riverside County, California, located on Highway 79 near the cities of Murrieta and Temecula.Hemet-Ryan Airport (San Jacinto Valley) * Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport, Thermal (Coachella Valley) * Perris Valley Airport * Riverside Municipal Airport

Military installations

* Active **

Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range The Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range (CMAGR) is a bombing range operated by the US Marine Corps located in southern California. United States. Range description The range is a

** Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach Detachment Norco *** Naval Surface Warfare Center, Corona Division * Historical ** Desert Training Center *** Blythe Army Airfield *** Desert Center Army Airfield *** Palm Springs Army Airfield *** Rice Army Airfield *** Shaver's Summit Army Airfield ***

Thermal Army Airfield Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport is a county-owned, public-use airport in Riverside County, California, United States. It is located in the southeastern Coachella Valley, 20 nautical miles (23 mi, 37 km) southeast of the cent ...

(Also named Naval Air Facility Thermal (historical)) ** Hemet Army Airfield

Points of interest

Empire Polo Club The Empire Polo Club is a 78-acre (32 ha) polo club in Indio, California in the Coachella Valley of Riverside County, approximately 22 miles southeast of Palm Springs. Founded in 1987, it has hosted international polo tournaments. It leases out i ...

, location of the Coachella and

Stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are dra ...

music festivals * Gold Base, international headquarters of the

Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious ...

and

Golden Era Productions Gold Base (also variously known as Gold, Golden Era Productions, Int Base, or Int) is the ''de facto'' international headquarters of the Church of Scientology, located north of San Jacinto, California, United States, about from Los Angeles. The ...

* Indian Wells Tennis Garden * Joshua Tree National Park *

Living Desert Zoo and Gardens The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, formerly the Living Desert Museum, is a non-profit zoo and desert botanical garden located in Palm Desert, Riverside County, California, United States. The Living Desert is home to over 500 animals representing ...

March Field Air Museum The March Field Air Museum is an aviation museum near Moreno Valley and Riverside, California, adjacent to March Air Reserve Base. History The museum was founded in 1979 as March Air Force Base Museum. One of the first exhibits at the museum was ...

* Mission Inn Hotel & Spa *

Orange Empire Railway Museum The Southern California Railway Museum (SCRM, reporting mark OERX), formerly known as the Orange Empire Railway Museum, is a railroad museum in Perris, California, United States. It was founded in 1956 at Griffith Park in Los Angeles before movin ...

* Orocopia Mountains Wilderness * Palm Springs Aerial Tramway and

Palm Springs Desert Museum The Palm Springs Art Museum (formerly the Palm Springs Desert Museum) was founded in 1938, and is a regional art, natural science and performing arts institution for Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley, in Riverside County, California, United St ...

* Ramona Bowl, Home of '' The Ramona Pageant'' * Riverside County fair grounds, location of the Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival * Riverside National Cemetery, including the Medal of Honor Memorial * Salton Sea State Recreation Area * Santa Rosa Plateau *

Sunnylands Sunnylands, the former Annenberg Estate, located in Rancho Mirage, California, is a estate currently run by The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands, a not-for-profit organization. The property was owned by Walter and Leonore Annenberg ...

Center & Gardens * Temecula Valley AVA Wine Region *

Western Science Center The Western Science Center (WSC), formerly the Western Center for Archaeology & Paleontology, is a museum located near Diamond Valley Lake in Hemet, California. The WSC is home to a large collection of Native American artifacts and Ice Age fossils ...

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

Aguanga Aguanga (; Luiseño: ''Awáanga'', meaning "dog place") is a census-designated place located within the Inland Empire, Riverside County, California. It is located about east of Temecula and south-southeast of Hemet. Aguanga lies at an elevat ...

Alberhill Alberhill (formerly, Alberhil) is an unincorporated community in Riverside County, California. Alberhill is located northwest of Lake Elsinore. It lies at an elevation of 1234 feet (376 m). Alberhill was named after C.H. Albers and James and ...

Alessandro Alessandro is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Alexander. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Alessandro * Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), Italian portrait painter * Alessandro Baricco ...

* Anza * Arnold Heights * Bermuda Dunes * Bonnie Bell * Box Springs *

Cabazon Cabazon (Spanish: ''Cabazón'') is a unincorporated community in Riverside County, California, United States. Cabazon is on the Pacific Crest Trail. In the 21st century, the area has become a tourist stop, due to the Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa ...

* Cactus City *

Cahuilla The Cahuilla , also known as ʔívil̃uqaletem or Ivilyuqaletem, are a Native American people of the various tribes of the Cahuilla Nation, living in the inland areas of southern California.Cahuilla Hills * Cherry Valley * Chiriaco Summit * Coronita * Desert Beach * Desert Center * Desert Edge * Desert Palms * East Hemet * Edgemont * El Cariso * El Cerrito * El Sobrante * Fern Valley * French Valley *

Garnet Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in chemical composition. The different ...

* Gilman Hot Springs * Good Hope *

Green Acres ''Green Acres'' is an American television sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm. Produced by Filmways as a sister show to '' Petticoat Junction'', the series was first broadc ...

* Highgrove * Home Gardens * Homeland * Idyllwild * Indio Hills * La Cresta * Lake Mathews * Lake Riverside * Lake Tamarisk * Lakeland Village * Lakeview *

March ARB March Air Reserve Base (March ARB), previously known as March Air Force Base (March AFB) is located in Riverside County, California between the cities of Riverside, Moreno Valley, and Perris. It is the home to the Air Force Reserve Command's ...

* Mead Valley * Meadowbrook *

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow v ...

* Mesa Verde * Mountain Center * North Palm Springs * North Shore * Nuevo *

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

* Pine Cove * Pinyon Pines * Radec *

Rancho Capistrano Rancho Capistrano, is a private, gated community surrounded by the Cleveland National Forest, in Riverside County, California. It is located within the Morrell Potrero, in the Elsinore Mountains, northwest of Elsinore Peak. The potrero, dr ...

Ripley Ripley may refer to: People and characters * Ripley (name) * ''Ripley'', the test mannequin aboard the first International Space Station space station Dragon 2 space test flight Crew Dragon Demo-1 * Ellen Ripley, a fictional character from the Al ...

* Romoland * Sage * Sky Valley * Snow Creek * Temescal Valley * Thermal * Thomas Mountain * Thousand Palms * Valerie * Valle Vista * Vista Santa Rosa * Warm Springs *

Whitewater Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...

* Winchester * Woodcrest

Ghost towns

* Bergman * Dos Palmas * Eagle Mountain * Eden * Fertilla *

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

* La Placita *

Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again f ...

* Midland * Pinacate * Saahatpa * Temescal *

Terra Cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...

* Willow Springs Station

Indian reservations

Riverside County has 12 federally recognized

Indian reservation An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...

s, 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 San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

has the most, with 18 reservations.) * Agua Caliente Indian Reservation *

Augustine Indian Reservation The Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians is a federally recognized Cahuilla band of Native Americans based in Coachella, California. They are one of the smallest tribal nations in the United States, consisting of only 16 members, seven of whom ...

* Cabazon Indian Reservation * Cahuilla Indian Reservation * Colorado River Indian Reservation (partly in

La Paz County, Arizona La Paz County is the 15th County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Arizona, located in the western part of the state. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 16,557, making it the second-least populous ...

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 Imperial County is a county on the southeast border of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 179,702, making it the least populous county in Southern California. The county seat is El Centro. Imperial is th ...

) * Twenty-Nine Palms Indian Reservation (partly in San Bernardino County, California)

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Riverside County. † ''county seat''

Climate

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Fitch, Robert J. (1993). ''Profile of a Century: Riverside County, California, 1893–1993''. Riverside County Historical Commission Press. pp. 300. * Gunther, Jane Davies. ''Riverside County, California, Place Names; Their Origins and Their Stories'', Riverside, CA, 1984. LOC catalog number: 84–72920. * * ** (a reprint of the first three chapters of ''Along the Old Roads''.)

External links

*
Official Riverside County, Department of Information Technology website

Official Riverside County Sheriff website

Official Riverside County Fire Dept. website

Official Riverside County District Attorney's Office website

Official Riverside County Regional Parks District website
* {{Authority control California counties Inland Empire Greater Los Angeles Counties in Southern California 1893 establishments in California Populated places established in 1893 Majority-minority counties in California