Thermal, California

Thermal is an unincorporated community within the Coachella Valley in Riverside County, California, United States, located approximately southeast of Palm Springs and about north of the Salton Sea. The community's elevation is below mean sea level. It is served by area codes 760 and 442 and is in ZIP Code 92274. The population was 2,676 at the 2020 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Thermal a census-designated place (CDP), which does not precisely correspond to the historical community.

History

On December 30, 1823, Brevet Captain Jose Romero led an expeditionary military expedition finding a route to Tucson from San Gabriel passes in the foothills west of Thermal and Martinez Indian Village (South of Thermal).
Thermal (originally Kokell) began as a railroad camp in 1910 for employees of the Southern Pacific Railroad, followed by Mecca (originally called Walters) in 1915 and Arabia in between, each with about 1,000 residents. Permanent dwellings were soon established on Avenue 56 (renamed Airport Boulevard), former U.S. Route 99 ( State Route 86) and State Route 111 by the 1930s.

Agricultural development from canal irrigation made the area thrive in greenery by the 1950s, followed by the former Camp Young U.S. Naval Air station converted into Thermal Airport by 1965. In the early 1990s, a four-lane highway (State Route 86) was constructed over an earlier transportation route. There is a proposal for a major commercial aviation Airport known as the Jackie Cochran- Desert Cities Regional Airport on the same site.

The Thermal Club is a members-only motorsports racetrack and club, located just south of the airport. It was built by Tim and Twanna Rogers in partnership with the Kohl family, founders of the Kohl's department store chain. The venue opened in 2012, and hosted a non-points IndyCar Series race in 2024.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 9.5 square miles (25.5 km), all of its land.

Climate

Thermal has a desert climate (''BWh'' according to the Köppen climate classification). High mountain ranges on three sides contribute to its unique and year-round warm climate, with some of the warmest winters west of the Rocky Mountains. Its average annual high temperature is and its average annual low is . Summer highs above occur on average 28 days per year and exceed every other year. Summer nights often stay above . Winters are warm with daytime highs rarely below , although light freezes happen every year. The average annual precipitation is under , with over 348 days of sunshine per year. The hottest temperature ever recorded in the area was on July 28, 1995, and the coldest is on December 23, 1990.

Demographics

The 2020 United States census reported that Thermal had a population of 2,676. The population density was . The racial makeup of Thermal was 15.1% White, 0.6% African American, 1.6% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 56.4% from other races, and 25.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 94.5% of the population.

The census reported that 99.6% of the population lived in households, 0.4% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.

There were 664 households, out of which 56.0% included children under the age of 18, 54.8% were married-couple households, 7.2% were cohabiting couple households, 21.8% had a female householder with no partner present, and 16.1% had a male householder with no partner present. 13.6% of households were one person, and 6.0% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 4.01. There were 554 families (83.4% of all households).

The age distribution was 32.5% under the age of 18, 10.2% aged 18 to 24, 27.1% aged 25 to 44, 21.1% aged 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 29.6years. For every 100 females, there were 108.6 males.

There were 719 housing units at an average density of , of which 664 (92.4%) were occupied. Of these, 48.8% were owner-occupied, and 51.2% were occupied by renters.

Education

There are several schools in the Coachella Valley Unified School District that are in and near the community. These include schools in Salton City, 20 miles south of Coachella, in Imperial County, California. In Thermal, they are Westside Elementary (K-6), Oasis Elementary (K-8), Mountain Vista Elementary (K-6), Saul Martinez Elementary (K-6), Mecca Elementary (K-6), Edward Park Elementary (K-5), Toro Canyon Middle (6–8), Bobby Duke Middle (6–8), John Kelley Elementary (K-6), Coachella Valley High (9–12), Cesar Chavez Elementary (K-6), Cahuilla Desert Academy (Junior High: 7th and 8th grade), Desert Mirage High School (9–12), West Shores High School (9–12) and La Familia Continuation High (9–12).

College of the Desert, a community college based in Palm Desert has opened a new satellite campus, the East Valley Educational Center, on the corner of 62nd Avenue and Buchanan Street.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport (formerly Thermal Airport) is located about 1.6 miles southwest of the community. The Union Pacific Railroad owns and operates the former Southern Pacific Railroad mainline through Thermal.

The region is served by a two-lane expressway. California State Route 86 and California State Route 111 are modern transportation corridors that serve as a fruit shipping and international trucking route to connect with Interstate 10 in Indio.

Cemeteries

The Toro Cemetery is located on Monroe Street.

The Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians

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