Orange County, California

Orange County (established 1889) is one of the of California, in the United States. It is in southern California, along the coast of the. Its county seat and largest city is Santa Ana.

As of the, the population was 3,010,232 people, making it the third-most populous county in California, the sixth-most populous in the United States, and more populous than twenty-one U.S. states. spread across just 948 square miles (2,455 square kilometers). It is the third most populous county in California. The west-flowing divides the county into north and south parts. It is the second most densely populated county in the state, second only to San Francisco County. The county's four largest cities, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine, and Huntington Beach each have populations exceeding 200,000. Several of Orange County's cities are on the coast, including Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, and San Clemente.

Orange County is included in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA. Thirty-four incorporated cities are located in the county; the newest is Aliso Viejo, which was incorporated in 2001. Anaheim was the first city, incorporated in 1870, when the region was still part of neighboring Los Angeles County. Whereas most population centers in the United States tend to be identified by a major city, there is no defined urban center in Orange County. It is mostly suburban except for some traditionally urban areas at the centers of the older cities of Anaheim, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Orange, and Santa Ana. There are several edge city-style developments such as Irvine Business Center, Newport Center, and South Coast Metro.

The highest average income in Orange County is $203,091, in the city of Villa Park. Some famous attractions, such as and, are in Orange County. The tallest building in Orange County is the 37-story, an unfinished building in Santa Ana. It will be 497 ft tall when it is completed, It is also known for its political —a 2005 academic study listed three Orange County cities as among America's 25 most conservative, making it one of two counties in the nation containing more than one such city. (Maricopa County, Arizona also has three cities on the list.) It is part of the Tech Coast.

History
Members of the, , and Native American groups long inhabited the area. After the 1769 expedition of, a Spanish expedition led by named the area Valle de Santa Ana (Valley of ). On November 1, 1776, became the area's first permanent European settlement. Among those who came with Portolá were and. Both these men were given land grants— and, respectively. The Nieto heirs were granted land in 1834. The Nieto ranches were known as, , and. Yorba heirs and  were also granted  (Santa Ana Canyon Ranch) and, respectively. Other ranchos in Orange County were granted by the Mexican government during the Mexican period in.

A severe drought in the 1860s devastated the prevailing industry,, and much land came into the possession of Richard O'Neill, Sr., James Irvine and other. In 1887, silver was discovered in the, attracting settlers via the and Southern Pacific Railroads.

This growth led the to divide Los Angeles County and create Orange County as a separate political entity on March 11, 1889. The county is said to have been named for the in an attempt to promote immigration by suggesting a semi-tropical paradise–a place where anything could grow.

Other crops, s, and  extraction were also important to the early economy. Orange County benefited from the July 4, 1904, completion of the, a connecting Los Angeles with Santa Ana and Newport Beach. The link made Orange County an accessible weekend retreat for celebrities of early. It was deemed so significant that Pacific City changed its name to Huntington Beach in honor of, president of the Pacific Electric and nephew of. Transportation further improved with the completion of the State Route and (now mostly ) in the 1920s.

Agriculture, such as that involving the made famous by Buena Park native, began to decline after. However, the county's prosperity soared during this time. The completion of in 1954 helped make Orange County a bedroom community for many who moved to  to work in aerospace and manufacturing. Orange County received a further boost in 1955 with the opening of.

In 1969, Yorba Linda,-born Orange County native became the 37th.

In the 1980s, Orange County had become the second most populous county in California as the population topped two million for the first time.

In 1994, an investment fund meltdown led to the criminal prosecution of treasurer Robert Citron. The county lost at least $1.5 billion through high-risk investments in bonds. The loss was blamed on by some media reports. On December 6, 1994, the County of Orange declared Chapter 9 bankruptcy, from which it emerged on June 12, 1996. The Orange County bankruptcy was at the time the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

In recent years, land use conflicts have arisen between established areas in the north and less developed areas in the south. These conflicts have regarded issues such as construction of new toll roads and the repurposing of a decommissioned air base. El Toro Marine Corps Air Station was designated by a voter measure in 1994 to be developed into an international airport to complement the existing John Wayne Airport. But subsequent voter initiatives and court actions have caused the airport plan to be permanently shelved. Instead, it will become the.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 948 sqmi, of which 791 sqmi is land and 157 sqmi (16.6%) is water. It is the smallest county by area in, being just over 40% the size of the region's next smallest county, Ventura. The average annual temperature is about 68 F.

Orange County is bordered on the southwest by the, on the north by Los Angeles County, on the northeast by San Bernardino County, on the east by Riverside County, and on the southeast by San Diego County.

The northwestern part of the county lies on the of the, while the southeastern end rises into the foothills of the. Most of Orange County's population reside in one of two shallow coastal valleys that lie in the basin, the and the. The Santa Ana Mountains lie within the eastern boundaries of the county and of the. The high point is (5689 ft ), about 20 mi east of Santa Ana. Santiago Peak and nearby, just 200 ft shorter, form a ridge known as , visible from almost everywhere in the county. The extend westward from the Santa Ana Mountains through the communities of, Orange, and ending in Olive. The Loma Ridge is another prominent feature, running parallel to the Santa Ana Mountains through the central part of the county, separated from the taller mountains to the east by.

The is the county's principal watercourse, flowing through the middle of the county from northeast to southwest. Its major tributary to the south and east is. Other watercourses within the county include, , and Horsethief Creek. In the North, the also briefly crosses into Orange County and exits into the Pacific on the Los Angeles-Orange County line between the cities of Long Beach and Seal Beach. Laguna Beach is home to the county's only natural lakes, Laguna Lakes, which are formed by water rising up against an underground fault.

Residents sometimes divide the county into north Orange County and south Orange County. In effect, this is a division of the county into northwestern and southeastern halves following the county's natural diagonal orientation along the coast. This is more of a cultural and demographic distinction perpetuated by the popular television shows, The Real Housewives of Orange County and Laguna Beach. The distinction exists between the older areas closer to Los Angeles and the more affluent and recently developed areas to the south. A transition between older and newer development may be considered to exist roughly parallel to State Route 55, also known as the Costa Mesa Freeway. This transition is accentuated by large flanking tracts of sparsely developed area occupied until recent years by agriculture and military airfields.

While there is a northeast to southwest topographic transition from elevated areas inland to the lower coastal band, there is no formal geographic division between North and South County. Perpendicular to that gradient, the roughly divides the county into northwestern and southeastern sectors. Each sector comprises 40 to 60 percent of the county respectively by area. There are significant political, demographic, economic, and cultural distinctions between North and South Orange County, with North Orange County having greater populations of people of color, younger populations, greater percentages of renters, lower median incomes, higher rates of unemployment, and greater proportions of voters registered as Democrats versus as Republicans. However, certain areas in both North and South Orange County vary from these general trends.

Adjacent counties

 * Los Angeles County (North).
 * San Diego County (South).
 * Riverside County (East).
 * San Bernardino County (Northeast).

National protected areas

 * (part)

2010


The reported that Orange County had a population of 3,010,232. The racial makeup of Orange County was 1,830,758 (60.8%) White (44.0% non-Hispanic white), 50,744 (1.7%) African American, 18,132 (0.6%) Native American, 537,804 (17.9%) Asian, 9,354 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 435,641 (14.5%) from other races, and 127,799 (4.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,012,973 persons (33.7%).

The Hispanic and Latino population is predominantly of origin; this group accounts for 28.5% of the county's population, followed by Salvadorans (0.8%), Guatemalans (0.5%), Puerto Ricans (0.4%), Cubans (0.3%), Colombians (0.3%), and Peruvians (0.3%). Santa Ana with its population reportedly 75 percent Hispanic/Latino, is among the most Hispanic/Latino percentage cities in both California and the U.S., esp. of descent. See also Logan Park (Santa Ana), the city's largest and oldest barrio.

Among the Asian population, 6.1% are Vietnamese, followed by Koreans (2.9%), Chinese (2.7%), Filipinos (2.4%), Indians (1.4%), Japanese (1.1%), Cambodians (0.2%) Pakistanis (0.2%), Thais (0.1%), Indonesians (0.1%), and Laotians (0.1%). According to KPCC in 2014, Orange County has the largest proportion of Asian Americans in Southern California, where one in five residents are Asian American. There is also a significant Muslim population in the county.

2000
As of the of 2000, there were 2,846,289 people, 935,287 households, and 667,794 families residing in the county, making Orange County the second most populous county in California. The was 1,392 PD/sqmi. There were 969,484 housing units at an average density of 474 /km2. The racial makeup of the county was 64.8% White, 13.6% Asian, 1.7% African American, 0.7% Native American, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 14.8% from other races, and 4.1% from two or more races. 30.8% are Hispanic or Latino of any race. 8.9% were of, 6.9% English and 6.0% ancestry according to Census 2000. 58.6% spoke only at home; 25.3% spoke, 4.7% , 1.9% , 1.5% Chinese ( or ) and 1.2%.

In 1990, still according to the there were 2,410,556 people residing in the county. The racial makeup of the county was 78.6% White, 10.3% Asian or Pacific Islander, 1.8% African American, 0.5% Native American, and 8.8% from other races. 23.4% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Out of 935,287 households, 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% were living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.6% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.00 and the average family size was 3.48.

Ethnic change has been transforming the population. By 2009, nearly 45 percent of the residents spoke a language other than English at home. Whites now comprise only 45 percent of the population, while the numbers of Hispanics grow steadily, along with Vietnamese, Korean and Chinese families. The percentage of foreign-born residents jumped to 30 percent in 2008 from 6 percent in 1970. The mayor of Irvine, Sukhee Kang, was born in Korea, making him the first Korean-American to run a major American city. “We have 35 languages spoken in our city,” Kang observed. The population is diverse age-wise, with 27.0% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there were 99.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.7 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $61,899, and the median income for a family was $75,700 (these figures had risen to $71,601 and $81,260 respectively as of a 2007 estimate ). Males had a median income of $45,059 versus $34,026 for females. The for the county was $25,826. About 7.0% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

Residents of Orange County are known as "Orange Countians".

Religion
In 2014, the county had 1,075 religious organizations, the sixth most out of all US counties (matching its status as the sixth-most populous county in the US).

Orange County is the base for several religious organizations:
 * The, one of four temples operated by in Southern California.
 * Reverend 's is in Garden Grove. As part of bankruptcy proceedings, it was sold to the Catholic Church.
 * , which has raised over $5.5 million for its expansion project (as of October 2018).
 * Islamic Institute of Orange County, an Islamic Center in Orange County, located in Anaheim and founded in 1991.
 * The Islamic Society of Orange County in Garden Grove, established in 1976 and one of the largest mosques in the United States.
 * Islamic Center of Santa Ana (ICSA), which opened a new $2.6 million facility in 2017.
 * Orange County Islamic Foundation, located in Mission Viejo.
 * The Islamic Educational Center of Orange County (IECOC), located in Costa Mesa
 * Forty Martyrs Armenian Apostolic Church, located in Santa Ana is one of two, otherwise referred to as "Armenian Orthodox Church" or "Gregorian Church" in Orange County.
 * St. Mary Armenian Church, located in Costa Mesa is one of two, otherwise referred to as "Armenian Orthodox Church" or "Gregorian Church" in Orange County.
 * , also known as "The Children of God", was founded in 1968 in by.
 * , early leader in the and founder of  in.
 * in Irvine is one of the largest monasteries and temples in the United States.
 *  author and his  (the largest church in California) are in Lake Forest.
 * The headed by Bishop . There are about 1.04 million Catholics in Orange County.
 * began as Channel 40 in Tustin, now in Costa Mesa.
 * Monasteries of the and  are located in Trabuco Canyon.
 * The movement began in Orange County.
 * The in Buena Park, largest center for followers of  faith, originally started by  from
 * The Center of Orange County located in Santa Ana
 * The Sikh Center of Buena Park - Singh Sabha
 * Harvest Orange County in Irvine. Also holds the Harvest Crusades in Anaheim Stadium.
 * is headquartered in Anaheim and hosts several Christian conferences a year.
 * Orange County Buddhist Center in Laguna Hills, part of the

Transportation
Transit in Orange County is offered primarily by the Orange County Transportation Authority. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) cited OCTA as the best large public transportation system in the United States for 2005. OCTA manages the county's bus network and funds the construction and maintenance of local streets, highways, and ; regulates taxicab services; maintains express toll lanes through the median of California State Route 91; and works with Southern California's Metrolink to provide commuter rail service along three lines—the Orange County Line, the 91 Line, and the Inland Empire-Orange County Line.

Major highways
Ground transportation in Orange County relies heavily on three major interstate highways: the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5), the (I-405 and  south of Irvine), and the , which only briefly enters Orange County territory in the northwest. The other freeways in the county are state highways, and include the perpetually congested Riverside and Artesia Freeway (SR 91) and the Garden Grove Freeway (SR 22) running east-west, and the Orange Freeway (SR 57), the Costa Mesa Freeway (SR/SR 55), the Laguna Freeway (SR 133), the San Joaquin Transportation Corridor (SR 73), the Eastern Transportation Corridor (SR 261, SR 133, SR 241), and the Foothill Transportation Corridor (SR 241) running north-south. Minor stub freeways include the Richard M. Nixon Freeway (SR 90), also known as Imperial Highway, and the southern terminus of Pacific Coast Highway (SR 1). There are no in Orange County, though two existed in the county until the mid-1960s: 91 and. 91 went through what is now the state route of the same number, and 101 was replaced by Interstate 5. SR-1 was once a bypass of US-101 (Route 101A).



Bus
The bus network comprises 6,542 stops on 77 lines, running along most major streets, and accounts for 210,000 boardings a day. The fleet of 817 buses is gradually being replaced by CNG (Compressed natural gas)-powered vehicles, which already represent over 40% of the total fleet. Service is operated by OCTA employees and First Transit under contract. OCTA operates one bus rapid transit service, Bravo, on Harbor Boulevard. In addition, OCTA offers paratransit service for the disabled, also operated by MV.

Rail
Since 1992, has operated three commuter rail lines through Orange County, and has also maintained Rail-to-Rail service with parallel  service. On a typical weekday, over 40 trains run along the, the and the. Along with riders on parallel  lines, these lines generate approximately 15,000 boardings per weekday. also began offering weekend service on the Orange County Line and the Inland Empire-Orange County line in the summer of 2006. As ridership has steadily increased in the region, new stations have opened at Anaheim Canyon, Buena Park, Tustin, and Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo. Plans for a future station in Placentia are underway and is expected to be completed by 2020.

Since 1938, the and later Amtrak, has operated the ' regional  route (previously named the ' until 2000) through Orange County. The route includes stops at eight stations in Orange County including, in northbound order, (selected trips),,  (selected trips), , ,  (selected trips), , and.

The Santa Ana/Garden Grove Fixed Guideway Project plans a line connecting Downtown Santa Ana to the Depot at Santa Ana has completed the environmental document and is entering the design phase. OCTA has also proposed connecting the two systems via and the  corridor. Plans for a streetcar for Harbor Boulevard in Fullerton, Anaheim, and Garden Grove — the — were shelved in 2018.

Sea
A car and passenger ferry service, the Balboa Island Ferry, comprising three ferries running every five minutes, operates within Newport Harbor between Balboa Peninsula and in Newport Beach. The connects the Balboa Peninsula to Avalon with daily round-trip passage through about nine months of the year. The Catalina Express connects Dana Point to Avalon (with departures from two greater Long Beach ports also connecting to Two Harbors).

Air
Orange County's only major airport is John Wayne Airport. Although its abbreviation (SNA) refers to Santa Ana, the airport is in fact located in unincorporated territory surrounded by the cities of Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, and Irvine. Unincorporated Orange County (including the John Wayne Airport) has mailing addresses, which go through the Santa Ana Post Office. For this reason, SNA was chosen as the IATA Code for the airport. The actual Destination Moniker which appears on most Arrival/Departure Monitors in airports throughout the United States is "Orange County", which is the common nickname used for the Metropolitan Designation:. Its modern Thomas F. Riley Terminal handles over 9 million passengers annually through 14 different airlines.

Points of interest
The area's warm and 42 mi of year-round beaches attract millions of tourists annually. Huntington Beach is a hot spot for sunbathing and ; nicknamed "Surf City, U.S.A.", it is home to many surfing competitions. "The Wedge", at the tip of The Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach, is one of the most famous body surfing spots in the world. Southern California surf culture is prominent in Orange County's beach cities.

Other tourist destinations include the  and  in Anaheim and  in Buena Park. Since the 2011 closure of in Irvine, the county is home to just one {{w|water park: {{w|Knott's Soak City|Soak City}} in Buena Park. The {{w|Anaheim Convention Center}} is the largest such facility on the West Coast. The old town area in the City of Orange (the traffic circle at the middle of Chapman Ave. at Glassell) still maintains its 1950s image, and appeared in the That Thing You Do! movie.

{{w|Little Saigon, Orange County|Little Saigon}} is another tourist destination, being home to the largest concentration of {{w|Vietnamese people}} outside of Vietnam. There are also sizable Taiwanese, Chinese, and Korean communities, particularly in western Orange County. This is evident in several Asian-influenced shopping centers in Asian American hubs like the city of Irvine.

Historical points of interest include {{w|Mission San Juan Capistrano}}, the renowned destination of migrating swallows. The {{w|Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum}} is in Yorba Linda and the {{w|Richard Nixon Birthplace}} home, located on the grounds of the Library, is a {{w|National Historic Landmark}}. {{w|John Wayne}}'s yacht, the Wild Goose or {{w|USS YMS-328}}, is in Newport Beach. Other notable structures include the home of Madame {{w|Helena Modjeska}}, located in Modjeska Canyon on {{w|Santiago Creek}}; Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse in Santa Ana, the largest building in the county; the historic {{w|Balboa Pavilion}} in Newport Beach; and the Huntington Beach Pier. The county has nationally known centers of worship, such as {{w|The Crystal Cathedral|Crystal Cathedral}} in Garden Grove, the largest house of worship in California; Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, one of the largest churches in the United States; and the Calvary Chapel.

Since the premiere in fall 2003 of the hit Fox series {{w|The O.C.}}, and the 2007 Bravo series "The Real Housewives of Orange County" tourism has increased with travelers from across the globe hoping to see the sights seen in the shows.

Orange County has some of the most exclusive and expensive neighborhoods in the U.S., many along the {{w|Orange Coast}}, and some in north Orange County.

In popular culture
Orange County has been the setting for numerous written works and motion pictures, as well as a popular location for shooting motion pictures.

The city of San Juan Capistrano is the place where writer Johnston McCulley located the first novella about, entitled The Curse of Capistrano. It was published in 1919 and later renamed The Mark of Zorro.

Cities

 * Aliso Viejo
 * Anaheim
 * Brea
 * Buena Park
 * Costa Mesa
 * Cypress
 * Dana Point
 * Fountain Valley
 * Fullerton
 * Garden Grove
 * Huntington Beach
 * Irvine
 * La Habra
 * La Palma
 * Laguna Beach
 * Laguna Hills
 * Laguna Niguel
 * Laguna Woods
 * Lake Forest
 * Los Alamitos
 * Mission Viejo
 * Newport Beach
 * Orange
 * Placentia
 * Rancho Santa Margarita
 * San Clemente
 * San Juan Capistrano
 * Santa Ana (county seat)
 * Seal Beach
 * Stanton
 * Tustin
 * Villa Park
 * Westminster
 * Yorba Linda

Unincorporated communities
These communities are outside of city limits in county territory. • Anaheim Island

• Coto de Caza

• Emerald Bay

• Ladera Ranch

• Las Flores

• Midway City

• Modjeska Canyon

• North Tustin

• * Cowan Heights

• * Lemon Heights

• * Panorama Heights

• Olive

• Orange Park Acres

• Rancho Mission Viejo

• Rossmoor

• Santiago Canyon

• Silverado

• Trabuco Canyon

• Williams Canyon

Planned communities
Orange County has a history of large. Nearly 30 percent of the county was created as master planned communities, the most notable being the City of Irvine,, , , , , , Rancho Santa Margarita, and. Irvine is often referred to as a model master-planned city because its original seven villages (College Park, The Colony, The Ranch, Culverdale, The Racket Club, University Park, and Turtle Rock) were laid out by the of the mid-1960s before it was bought by a group of investors including.