| Orange County is a county in Southern California, | | | | boundary between the 714 and 949 area codes. The |
| United States. Its county seat is Santa Ana. Its | | | | division is peretuated by the popular television shows |
| population of 3,056,865 (2005 estimate) is larger than | | | | "The OC" and "Laguna Beach." Many in North Orange |
| that of 20 states. It is the second most populous | | | | County (containing Anaheim and Santa Ana) are |
| county in the state of California, and the fifth most | | | | distasteful of South County's lavish and over-the-top |
| populous in the United States. The county is known | | | | luxurious living. |
| for its wealth and political conservatism. | | | | Members of the Tongva and Juaneño |
| It is also famous as a tourist destination, as the | | | | Luiseño nations long inhabited the area. After |
| county is home to such attractions as Disneyland and | | | | the 1769 expedition of Gaspar de Portolà , a |
| Knott's Berry Farm, as well as sandy beaches for | | | | Spanish expedition led by Junipero Serra named the |
| swimming and surfing, yacht harbors for sailing and | | | | area Vallejo de Santa Ana (Valley of Saint Anne). On |
| pleasure boating, and extensive acreage devoted to | | | | November 1, 1776, Mission San Juan Capistrano |
| parks and open space for golf, tennis, hiking, | | | | became the first permanent European settlement. |
| kayaking, cycling, and other outdoor recreation. It is | | | | A severe drought in the 1860s devastated the |
| at the center of Southern California's Tech Coast | | | | prevailing industry, cattle ranching, and much land |
| with Irvine being the primary business hub. | | | | came into the possession of Richard O'Neill, Sr., James |
| Thirty-four incorporated cities are located in Orange | | | | Irvine and other land barons. In 1887, silver was |
| County; the newest is Aliso Viejo, which is also the | | | | discovered in the Santa Ana mountains, attracting |
| only city in the county to incorporate since 2000. | | | | settlers via the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific |
| Seven of these cities are among the 200 largest | | | | Railroads. This growth led the California legislature to |
| cities in the United States. | | | | divide Los Angeles County and create Orange |
| Geography | | | | County as a separate political entity on March 11, |
| According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has | | | | 1889. It was named for its most famous product, but |
| a total area of 2,455 km² (948 mi²), | | | | other citrus crops, avocados, and oil extraction were |
| making it the smallest county in Southern California. | | | | also important to the early economy. |
| Surface water accounts for 411 km² (159 | | | | Orange County benefited from the July 4, 1904 |
| mi²) of the area, 16.73% of the total; 2,045 | | | | completion of the Pacific Electric Railway, a trolley |
| km² (789 mi²) of it is land. | | | | connecting Los Angeles with Newport Beach and |
| Orange County is bordered on the west by the | | | | Santa Ana. The link made Orange County an |
| Pacific Ocean, on the north by Los Angeles County, | | | | accessible weekend retreat for celebrities of early |
| on the northeast by San Bernardino County, on the | | | | Hollywood. It was deemed so significant that the city |
| east by Riverside County, and on the south by San | | | | of Pacific City changed its name to Huntington Beach |
| Diego County. | | | | in honor of Henry Huntington, president of the Pacific |
| The northern part of the county lies on the coastal | | | | Electric and nephew of robber baron Collis Huntington. |
| plain of the Los Angeles Basin, while the southern half | | | | Transportation further improved with the completion |
| lies on the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. Most | | | | of the State Route and U.S. Route 101 (now mostly |
| of Orange County's population resides in one of two | | | | Interstate 5) in the 1920s. |
| shallow coastal valleys that lie in the basin, the Santa | | | | Agriculture, such as the boysenberry which was |
| Ana Valley and the Saddleback Valley. The coastal | | | | made famous by Buena Park native Walter Knott, |
| plain gently rises into the Santa Ana Mountains, which | | | | began to decline after World War II but the county's |
| lie within the boundaries of the county and of the | | | | prosperity soared. The completion of Interstate 5 in |
| Cleveland National Forest. The high point is Santiago | | | | 1954 helped make Orange County a bedroom |
| Peak (5,687 ft/1,733 m), about 20 mi (32 km) east | | | | community for many who moved to Southern |
| of Santa Ana. Santiago Peak and nearby Modjeska | | | | California to work in aerospace and manufacturing. |
| Peak, just 200 feet shorter, form a ridge known as | | | | Orange County received a further boost in 1955 with |
| Saddleback, visible from almost everywhere in the | | | | the opening of Disneyland. |
| county. | | | | In 1969, Yorba Linda-born Orange County native |
| The Santa Ana River is the county's principal | | | | Richard Nixon became the 37th President of the |
| watercourse. Its major tributary running through the | | | | United States. |
| county is Santiago Creek. Other watercourses within | | | | In the 1980s, the population topped 2 million for the |
| the county include Aliso Creek, San Juan Creek, and | | | | first time. Orange County had become the second |
| Horsethief Creek. The San Gabriel River also briefly | | | | largest county in California. |
| crosses into Orange County and exits into the Pacific | | | | A spectacular investment fund melt-down in 1994 led |
| on the Los Angeles-Orange County line between | | | | to the criminal prosecution of Orange County |
| Long Beach and Seal Beach. Laguna Beach is home to | | | | treasurer Robert Citron. On December 6, 1994, |
| the county's only natural lakes, Laguna Lakes, which | | | | Orange County declared Chapter 9 bankruptcy, from |
| are formed by water rising up against an | | | | which it emerged in June 1995; this was the largest |
| underground fault. | | | | ever municipal bankruptcy in the U.S. The county lost |
| Residents often divide the county into "North | | | | about $1.6 billion through high-risk investments in |
| County" and "South County", as opposed to an | | | | derivatives. |
| East-West division characterized by coastal and inland | | | | In recent years, the county has been characterized |
| cities; however, there may be significant cultural | | | | by conflict between the older northern and newer |
| differences found on the coast than further inland. | | | | southern cities over development, the building of new |
| There is no formal geographical division of North and | | | | toll roads, and a recently defeated proposal to build |
| South County, though a North-South border may be | | | | an international airport at the former El Toro Marine |
| drawn somewhere along the Tustin-Irvine and Costa | | | | Corps Air Station that would have reduced |
| Mesa-Newport Beach city boundaries, or along the | | | | operations at the existing John Wayne Airport. |