Desert Center
| Desert Center | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Location in California
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| Basic data | |||
| Foundation : | 1921 | ||
| State : | United States | ||
| State : | California | ||
| County : | Riverside County | ||
| Coordinates : | 33 ° 44 ′ N , 115 ° 22 ′ W | ||
| Time zone : | Pacific ( UTC − 8 / −7 ) | ||
| Residents : | 204 (as of 2010) | ||
| Population density : | 2.6 inhabitants per km 2 | ||
| Area : | 78.799 km 2 (approx. 30 mi 2 ) of which 78.799 km 2 (approx. 30 mi 2 ) is land |
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| Height : | 200 m | ||
| Postal code : | 92239 | ||
| Area code : | +1 760 | ||
| FIPS : | 06-18982 | ||
| GNIS ID : | 2582993 | ||
Desert Center is a census-designated place in Riverside County in the US state of California . The place has 204 inhabitants (as of 2010) and is between Indio and Blythe at the meeting point of the two highways Interstate 10 and California State Route 177 . The Lake Tamarisk settlement is also part of Desert Center .
geography
Desert Center is located in the central part of Riverside County , California . The settlement is in the desert, isolated from other places. The Coachella Valley and Joshua Tree National Park are nearby .
With 204 inhabitants (as of the 2010 census ) and an area of approximately 78.8 km², which is made up entirely of land, the population density is only 2.6 inhabitants per square kilometer. The center of the village is at an altitude of 200 meters.
history
Emergence
The place was founded in 1921 by Stephen A. Ragsdale and his wife Lydia. Ragsdale was a traveling preacher and cotton farmer from Arkansas . In 1915 he traveled to Los Angeles from his farm in the Palo Verde Valley on the Colorado River . The road from Phoenix to Los Angeles was sandy and Ragsdale's car ended up on the road near the Gruendyke's Well settlement . Here Ragsdale stayed with a prospector named Bill Gruendyke until his car was repaired and he could continue his journey to Los Angeles.
Upon his return, Ragsdale moved with his family to the remote place in the desert where he had lived. Eighty kilometers from the nearest inhabited areas, the family looked after travelers who passed the settlement. Ragsdale renamed the place Desert Center. In 1921 it was decided to replace the sand road with a modern, paved highway. This became known as US Highway 60 and was built about five miles north of the old sand road. Because of this, Ragsdale gave up the old Desert Center and instead opened a café on the new highway. This new settlement was later expanded to include a grocery store, post office and traveler accommodation and is the current location of Desert Center. Ragsdale died in 1971 and was buried in the Coachella Valley Public Cemetery near Indio .
Military use in World War II
In 1942, when Desert Center had only a few inhabitants, the Desert Center Army Airfield (now Desert Center Airport ) with a size of 47,000 km² was built on the orders of General George S. Patton to support maneuvers in California and Arizona . Here troops for missions in North Africa against the German armed forces were trained under the direction of Erwin Rommel . After the military use of the area, Desert Center lost its importance again. Even when the old US Highways 60 and 70 were converted into Interstate 10 , Desert Center remained largely unchanged.
Todays situation
Today the place still serves as a stopover on trips through the desert between Indio and the Colorado River . The place is also home to farms and several trailer parks , which are inhabited by tourists from the cold northern states, especially in winter, as well as the settlement of Lake Tamarisk . The Desert Center Airport has been privately operated since 1992.
In the 1980s, Desert Center benefited from the jojoba shrub's popularity . Occurring brackish water , sandy soils and the dry climate made the area ideal for the cultivation of the desert plant, which is particularly important as an oil supplier for cosmetic products.
politics
Desert Center is part of the 28th District in the California Senate , currently represented by Democrat Ted W. Lieu . In the California State Assembly , the place is assigned to the 56th district and is thus represented by the Democrat V. Manuel Pérez . At the federal level, Desert Center is a member of California's 36th Congressional District , which has a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R + 1 and is represented by Democrat Raul Ruiz .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Map of the 28th Senate District. Around the Capitol.
- ^ List of Senators in California. Official website of the Senate of California.
- ^ Map of the 56th Assembly District. Around the Capitol.
- ^ List of members of the California State Assembly. Official website of the California State Assembly.
- ^ Map of the 36th congressional electoral district. Around the Capitol.
- ^ Table with Cook Partisan Voting Index of all congressional districts. (PDF; 115 kB) Official website of the Cook Political Report .
- ↑ List of California MPs in the House of Representatives. Official website of the United States House of Representatives.
