Imperial Valley
| Imperial Valley | ||
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 The Salton Sea with the foothills of the Coachella Valley (above) and the Imperial Valley (below). Mexico joins the bottom left . |
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| location | California (USA) | |
| Waters | Salton Sea | |
| Geographical location | 32 ° 48 '30 " N , 115 ° 33' 33" W | |
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The Imperial Valley is a valley in Imperial County in southeastern California . It houses the urban area around the county seat of El Centro and lies between the Salton ( Salton Sea ) and the border with Mexico .
The culture of the region is a mixture of American and Mexican elements, which is explained by both the history of the valley and its location on the state border. From an economic point of view, the Imperial Valley relies primarily on its agriculture.
The valley owes its name to the Imperial Land Company , a colonization company that wanted to attract settlers with the name. Today the Imperial Valley as Imperial County also represents a separate administrative unit. The two terms are often used synonymously by the population, although the county officially also includes other areas such as the Algodones Dunes .
geography
The Imperial Valley stretches for 80 kilometers from the southern end of the Salton Sea to the border between the United States and Mexico . It is part of the depression that begins in the more northerly Coachella Valley and extends to the Gulf of California . Almost the whole valley is below sea level ; at the Salton Sea the height is −72 meters. The Imperial Valley itself used to be part of the Gulf of California before it was separated from the sea by the dam-like deposits of the Colorado River that accompanied the formation of the Grand Canyon . Surrounded by sand dunes and bare mountains, the valley was uninhabited until 1901. At that time the Imperial Canal was created , which led water from the Colorado River via Mexico into the valley. Floods between 1905 and 1907 destroyed irrigation canals and formed the Salton Sea , into which the New River now flows.
The valley is bounded in the east by the Chocolate Mountains , which separate it from the Colorado River. In the west lie the Laguna Mountains in which the border between Imperial County and San Diego County runs almost in a north-south direction . In the south, the valley ends at the state border between California and Baja California , Mexico. Behind the border to Riverside County in the north joins the Coachella Valley. Together with the Imperial Valley, it forms the Salton Depression and the "Cahuilla Basin", named after the Cahuilla Indians who live here .
| city | Population (2010) | surface | height |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brawley | 24,953 | 19.895 km² | −34 m |
| Calexico | 38,572 | 21.733 km² | 1 m |
| Calipatria | 7,705 | 9.624 km² | −50 m |
| El Centro | 42,598 | 28.746 km² | −12 m |
| Holtville | 5,939 | 2.986 km² | −3 m |
| Imperial | 14,758 | 15.168 km² | −18 m |
| Westmorland | 2,225 | 1.529 km² | −50 m |
climate
Since the Imperial Valley is part of the Colorado desert , the climate is arid with very hot summers and mild winters. The average annual maximum temperature is 31.6 ° C , the lowest temperature 13.8 ° C . In summer it is usually about 40 ° C warm. The average annual rainfall is a very low 66.6 mm. The highest temperature ever recorded in the main town El Centro was exactly 50 ° C and was measured on July 11, 1934 and August 11, 1940. The coldest was on 22 January 1937, -8.9 ° C .
| El Centro, California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for El Centro
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The entire Imperial Valley is designated as an Important Bird Area of global importance due to its role in bird migration . The area is one of the most important winter quarters in North America for Limikolen . In particular, around 30–40% of the global population of the ringed plover ( Charadrius montanus ) overwinter in the Imperial Valley. But the desert portions of the valley are also the habitat of about 70% of all rabbit owls in California. Different species of herons live in the area all year round.
politics
The Imperial Valley belongs entirely to the 40th district in the Senate of California , which is currently represented by the Democrat Ben Hueso . In the California State Assembly the valley is assigned to the 56th District and is thus represented by the Democrat V. Manuel Pérez . At the federal level, the Imperial Valley belongs to California's 51st congressional constituency , which has a Cook Partisan Voting Index of D + 16 and is represented by the Democrat Juan Vargas .
Economy and Infrastructure
use
The valley has three very different regions and uses from west to east. To the west is the Anza-Borrego Desert, which is a protected nature reserve as the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park . The protected area is of economic importance due to nature-friendly forms of tourism.
In the center of the depression, on the New River, are the settlement areas and large-scale agriculture. It is made possible entirely by artificial irrigation organized by the Imperial Irrigation District founded in 1991 . The water comes from the Colorado River and is diverted into the All-American Canal at Imperial Dam near Yuma . Mainly fruits and vegetables, cotton and alfalfa are grown. Fertilizers and other substances run off from the cultivation areas into the drainless Salton Sea, where they are concentrated. This results in considerable environmental problems that no longer permit the lake to be used for tourism and for which no solutions can be identified.
To the east are the Algodones dunes , the northern part of which is a strict nature reserve of the Wilderness Area type . The south is used intensively for leisure purposes. In particular, the sand dunes are driven on with quads , dune buggies and off-road motorcycles.
traffic
The Interstate 8 runs through the valley to the south. Other major highways are California State Routes 7 , 78 , 86 , 98 , 111 and 115 .
The Imperial County Airport and Calexico International Airport are located in the Imperial Valley . The nearest major airport is San Diego International Airport .
Web links
- Imperial Valley in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey
- Imperial Valley Desert Museum. (English)
- Imperial Valley Community Foundation. (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Article on the Salton Sea. The Encyclopedia of Earth. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
- ↑ Data from the Geographic Names Information System.
- ↑ Table of temperatures measured in El Centro. Western Regional Climate Center (WRCC). Retrieved December 1, 2013.
- ^ Audubon Society: IBA Imperial Valley
- ↑ Card of the 40th Senate district. Around the Capitol. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
- ^ List of Senators in California. Official website of the Senate of California. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
- ^ Map of the 56th Assembly District. Around the Capitol. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
- ^ List of members of the California State Assembly. Official website of the California State Assembly. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
- ^ Map of the 51st congressional electoral district. Around the Capitol. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
- ^ Table with Cook Partisan Voting Index of all congressional districts. (PDF; 115 kB) Official website of the Cook Political Report . Retrieved December 1, 2013.
- ↑ List of California MPs in the House of Representatives. Official website of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
- ^ Imperial Irrigation District: | Home Page
- ↑ View of the OpenStreetMap valley . Retrieved December 1, 2013.