Orange County, California occurs as county around Southern California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. By owning the people of 3,056,865 (2005 estimate [http://www.dof.ca.gov/HTML/DEMOGRAP/e-1press.pdf]), it is a 2nd virtually all thickly settled county in the state of California and the fifth virtually all thickly settled in the United States. A county is known for its wealth & political conservativism, although these are actually neither when uniformly moneyed nor when politically conservative when its unimaginative image suggests. These are when well noted as a tourer destination, as a county is front yard to Disneyland and miles of sandy beaches. These are at a center of Southern California's Tech Coast.

Geography
Based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,455 km² (948 mi²), making it the smallest county in Southern California. Superficial a lake accounts for 411 kilometre² (159 mi²) of the region, Xvi.73% of the number; 2,045 kilometre² (789 mi²) of these are land.

Orange County is approach the west per Pacific Ocean, on the north by Los Angeles County, on the northeast by San Bernardino County, on the east by Riverside County, and on the south by San Diego County.

A northern section of the county lies on the coastal plain of the Los Angeles Basin, while a southern half lies on the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. Virtually all of Orange County's people lives inside one of ii shallow coastal vale that lie in a basin, the Santa Ana Valley and the Saddleback Valley. A coastal plain gently rises into a Santa Ana Mountains, which lie within a boundaries of the county & of the Cleveland National Forest. A high point is Santiago Peak (5,687 ft/1,733 m), about Twenty mi (32 kilometre) east of Santa Ana. Santiago Peak & nearby Modjeska Peak, just 200 feet shorter, form the ridge called Saddleback, visible from either well-nigh all over in the county.

A Santa Ana River is the county's principal watercourse. Its major feeder heading through the county is Santiago Creek. More watercourses in a county include Aliso Creek, San Juan Creek, & Horsethief Creek. A San Gabriel River also briefly crosses into Orange County and exits into a Pacific on the Los Angeles-Orange County line between Long Beach and Seal Beach. Laguna Beach is home to the county's lone natural streams, lakes, and wells throughout, Laguna Lakes, which are formed by a stream rising higher against an underground fault.

the cities of Orange County come attached by a network of freeways, which residents typically call for by their route total like than their formal title (we.e., "The Fifty-five" instead of "The Costa Mesa Freeway"). One of a first Orange County roadways is the Santa Ana Freeway, or Interstate 5, which runs northward-south bisecting a length of the county. It merges using a second key northerly-south road, a San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405) in Irvine. A Five & 405 expressway meet at a "El Toro Y," one of the occupy interchanges in the U.S. A second notoriously occupy interchange is the Orange Crush, where a 5, 22, and 57 meet.

Residents typically divide a county into "North County" & "South County", when opposed to an East-West section characterized by coastal & inland cities. No formal geographical section of N & South County, though a N-South border can be drawn someplace along the Tustin-Irvine and Costa Mesa-Newport Beach city boundaries, or along a boundary between a 714 and 949 area codes.

History
Members of the Tongva and Juaneño/Luiseño nations long inhabited a front yard. When a 1769 expedition of Gaspar de Portolà, a Spanish expedition led by Junipero Serra named the region Vallejo diamond state Santa Ana (Vale of Saint Anne). In November 1, 1776, Mission San Juan Capistrano became the number one lasting European cash settlement.

The severe drought in the 1860s devastated a prevailing industry, kine ranching, & great deal land inherit the possession of James Irvine and other land barons. Around 1887, silver was discovered in a Santa Ana mountains, attracting settlers via the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific Railroads. This incubation led a California legislature to divide Los Angeles County and create Orange County as a separate political entity in March 11, 1889. It was known as for its best known product, however more citrus crops, avocados, and oil extraction were also significant to the early economy.

Orange County benefited from either a July 4, 1904 completion of the Pacific Electric Railway, a trolley connecting Los Angeles with Newport Beach and Santa Ana. A hyperlink processed Orange County an accessible weekend retreat for celebrities of early Hollywood. It was deemed thus important that a city of Pacific City changed its title to Huntington Beach in honor of Henry Huntington, president of the Pacific Electric and nephew of robber baron Collis Huntington. Transport farther improved by using a completion of the State Route and U.S. Highway 101 (now mostly Interstate 5) in the 1920s.

Agriculture, like a boysenberry which was made renowned by Buena Park native Walter Knott, began to decline after World War II but the county's prosperity soared. A completion of Interstate 5 in 1954 helped make Orange County the bedroom community for many world health organization moved to Southern California to work within aerospace and manufacturing. Orange County received the farther boost around 1955 with the opening of Disneyland.

Within 1969, Yorba Linda born Orange County native Richard Nixon became the 37th President of the United States.

In the 1980s, population topped Two million first, making Orange County a 2nd big county inside California.

The outstanding investment fund melt-down within 1994 led to the criminal prosecution of Orange County financial officer Robert Citron. In December 6, 1994, Orange County declared Chapter 9 bankruptcy, from which it emerged within June 1995; this was the big ever municipal bankruptcy in the U.S. A county wasted just about $1.6 billion through high-risk investments inside derivatives.

Inside recent years, a county has been characterized by conflict between a older northern & newly southern cities all over development, a building of freshly toll roads, and a recently disappointed proposal to build an international airdrome at the previous El Toro Marine Corps Air Station to supplement the crowded John Wayne Airport.

Demographics
When of the census² of 2000, there are 2,846,289 people, 935,287 households, and 667,794 families residing in the county, making Orange County the third most populous county in California. A population density is 1,392/km² (3,606/mi²). There are 969,484 housing units at an typical density of 474/km² (1,228/mi²). A racial makeup of the county is 64.81% White, 30.76% Hispanic or Latino, 13.59% Asian, 1.67% African American, 0.70% Native American, 0.31% Pacific Islander, 14.80% from other races, and 4.12% from two or more races. 51.26% of the people was Whiten, non of Hispanic origins.

Around 1990, still based on data from a census² there were 2,410,556 people residing in the county. A racial makeup of the county was 64.49% White, not of Hispanic origins, 23.43% Hispanic or Latino, 9.99% Asian, 1.62% African American, 0.36% Native American, and 0.11% of some other race.

There are 935,287 menage away from which 37.0% develop babies under a age of Eighteen swallow the babies, 55.9% come married couples living together, 10.7% have a female homeowner by having there are no married man present, & Xxviii.6% come non-families. Xxi.1% of 100% home come mass produced higher of people & Vii.2% keep close at hand somebody dwelling alone world health organization is 65 years aged or even older. A typical home size is Ternary.00 & a typical personal size is Troika.48.

A people is diverse age-caring, sustaining Xxvii.0% under a age of Xviii, Nine.4% from either 18 to 2 dozen, 33.2% from either 25 to 44, Xx.6% from either 45 to 64, & Nina from carolina.9% 65 years aged or even older. A median age is 33 years. For each Centred females there are 99.Zero males. For each Hundred females age Eighteen & complete, there are 96.Heptad males.

the median income for a personal in the county is $58,820, & the median income for a family is $64,611. Males have a median income of $45,059 versus $34,026 for females. A per capita income for the county is $25,826. X.3% of the people & Vii.0% of families come following a poverty line. Away from a number people, Baker's dozen.2% of people under a age of 18 & 6.2% of victims 65 & older come residing following a poverty level.

Education

Orange County is residence to many colleges & universities, including: University of California, Irvine; University of Southern California; Marshall School of Business, Irvine Campus California State University, Fullerton; Chapman University; Vanguard University; Concordia University; and Soka University.

Its county education department too oversees Xxviii school districts. Look at List of school districts in Orange County, California.

Points of interest
A region's warmly Mediterranean climate and miles of year-year-around beaches attract hundreds to thousands of holidaymaker annually. Huntington Beach is a hot spot for sunbathing and surfing; nicknamed "Surf City, U.S.A.", these are front yard to several surfriding competitions. More holidaymaker destinations include a theme parks Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim and Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park. Little Saigon is another notable tourer destination, existence page to the big concentration of Vietnamese people outside of Vietnam.

Notable structures include a Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, a largest home of worship inside California; the historic Balboa Pavilion [http://www.balboapavilion.com/history.html] in Newport Beach; a Huntington Beach Pier; & the restored Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Occasionally of the virtually all exclusive (& expensive) neighborhoods in the U.S. come placed on text, numbers of along a Orange Coast. Big shopping centre survive throughout a county, like a Irvine Spectrum Center, South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, Fashion Island in Newport Beach, and The Block in Orange.

Historical points of interest include Mission San Juan Capistrano (destination of migrating swallows), and a Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace (the only privately-controlled presidential library in the nation since the government began constructing these libraries in 1939) in Yorba Linda. A Nixon Residence occurs as National Historic Landmark, as is the residence of the super different character, Madam Helena Modjeska, in Modjeska Canyon on Santiago Creek.

A Anaheim Angels won the World Series in 2002. A county's National Hockey League team, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, lost a 2003 Stanley Cup finals after winning triplet games within the seven-game series. NFL football left a county whilst the Los Angeles Rams relocated to St. Louis in 1996, but Anaheim city leaders are currently in talks with the NFL to bring a franchise back to Orange County. Orange County is likewise a residence of the Orange County Buzz five of the Our contries Basketball Association (ABA)

Government
Orange County occurs as general law county of California; its seat is Santa Ana. Its legislative & executive authority is vested around the 5-member Board of Supervisors. To each one Supervisor is popularly elected from either a regional dominion, & together a board oversees the activities of the county's agents & departments & sets policy in development, public improvements, & county services. At a beginning of every season a Supervisors choose a Chairperson & Vice-Chairman, however the administration is headed by a agent municipal manager, the County Executive.

Seven more public officials come elected at-prominent: a County Tax assessor, Auditor-Controller, Clerk-Recorder, Da, Sheriff-Coroner, Treasurer-Tax Collector, & Public Administrator.

Politics
Orange County has hanker been referred to as the Republican fastness & has systematically sent Republican representatives to the state & federal general assembly. Republican majorities inside Orange County helped deliver California's electoral votes to Republican presidential candidates Richard Nixon (1960 and 1968), Gerald Ford (1976), Ronald Reagan in (1980 and 1984) and George H. W. Bush in (1988). Although Democrats own manufactured inroads in a northern prevent of the county since the mid-1980s, Orange County politics come however dominated by Republicans. 5 of the County's six U.S. Representatives, four of its five State Senators, and seven of its nine State Assembly members are Republicans, as are four of the five members of the County Board of Supervisors.

Based on data from a California Secretary of State, as of September 2003 Orange County got 1,349,988 registered elector. One registered elector, 48.59% come registered Republican, 31.18% come registered Democrat, Xvi.07% declined to state, & a left over Little joe.16% come registered by using minor political parties.

Orange County produced such notable Republicans when President Richard Nixon (born in Yorba Linda and lived in San Clemente, U.S. Senator John F. Seymour (previously mayor of Anaheim, U.S. Senator Thomas Kuchel (of Anaheim), U.S. Rep. James Utt (of Santa Ana), U.S. Rep. Robert Badham (of Newport Beach), U.S. Rep. William E. Dannemeyer (of Fullerton). Previous U.S. Rep. Chris Cox (of Newport Beach) is currently chairwoman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. A county has produced comparatively couple large Republicans inside state government, although within 1996 Curt Pringle (currently city manager of Anaheim) became the foremost Republican-elected Speaker of the California Assembly in decades.

Since a 1990s, the incubation of the Hispanic population—and reaction to the dissentious campaign manoeuvre of previous state governor Pete Wilson—have softened the county's stem Republicanism. In the landmark 1996 election, Democrat Loretta Sanchez defeated veteran Republican U.S. Rep. Robert K. Dornan, and has held the seat ever since. Republicans keep around responded by making additional expressed efforts to court a Hispanic vote. When supplementary immigrants & Democrats settle around Orange County, there are signs that a longtime Republican monopoly is beginning to falter. Democrats such as U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, Governor Gray Davis, and Democratic Presidential candidates, have so fared better in a county recently-- until the 2004 election, that is. Within 2004 U.S. President George W. Bush captured 60% of the county's vote, up from 55% in 2000, and U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, though she won statewide, lost inside Orange County to Republican Bill Jones, 43% to 51%.

A county features conspicuously in the book Suburban Warriors: A Origins of the Up to date Our contries Best by Lisa McGirr. She argues that a County's rightward orientation in the 20th century owed much to its cash settlement by Midwestern transplants, who reacted strongly to communistic sympathies & a turmoil of the 1960s in nearby Los Angeles—across a "Orange Curtain."

Transportation

Transport around Orange County is offered primarily per Orange County Transportation Authority, or OCTA, which is known as America's #1 Transport within 2005, per Our contries Public Transportation Association. OCTA non just manages a extensive bus network crisscrossing a county, however as well funds a construction & maintenance of local road, main road, & freeways, operates a coordinated taxi patterns, maintains express toll lanes through the median value of the notoriously engorged Riverside Freeway (SR/CA-91), & works sustaining Southern California's Metrolink to provide commuter rail service along three lines - a Orange County Line, the 91 Line, and a Inland Empire-Orange County Line.

OCTA's bus network, which maintains 6,542 ends in 77 lines line most major streets, generates 210,000 boardings the day. OCTA's 817 buses come existence step by step replaced by Liquefied Natural Flatulence-powered vehicles, presently comprising terminated 40% of the fleet. OCTA besides plans to initiate local light rail service along the virtually all heavy-congested bus routes, & along previous railroad rights of way. Sooner plans for such the body, even so, were scrapped in favor increased bus & itinerant improvements.

Since a mid-90s, Metrolink has run tierce commuter rail lines through Orange County, & has besides maintained Rail-to-Rail service using parallel Amtrak service. Together, a Orange County Line, the 91 Line, and a Inland Empire-Orange County Line, along with Metrolink riders in parallel Amtrak lines, generate in top 12,000 boardings on the average weekday. In weekdays, Forty trains line these terzetto lines; Metrolink doesn't begin in weekends. Freshly stations use at times recently opened at Anaheim Canyon, Tustin, & Laguna Niguel, when Yorba Linda & Buena Park stations come proposed for first construction.

A major interstate of Orange County, everthing of which are then to a select few extent northward-south arteries, include a Santa Ana Freeway (I-Five), a San Diego Freeway (I-405 and I-5 south of Irvine), and a San Gabriel River Freeway (I-605), which only briefly enters Orange County territory. A more throughway in a county come expressway, & include the perpetually engorged Riverside and Artesia Freeways (CA/SR-91) and Garden Grove Freeway (CA/SR-22) running east-west, & a Orange Freeway (CA/SR-57), Costa Mesa Freeway (SR/CA-55), Laguna Freeway (CA/SR-133), San Joaquin Transportation Corridor (CA/SR-73), Eastern Transportation Corridor (CA/SR-261, CA/SR-133, and CA/SR-241), and Foothill Transportation Corridor (CA/SR-241) running northward-south. Minor stub expressway include a Richard M. Nixon State highway (CA/SR-90), likewise referred to as Imperial Highway, & a southern terminus of Pacific Coast Highway (CA/SR-One).

A trio transport corridors, generally known as "the toll road" or even by their benumb designations ("the 73", "the 133", "the 261", & "the 241") were constructed by a joint authority (the Transportation Corridor Agencies or TCA) in the 1990s. These toll roads were built to attach existent expressway (including a presently non-tolled portions of CA/SR-73 & CA/SR-133) to recently South County developments, & to service when surrogate routes for crowded Orange County pike. Tolls may be collected within cash or even by having a apply of transponders for postpaid accounts. A median value of a Riverside Freeway (CA/SR-91) besides contains toll lanes called the Express Lanes maintained by OCTA; users must maintain prepaid accounts to drive in these lanes.

Orange County's sole major airdrome, John Wayne-Orange County Airport (SNA), is located in unincorporated territory surrounded by the cities of Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, Irvine, & Newport Beach. Its modern Thomas F. Riley Terminal handles terminated 8 million rider annually across Fourteen different airlines.

Orange County in literature and popular culture
Film and television
Orange County has been a setting for many films & television program: These are right-referred to as a setting of the eponymic 2003 Fox Network television drama The O.C. (although the series is actually filmed in Los Angeles County to keep production costs down). A indicate has been criticized by residents world health organization sense that a indicate misrepresents their community. It is the subject & setting of the eponymic 2002 movie Orange County. It is besides a setting of the sitcom Arrested Development. The film Better Luck Tomorrow was shot & placed in the northern Orange County cities of Cypress and Anaheim. MTV's Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County was filmed in the Orange County coastal town. Locals in the O.C. imagine this misinterprets what Orange County is really astir. A storyline in the television drama The West Wing involved a dead liberal Democrat unexpectedly winning a Congressional seat from an Orange County district.

Orange County has besides typically been utilized as a shooting location for films & tv program. Examples of moving-picture show at least part shot around Orange County come Tom Hanks's That Thing You Do and the Coen Brothers's The Man Who Wasn't There.

Music
Popular punk rock bands such as The Adolescents, Thrice, Social Distortion, Agent Orange The Offspring, Fear, Avenged Sevenfold, and a elastic No Doubt, Stryper, Lit, O.C.Supertones, Sugar Ray, Throwdown, Rage Against the Machine, Reel Big Fish, Save Ferris, Circle Jerks, Youth Brigade, Cadillac Tramps, Black Flag, Bad Religion, The Germs, The Crowd, The Screamers, The Skulls, The Vandals, The Descendents, The Dickies, MIA, T.S.O.L.( True Sound of Liberty), Sublime, The Weirdos, and Jeffries Fan Club all hail from Orange County. A chintzy scene inside Orange County remains strongly influential.

Literature
Noted horror creator Dean Koontz has set the total of his novels in the area.

Orange County is the place where Kim Stanley Robinson's Three Californias Trilogy is set. These books depict 3 different stock of the Orange County (survivors of the nuclear war in The Untamed Shore, the creator's dream never again mad in The Gold Coast, & an ecotopian utopia inside Pacific Edge). Philip K. Dick's novel A Scanner Darkly was also set in Orange County.

A modern fantasy novel "All the Bells on Earth" by James P. Blaylock is set in Orange, a city in northern Orange County.

Religion
Orange County is as well a base for many important religious organizations: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, Bishop Tod Red) Chuck Smith, father of the Jesus People movement, is headquartered at Calvary Chapel located in Costa Mesa. Reverend Robert Schuller's Crystal Cathedral is located in Garden Grove. Trinity Broadcasting Network began as Channel 40 within Tustin, now in Costa Mesa. The Purpose Driven Life author Rick Warren and his Saddleback Church is in Lake Forest. The Vineyard Christian Fellowship movement began in Orange County. The Newport Beach Mormon Temple serves the 50,000 Latter-day Saints in the county. The Family was founded in 1968 in Huntington Beach by David Berg.

Famous Orange County residents, past and present

Amanda Beard, Olympic swimmer Drake Bell, actor Jimmy Bennett, actor James P. Blaylock, fantasy author Marlon Brando, film and stage actor Jackson Browne, popular musician Kobe Bryant, NBA player Michael Chang, Professional Tennis Player Sasha Cohen, figure skater Kevin Costner, actor/director Dick Dale, musician Lindsay Davenport, Professional Tennis Player Zach de la Rocha, former lead singer of Rage Against the Machine Phil Dent, Retired Broker Tennis Player Taylor Dent, Professional Tennis Player Philip K. Dick, author and futurist Leo Fender, inventor of the firm-person electric guitar Will Ferrell, comedian Paul Frank, clothes designer Dexter Holland, musician Diane Keaton, actress Dean Koontz, horror author Jason Lee, professional skateboarder/actor Steve Martin, comedian Mark McGwire, baseball player Mike Ness, a pioneer inside O.C. crummy music ( Social Distortion) Richard Nixon, US President Donny Osmond, singer/actor Michelle Pfeiffer, actress Dennis Rodman, former basketball player Keri Russell, actress Gwen Stefani, lead singer of No Doubt Ed Templeton, professional skateboarder & manufacturer Peter Vidmar, gymnast John Wayne, actor Tiger Woods, pro golfer

Incorporated cities in Orange County

Unincorporated communities in Orange County
Atwood Coto de Caza Cowan Heights, California Dove Canyon, California East Irvine, California El Modena, California Ladera Ranch Laguna Canyon, California Las Flores Lemon Heights, California Midway City Modjeska Canyon, California Monarch Beach, California Newport Coast, California (annexed to Newport Beach in 2001) North Laguna Hills, California Olinda, California Olive, California Orange Hills, California Orange Park Acres, California Rossmoor Santa Ana Heights, California Santiago Canyon, California Silverado Canyon, California South Laguna, California Sunset Beach, California Trabuco Canyon Trabuco Highlands, California Tustin Foothills West Anaheim, California