Chapter 9: The Changing South

Much like the Southern United States, Orange County had a wide range of ethnic minorities. Orange County, often percieved as a place for the white, rich man is actually a great melting mot on it's own. The 2010 United States Census reported that Orange County had a racial makeup of 60.8% White, 2.2% African American, 0.6% Native American, 17.9% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 14.5% from other races, 4.2% from two or more races and 33.7% Hispanic or Latino of any race (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_County,_California).

                                            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SchoolLunch.jpg

Just as the South was a regional leader for the Civil Rights Movement, Orange County also followed in similar footsteps. In 1946 Mendez v. Westminster, a city in Orange County, reached the Supreme Court and it ruled that segregation of Mexican and Mexican American students into separate "Mexican schools" was unconstitutional. This was widely seen throughout Orange County. It would be followed seven years later by Brown v. Board of Education where the "separate but equal" doctrine would be ruled unconstitutional (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendez_v._Westminster)

Chapter 8: Appalachia and the Ozarks

Much like the Appalachia which is known for its rugged landscape, the Cleveland National Forest is a protected forest area in Orange County. It consists most of the Santa Ana Mountains and is bisected by the Ortega Highway, which runs from San Juan Capistrano to Lake Elsinore. It was on July 1, 1908 President Theodore Roosevelt signed a declaration that created the Cleveland National Forest. I now provides habitat for native wildlife (www.fs.usda.gov) and is a very popular hiking area for many of the residents as well a place for camping and horseback riding. The Cleveland forest is also been an area very susceptible to wildfires. The two well known fires were the 2003 Cedar fire and the 2007 Santiago fire. The forest also has two astronomical observatories one operated by San Diego State University and the other by Cal Tech. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_National_Forest)

                                            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mountlagunasmall.jpg

The Santa Ana Mountains are the a mountain range in Southern California where the Los Angeles Basin is to the northwest and along the border of Orange and Riverside counties. it's highest point is Santiago Peak which is over 5,000 ft high. A number of minerals have been mined in the range, though none were very profitable. Commercial resources collected since the 1870s have included metals lead, silver, tin, and zinc, and minerals clay, coal, gypsum, and limestone.[1] Parts of the range have been used to graze domestic livestock and harvest timber since the late 18th century. As the surrounding cities have grown, the water of the range's creeks has become a particularly valued resource (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Ana_Mountains).

                                                  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SoCal_Coast.jpg

Chapter 7: The Bypassed East

One of the commonalities that Orange County has with the East is fishing. The Orange County coastline and harbors offer a full range of local pier, shore and offshore fishing. Fisherfolk and their families, living in or visiting this area, have available the awesome spectrum of cultural and entertainment opportunities provided by the great cities stretching along this section of coast (http://www.finefishing.com/1saltfish/california/orange.htm) .

There are many excursions that offer to take people out in the ocean to deep sea fish. Some of the most popular fish to catch are yellowtail, white sea bass, halibut, sand bass, barracuda and rockfish (www.daveyslocker.com).

                                             http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barracuda_laban.jpg

Chapter 5: The North American Manufacturing Core

THE CITRUS INDUSTRY

One of the earlier and main manufacturing industries of Orange County was the citrus industry. For many years, orange and Orange County were synonymous. While never the only crop in the county, oranges dominated the local agriculture from the 1890s to the 1950s. By 1915, there were already over 20,000 acres of orange groves here, and by 1936 Orange County was producing one-sixth of the nation’s Valencia crop, which generated two-thirds of the county’s agricultural income. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ocarchives/5495002524/in/photostream/

The worst citrus disease was the Quick Decline, a virus that began to infect local groves in 

the 1940s and killed off trees by the thousands. Orange County’s rapid growth in the 1950s and ‘60s added other challenges for local growers, including the rising costs of land, water, and taxes. As of 2004, less than 100 acres of citrus were still being harvested in Orange County.  

Source: http://www.ocsd.org/vgnfiles/ocgov/Clerk-Recorder/Docs/Archives/The_Citrus_Industry.pdf

REAL ESTATE 

http://www.firsttimeorangecounty.com/ocshopping.shtml

The Irvine Company is a privately owned real estate development company which has developed most the land in central and southern parts of the county. The land they own is part of the Irvine Ranch which was privately owned by James Irvine I, purchased in 1864 and consisted of 93,000 acres. It includes today's citites such as Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Tustin, Orange and Anaheim. The company was parodied in the Fox drama The O.C. renamed as The Newport Group and was depicted as a place for big business and corruption.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Irvine_Company)  

                                                   http://www.shoptheirvinecompany.com/assets/images/logo_irvine_retail_blue.gif

ENTERTAINMENT 

Orange County, CA has become a source for entertainment, particularly in television. It all started in 2003 when Fox premiered a prime time teen soap called The O.C. and became an overnight sensation making Orange County not only a tourist destination but a pop culture landmark. It so far has been broadcast 50 countries and was one of 2003's popular new series. MTV created a reality show titled Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County which followed the lives of teenagers in Laguna Beach, CA which was also a rating success for the network. Bravo also debuted The Real Housewives of Orange County in 2006 and was the first and seminal installment of the Real Housewives of...series. 

The shows have all been criticized for its lack of diversity, which the county has a lot of, and perhaps a skewed image of the county as a whole.   

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_O.C._cast_(season_1).jpg

http://coolspotters.com/tv-shows/laguna-beach-the-real-orange-county/wallpapers/7234?sort=popular

http://www.impawards.com/tv/real_housewives_of_orange_county_xlg.html

Chapter 4: Megalopolis

While Orange County, CA is nowhere near Megalopolis is can be put into terms of being part of another "megalopolis," that megalopolis being the greater Los Angeles. Los Angeles is the second most populous city in the United States.  It is largely a metropolitan city and the surrounding areas are also largely urban but do have it's differences. This Greater LA consists of Los Angeles, Ventura, southwest San Bernardino, and Orange Counties along with the city of Riverside.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_metropolitan_area

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Los_Angeles_Area

- In 2009 the U.S Census estimated that the Greater Los Angeles area had a population of 17,786,419.
- It also has specialization in economic growth, particularly in film and entertainment labeled as the "Entertainment Capital of the World."
- It is located on the Pacific Ocean where Long Beach and Los Angeles have major trading ports.
- The land has become more developed over the years. Downtown saw high development in the 1980s as well as Orange County.
- The area is well known for it's highway systems as cars are the main transportation system.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Los_Angeles_Area

Chapter 3: Foundations of Human Activity

Members of the Tongva, Juaneno and Luiseno Native American tribes had inhabited the area for centuries. After the Spanish came to California in the mid-1700's Junipero Serra named the area Valle de Santa Anna (Valley of Saint Anne). Mission San Juan Capistrano was founded November 1, 1776 and became Orange County's first permanent European settlement. Many ranchos in Orange County were given land grants by the Mexican government when the area was part of Mexico in the first half of the 1800s. (www.en.wikipedia.com/wiki/Orange_County,_California) 

                                           http://www.daytrippen.com/missionsjc.html

With the end of the Mexican War in 1848 Orange County, as was the rest of California was obtained by the United States. The economy of the county soared with the Gold Rush of 1849 when settlers came to California in the thousands. California entered statehood in 1850 and Orange County became part of Los Angeles County originally.The burst of economic growth in the 1880s led to the creation of Orange County in 1889. 

- Orange County is one of the most populous counties in the country, the sixth largest in the US and the third largest in the U.S. 

- About 3,000 to 66,940 people per square mile ( Regional Landscapes of the U.S. and Canada pg. 53)  

URBANIZATION 

http://www.destination-southern-california.com/things-to-do-in-southern-california.html

http://catalisthomes.com/CA_real_estate/Newport_Coast.aspx

By the mid-1950s, Orange County’s farms were being replaced by tract housing faster than any other community in the United States. Existing cities began annexing territory in every direction, and new cities incorporated almost every year. Tourism, manufacturing and service became the main drive for the economy. The opening of Disneyland in 1955 made Orange County an international destination. TV shows such as The O.C. and Laguna Beach also increased tourism in the 2000's. Today, Orange County has more than 3 million residents. 


Source: http://www.ocsd.org/vgnfiles/ocgov/Clerk-Recorder/Docs/Archives/history_of_orange_county.pdf

Chapter 2: Geographic Patterns of the Physical Environment

Orange County, California is the smallest county in Southern California and is just about the same size of the state of Rhode Island. It has a Mediterranean climate with usually abundant sunshine year round, warm summers and mild winters. The average year round temperature is 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_County,_California

The county is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Los Angeles County on the north, San Bernardino County to the northeast and San Diego County to the south. The northwestern part of the county is mostly a coastal plain which is part of the Los Angeles Basin while the southwestern part is combined of hills that rise into the Santa Ana Mountains. The Santa Ana River is the county's main water course and is the largest river in Southern California, it is a main drainage basin for three other counties as well. The only natural lakes in Orange County are located in Laguna Beach, made of water rising up against an underground fault. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_County,_California)

Courtesy of Liz Iorio 

- part of the Pacific Mountains and Valleys physiographic region
- Soil type (based on the Seventh Approximation from the USDA) is highland
- Made mostly of metamorphic rock
- Sclerophyllous vegetation
- 12.0 to 19.9 inches mean annual precipitation (Regional Landscapes of the United States and Canada p. 28)

Source: Regional Landscapes of the United States and Canada, 7th Edition, Birdsall, Palka, Malinowski, Price