Thermal, California
| Thermal | |
|---|---|
| — census-designated place — | |
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|
 Thermal
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| Coordinates: 33°37′35″N 116°07′51″W / 33.62639°N 116.13083°WCoordinates: 33°37′35″N 116°07′51″W / 33.62639°N 116.13083°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  California |
| County | Riverside |
| Area[1] | |
| • Total | 9.451 sq mi (24.479 km2) |
| • Land | 9.451 sq mi (24.479 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) 0% |
| Elevation[2] | -138 ft (−42 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 2,865 |
| • Density | 300/sq mi (120/km2) |
| Time zone | Pacific (PST) (UTC-8) |
| • Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) |
| ZIP codes | 92274 |
| Area code(s) | 760 |
| FIPS code | |
| GNIS feature ID | 2583161 |
| U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Thermal, California | |
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Thermal is a census-designated place located approximately 25 miles southeast of Palm Springs and about 9.5 miles north of the Salton Sea. Although one can find sunny skies most days, residents occasionally endure strong winds and sizzling summer temperatures well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The community's elevation is 138 feet (42 m) below mean sea level. It is inside area code 760 and is in ZIP Code 92274. It lies along the Yuma Subdivision of the Union Pacific Railroad. Area crops include citrus orchards, winter vegetables and date palms. The population was 2,865 at the 2010 census.
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[edit] History of the region
Thermal began as a railroad camp in 1910 for employees of the Union Pacific Railroad, followed by Mecca (originally called Walters) in 1915 and Arabia in between, each had about 1,000 residents. Then came the establishment of permanent dwellings on Avenue 56 (renamed Airport Boulevard), former U.S. Route 99 (State Route 86) and State Route 111 by the 1930s.
Agricultural development from canal irrigation made the area thrive in greenery by the 1950s, followed by the former Camp Young U.S. Naval Air station converted into Thermal Airport by 1965. In the early 1990s, a six-lane highway (the new State Route 86) was constructed as an earlier transportation route. There's a proposal for a major commercial aviation Airport known as the Jackie Cochran-Desert Cities Regional Airport in the same site.
A proposal to build an auto Racetrack & Club, a members' only racetrack below Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport, is in the works.
[edit] Geography and climate
Thermal is one of the hottest locations in North America, hence the name. At 118 feet below sea level, Thermal is also one of the lowest places in North America. It is an arid desert climate. In January, the normal high temperature is 68 degrees with a low of 40. In July, the normal high temperature is 110 degrees with a low of 82. The average high for the year is 89 degrees and the annual precipitation hovers at around 3 inches. Due to the cold air drainage effect in the Coachella Valley, Thermal and other communities on the Southern end of the valley are typically hotter during the day and colder at night when compared to Palm springs at the North end of the valley.
[edit] Today
Once mainly rural, recent development and housing tracts from Indio and Coachella has spread out onto the formerly agricultural open spaces of Thermal, Mecca and the exurb of Vista Santa Rosa. Thermal and Vista Santa Rosa presently share the same zip code.
An estimated 5,000 residents live in the Thermal region, but it's said to double during the migrant labor harvest in May to July, and triples by "snowbirds" in the winter months from November to March. Nearby Mecca has over 10,000 residents, doubled in the last 5 years.
Thermal and Mecca are two towns with both seasonal and permanent residential growth. Almost all the population of the region are Latino, most of them are employed in agricultural and manual labor jobs. 4,000 people live in Duroville, a trailer park on the Torres-Martinez Indian Reservation.
There are five Indian reservations: the Cabazon Indian, Twentynine Palms, Torres-Martinez and Augustine Bands of Mission Indians, with legal jurisdiction in portions of the region.
Arabia, California once existed along the route of present-day SR111 between Avenue 60 and Avenue 61. The town had a post office in the early 1900s. The area may become an industrial center to replace the abandoned buildings.
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 9.5 square miles (25.5 km²), all of it land.
[edit] Demographics
The 2010 United States Census[3] reported that Thermal had a population of 2,865. The population density was 303.1 people per square mile (117.0/km²). The racial makeup of Thermal was 1,034 (36.1%) White, 28 (1.0%) African American, 30 (1.0%) Native American, 32 (1.1%) Asian, 1 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 1,685 (58.8%) from other races, and 55 (1.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2,730 persons (95.3%).
The Census reported that 2,863 people (99.9% of the population) lived in households, 2 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.
There were 684 households, out of which 452 (66.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 410 (59.9%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 113 (16.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 87 (12.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 61 (8.9%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 6 (0.9%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 55 households (8.0%) were made up of individuals and 19 (2.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.19. There were 610 families (89.2% of all households); the average family size was 4.36.
The population was spread out with 1,070 people (37.3%) under the age of 18, 316 people (11.0%) aged 18 to 24, 781 people (27.3%) aged 25 to 44, 502 people (17.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 196 people (6.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25.9 years. For every 100 females there were 111.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.5 males.
There were 761 housing units at an average density of 80.5 per square mile (31.1/km²), of which 269 (39.3%) were owner-occupied, and 415 (60.7%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.7%. 1,162 people (40.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,701 people (59.4%) lived in rental housing units.
[edit] Public services
[edit] Education
There are several schools in Coachella Valley Unified School District in and near the community. These include schools in Salton City, 20 miles south of Coachella, in Imperial County, California. In Thermal, they are: Westside Elementary (K-6), Oasis Elementary (K-8), Mountain Vista Elementary (K-6), Saul Martinez Elementary (K-6), Mecca Elementary (K-6), Edward Park Elementary (K-5), Toro Canyon Middle (6-8), Bobby Duke Middle (6-8), John Kelley Elementary (K-6), Coachella Valley High (9-12), Cesar Chavez Elementary (K-6), Cahuilla Desert Academy (Junior High: 7th and 8th grade), Desert Mirage High School (9-12), West Shores High School (9-12) and La Familia Continuation High (9-12).
College of the Desert, a community college based in Palm Desert is planning open a new satellite campus, the East Valley Educational Center, on the corner of 62nd Avenue and Buchanan Street.
[edit] Transportation
Thermal Airport is located about 1.6 miles southwest of the community. There is also a Thermal VORTAC which may be a co-located with the airport.
The region is served by a two-lane Expressway. State Route 86/111 is a modern transportation corridor that serves as a fruit shipping and international trucking route to connect with Interstate 10 in Indio.
[edit] Cemeteries
The Toro Cemetery is located on Monroe Street.[4][5]
The Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians maintains a small (48 interments) cemetery on Martinez Road.[6][7]
[edit] Environment
Extremely hot in the summer, temperatures can reach 122 degrees Fahrenheit; moderately cool in the winter with low temperatures as low as 30 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Desert environment
- Home to a lot of wildlife such as Red-tailed Hawks and frogs
- A lot of date palms
[edit] References
- ^ U.S. Census
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Thermal, California
- ^ All data are derived from the United States Census Bureau reports from the 2010 United States Census, and are accessible on-line here. The data on unmarried partnerships and same-sex married couples are from the Census report DEC_10_SF1_PCT15. All other housing and population data are from Census report DEC_10_DP_DPDP1. Both reports are viewable online or downloadable in a zip file containing a comma-delimited data file. The area data, from which densities are calculated, are available on-line here. Percentage totals may not add to 100% due to rounding. The Census Bureau defines families as a household containing one or more people related to the householder by birth, opposite-sex marriage, or adoption. People living in group quarters are tabulated by the Census Bureau as neither owners nor renters. For further details, see the text files accompanying the data files containing the Census reports mentioned above.
- ^ 33°35′18″N 116°13′50″W / 33.5883594°N 116.2305629°W USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)
- ^ 63-771 Monroe St., Thermal, CA 92274 per Google Maps
- ^ 33°33′37″N 116°09′09″W / 33.5603042°N 116.1525048°W USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)
- ^ Torres Martinez Reservation Cemetery Find A Grave
- U.S. Geological Survey, National Geographic Names Database
- Map: "Indio, California, 7.5-minute Quadrangle," U.S. Geological Survey, 1972.
- Nordland, Ole J., History of the Coachella Valley County Water District, Second Ed., (Coachella, California: Coachella Valley Water District, 1978).
- Map: "Road Map of California, 1958," (Sacramento, California: State of California, Department of Public Works, Division of Highways).
- California Region Timetable: 14, (Modesto, California: Altamont Press, 2003).
- U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics
