Palm Springs area
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The Palm Springs area of southern California is a group of nine adjacent cities in the upper Coachella Valley, often collectively referred to as "Palm Springs". The area was originally used to cultivate date palms, but in recent years these have been mostly replaced by nearly continuous development from Palm Springs to Coachella.
In order, west to east:
- Palm Springs
- Desert Hot Springs
- Cathedral City
- Rancho Mirage
- Palm Desert
- Indian Wells
- La Quinta
- Indio
- Coachella
Transportation and Population
The area is serviced by the Palm Springs International Airport, and Interstate 10 runs along the northeastern rim of the valley. California Highway 111 runs for about thirty or so miles along the southwestern rim of the valley, which is where population is concentrated highest, though with the urban sprawl and growth taking place there in recent years, this population is expanding toward the freeway rapidly.
The region's population is approximately 225,000 in the summer months, and nearly 400 or 500,000 in winter, as myriad "snowbirds" "flock" to the warm climate.
Geography and Climate
The area is surrounded on the southwestern side by the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto mountain ranges, and the Little San Bernardino Mountains on the northeast. These mountains peak at around 11,000 feet, and tend to average at about three to five thousand feet. This makes the marine layer that the rest of southern California is familiar with impossible, and by extension, weather of pretty much any sort is impossible in the valley, unless the system comes in through one of the narrow passes. In the summer, this means clear blue skies for months on end, but the trade-off is that the daily high temperature rarely, if ever, goes beneath a hundred and five degrees, and tends to be closer to 115.
In winter, though, the temperatures range from 50 at night to 80 in the daytime, making it a popular winter resort destination.
