The Coachella Valley is a large stretch of land in Southern California which includes the famed desert mecca, Palm Springs.  Geographically it is the agricultural and recreational desert valley in southern California.  The valley extends for approximatley 45 miles in Riverside County - southeast from the San Bernardino Mountains to the saltwater Salton Sea, the largest lake in California.  The valley is approximately 15 miles wide along most of its length.  It is bounded on the west by the San Jacinto Mountains and the Santa Rosa Mountains - on the north and east by the Little San Bernardino Mountains.

There is some contention as to the origin of the name.  Early maps show the area as "Concella", the Spanish word for "seashell".  Since the area was once a part of a vast inland sea, tiny fossilized mollusk shells can be found in just about every remote area.  Local lore explains the change in the name from Concella to Coachellas as a mistake made by the map-makers contracted to transcribe the data supplied by the Southern Pacific Railroad's survey party.  Rather than redraw the expensive maps, the railroad chose to instead begin calling the area by the misspelled name "Coachella".

The Coachella Valley is one of the fastest-growing areas in the country.  The area is made of nine incorporated cities and has a total population of over 400,000.  Projections have the valley's poplation surpassing 600,000 by the year 2020.

Our popular resort community of Palm Springs sits at the northwest end of the valley.  A retirement haven throughout it's history, the area was settled by a diverse array of races and ethnicities.

For more information choose a link:

Racial Diversity, Geography & Climate, Agriculture

Recreation and Entertainment, Celebrities & Other Historical Figures 

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia