Riverside

Riverside, California 

The county seat and largest city in Riverside County, California, both belong to the Inland Empire metropolitan area. Its location next to the Santa Ana River gave rise to its name. It is the most populated city in Riverside County and the Inland Empire, and it is located about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of the center of Los Angeles. The Greater Los Angeles area includes it as well. In terms of population, Riverside ranks 12th in California and 61st overall in the United States. There were 314,998 people living there as of the 2020 census. Riverside and San Bernardino are both major cities in the 13th-largest Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in the country. The Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA has a population of 4,599,839. It is only behind San Francisco (4,749,008) and above Detroit (4,392,041). 

In the early 1870s, Riverside was established. The Mission Inn, the biggest Mission Revival-style structure in the country, is located there. It is also the origin of the California citrus industry. The Riverside National Cemetery and the Eastern Division of the Central District of California Federal District Court are also located there. 

Northeastern area of the city is home to the University of California, Riverside. Riverside Sports Complex is located on university property. The California Museum of Photography, the California Citrus State Historic Park, Castle Park, and the Parent Washington Navel Orange Tree, the last of California's two original navel orange trees, are among the other attractions in Riverside. The Fox Performing Arts Center and Museum of Riverside, which houses exhibits and artifacts of local history, are also noteworthy. 

Geography 

The 61st-biggest city in the US, Riverside is also the major city in the Inland Empire metro area of California and the 12th-largest city in the state. The city has an area of 81.4 square miles (210.8 km2), of which 81.1 square miles (210 km2) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km2) (0.37%) is water, according to the United States Census Bureau. Downtown Riverside is 860 feet above sea level (260 m). The local icon and popular tourist destination Mount Rubidoux is one of the hills inside the city borders. Small and big mountains, some of which receive a winter snowfall, surround Riverside. The numerous beaches in Southern California are popular with the locals as well. The distance from Riverside to Orange County and Los Angeles County is only about 47 miles (76 km). 

Climate 

With hot, dry summers and warm, comparatively wet winters, Riverside has a semi-arid climate (Köppen climatic classification BSh) that borders an arid climate (Köppen climate classification BWh). From 54.8 °F (12.7 °C) in December to 79.8 °F (26.6 °C) in August, the average monthly temperature is. The average annual number of days with below-freezing and above-zero temperatures is 3.5 and 21.6, respectively. Record highs range from 118 °F (48 °C) on July 17, 1925, June 16, 1917, and July 6 of this year to 18 °F (8 °C) on January 15, 1911. Every year, Riverside receives 9.39 inches (239 mm) of precipitation on average, with the wettest month being February. Measurable precipitation occurs on 35 of those days. 

Environment 

Smog and excessive air pollution are problems in the Riverside region. The Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area was judged to be among the most polluted places based on year-round particle measurements when compared to other U.S. cities in a comparison by the National Campaign Against Dirty Air Power (2003).  By adding a new mass transit system (Metrolink) and fitting its whole fleet of buses with natural gas, the city tried to lessen pollution. Over the following few years, smog significantly diminished as nearby counties and towns collaborated with the South Coast Air Quality Management District to put policies in place to enhance local air quality. According to the American Lung Association, Riverside County had some of the worst air quality in the country in 2020. The majority of Riverside's pollution issues are caused by the dominant wind patterns that transport smog from the Los Angeles Basin, particulates produced by the numerous cars in southern California, and pollutants from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach into the Inland Empire. 

Religion 

The majority of the population in Riverside is Christian, and the city is home to Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Protestant, and Universalist Unitarian churches, as well as an Islamic Mosque, a Jewish synagogue, a Hindu temple, and a number of Buddhist temples. The Inland Empire Atheists and Agnostics group has its headquarters in Riverside as well. 

Due to the presence of La Sierra University, there are sizable Seventh-Day Adventist populations in Riverside and the area around Loma Linda in the vicinity of San Bernardino. 

Because the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints operates missionaries in Riverside and Redlands close to its temple, there is a sizable Mormon community there as well as in the San Bernardino area. 

On the summit of the city's Mount Rubidoux, a number of religious events are held. The oldest ongoing non-denominational outdoor Easter ceremony in the country is an annual Easter Sunrise service. April 12, 2009, marked the occasion's 100th anniversary. Juan Diego supposedly walked up Tepeyac hill in 1531 and witnessed a Marian apparition known as Our Lady of Guadalupe. Each December, a 2.2-mile (4-kilometer) procession from Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine to the top of Mount Rubidoux raises awareness of this event. 

A dispute erupted in 2012 over the cross that was located atop Mount Rubidoux and was cared for by the city. The Riverside City Council sold the cross and the surrounding 0.43 acres (1740.15 square meters) of land to a private party for $10,500 due to constitutional problems with the separation of church and state. 

Economy 

The economy of Riverside is mostly based on light industry, which produces a variety of goods, including automotive parts, gas cylinders, electronic equipment, food products, and medical devices. Several industrial parks, such as those in the Hunter Industrial Park, Sycamore Canyon Industrial Park, and Airport Industrial Areas, support the manufacturing sector. Riverside, the most populous city in the Inland Empire and the county seat of Riverside County, is home to a number of legal, accounting, engineering, and financial organizations. Although there are still packing houses and a citrus industry in the city, it is in decline. 

One of the companies with headquarters in Riverside is the American electronics company Bourns, Inc. 

In many sections of the Inland Empire, where urbanization and water scarcity have rendered the business unprofitable, citrus production is declining. 

Top News Websites 

The Press-Enterprise 

The Press-Enterprise is Riverside County's top source for news, videos, activities, sports, business, and lifestyle information. 

Black Voice News 

Black Voice News, which was founded by Brown Publishing Company in 1999, is the oldest African-American internet news source on the West Coast. The newly revamped website was presented in 2015 as a forum for original and condensed material that educates and inspires. It was initially founded as the online version of the California-based advocacy newspaper Black Voice News. 

Population 

California's Riverside County is home to the city of Riverside. It serves as Riverside County's County seat as well. It is the 65th largest city in the United States and the 13th largest city in California with a population of 318,337 in 2023. Riverside's population has grown by 1.06% from the most recent census, which showed a population of 314,998 in 2020, and is now rising at a pace of 0.35% annually. Riverside, which spans more than 82 miles, has 3,918 inhabitants per square mile. 

With a poverty rate of 15.69%, the average household income in Riverside is $85,486. The median monthly cost of rent in recent years has been, and the median value of a home is. In Riverside, the median age is 31.8 years, with 30.8 years for men and 33.1 years for women. 

Riverside, which was first established in the 1800s, is most recognized for its function in the California citrus industry.