Antelope Valley

Coordinates: 34°48′N 118°12′W / 34.8°N 118.2°W / 34.8; -118.2
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Antelope Valley (disambiguation).

Antelope Valley
Sierra Pelona Mountains (west)
Coordinates34°48′N 118°12′W / 34.8°N 118.2°W / 34.8; -118.2 
Traversed byState Route 14, State Route 58, State Route 138

The Antelope Valley is located in northern

Sierra Pelona, and the San Gabriel Mountains.[2] The valley was named for the pronghorns that roamed there until they were all eliminated in the 1880s, mostly by hunting, or resettled in other areas.[2][3] The principal cities in the Antelope Valley are Palmdale and Lancaster
.

Geography

The Antelope Valley comprises the western tip of the

Precipitation in the surrounding mountain ranges contributes to groundwater recharge
.

Flora and fauna

Joshua trees in snow, near Lancaster, California

The Antelope Valley is home to a wide range of plants and animals. This includes hundreds of plants such as the

California poppy
. Winter brings much-needed rain, which slowly penetrates the area's dry ground, bringing up native grasses and wildflowers. Poppy season depends completely on the precipitation, but a good bloom can be killed off by the unusual weather in the late winter and early spring.

The Antelope Valley gets its name from its history of

bunch grass
, their main food source. Now, the sighting of a pronghorn is rare, although a small number remain in the western portion of the valley.

Common game species in the Antelope Valley include

Stellar's jay, leopard frog, and rattlesnake.[4]

Water issues

Human water use in the Antelope Valley depends mainly on pumping of groundwater from the valley's aquifers and on importing additional water from the California Aqueduct. Long-term groundwater pumping has lowered the water table, thereby increasing pumping lifts, reducing well efficiency, and causing land subsidence.[5]

While aqueducts supply additional water that meets increasing human demand for agricultural, industrial, and domestic uses, diversion of water from the

Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in northern California has caused and causes adverse environmental and social effects in the delta:

"Over decades, [the] competing uses for water supply and habitat have jeopardized the Delta's ability to meet either need. All stakeholders agree the estuary is in trouble and requires long-term solutions to ensure reliable, quality water supplies and a healthy ecosystem."[6]

The Antelope Valley's population growth and development place considerable stress on the local and regional water systems. According to David Leighton of the United States Geological Survey:

"A deliberate management effort will be required to meet future water demand in the Antelope Valley without incurring significant economic and environmental costs associated with overuse of the ground-water resource."[7]

Human history

A Kawaiisu family

The first peoples of the Antelope Valley include the

Franciscan friar, is believed to have traveled the west end of the valley in 1776. The Spanish established El Camino Viejo through the western part of the valley between Los Angeles and the missions of the San Francisco Bay in the 1780s. By 1808, the Spanish had moved the native people out of the valley and into missions.[9]

Southern Pacific Railroad in 1876. The rail service linking the valley to the Central Valley
and Los Angeles started its first large influx of white settlers, and farms and towns soon sprouted on the valley floor. The aircraft (now called aerospace) industry took hold in the valley at Plant 42 in 1952. Edwards AFB, then called Muroc Army Air Field, was established in 1933.

The area was once under Mexican rule and was named after the large herds of antelope.[10]

Demographics

In recent decades, the valley has become a

Greater Los Angeles area.[11] Major housing-tract development and population growth took off beginning in 1983, which has increased the population of Palmdale around 12 times its former size as of 2006. Neighboring Lancaster has increased its population since the early 1980s to around three times its former level. Major retail has followed the population influx, centered on Palmdale's Antelope Valley Mall. The Lancaster—Palmdale urbanized area is home to 372,287 people.[12]

Some long-term residents living far out in the desert have been cited by Los Angeles County's nuisance abatement teams for code violations, forcing residents to either make improvements or move. One of the properties is a church building that was used as a filming location for

Kill Bill. The code enforcers have arrived on some of their visits in SWAT-team formats.[13]

Hispanics and Whites make up the majority of the population.[14]

Spanish and Tagalog are the most common foreign languages spoken in the Antelope Valley.[15]

According to Mapping L.A., German and English were the most common ancestries and Mexico and the Philippines were the most common foreign places of birth in 2000 in Northwest Antelope Valley. Mexico and El Salvador were the most common foreign places of birth in the northwest.[16] German and English were the most common ancestries in the northeast.[17] German and Irish were the most common ancestries in Southeast Antelope Valley. Mexico and Colombia were the common foreign places of birth in the southeast.[18]

Military base

Discovery (STS-128) touches down at Edwards Air Force Base, 2009

Edwards Air Force Base lies east of Rosamond, 37 miles (60 km) northeast of Palmdale. Edwards AFB's dry lakebeds are the lowest geographic elevation in the valley. Significant numbers of U.S. military test flights are performed there, and it has been the site of many important aeronautical accomplishments, including the first flight to break the sound barrier, accomplished by Chuck Yeager.[19]

NASA Space Shuttles originally landed at Edwards because the lake beds offer a vast landing area. Although NASA later built a landing strip at Kennedy Space Center, Edwards was retained as the backup in case of bad weather at Cape Canaveral.[20]

NASA Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center is a tenant organization at Edwards AFB. The center is best known for the X-15 experimental rocket ship program. It has been the home of NASA's high-performance aircraft research since it was founded for the X-1 program. The Space Shuttle orbiter was serviced there when it landed at Edwards.[21]

Industry

Aerospace

SpaceShipOne (Flight 15P) landing at Mojave Air and Space Port
(June 21, 2004)

Lockheed L-1011
Tristar passenger jets.

This region also houses the newly dedicated Mojave Air and Space Port. The spaceport is famous as the base of operations for Scaled Composites, the company that designed SpaceShipOne and won the X-Prize.

Much of the work done at these facilities is performed in coordination with Edwards Air Force Base and the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center (see above), from the creation and testing of proof-of-concept X-planes, to Space Shuttle operations, to the manufacturing and integration and testing of new military aviation equipment.

With the size of the industry there, Antelope Valley has been nicknamed the Aerospace Valley.[22]

Agriculture

The valley's first main industry as a part of the United States was agriculture. Historically known in the region for its extensive alfalfa fields and fruit crops, farmers now are growing a wider variety of crops, such as carrots, onions, lettuce, and potatoes. As housing tracts continue to build in the middle of the valley, the farm operations are found farther to the west and east sides than in earlier decades.[23]

Electricity generation

The Alta Wind Energy Center in northern Antelope Valley

The northern reaches of Antelope Valley are part of the

solar farms, some of which are among the largest in the United States
.

Manufacturing

Mining

The world's largest open-pit borax mine is located near Boron.

Education

Colleges and universities

High schools

Also, several private and home-school high schools arein the area, most notably:

  • Abraham Lincoln High School - Rosamond
  • Paraclete High School
  • Bethel Christian High School
  • Antelope Valley Christian School - Lancaster
  • Desert Christian High School
  • Empowered Learning Academy - Palmdale
  • Palmdale Academy Charter School
  • Pearblossom High School
  • Desert Sands Charter Schools - Lancaster
  • Desert Sands Charter Schools - Palmdale
  • Options for Youth Charter Schools - Lancaster
  • Options for Youth Charter Schools - Palmdale
  • The Palmdale Aerospace Academy

School districts

Culture

The Antelope Valley Symphony Orchestra is a professional ensemble that performs four concerts each year at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center. It is an auxiliary of Antelope Valley College, and performs regularly with the Antelope Valley College Civic Orchestra.

In popular culture

Antelope Valley Indian Museum State Historic Park has been featured in films such as The Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972) and The Stone Killer (1973). Mackenna's Gold (1964) was also partly filmed in Antelope Valley.[28] The video to the R.E.M. song "Man on the Moon" was shot in Antelope Valley in October 1992.[29]

Parks

Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, March 2008

Hospitals

Major hospitals include:

The Antelope Valley was formerly served by a county hospital, High Desert Hospital, which was converted into an urgent care clinic in 2003 due to the county's budget problems. As a result, indigent patients with serious but non-life-threatening medical conditions must seek treatment at

Olive View – UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar, which is over 50 miles (80 km) away.[30]

Transportation

Major highways and roads

Include:

On the ridgeline of the San Gabriel Mountains, the Angeles Crest Highway (

Los Angeles
metropolitan region.

Rail

Bus

  • The
    Los Angeles
    .
  • Greyhound Bus
    has stops at the Palmdale Transportation Center and the Lancaster Metrolink station.

Airports

Notable people

Muroc
, circa 1947

Some people of note have spent time in the valley, including:

Cities and communities

Cities over 100,000 population

  • Lancaster (population as of 2018, 159,053) - incorporated in 1977
  • Palmdale (population as of 2018, 156,667) - incorporated in 1962

Cities less than 100,000 population

Unincorporated towns and districts

Over 10,000 population

Under 10,000 population

See also

References

  1. ^ "Antelope Valley". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-0-520-20530-7
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-0-520-21271-8
    . Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  4. ^ "Antelope Valley Wildlife Area". wildlife.ca.gov. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  5. ^ Ikehara, Marti E. and Phillips, Steven P. (1994) Determination of Land Subsidence Related to Ground-Water Level Declines Using Global Positioning System and Leveling Surveys in Antelope Valley, Los Angeles and Kern Counties, California, 1992 Archived 2014-04-21 at the Wayback Machine, Water-Resources Investigations Report 94-4184, United States Geological Survey
  6. ^ "State Water Project - Delta". July 7, 2007. Archived from the original on July 7, 2007. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  7. ^ "Antelope Valley Ground-water study". September 23, 2006. Archived from the original on September 23, 2006. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  8. ^ "Kawaiisu Tribe of Tejon, Southern California Native American Art and History". May 5, 2008. Archived from the original on May 5, 2008.
  9. ^ "Antelope Valley Frequently Asked Questions: 16. What Indians lived here?", County of Los Angeles Public Library: Lancaster Library, archived from the original on November 7, 2017, retrieved February 14, 2007
  10. ^ "Guide to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve State Natural Reserve Photographic Collection".
  11. ISBN 9781864503319
    , p.476
  12. ^ "Census profile: Lancaster--Palmdale, CA Urbanized Area".
  13. ^ Melnicoff, Mars (September 16, 2011). "L A County's Private Property War". A Weekly News. Archived from the original on September 2, 2011. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
  14. ^ "2020 CENSUS Antelope Valley" (PDF). Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  15. ^ Executive summary lacounty.gov
  16. ^ "Northwest Antelope Valley".
  17. ^ "Northeast Antelope Valley".
  18. ^ "Southeast Antelope Valley".
  19. ^ "Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is home to the 412th Test Wing and the United States Air Force Test Pilot School" (PDF). repi.mil. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  20. ^ "April 14, 1981, Landing of First Space Shuttle Mission". NASA. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  21. ^ "Armstrong Flight Research Center - NASA". Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  22. ^ Borge, Alyssa (March 2, 2021). "America's Aerospace Valley". Museum of Art & History. Lancaster Museum of Art and History.
  23. ^ Gerber, Judith; Surls, Rachel (March 1, 2019). "Los Angeles County's Forgotten Farming History". PBS SoCal. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  24. ^ Master's degree Academic Catalog. Lancaster, California: University of Antelope Valley (2011–2012). p. 5. Archived from the original on April 22, 2014 – via uav.edu.
  25. ^ votesandrajohnson.com – Just another WordPress site About Sandra. (2012). Retrieved April 15, 2012.
  26. ^ Stallworth, Leo (September 9, 2011). "University of Antelope Valley pays employers for jobs". KABC-TV/DT. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  27. ^ Stallworth, Leo. "Antelope university pays employers for jobs". ABC7.com. ABC 7 Los Angeles. Archived from the original on March 30, 2018. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  28. ISBN 9781476625492
    .
  29. ^ "R.E.M.'s official Twitter account". Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  30. ^ "Antelope Valley Hospital". locator.lacounty.gov. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  31. ^ "Guide to the Ezra M. Hamilton Collection, 1833-1914". Online Archive of California. Archived from the original on December 12, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2018.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Antelope Valley.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Antelope Valley.
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