Coachella Valley

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The Coachella Valley (

In addition to Palm Springs, the valley is home to the cities of Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Indio, La Quinta, Palm Desert, and Rancho Mirage.

Summers in the valley are extremely hot and valley winters are mild. As such, the valley's population tends to fluctuate; from nearly 500,000 in April, to around 300,000 in July and August, to around 600,000 by January. ^{[citation needed]} It was estimated in 2013 that 3.5 million conventioneers and tourists visit the valley each year.^[3]

The Coachella Valley connects with the Greater Los Angeles area to the west via the San Gorgonio Pass, a major transportation corridor, traversed by Interstate 10 and by the Union Pacific Railroad. The Coachella Valley is sometimes called the Desert Empire^[4] to differentiate it from the broader Inland Empire.

History

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The area had been surveyed by

The coming in 1926 of

The Coachella Valley became popular among celebrities from Frank Sinatra to Dakota Fanning who came to enjoy vacations and winter homes in the desert resort community. It became a real estate destination in the 1980s and 1990s^{[citation needed]} and has also become a tourist destination.

Geography

The Coachella Valley is the northernmost extent of the vast

Panorama of the view south from Keys View in the Little San Bernardino Mountains, Joshua Tree National Park, California, United States. Visible landmarks are the Salton Sea, 230 feet (70 m) below sea level at rear left, along towards the center the Santa Rosa Mountains behind Indio and the San Jacinto Mountains behind Palm Springs. In the valley floor, the San Andreas Fault is clearly visible. At the rear right is the 11,500-foot tall (3,500 m) San Gorgonio Mountain.

The area is surrounded on the southwest by the Santa Rosa Mountains, by the San Jacinto Mountains to the west, the Little San Bernardino Mountains to the east and San Gorgonio Mountain to the north. These mountains peak at around 11,000 feet (3,400 m) and tend to average between 5,000 and 7,000 feet (1,500 and 2,100 m). Elevations on the valley floor range from 1,600 feet (490 m) above sea level at the north end of the Valley to 250 feet (76 m) below sea level around Mecca.^[8]

The San Andreas Fault traverses the valley's east side. Because of this fault, the valley has many hot springs. The Santa Rosa Mountains to the west are part of the Elsinore Fault Zone. The results of a prehistoric sturzstrom can be seen in Martinez Canyon. The Painted Canyons of Mecca feature smaller faults as well as Precambrian, Tertiary and Quaternary rock formations, unconformities, badlands and desert landforms. Fault lines cause hot water springs or geysers to rise from the ground. These natural water sources made habitation and development possible in the otherwise inhospitable desert environment of the Coachella Valley. Major earthquakes have affected the Coachella Valley. For instance, the 1992 Landers earthquake caused some damage in the valley. An earthquake of local origin which caused considerable damage was the 1986 North Palm Springs earthquake, which registered at a magnitude of 6.0, injuring 29 people and destroying 51 homes.^[9][10]

Climate

In the summer months daytime temperatures range from 104 °F (40 °C) to 112 °F (44 °C) and nighttime lows from 75 °F (24 °C) to 86 °F (30 °C). During winter, the daytime temperatures range from 68 °F (20 °C) to 88 °F (31 °C) and corresponding nights range from 46 °F (8 °C) to 65 °F (18 °C) making it a popular winter resort destination. The surrounding mountains create Thermal Belts in the immediate foothills of the Coachella Valley, leading to higher night-time temperatures in the winter months, and lower daytime temps during the summer months. Due to its warm year-round climate the region's agricultural sector produces fruits such as mangoes, figs and dates.

The valley is the northwestern extension of the

• Geography of the Colorado Desert
• Fauna of the Colorado Desert
• Sonoran Desert wildflowers
• Coachella Valley Jerusalem Cricket

Demographics

As a retirement haven throughout the area's history, a large percentage of residents are age 65 or older. The valley has some of the densest concentrations of senior citizens in California with three of California’s cities with the highest percentages of residents age 65 and older: Indian Wells, Rancho Mirage, and Palm Desert.

White Party. According to an interview with former Palm Springs mayor Ron Oden, perhaps at the time the United States' only openly gay African-American mayor,^[17]

a large number of people living with HIV (PWH) have moved to the Palm Springs area to take advantage of the extensive health-support systems that have been developed in recent years (such as DAP Health). For this reason, the area has one of the highest per capita rates of HIV in the nation.

The area has a large percentage of

Puerto Rican

parentage.

The Coachella Valley was settled by a diverse array of races and ethnicities. Once viewed as predominantly Caucasian, the Coachella Valley has features of a diverse history. As of 2004,^[needs update] the Claritas study^[18] found that 373,100 people resided in the region. The racial makeup was 44.7% Non-Hispanic White, 49.9% Hispanic, 1.8% Black/African American, 2.1% Asian/Pacific Islander, 0.4% American Indian and Inuit, 0.1% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races.^[19]

Early history

In the early 20th century, less than 1,000 full-time residents lived in the "village" of Palm Springs, surrounding farms and ranches, and on the Indian reservation. The

Mexicans especially in the eastern ends when traqueros arrived to maintain the area's railroads, and Native Americans of local tribes in what were then impoverished reservations.^[20][21]

Starting in the 1890s, there was a large Irish and Scottish presence in the region, after Palm Springs was an established agricultural colony called "Palm Valley" cofounded by Welwood Murray, a Scottish immigrant and John Guthrie McCallum, an American from the U.S. East Coast. The two men widely advertised the colony to settlers with an interest in a warm climate and the ideal winter residence.^[22]

Hispanic community

Hispanic Americans are long established in Palm Springs' central and eastern sections, and have constituted the majority of the populations of Indio and Coachella for many decades. In the 2000 U.S. census, about 35 percent of Coachella Valley residents were Latino. But according to the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, an estimated half (50–60 percent) of the residents are Latino.^[23] A large portion of Latinos moving into the area are from the Los Angeles-Orange County and San Diego metro areas. ^{[citation needed]}

Most of the valley's Hispanics are

Puerto Ricans, and South Americans are also numerous (esp. in Rancho Mirage and Palm Desert). Since the late 1980s, the large wave of immigration from neighboring Mexico has culturally impacted the Coachella Valley in many more ways than the rest of California or the country, but the national trend slowed down due to the late 2000s recession.^[24]

Most Hispanic immigrants came to obtain work in the area's year-round agriculture, but today many find employment in construction and home remodeling, the resort hospitality industry, landscaping firms, and retail.[25]

Other racial/ethnic groups

The prominence of Native Americans of the Cahuilla tribe is represented in local life; because of casino gambling and land ownership, the majority of local tribal members (Cahuilla pertaining to the Agua Caliente band and the Cabazon/Twentynine Palms bands) are in upper-income brackets. According to the Southern California National Congress of American Indians, less than 5 percent of the area's residents are Native Americans.^{[citation needed]}

Indian Americans (mostly from Sri Lanka), descendants of agricultural workers in the 1930s and 1940s.^{[citation needed]} Additionally, Palm Desert is the home of 1,000 Tahitians, a Pacific Islander people from French Polynesia.^{[citation needed}

]

Other ethnic groups in the area like

Israeli, East Indian, Yugoslav (Former) and Korean home buyers, with most purchasing increasingly high-valued properties for investment purposes.^{[citation needed] [27]}

Local emphasis of tolerance

In mid-2000, Palm Springs city officials and business leaders discussed making an unofficial declaration of Palm Springs as a "hate-free zone" as a sign of local pride to celebrate the city's tolerance (Palm Springs, especially in

The Advocate magazine that caters to gay and lesbian readership, has voted it as one of the top five most popular world places for the gay/lesbian community) and multicultural diversity of the city's relaxed attitude regarding many races living close together.^{[citation needed]} According to the Palm Springs Pride LGBT association poll and census data in 2010, an estimated 40–45 percent of Palm Springs' residents are thought to be LGBT and nearby Cathedral City is about one-quarter, each having above averages of LGBT people for a U.S. city.^[28]

Religious life

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Many faiths and denominations are represented in the area. Protestants and Catholics are the most numerous. According to the Jewish Federation of the Desert based in

Inland Empire and High Desert regions.^[31] The Islamic Society of the Coachella Valley has a mosque in the city of Coachella.^[32][33][34]

Communities and population

The Coachella Valley contains nine cities and various unincorporated communities.

City	Population[35] (2020 census)
Cathedral City	51,493
Coachella	41,941
Desert Hot Springs	32,512
Indian Wells	4,757
Indio	89,137
La Quinta	37,558
Palm Desert	51,163
Palm Springs	44,575
Rancho Mirage	16,999
Cities Total	370,135

The incorporated cities of the Coachella Valley had a population of approximately 370,000 at the 2020 Census. State projections estimate that the valley's population will pass 1 million by 2066.[36] Demographers believe the total population already surpassed the 500,000 mark, plus 100,000 temporary seasonal residents known as "snowbirds" arriving to stay during the winter months (from the end of October to the end of April).^{[citation needed]}

The city of

Santa Rosa Indian Reservation

south of Palm Desert, each have reservations in the area.

Economy

Agriculture

The irrigation of over 100,000 acres (40,500 ha) of the Valley since the early 20th century has allowed widespread agriculture. In its 2006 annual report, the Coachella Valley Water District listed the year's total crop value at over $576 million or almost $12,000 per acre.^[37] As of 2010 the valley produced agricultural products worth about $600 million.^[38]

The valley is the primary

County Fair and National Date Festival. The earliest attempt at growing dates came about in 1890 when the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) imported date palm shoots from Iraq and Egypt. Sixty-eight shoots were distributed across the Southwest U.S. in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Yuma, Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona, and several California cites: Indio, Pomona near Los Angeles, Tulare and National City near San Diego. The imports were almost all male seedlings and produced poor fruit. The Coachella Valley showed promise, so USDA horticulturist Bernard Johnson planted a number of shoots that he brought back from Algeria in September 1903. On his own initiative, Johnson imported more shoots from Algeria in 1908 and again in 1912. The area's entire date industry can be traced back to those original USDA experiments near present-day Mecca. Date palms were grown from present-day Cathedral City

to the Salton Sea, but most date groves were overtaken by development by the 1990s. Today nearly all of the date groves are in the "East Valley" area south of Indio, near Coachella and east of La Quinta.

Other agricultural products cultivated in the Coachella Valley include fruits and vegetables, especially table grapes, citrus fruits such as lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruit; onions and leeks; and peppers. The valley floor served to grow bounties of alfalfa, artichokes, avocados, beans, beets, cabbage, carrots, corn, cotton, cucumbers, dandelions (salad greens), eggplant, figs, grains (i.e. barley, oats, rye and wheat; plus rice fields kept wet or moist in the Salton Sea area), hops, kohlrabi, lettuce, mangoes, nectarines and peaches, persimmons, plums and prunes, pomegranate, potatoes, radishes, spinach, strawberries, sugar cane, tomatoes, a variety of herbs and spices, and other vegetable crops. The Coachella grapefruit originated in the region. The city of Coachella is the primary shipping point for agricultural goods. Domesticated grasses, flowers and trees are widely grown for warm-weather or desert climates, and sold for use in golf courses and landscape.

Only 10 percent of the Coachella Valley residents were born/raised in the area, according to the 2000 census, a much lower percentage than found in most parts of the U.S. Agriculture is a founding block of the majority of the residents whose parents and grandparents came to the area as farmers and laborers transformed the eastern parts of the valley from a hot sandy desert into a fertile place with a year-round growing season. The Coachella Valley's agricultural development is due to irrigation: water was drawn from an underground aquifer created when the valley was under a fresh water lake in the last

San Diego, crosses the northeast end of the Valley along the base of the Little San Bernardino Mountains (the Joshua Tree National Park). Recent growth of fish farming or aquaculture

in Mecca near the Salton Sea brings new promise to the local economy, especially to efforts to restore the ailing ecology of the large saltwater lake.

Wind power

San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm as viewed from the top of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway in the San Jacinto Mountains

to the south

The valley's northwest entrance from the

San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm, thousands of huge wind turbines spread across the desert and hills on either side of the highway greet visitors as they approach the crest of the pass and have become somewhat of a symbol of the area. The state's other wind farms are in the Tehachapi Pass between Mojave and Bakersfield and in the Altamont Pass near Livermore

.

Businesses

• Siemens Water Technologies, Palm Desert – manufacturer of industrial water filtration systems.
• Guthy-Renker, Palm Desert – producer of mail order infomercials.
• Ernie Ball, manufacturer of electric guitar strings, opened a manufacturing facility in Coachella in 2005.
• date
  producer – a local landmark and tourist attraction since 1924.
• Coca-Cola bottling plant facility in Coachella – opened in 2009 and employs 1,000 people.
• Eisenhower Medical Center, opened in 1971, is a 540-bed hospital with in-patient facilities, emergency department, and out-patient clinics and urgent care centers. Eisenhower employs approximately 2800 people.

Recreation and annual activities

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With warm winters and more than 350 days of sunshine per year, recreational hiking and horseback riding are popular in the many canyons in the mountains that surround the valley. One of the most visited outdoor sports areas is Thousand Palms Canyon.

The Coachella Valley was once a safe haven for hay fever allergy sufferers before the surge of golf courses and year-round lawns, and people with bronchitis, emphysema and asthma chose to relocate for health reasons in the early half of the 20th century.^{[citation needed]}

In the early 20th century, Palm Springs was an ideal farming town and had some space converted to a minor agricultural economy. After that failed, all the fields and groves were replaced by homes and golf courses. Agriculture succeeded in the lower Coachella Valley near the communities of Thermal, Mecca, Oasis and Vista Santa Rosa that had a large underground aquifer to sustain a year-round green environment.

Roughly 125 golf courses blanket the area, making it one of the world's premier golf destinations and the most popular golf vacation destination in California. The

Disney California Adventure Park

theme park.

The area is also dotted with casinos run by local Indian tribes as well as resort hotels and spas with natural mineral water wells, making it a vacation destination as well. The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway takes visitors from the valley floor to the San Jacinto Peak mountain station 8,516 feet (2,596 m) above sea level.

Palm Springs is home to one of the country's largest collections of mid-century architecture. Thousands of homes, apartments, hotels, businesses and other buildings were designed in this fashion across the city. International mid-century enthusiasts come to Palm Springs to admire the design.

Events, activities and attractions

Changing exhibits of sculptures can be found along El Paseo Drive in Palm Desert.

Palm Springs has the annual

ShortFest

) held in June, at the Palm Springs Cultural Center.

The

BNP Paribas Open

tennis tournament annually in March.

Each February, Indio hosts the

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival,^[39]

a multi-genre music concert venue in the Empire Polo Ground, recognized as one of the nation's premiere music festivals for its high-profile acts and scenic beauty.

Visitors see desert nature at the nearby Joshua Tree National Park and the Sand to Snow National Monument to the north, the Santa Rosa Mountains to the south and Mt. San Jacinto Aerial Tram to the west. The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens is located in Palm Desert and has a collection of animals mostly from North America and Africa and hosts the annual Wild Lights Christmas light display.^[40]

The Coachella Valley History Museum in Indio^[41] is devoted to the preservation and interpretation of the Coachella Valley's historical artifacts.

Other activities include:

• An annual air show is held in November is held at the Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport in Thermal. The Palm Springs Airport Annual Air Show held every January displays World War II-era vintage fighter aircraft.
• The Desert Circuit Horse Show is one of the nation's largest horse competitions is also held at the Desert International Horse Park located in Thermal from January through March.
• In 2022, the
  Coachella Valley Arena
  in Palm Desert. Prior to the AHL team, the Coachella Valley had little success at luring a professional team.
• The
  California Angels major league spring training facility from 1961 to 1993. Collegiate sports are played at College of the Desert
  at its Palm Desert campus.
• The expanded
  Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario
  played some games there.
• In 2008–11, The Indian Wells Tennis Garden hosted the Annual NBA Outdoors Game hosted by the Phoenix Suns every first weekend of October.
• The Walter Annenberg Estate Museum dedicated to the famous valley resident, billionaire, friend to celebrities and philanthropist.
• Art of Food & Wine Palm Desert in the Gardens in El Paseo.
• Modernism Week
• Indian Wells Arts and Food Festival
• La Quinta Arts Festival
• Southwest Arts Festival
• Children's Discovery Museum

Education

The Coachella Valley is served by three public school districts: the Coachella Valley Unified School District^[42] of Coachella; Desert Sands Unified School District^[43] serving La Quinta, Indio and Palm Desert; and Palm Springs Unified School District^[44] of Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, and Desert Hot Springs.

There are 12 public high schools:

• Cathedral City High School, Cathedral City.
• Coachella Valley High School, Coachella.
• Desert Hot Springs High School, Desert Hot Springs.
• Desert Mirage High School, Thermal.
• Indio High School, Indio – renovated.
• La Quinta High School (La Quinta, California).
• Palm Desert High School, Palm Desert.
• Palm Springs High School, Palm Springs.
• Rancho Mirage High School, Rancho Mirage.
• Seaview High School, Mecca.
• Shadow Hills High School, Indio.
• West Shores High School, Salton City.

For athletics, the schools compete in the Desert Valley League, Desert Empire League or the De Anza league, all part of the Southern Section of the California Interscholastic Federation.

Private education is provided by such as:

• Catholic School (Our Lady of Perpetual Help), Indio.
• Christian Desert Calvary Bible School, Cathedral City.
• Christian Scientist School, Palm Desert.
• Community of Christ School, Palm Springs.
• Desert Adventist Academy, Palm Desert.^[45]
• Desert Chapel and high school, Palm Springs.
• Desert Christian Academy (formerly Christian School of the Desert), Bermuda Dunes.
• Desert Torah Academy (was Jewish Community School), Palm Desert.
• Escuela Cesar Chavez (High School), Indio.
• Grace Christian Academy, Indio (and Yucca Valley)
• Indio (County) Community School, Indio
• King's Schools (Distinctively Christian Education), Palm Springs.
• Learning Tree School, Palm Desert.
• Marywood Academy, Rancho Mirage.
• Mayfield School, Rancho Mirage.
• Mission Springs School, Desert Hot Springs.
• Morongo (Desert View) Military Academy, Desert Hot Springs.
• Nova Academy, Coachella.^[46]
• Oasis Seventh-Day Adventist Academy, Palm Desert.
• Orange Crest Academy, Palm Springs (Riverside based).
• Palm Desert Presbyterian Church School, Palm Desert.
• Palm Springs Community School (Harry Oliver-Thousand Palms and Frances Stevens campuses-Palm Springs).
• Palm Springs County School, North Palm Springs.
• Palm Valley School, Rancho Mirage.
• Presbyterian Church School of the Desert, Palm Springs.
• River Springs Charter School, Indio ^[47]
• Sacred Heart Catholic School, Palm Desert.
• Saint Teresa's Catholic School, Palm Springs.
• San Cayetano Community School, Palm Desert.
• Southwest Community Church School, Indian Wells.
• The Ranch Christian Academy, Thousand Palms.
• Xavier College Preparatory High School, Palm Desert.

Higher education is served by the College of the Desert (COD), a community college with its main campus in Palm Desert. COD constructed several satellite campuses including an annex on Oasis Street in Indio, an East Valley campus in Thermal and a West Valley annex in Palm Springs. COD has experienced sudden growth in the campus from the 1970s to the late 2000s.^{[citation needed]}

The

California State University San Bernardino

(Palm Desert) campus annexes are located in the Indian Wells (Higher) Education Center in Palm Desert.

There is the

Brandman University, operated by Chapman University in Palm Desert.^{[citation needed}

]

Media

The Coachella Valley, under the title "Palm Springs", is a distinct

Arbitron ratings market, with eight local television stations and twenty radio stations. The first television station in the Coachella Valley is KMIR channel 6 by John Conte and Bob Hope, the NBC affiliate premiered in 1968 remains on the air as the desert's longest running TV station. KPLM (which later became KESQ, the Coachella Valley's current ABC affiliate) went on the air later with a party that made national headlines; it was founded by Robert E. Leonard. The station later made national news and garnered late night jokes from Johnny Carson and Bob Newhart when the station manager accidentally ran on air a pornographic movie.^[48] Gun TV, the gun shopping channel, was headquartered in the Valley.^[49]

Cable subscribers under

Charter Spectrum cable can receive some Los Angeles area television channels as part of basic cable service. Satellite television and satellite radio are available as well. The eastern Coachella Valley can receive Mexican television from Mexicali

, 90 miles (140 km) away.

The

An alternative news and entertainment publication, the Coachella Valley Independent,^[54] was founded online in late 2012. It is currently in print as a monthly publication.^[55] Another independent publication is Coachella Valley Weekly, which is printed weekly and was also founded in 2012. The Coachella Valley also has a Coachella Valley Art Scene Blog for the younger community.^[56]

Television

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Included are Low-Power stations and relay transmitters with limited frequency area^[57]

• KPLM-LP Channel 1 Ind. - Twentynine Palms.
• KYUM-LD Channels 15/51 (Spanish language religious) – Indio/Imperial Valley/Yuma, Arizona.
• Channel 3 (KTVK – Independent) – Phoenix, Arizona.
• KAKZ-LD Channel 4 (
  Azteca America
  ) – Palm Springs.
• UniMas transmit of KDTF-LD San Diego) – Indio.^[58]
• XETV-TDT Channel 6 (The CW) – San Diego.
• Channel 7
  KAZT (Independent) – Prescott, Arizona
  .
• KVYE Channel 7 (Univision) – Yuma, Arizona.
• KVPS Channel 8 – (Spanish language Religious) – Indio.
• Channel 8 (KAET-PBS) – Phoenix.
• Channel 9 (
  KECY FOX) – El Centro, California
  .
• K09XW Channel 9 (PBS) – transmitter of KVCR-DT Riverside/San Bernardino – Palm Springs/Palm Desert.
• Channel 10 K10QV-D (K10OU)/ KLPS Channel 19 (Independent) – Palm Springs.
• Channel 11/34 (KESE 35 Telemundo) – El Centro.
• KYAV-LP Channel 12 AccuWeather
  – Yucca Valley.
• Channel 13 (KYMA-DT CBS) – Yuma Az/El Centro.
• Channel 14 (
  XHBM
  – Televisa) – Mexicali.
• K14AB (KTTV 11 Fox Los Angeles) – Yucca Valley.
• KUNA-LD Channel 15 (Telemundo) – Palm Desert/La Quinta.
• K15FC – transmitter of KESQ Palm Springs – Joshua Tree.
• K16AA – transmitter of KCBS Los Angeles – Morongo Valley.
• KODG-LP Channel 17
  KOCE 50-PBS Orange County
  – Indio/Palm Springs.
• KJHP-LP Channel 18 (PBS) – transmitter of KVCR-DT – Morongo Valley/Palm Springs.
• K19CX Channel 19 (PBS) Yuma AZ part of KAET 8- PBS Phoenix, Arizona.
• K19DB (Spanish language religious) – Victorville.
• KCWQ-LD channel 20 (The CW) – Palm Springs/Palm Desert/Indio.
• K20HZ "KMXX" Channel 20 (
  HSN/ MexiCanal
  ) – Indio/Palm Springs.
• K21DO "KNDO" (
  3ABN
  religious) – Indio/Palm Springs.
• KSHT-LP Channel 22 (Independent) – Indio/Palm Springs.
• KVMD Channels 23/31 (Independent, Asian language, ethnic and EWTN programming) – Twentynine Palms/ Victorville.
• FNX Channel 24.2 – San Bernardino.
• K27DS Channel 27 (ABC) – transmitter of KESQ – Yucca Valley (as of January 2018 off the air).
• XHAQ
  channel 28 (TV Azteca) – Mexicali.
• K29GK – transmitter of KTLA Los Angeles – Yucca Valley.
• K60GY 30 – transmitter of KPSE-LD 50 – Twentynine Palms.
• KRVD Channel 30 (PBS) – Banning.
• KRET-CD Channels 31/45 (MeTV) – Palm Desert/ Yucca Valley.
• KDFX-CD Channel 33 (FOX) – Indio/Palm Springs.
• "K35LA" – Channel 35 KCET Desert cities – Digital cable channel 218 – Los Angeles.
• Channels 35/39 (Telemundo) via KVEA Corona/Los Angeles.
• XHBC channels 3/34/35 (Televisa) – Mexicali.
• KMIR Channel 36 (NBC) (cable 6/13) – Palm Desert (Palm Springs) – one of the first two local TV stations since 1968 (the other KESQ-TV). Subchannels 36.2 (MeTv) and 36.3 – Movies! – also available in Banning, California
  .
• KVES-LD
  Channel 36 (Univision) – Palm Springs.
• KPSP-CD Channels 38/ 42.2 (CBS-Loop of local KESQ family news programs) – Thousand Palms.
• Channel 39 (KNSD 40 NBC) – San Diego.
• Channel 39 (
  RFDTV
  translator) – Coachella/Imperial.
• Court TV Mystery), 41.4 (Laff), 41.5 (KPST-FM
  ) – Indio.
• KVES-CA Channels 41.1 (GalaVision), 41.2 (UniMas) – Cathedral City.
• KZSW
  Channels 41/27/34 transmits (Independent) – Hemet/Temecula/San Diego.
• KESQ-TV^[59] Channel 42 (ABC HD and CBS SD, cable 3) – Palm Desert (Palm Springs)/Indio – available in Hemet/San Jacinto and Banning/Beaumont.
• KPXN-TV Channel 43 (Ion) – San Bernardino transmits.
• "KHIX" Channel 45 – transmitter of
  KVME (MeTV
  ) Bishop.
• KFTR-DT Channel 46 (UniMas) – Ontario/San Bernardino.
• XHILA-TDT Channel 46 – Mexicali.
• BYU-TV transmitter of KBYU-TV 11 Provo, Utah
  .
• K49HV Channel 49 – transmitter of KILM (SonLife Broadcasting religious) Victorville.
• My Network
  ) – Palm Springs.
• KUSI
  channel 51 (Independent) – Temecula/San Diego.
• Azteca America
  ) – Los Angeles.
• KDOC channel 56 (Independent) – Anaheim/Orange County.

"

Also available on some cable systems

• The Eagle 106.9 FM (KDGL) Classic Hits
• MIX 100.5 FM (KPSI) The Desert's Best Mix - #2 station in the Coachella Valley, total audience
• U92.7 FM (KKUU) Rhythmic Contemporary Hits Radio- #1 station in the Coachella Valley, total audience
• K-NEWS News Talk (KNWZ) The Voice of the Valley! 94.3 FM & 104.7 FM, 970 AM East Valley, 1140 AM West Valley, 1250 AM & 103.7FM Desert Cities
• KCLB Rock 93.7 FM, The heritage Rock Station
• The Bull 98.5 FM Country (KDES), The Valley's New Country Music station
• MOD 107.3 FM (KDES-HD2) Old Standards
• ESPN SPORTS Talk 103.9 FM (KKUU-HD2)

WestMark Media LLC owns KPSF, 1200 AM and 100.9 FM. The only oldies station called Studio 100.9.

• Studio 100.9
• Studio 100.9 Home Page

Infrastructure

The Coachella Valley is served by the following utilities:

Electricity

• Southern California Edison (serves Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Desert Hot Springs, and Cathedral City)
• Imperial Irrigation District (serves La Quinta, Indio, Thousand Palms, Indian Wells, and Coachella)

Natural gas

• Southern California Gas Company

Cable Television

• Spectrum Cable

Transportation

Aviation in the area is served by the

The area has been a magnet for

Farrell, after whom a street in Palm Springs is named, would later be elected mayor. Farrell Drive is built on the path of the Palmdale Railroad, a narrow-gauge horse-drawn railroad right-of-way originally built to serve the proposed town of Palmdale. The town was never built and the railroad was abandoned after a few years of operation. The ties were used to build one of the area's earliest residences and the Cornelia White House still stands today in downtown Palm Springs.

Medal of Honor recipient Captain William McGonagle was a graduate of Coachella High School and made the valley his home after his retirement. Mitchell Paige was another Medal of Honor veteran who lived in Palm Desert and has a middle school in La Quinta named after him. Jacqueline Cochran, founder and director of the Women Airforce Service Pilots lived her last years in Indio. In 2005, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates reportedly bought and owns a home in The Vintage Club Country Club in Indian Wells.

The main road into Palm Springs International Airport, named simply "Airport Road", was renamed Kirk Douglas Way on October 17, 2004.^[66] Douglas, a major area benefactor, lived in the valley for more than fifty years and is credited with spearheading the drive to modernize the area over those five decades. His son, actor Michael Douglas, is said to own a residence in Palm Springs with his wife, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Ball and Arnaz helped finance construction of the Indian Wells Country Club. Founded in 1956 with their winter residence on DesiLu Court, Indian Wells became a major factor in "down valley" growth in the 1970s and 1980s. A mostly gated community, Indian Wells has one of the highest per capita income of any small town in the United States, while nearby Coachella, a short distance southeast on State Route 111 is the third poorest city of the 10,000–50,000 population range in the nation, though that is rapidly changing as the area develops. A memorial to Eisenhower can be found on the front lawn of Indian Wells City Hall, also features the local veterans memorial plaque to represent the community's 800 veterans, a high number of war veterans per ratio of its predominantly senior citizen population. Coachella has the Vietnam War veterans' memorial to represent their community's high representation of armed forces volunteers, a large percentage had Spanish surnames since the city's population are over 90 percent Latino.

Many other celebrities, past and present, have called the area home such as actor Paul Burke. Among those who grew up in the area:

• Vanessa Marcil is a La Quinta native and attended Indio High School.
• Suzanne Somers spent a part of her childhood in Cathedral City and attended Palm Springs High School.
• Billy Steinberg grew up in Palm Springs and worked at the Dave Freedman Grape Farm in Thermal.
• Alison Lohman is a native of Palm Springs and grew up in Palm Desert.
• Tyler Hilton is also a native of Palm Springs and graduated from La Quinta High School. Hilton performed a concert in the school theatre in 2006.
• Cameron Crowe grew up in a rural home near Indio.
• Rich Newey grew up in Bermuda Dunes.
• Alan O'Day grew up in Coachella.
• Aubrey O'Day was a 2001 graduate of La Quinta High School.
• Josh Homme attended Palm Desert High School.
• Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
  , is an Indio native and attended Indio High school.
• Edward White, football player of the San Diego Chargers and Minnesota Vikings is an Indio native and attended Indio High school.
• Jenna Ortega is a native of Indio.

U.S. President John F. Kennedy was a frequent guest of Frank Sinatra, and a plaque in one of the pews of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Palm Desert marks the spot where Kennedy would usually sit during Mass.

That same area in Palm Desert once served as a training ground for General

Sonny Bono ran a restaurant in downtown Palm Springs. Frustrated by the lack of cooperation he faced from the city council over a new sign for the restaurant, the entertainer took matters into his own hands and ran for mayor. He retained local conservative talk radio host Marshall Gilbert (heard regularly on KNWQ) as his campaign manager in a successful bid that not only put Bono back in the public eye, but fueled his later campaign for a seat on the United States Congress, a position he held until his death in a skiing accident in 1998. His widow, Mary (now Mary Bono Mack), filled the vacancy left by her husband and later campaigned successfully on her own. She was defeated by Democrat Raul Ruiz in the 2012 election, and moved to Florida. Both Sonny Bono and Frank Sinatra are buried at Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City.

The

So fond was Walt Disney of his property at the Smoke Tree Ranch in Palm Springs that he often wore a tie tac which was in the shape of the Smoke Tree Ranch logo. Disney reluctantly sold the property to help finance the construction of Disneyland. Partners, bronze sculptures of Disney standing next to Mickey Mouse in each of the Disney theme parks clearly show the brand on Disney's tie tac.

Clint Eastwood formerly owned a restaurant called the Hog's Breath Inn in Old Town La Quinta. The restaurant is currently owned by the Kaiser Restaurant Group, but maintains the Clint Eastwood inspired motif.^[67]

TV producer and media mogul Merv Griffin owned a home and ranch which is now part of the PGA West community. It was known as the "Griffin Ranch", but the land was sold and became an equestrian ranch housing tract and was annexed by the city of La Quinta.^{[citation needed]}

In popular culture

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Noteworthy and memorable references in popular culture include the animated Looney Tunes short Bully for Bugs in which Bugs Bunny requests directions to the Coachella Valley "and the big carrot festival therein." An annual carrot festival is in fact held just outside the area in the Imperial County town of Holtville, approximately 70 miles to the southeast.

The generation-defining novel