Apple Valley

History

For centuries, Apple Valley was populated by Shoshonean, Paiute, Vanyume, Chemehuevi, and Serrano who were attracted to the water and vegetation around the Mojave River. The Mojave people came later and were the tribal group encountered in 1542 by a detachment of Coronado's men. These were the first Spanish to come to the Mojave desert. Pedro Fages came through the area in 1772, looking for deserters. Father Francisco Garcés spent time in the area in 1776. He was on good terms with local tribes. He killed one of his mules to feed a group of starving Vanyumes. Garcés established a trail across the Mojave to the Colorado River passing through the Apple Valley area. The area was explored by various Spanish gold seekers in the 18th and 19th centuries. Jedediah Smith established the Old Spanish Trail through the southern Mojave and Cajon Pass. Smith was in the area in 1826 and again in 1827. Throughout the 19th century, Apple Valley became a thoroughfare of people traveling to Southern California for various reasons. Ute horse thieves, led by Chief Walkara, brought through an estimated 100,000 horses from their raids on the Lugo Rancho and San Gabriel Mission. In 1848, members of the Mormon Battalion, mustered out of the U.S. Army after constructing the first wagon road across the southwest to San Diego and up to Los Angeles, brought 135 mules and the first wagon through the Cajon Pass up through the Mojave River Valley on the way to the Salt Lake Valley. Battalion leader Jefferson Hunt and a crew of cowboys followed the trail with the first cattle drive from Southern California to hungry members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in present-day Utah. Hunt led a Latter-day Saint group of settlers to the San Bernardino Valley in 1851. In 1885, the…

Geography

Apple Valley is located at the southern edge of the Mojave Desert. It is bordered by the cities of Victorville on the west and Hesperia on the southwest sides, with the unincorporated community of Lucerne Valley a distance to the east and the city of Barstow about to the north. Apple Valley, along with Victorville, Hesperia, Adelanto, and immediate surrounding areas, are commonly known as the Victor Valley. The primary thoroughfare through Apple Valley is State Route 18, which was given the moniker "Happy Trails Highway" within Apple Valley town limits, after the theme song of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, who once resided on Outer Highway 18. The commercial area is split currently between State Route 18 and Bear Valley Road (the two roads are near parallel until they intersect in the east, outside of town). The Mojave River that borders the west side of Apple Valley flows south-to-north. The town is bounded on its southern edge by the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which are land and , or 0.45%, is covered by water. The elevation of Apple Valley is about 2,900 ft (880 m) above sea level. According to the Köppen climate classification, Apple Valley has a semiarid climate (BSk). The city features cool winters and very hot, dry summers. Seasonal high winds occur occasionally in spring and fall. * On average, the warmest month is July. * The highest recorded temperature was in 2002. * On average, the coolest month is December. * The lowest recorded temperature was in 1949. * The most precipitation typically occurs in February.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Riverside Preparatory
  Other · Oro Grande · 2,508 students · 23.2:1 ratio
• Apple Valley High
  High · Apple Valley · 2,206 students · 24.2:1 ratio
• Excelsior Charter
  High · Victorville · 2,180 students · 26:1 ratio
• Silverado High
  High · Victorville · 2,175 students · 23.1:1 ratio
• Sultana High
  High · Hesperia · 2,169 students · 24.4:1 ratio
• Victor Valley High
  High · Victorville · 2,045 students · 25.9:1 ratio
• Alta Vista Innovation High
  High · Hesperia · 2,023 students · 26.6:1 ratio
• Granite Hills High
  High · Apple Valley · 1,759 students · 22.6:1 ratio