Loma Linda

History

The Tongva village of Wa’aachnga, or as the Spanish referred to it as the Rancheria Guachama, was located at what is now Loma Linda. The rancheria was later occupied by the Cahuilla and Serrano after it was established as a mission outpost for Mission San Gabriel in the early 1800s. In the late 1800s, Loma Linda began as a development of tourist halls called Mound City, as encouraged by railroad companies. Shops and cottages were built, but the project failed. During the late 1890s, a group of businessmen and physicians from Los Angeles bought the Mound City Hotel and reopened it as a convalescent home and health resort. They called it Loma Linda, meaning 'beautiful hill' in Spanish. In 1905 Seventh-day Adventists John Burden and Ellen G. White purchased the Loma Linda Hotel and property and reopened it as the Loma Linda Sanitarium. In February 1906, The Loma Linda College of Evangelists (now Loma Linda University) was established. In 1969, San Timoteo Creek overflowed its banks, inundating two-thirds of Loma Linda. Many of the bridges over the creek washed away, and Loma Linda Academy was completely flooded. In 2010, the creek again flooded parts of Loma Linda.

Geography

Loma Linda is located in southwestern San Bernardino County and is considered part of the Inland Empire. It is bordered on the north by the city of San Bernardino, on the east by Redlands, on the west by Colton, and on the south by Riverside County. An area of unincorporated territory in Riverside County separates Loma Linda from the city of Moreno Valley to the south. The remnants of Bryn Mawr, an unincorporated community formerly located between Loma Linda and Redlands, were annexed by the city in 2008. Loma Linda is in the southern San Bernardino Valley. The southern third of the city is known as the South Hills; this rugged and hilly area at the northwestern end of the Badlands is a city-owned open space reserve protected by a local initiative. San Timoteo Creek flows from southeast to northwest through the city. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , 99.99% of it land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  20,085
• Lesser Goldfinch

  Spinus psaltria (Say, 1822) · Aves
  16,164
• California Towhee

  Melozone crissalis (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  14,624
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  14,220
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,553
• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  13,252
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,015
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  11,856

Most recent

• M 2.63 — 2026-09-23
  9 km WNW of Anza, CA
• M 2.94 — 2026-09-17
  4 km SSE of Compton, CA
• M 2.65 — 2026-09-12
  4 km E of Lennox, CA
• M 2.62 — 2026-09-12
  5 km WNW of Willowbrook, CA
• M 2.67 — 2026-09-08
  39 km NE of Big Bear City, CA
• M 3.07 — 2026-09-06
  4 km SSE of Compton, CA