Mission Viejo

History

Rancho Mission Viejo was purchased by Don Juan Forster, an English-born Mexican ranchero. During the Mexican–American War, Forster provided fresh horses to United States military forces which were used on the march of San Diego to invade Los Angeles. Mission Viejo was a hilly region primarily used as cattle and sheep grazing land, since it was of little use to farmers. This city was one of the last regions of Orange County to be urbanized due to its geologic complexity. In 1960, early developers dismissed most of the land in Mission Viejo as simply "undevelopable". Donald Bren, an urban planner who later became the president of the Irvine Company, drafted a master plan which placed roads in the valleys and houses on the hills, and contoured to the geography of the area. The houses and shopping centers in the city are almost uniformly designed in a Spanish mission style, with "adobe"-like stucco walls and barrel-tile roofs. Many point to Mission Viejo as the first and largest manifestation of Bren's obsession with Spanish architecture. Bren's company was also the creator of the developments in Irvine and Newport Beach. The company expanded its operations and went on to build the Lakes project in Tempe, Arizona and Mission Viejo Aurora, and was the initial master planner of Highlands Ranch, both located in the Denver, Colorado Metropolitan area.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (2.05%) is water. It is bordered by Lake Forest on the northwest, Trabuco Canyon on the northeast, Rancho Santa Margarita and Ladera Ranch on the east, San Juan Capistrano on the south, and Laguna Niguel and Laguna Hills on the west. Mission Viejo enjoys a borderline semi-arid/Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification BSh/Csa), with mild temperatures and plentiful sunshine year-round. Rainfall totals, which average around annually are focused primarily in the months from November to March. Summer is very dry and virtually rainless. Due to the city's proximity to the ocean, nighttime and morning clouds are fairly common, especially in May and June, a weather phenomenon commonly known as June Gloom or May Gray. Like most of Southern California, the city is prone to dry Santa Ana winds, bringing hot air from inland and punctuating the normally mild temperatures with noticeable jumps. For example, temperatures have reached highs of and above throughout many months of the year, occasionally into autumn. From 2012 to 2016, California experienced the worst drought in a century. In 2016, California experienced more rainfall than expected and ended most of the drought. Orange County was the last to have drought restrictions lifted.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  70,478
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  65,905
• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  55,214
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  49,829
• Lesser Goldfinch

  Spinus psaltria (Say, 1822) · Aves
  45,736
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  44,573
• Allen's Hummingbird

  Selasphorus sasin (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  44,361
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  43,513

Largest nearby schools

• California Connections Academy Southern California
  Other · San Juan Capistrano · 5,141 students · 30.2:1 ratio
• San Juan Hills High
  High · San Juan Capistrano · 2,857 students · 23.2:1 ratio
• Aliso Niguel High
  High · Aliso Viejo · 2,774 students · 24.3:1 ratio
• Trabuco Hills High
  High · Mission Viejo · 2,579 students · 23.2:1 ratio
• Tesoro High
  High · Las Flores · 2,217 students · 24.1:1 ratio
• El Toro High
  High · Lake Forest · 2,031 students · 23.1:1 ratio
• Capistrano Valley High
  High · Mission Viejo · 2,029 students · 22.3:1 ratio
• Dana Hills High
  High · Dana Point · 1,965 students · 20.9:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.77 — 2026-10-15
  3 km NNW of San Jacinto, CA
• M 2.71 — 2026-10-11
  4 km E of San Jacinto, CA
• M 3.16 — 2026-10-09
  2 km SW of Signal Hill, CA
• M 2.7 — 2026-10-08
  2 km WNW of Fontana, CA
• M 2.51 — 2026-10-05
  31 km SW of Dana Point, CA
• M 2.81 — 2026-10-05
  32 km SW of Dana Point, CA