Riverside

Sister cities

• Jiangmen
• Sendai
• Gangnam District
• Alpignano
• Erlangen
• Hyderabad
• Obuasi
• Cuautla de Morelos
• Ensenada

History

In the late 18th century and the early 19th century, the area was inhabited by Cahuilla and the Serrano people. Californios such as Bernardo Yorba and Juan Bandini established ranches during the first half of the 19th century. In the 1860s, Louis Prevost launched the California Silk Center Association, a short-lived experiment in sericulture. In the wake of its failure, John W. North purchased some of its land and formed the Southern California Colony Association to promote the area's development. In March 1870, North distributed posters announcing the formation of a colony in California. North, a staunch temperance-minded abolitionist from the State of New York, had formerly founded Northfield, Minnesota. Riverside was temperance-minded, and Republican. There were four saloons in Riverside when it was founded. The license fees were raised until the saloons moved out of Riverside. Investors from England and Canada transplanted traditions and activities adopted by prosperous citizens. As a result, the first golf course and polo field in southern California were built in Riverside. The first orange trees were planted in 1871, with the citrus industry Riverside is famous for beginning three years later (1874) when Eliza Tibbets received three Three trees were planted on the Tibbets' property. The trees thrived in the southern California climate and the navel orange industry grew rapidly. The establishment of the citrus industry is commemorated in the landscapes and exhibits of the California Citrus State Historic Park and the restored packing houses in the downtown's Marketplace district. By 1882, there were more than half a million citrus trees in California, almost half of which were in Riverside. The development of refrigerated railroad cars and innovative…

Geography

Riverside is the 59th-most populous city in the United States, the 12th-most populous city in California, and the largest city in California's Inland Empire metro area. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which is land and (0.37%) is water. The elevation of downtown Riverside is . Hills within the city limits include Mount Rubidoux, a city landmark and tourist attraction. Riverside is surrounded by small and large mountains, some of which get a dusting of winter snow. Many residents also enjoy the many beaches of Southern California. Riverside is about a drive to the Pacific Ocean and is close to Orange County and Los Angeles County. Riverside is home to the historic Mission Inn, the Beaux-Arts style Riverside County Historic Courthouse (based on the Petit Palais in Paris, France), and the Riverside Fox Theater, where the first showing of the 1939 film Gone with the Wind took place. The theater was purchased by the city and refurbished as part of the Riverside Renaissance Initiative. The Fox Theater underwent extensive renovation and restoration, which was completed in 2009, to turn the old cinema into a performing arts theater. The building was expanded to hold 1,600 seats and the stage was enlarged to accommodate Broadway-style performances. In January 2010, singer Sheryl Crow opened the newly remodeled Fox Theater in a nearly sold-out show. Riverside is the home of the "World's Largest Paper Cup" (actually made of concrete), which is over three stories ( ) tall. The "Dixie Cup" landmark is on Iowa Street just north of Palmyrita, in front of what was once the Dixie Corporation's manufacturing plant (now closed down). Notable hills in Riverside's scenic landscape include Box Springs Mountain and Evans (Jurupa) Hill which…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  13,857
• Lesser Goldfinch

  Spinus psaltria (Say, 1822) · Aves
  10,763
• California Towhee

  Melozone crissalis (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  10,392
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  10,178
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,994
• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  9,854
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,108
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  8,561

Largest nearby schools

• Martin Luther King Jr. High
  High · Riverside · 2,901 students · 25.4:1 ratio
• Polytechnic High
  High · Riverside · 2,660 students · 25.8:1 ratio
• Patriot High
  High · Jurupa Valley · 2,532 students · 23.2:1 ratio
• Canyon Springs High
  High · Moreno Valley · 2,266 students · 22.2:1 ratio
• Moreno Valley High
  High · Moreno Valley · 2,232 students · 21.1:1 ratio
• Ramona High
  High · Riverside · 2,220 students · 23.9:1 ratio
• John W. North High
  High · Riverside · 2,173 students · 23.9:1 ratio
• Norco High
  High · Norco · 2,070 students · 24.1:1 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 2.6 — 2026-10-06
  4 km NNW of Big Bear City, CA
• M 2.51 — 2026-10-05
  31 km SW of Dana Point, CA