Roseville

History

The Nisenan lived in the land that became Roseville for over 2,000 years before being forcibly removed by disease, miners and settlers. The settlement developed around a stage coach station called Griders. According to the Roseville Historical Society, in 1864 the Central Pacific Railroad tracks were constructed northeastward from Sacramento as part of the transcontinental railroad. The point where the tracks met the California Central Railroad line was named "Junction". With the onset of World War II, the rail yards became busier than ever. The post-war building boom brought continued prosperity. But the nature of the city changed dramatically in the 1950s. During this decade, the railroad continued to expand and upgrade, converting its steam engine fleet to all diesel engines. But competition arose in new sectors: the postwar development of the national Interstate Highway System and the airline industry adversely affected the railroads' passenger and freight traffic. Trucking carried increasing amount of freight on highways. Industry restructuring took place and jobs were lost as railroads dropped passenger routes and consolidated operations. Although the railroad has continued as a major employer in Roseville, the city's expansion has been based on the emergence of other employment sectors. Construction in 1950 of the Washington Boulevard (then called Seawell) railroad underpass dramatically affected downtown. It improved the ability of people to travel from one side of the tracks to the other, but it reduced traffic through the Roseville business district north of the tracks. Those businesses lost customers. The completion of Interstate 80 in 1956 stimulated new businesses, with a population shift, from downtown to what would become known as East Roseville.…

Geography

According to the Roseville Civic Center, the city has a total area of , of which is land. 0.002 square miles, or , is water. Several streams flow through Roseville, including Dry Creek, Linda Creek, Secret Ravine and Cirby Creek. Roseville has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate that is characterized by cool, wet, usually snowless winters and hot, dry summers (Köppen Csa). The climate is similar to nearby Sacramento, the minor differences reflecting Roseville's more inland position, resulting in less of the moderating influence of the ocean. As a result, winters are slightly cooler and summers are slightly hotter than Sacramento. Some marine influence does reach Roseville, so temperatures often are still more moderate than other inland parts of the Central Valley by up to . The wet season is generally October through April. Because Roseville is east of Sacramento and at a higher elevation, it receives slightly more rainfall. The dry season lasts from June to October; similar to other Central Valley cities, temperatures can be extremely hot in the summer (routinely peaking above on the hottest days), unusual for a non-desert climate at mid-latitude. For any given year, summers can be consistently hot or mild depending on where the position of the North Pacific High settles around the end of June. Extremely hot years with July highs typically around are averaged out against milder summers that reach around . Average daily high temperatures range from in January to in July. Daily low temperatures range from in winter to in summer. On March 26, 2014, an EF0 tornado touched down in Roseville.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  29,025
• California/Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay

  Aphelocoma californica (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  28,189
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  28,188
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  27,351
• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  24,225
• Oak Titmouse

  Baeolophus inornatus (Gambel, 1845) · Aves
  22,759
• Lesser Goldfinch

  Spinus psaltria (Say, 1822) · Aves
  22,746
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  20,412

Largest nearby schools

• Rocklin High
  High · Rocklin · 2,098 students · 22.8:1 ratio
• Woodcreek High
  High · Roseville · 1,988 students · 22.9:1 ratio
• Whitney High
  High · Rocklin · 1,984 students · 21.8:1 ratio
• Granite Bay High
  High · Granite Bay · 1,972 students · 23.8:1 ratio
• Del Oro High
  High · Loomis · 1,620 students · 23.5:1 ratio
• Roseville High
  High · Roseville · 1,617 students · 22.5:1 ratio
• John Adams Academy - Roseville
  Other · Roseville · 1,590 students · 20.4:1 ratio
• Horizon Charter
  Other · Lincoln · 1,508 students · 21.5:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.64 — 2026-04-29
  2 km NW of Granite Bay, CA
• M 3.11 — 2026-03-17
  9 km ENE of Colusa, CA
• M 2.74 — 2026-02-06
  25 km W of Sunnyside-Tahoe City, CA
• M 2.95 — 2026-01-25
  15 km N of Pittsburg, CA
• M 2.85 — 2026-01-14
  20 km W of Winters, CA
• M 2.89 — 2025-05-23
  10 km NW of Dunnigan, CA