Orange County is a county located in the US state of California. It is home to over three million people and is the third most populous county in California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. Orange County is the second most densely populated county in the state, after San Francisco County. The largest cities in the county are Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine and Huntington Beach. More than 200,000 people live in those cities. Most of the towns in Orange County are located along the Pacific Coast.
Anaheim was the first city to be incorporated in 1870. At that time, it still belonged to the Los Angeles County area.
Orange County is most visited for the Disneyland tourist attraction.
The 64 km long coastline consists of long beautiful sandy beaches that are visited by tourists all year round.
Orange County is on the US list of the 25 most conservative counties.
The county’s area is a total of 2,460 km2 with 410 km2 of land and 16.6% consists of water.
Orange County is the smallest of all the counties in Southern California. The average temperature is around 20 ° C.
Orange County borders the Pacific Ocean southwest of the Pacific Ocean. To the north is Los Angeles County, to the northeast is San Bernardino County and Riverside County, and to the southeast is San Diego County.
Orange County consists of two coastal valleys and most of the inhabitants live in them.
The highest point is Santiago Peak (1,734 m) which is located about 32 km east of Santa Ana. Santiago Peak and the nearby Modjeska Peak form a ridge known as Saddleback, which can be seen from almost every place in the county.
Orange County’s main watercourse and it flows from northeast to southwest through the center of the county. To the south and east, the tributary of the Santiago Creek flows. Other major waterways are Aliso Creek, San Juan Creek and Horsethief Creek. The San Gabriel River in the north enters Orange County a short distance before extending into the Pacific towns of Long Beach and Seal Beach.
Laguna Beach is home to the only natural lakes in the county, Laguna Lakes.
The county is sometimes divided into northern Orange County and southern Orange County. It is a natural division that follows the county’s geographical nature. It is the northwestern and southeastern part of the county called north and south. The popular television shows The OC, The Real Housewives of Orange County and Laguna Beach have put the county on the map. Newport Harbor is served by the Balboa Island Ferry. There are ferries that run every five minutes between the Balboa Peninsula and Balboa Island in Newport Beach.
The Balboa Peninsula is connected with daily return trips about nine months a year.
Orange County’s only major airport is John Wayne Airport.
The warm climate and the long sandy beaches attract millions of tourists all year round. Huntington Beach is a popular destination for sunbathing and swimming. Surfing has given it the nickname “Surf City, U.S.A.” and many surfing competitions are held there.
Disneyland, Disney California Adventure Park and Knott’s Berry Farm. There is only one water park in the county and that is Soak City in Buena Park.
One area of Orange County is called Little Saigon. There is the largest concentration of Vietnamese outside Vietnam. Other communities that are significant to Taiwanese, Chinese, and Korean communities are located in the western part of Orange County. There are several Asian-inspired shopping malls in the city of Irvine, for example.