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Antelope Valley

The Antelope Valley is located in northern Los Angeles County, California, and the southeast portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert.[1] It is situated between the Tehachapi, Sierra Pelona, and the San Gabriel Mountains.[2] The valley was named for the pronghorns that roamed there until they were all eliminated in the 1880s, mostly by hunting, or resettled in other areas.[2][3] The principal cities in the Antelope Valley are Palmdale and Lancaster.

Antelope Valley
A truck passes eastbound along Highway 58 through the Antelope Valley
Antelope Valley
Location in California
Area2,200 square miles (5,698 km2)
Geography
LocationCalifornia, United States
Population centersPalmdale and Lancaster
Borders onVictor Valley, Great Basin (east); San Gabriel Mountains (south); Tehachapis (northwest); Sierra Pelona Mountains (west)
Coordinates34°48′N 118°12′W / 34.8°N 118.2°W / 34.8; -118.2Coordinates: 34°48′N 118°12′W / 34.8°N 118.2°W / 34.8; -118.2
Traversed byState Route 14, State Route 58, State Route 138

Geography

The Antelope Valley comprises the western tip of the Mojave Desert, opening up to the Victor Valley and the Great Basin to the east. Lying north of the San Gabriel Mountains, southeast of the Tehachapis, and east of the Sierra Pelona Mountains, this desert ecosystem spans around 2,200 sq mi (5,698 km2). The valley is bounded by the Garlock and San Andreas fault systems. Precipitation in the surrounding mountain ranges contributes to groundwater recharge.

Flora and fauna

 
Joshua trees in snow, near Lancaster, California

The Antelope Valley is home to a wide range of plants and animals. This includes hundreds of plants such as the California juniper, Joshua tree, California scrub oak, creosote, and wildflowers, notably the California poppy. Winter brings much-needed rain, which slowly penetrates the area's dry ground, bringing up native grasses and wildflowers. Poppy season depends completely on the precipitation, but a good bloom can be killed off by the unusual weather in the late winter and early spring.

The Antelope Valley gets its name from its history of pronghorn grazing in large numbers. In 1882-85, the valley lost 30,000 head of antelope, almost half of the species for which it was named.[3] Unusually heavy snows in both the mountains and the valley floor drove the antelope toward their normal feeding grounds in the eastern part of the valley. Since they would not cross the railroad tracks, many of them starved to death. The remainder of these pronghorns were hunted for their hides by settlers. Once abundant, they either died off or migrated into the Central Valley. A drought in the early 1900s caused a scarcity in bunch grass, their main food source. Now, the sighting of a pronghorn is rare, although a small number remain in the western portion of the valley.

Common game species in the Antelope Valley include mule deer and mountain quail. Other common species in the Antelope Valley include the golden-mantled ground squirrel, Beechey ground squirrel, red-tailed hawk, Cooper's hawk, Stellar's jay, leopard frog, and rattlesnake.[4]

Water issues

Human water use in the Antelope Valley depends mainly on pumping of groundwater from the valley's aquifers and on importing additional water from the California Aqueduct. Long-term groundwater pumping has lowered the water table, thereby increasing pumping lifts, reducing well efficiency, and causing land subsidence.[5]

While aqueducts supply additional water that meets increasing human demand for agricultural, industrial, and domestic uses, diversion of water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in northern California has caused and causes adverse environmental and social effects in the delta:

"Over decades, [the] competing uses for water supply and habitat have jeopardized the Delta's ability to meet either need. All stakeholders agree the estuary is in trouble and requires long-term solutions to ensure reliable, quality water supplies and a healthy ecosystem."[6]

The Antelope Valley's population growth and development place considerable stress on the local and regional water systems. According to David Leighton of the United States Geological Survey:

"A deliberate management effort will be required to meet future water demand in the Antelope Valley without incurring significant economic and environmental costs associated with overuse of the ground-water resource."[7]

Human history

 
A Kawaiisu family

The first peoples of the Antelope Valley include the Kawaiisu,[8][unreliable source?] Kitanemuk, Serrano, and Tataviam. Europeans first entered in the 1770s, during the colonization of North America. Father Francisco Garcés, a Spanish Franciscan friar, is believed to have traveled the west end of the valley in 1776. The Spanish established El Camino Viejo through the western part of the valley between Los Angeles and the missions of the San Francisco Bay in the 1780s. By 1808, the Spanish had moved the native people out of the valley and into missions.[9]

Jedediah Smith came through in 1827, and John C. Fremont made a scientific observation of the valley in 1844. After Fremont's visit the 49ers crossed the valley via the Old Tejon Pass into the San Joaquin Valley on their way to the gold fields. Later, a better wagon road, the Stockton – Los Angeles Road route to Tejon Pass, followed in 1854. Stagecoach lines across the southern foothills came through the valley along this wagon road, and were the preferred method for travelers before the coming of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1876. The rail service linking the valley to the Central Valley and Los Angeles started its first large influx of white settlers, and farms and towns soon sprouted on the valley floor. The aircraft (now called aerospace) industry took hold in the valley at Plant 42 in 1952. Edwards AFB, then called Muroc Army Air Field, was established in 1933.

The area was once under Mexican rule and was name after the large herds of antelope.[10]

Demographics

In recent decades, the valley has become a bedroom community to the Greater Los Angeles area.[11] Major housing-tract development and population growth took off beginning in 1983, which has increased the population of Palmdale around 12 times its former size as of 2006. Neighboring Lancaster has increased its population since the early 1980s to around three times its former level. Major retail has followed the population influx, centered on Palmdale's Antelope Valley Mall. The Lancaster—Palmdale urbanized area is home to 353,619 people.[12]

Some long-term residents living far out in the desert have been cited by Los Angeles County's nuisance abatement teams for code violations, forcing residents to either make improvements or move. One of the properties is a church building that was used as a filming location for Kill Bill. The code enforcers have arrived on some of their visits in SWAT-team formats.[13]

Military base

 
Discovery (STS-128) touches down at Edwards Air Force Base, 2009

Edwards Air Force Base lies east of Rosamond, 37 miles (60 km) northeast of Palmdale. Edwards AFB's dry lakebeds are the lowest geographic elevation in the valley. Significant numbers of U.S. military test flights are performed there, and it has been the site of many important aeronautical accomplishments, including the first flight to break the sound barrier, accomplished by Chuck Yeager.[citation needed]

NASA Space Shuttles originally landed at Edwards because the lake beds offer a vast landing area. Although NASA later built a landing strip at Kennedy Space Center, Edwards was retained as the backup in case of bad weather at Cape Canaveral.[citation needed]

NASA Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center is a tenant organization at Edwards AFB. The center is best known for the X-15 experimental rocket ship program. It has been the home of NASA's high-performance aircraft research since it was founded for the X-1 program. The Space Shuttle orbiter was serviced there when it landed at Edwards.[citation needed]

Industry

Aerospace

 

U. S. Air Force Plant 42 in northeast Palmdale is home to Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and BAE Systems, among other aerospace-related companies. Notable projects assembled and/or designed there include the Space Shuttle orbiters, B-1 Lancer bombers, B-2 Spirit bombers, F-117 Nighthawk fighters, F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, and Lockheed L-1011 Tristar passenger jets.

This region also houses the newly dedicated Mojave Air and Space Port. The spaceport is famous as the base of operations for Scaled Composites, the company that designed SpaceShipOne and won the X-Prize.

Much of the work done at these facilities is performed in coordination with Edwards Air Force Base and the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center (see above), from the creation and testing of proof-of-concept X-planes, to Space Shuttle operations, to the manufacturing and integration and testing of new military aviation equipment.

With the size of the industry there, Antelope Valley has been nicknamed the Aerospace Valley.[14]

Agriculture

The valley's first main industry as a part of the United States was agriculture. Historically known in the region for its extensive alfalfa fields and fruit crops, farmers now are growing a wider variety of crops, such as carrots, onions, lettuce, and potatoes. As housing tracts continue to build in the middle of the valley, the farm operations are found farther to the west and east sides than in earlier decades.[15]

Electricity generation

 
The Alta Wind Energy Center in northern Antelope Valley

The northern reaches of Antelope Valley are part of the Tehachapi Wind Resource Area, the largest wind resource area in California. The valley also has numerous solar farms, some of which are among the largest in the United States.

Manufacturing

  • U.S. Pole Company Inc.
  • Senior Systems Technology
  • Delta Scientific
  • Lance Camper Manufacturing Corporation
  • Harvest Farms Inc.
  • BYD Company

Mining

The world's largest open-pit borax mine is located near Boron.

Education

Colleges and universities

  • The Antelope Valley Community College District is the local public, regionally accredited, college system that covers the area with a primary service area of 1,945 sq mi (5,040 km2) covering portions of Los Angeles and Kern Counties. Instruction is offered at multiple sites, including Palmdale and Lancaster, as well as through online and instructional television courses. It has two campuses. The main one, Antelope Valley College, is a comprehensive community college located in Lancaster. It offers associate in arts and associate in science (two-year) degrees in 67 fields, as well as certificate programs in 56 vocational areas. It also hosts a satellite location of California State University, Bakersfield-Antelope Valley, where students can obtain bachelor's and master's degrees.
  • University of Antelope Valley, formerly known as Antelope Valley Medical College, is a private, for-profit, incorporated company.[16] The corporation is owned and operated by Lancaster city councilwoman, Sandra Johnson.[17] The facility was featured on a local news report titled "University of Antelope Valley pays employers for jobs",[18] regarding payouts to local businesses that would hire or place graduated students for $2,000. UAV, INC., must place at least 65 percent of its graduates in jobs, or lose accreditation.[19]
  • California State University Bakersfield has a satellite campus in Lancaster offering eight bachelor's degrees, five master's degrees, and the multiple, single, and special-education teaching credentials.
  • University of Phoenix has a satellite campus in Lancaster.
  • University of La Verne has a satellite campus in Palmdale.
  • DeVry University and its Keller Graduate School of Management have a satellite campus in Palmdale.
  • Chapman University has a satellite campus in Palmdale.
  • The AERO Institute at the Palmdale Institute of Technology is a facility in Palmdale at the Civic Center. It is operated by NASA and the City of Palmdale, and distance learning through a number of universities is available, including Purdue, the University of Southern California, the University of San Diego, Pepperdine University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Caltech, and Cal Poly Pomona. This specialized school offers graduate and undergraduate education in aerospace science, engineering, and technical skills.
  • West Coast Baptist College in Lancaster is an accredited Independent Fundamental Baptist Bible college offering graduate and undergraduate degrees in pastoral studies, evangelism, missions, church ministries, music, Christian education, youth ministry, and secretarial studies. West Coast opened in 1995, and now has about 1,000 students.
  • The Lancaster University Center in Lancaster provides local students education in engineering and technology from California State University, Long Beach. The $3.5 million reconstruction of Challenger Hall, located at the old Antelope Valley Fairgrounds, gave the new campus 13 classrooms, two of which are high-tech distance-learning rooms and two of which are lab classrooms, as well as office space. The school was created through partnerships with California State University, Bakersfield, California State University, Fresno, and local aerospace companies. They offer bachelor of science degrees in mechanical and electrical engineering.

High schools

Also, several private and home-school high schools arein the area, most notably:

  • Abraham Lincoln High School - Rosamond
  • Paraclete High School
  • Bethel Christian High School
  • Antelope Valley Christian School - Lancaster
  • Desert Christian High School
  • Empowered Learning Academy - Palmdale
  • Palmdale Academy Charter School
  • Pearblossom High School
  • Desert Sands Charter Schools - Lancaster
  • Desert Sands Charter Schools - Palmdale
  • Opportunities for Learning Charter Schools - Lancaster
  • Opportunities for Learning Charter Schools - Palmdale
  • The Palmdale Aerospace Academy

School districts

Culture

The Antelope Valley Symphony Orchestra is a professional ensemble that performs four concerts each year at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center. It is an auxiliary of Antelope Valley College, and performs regularly with the Antelope Valley College Civic Orchestra.

In popular culture

Antelope Valley Indian Museum State Historic Park has been featured in films such as The Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972) and The Stone Killer (1973). Mackenna's Gold (1964) was also partly filmed in Antelope Valley.[20] The video to the R.E.M. song "Man on the Moon" was shot in Antelope Valley in October 1992.[21]

Parks

Hospitals

Major hospitals include:

The Antelope Valley was formerly served by a county hospital, High Desert Hospital, which was converted into an urgent care clinic in 2003 due to the county's budget problems. As a result, indigent patients with serious but non-life-threatening medical conditions must seek treatment at Olive View – UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar, which is over 50 miles (80 km) away.[citation needed]

Transportation

Major highways and roads

Include:

On the ridgeline of the San Gabriel Mountains, the Angeles Crest Highway (State Route 2) snakes 60 miles (100 km) through the Angeles National Forest to La Cañada Flintridge and the Greater Los Angeles metropolitan region.

Rail

Bus

Airports

  • Palmdale Regional Airport, co-sited with USAF Plant 42 is by far the largest and busiest airport in the valley and is owned by the City of Palmdale via Palmdale Airport Authority (it was previously owned by Los Angeles World Airports which owns and operates LAX up until 2013). Although mostly military flights occur at this airport, it also has an unused commercial terminal.
  • General William J. Fox Airfield in Lancaster is the valley's busiest general aviation airport. It is the fourth largest airport in the valley. Charter air service and helicopter rides are available. This airport also has the valley's only aviation school.
  • Inyokern Airport in Inyokern, near Ridgecrest, is a large general aviation airport with limited commercial airline service to Los Angeles International Airport, serving the northern Antelope Valley and Indian Wells Valley communities. Charter service is also available. It is the area's third largest airport.
  • Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave is a large civil aviation center and the second largest airport in the valley. Voyager and SpaceShipOne were developed and flown from its location.
  • Mountain Valley Airport in Tehachapi is a gliderport, privately owned but open to the public, which offers glider training for civilian and military pilots
  • Tehachapi Municipal Airport in Tehachapi is a small general aviation airport.
  • Agua Dulce Airpark in Agua Dulce is a medium-sized general aviation airport.
  • Rosamond Skypark Airport in Rosamond is a small general aviation airport, privately owned and operated.
  • California City Municipal Airport in California City is a small general aviation airport.
  • Crystalaire Airport in Llano is a small airstrip principally dedicated to glider flights.

Notable people

 

Some people of note have spent time in the valley, including:

Cities and communities

Cities over 100,000 population

  • Lancaster (population as of 2018, 159,053) - incorporated in 1977
  • Palmdale (population as of 2018, 156,667) - incorporated in 1962

Cities less than 100,000 population

Unincorporated towns and districts

Over 10,000 population

Under 10,000 population

See also

References

  1. ^ "Antelope Valley". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ a b Dale Pitt (2000). "Antelope Valley". Los Angeles A to Z: an encyclopedia of the city and county. University of California Press. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-520-20530-7.
  3. ^ a b William Bright; Erwin Gustav Gudde (30 November 1998). 1500 California place names: their origin and meaning. University of California Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-520-21271-8. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  4. ^ "Antelope Valley Wildlife Area".
  5. ^ Ikehara, Marti E. and Phillips, Steven P. (1994) Determination of Land Subsidence Related to Ground-Water Level Declines Using Global Positioning System and Leveling Surveys in Antelope Valley, Los Angeles and Kern Counties, California, 1992 2014-04-21 at the Wayback Machine, Water-Resources Investigations Report 94-4184, United States Geological Survey
  6. ^ . 7 July 2007. Archived from the original on 7 July 2007. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  7. ^ . 23 September 2006. Archived from the original on 23 September 2006. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  8. ^ . 5 May 2008. Archived from the original on 5 May 2008.
  9. ^ "Antelope Valley Frequently Asked Questions: 16. What Indians lived here?", , archived from the original on 2017-11-07, retrieved 2007-02-14
  10. ^ "Guide to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve State Natural Reserve Photographic Collection".
  11. ^ Peevers, Andrea Schulte Lonely Planet, California, 3rd Ed. ISBN 9781864503319, p.476
  12. ^ "Census profile: Lancaster--Palmdale, CA Urbanized Area".
  13. ^ Melnicoff, Mars (2011-09-16). "L A County's Private Property War". A Weekly News. from the original on 2 September 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  14. ^ Borge, Alyssa (2 March 2021). "America's Aerospace Valley". Museum of Art & History. Lancaster Museum of Art and History.
  15. ^ Gerber, Judith; Surls, Rachel (2019-03-01). "Los Angeles County's Forgotten Farming History". PBS SoCal. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
  16. ^ University of Antelope Valley (2011–2012).Master's degree Academic Catalog, p. 5. Lancaster, California: University of Antelope Valley "in-house publishing" Retrieved, Sunday, April 15, 2012 from . Archived from the original on 2014-04-22. Retrieved 2012-04-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. ^
  18. ^ Stallworth, Leo "University of Antelope Valley pays employers for jobs" (c)KABC-TV/DT. Friday, September 09, 2011. Retrieved, April 15, 2012.
  19. ^ Stallworth, Leo. "Antelope university pays employers for jobs". ABC7 Los Angeles. from the original on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  20. ^ Maddrey, Joseph (2016). The Quick, the Dead and the Revived: The Many Lives of the Western Film. McFarland. Page 173. ISBN 9781476625492.
  21. ^ R.E.M.'s official Twitter account
  22. ^ "Guide to the Ezra M. Hamilton Collection, 1833-1914". www.oac.cdlib.org. from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2018.

External links

  • Antelope Valley Conservancy
  • Antelope Valley Business Directory
  • Antelope Valley Press
  • Antelope Valley Indian Museum and State Historical Park
  • In-depth study of the Valley's historical development and recent (1990s) urban conditions.
  • Groundwater Quality in the Antelope Valley, California United States Geological Survey

antelope, valley, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, december,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Antelope Valley news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message For other uses see Antelope Valley disambiguation The Antelope Valley is located in northern Los Angeles County California and the southeast portion of Kern County California and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert 1 It is situated between the Tehachapi Sierra Pelona and the San Gabriel Mountains 2 The valley was named for the pronghorns that roamed there until they were all eliminated in the 1880s mostly by hunting or resettled in other areas 2 3 The principal cities in the Antelope Valley are Palmdale and Lancaster Antelope ValleyA truck passes eastbound along Highway 58 through the Antelope ValleyAntelope ValleyLocation in CaliforniaArea2 200 square miles 5 698 km2 GeographyLocationCalifornia United StatesPopulation centersPalmdale and LancasterBorders onVictor Valley Great Basin east San Gabriel Mountains south Tehachapis northwest Sierra Pelona Mountains west Coordinates34 48 N 118 12 W 34 8 N 118 2 W 34 8 118 2 Coordinates 34 48 N 118 12 W 34 8 N 118 2 W 34 8 118 2 Traversed byState Route 14 State Route 58 State Route 138 Contents 1 Geography 2 Flora and fauna 2 1 Water issues 3 Human history 4 Demographics 5 Military base 6 Industry 6 1 Aerospace 6 2 Agriculture 6 3 Electricity generation 6 4 Manufacturing 6 5 Mining 7 Education 7 1 Colleges and universities 7 2 High schools 7 3 School districts 8 Culture 8 1 In popular culture 9 Parks 10 Hospitals 11 Transportation 11 1 Major highways and roads 11 2 Rail 11 3 Bus 11 4 Airports 12 Notable people 13 Cities and communities 13 1 Cities over 100 000 population 13 2 Cities less than 100 000 population 13 3 Unincorporated towns and districts 14 See also 15 References 16 External linksGeography EditThe Antelope Valley comprises the western tip of the Mojave Desert opening up to the Victor Valley and the Great Basin to the east Lying north of the San Gabriel Mountains southeast of the Tehachapis and east of the Sierra Pelona Mountains this desert ecosystem spans around 2 200 sq mi 5 698 km2 The valley is bounded by the Garlock and San Andreas fault systems Precipitation in the surrounding mountain ranges contributes to groundwater recharge Flora and fauna Edit Joshua trees in snow near Lancaster California The Antelope Valley is home to a wide range of plants and animals This includes hundreds of plants such as the California juniper Joshua tree California scrub oak creosote and wildflowers notably the California poppy Winter brings much needed rain which slowly penetrates the area s dry ground bringing up native grasses and wildflowers Poppy season depends completely on the precipitation but a good bloom can be killed off by the unusual weather in the late winter and early spring The Antelope Valley gets its name from its history of pronghorn grazing in large numbers In 1882 85 the valley lost 30 000 head of antelope almost half of the species for which it was named 3 Unusually heavy snows in both the mountains and the valley floor drove the antelope toward their normal feeding grounds in the eastern part of the valley Since they would not cross the railroad tracks many of them starved to death The remainder of these pronghorns were hunted for their hides by settlers Once abundant they either died off or migrated into the Central Valley A drought in the early 1900s caused a scarcity in bunch grass their main food source Now the sighting of a pronghorn is rare although a small number remain in the western portion of the valley Common game species in the Antelope Valley include mule deer and mountain quail Other common species in the Antelope Valley include the golden mantled ground squirrel Beechey ground squirrel red tailed hawk Cooper s hawk Stellar s jay leopard frog and rattlesnake 4 Water issues Edit Human water use in the Antelope Valley depends mainly on pumping of groundwater from the valley s aquifers and on importing additional water from the California Aqueduct Long term groundwater pumping has lowered the water table thereby increasing pumping lifts reducing well efficiency and causing land subsidence 5 While aqueducts supply additional water that meets increasing human demand for agricultural industrial and domestic uses diversion of water from the Sacramento San Joaquin River Delta in northern California has caused and causes adverse environmental and social effects in the delta Over decades the competing uses for water supply and habitat have jeopardized the Delta s ability to meet either need All stakeholders agree the estuary is in trouble and requires long term solutions to ensure reliable quality water supplies and a healthy ecosystem 6 The Antelope Valley s population growth and development place considerable stress on the local and regional water systems According to David Leighton of the United States Geological Survey A deliberate management effort will be required to meet future water demand in the Antelope Valley without incurring significant economic and environmental costs associated with overuse of the ground water resource 7 Human history Edit A Kawaiisu family The first peoples of the Antelope Valley include the Kawaiisu 8 unreliable source Kitanemuk Serrano and Tataviam Europeans first entered in the 1770s during the colonization of North America Father Francisco Garces a Spanish Franciscan friar is believed to have traveled the west end of the valley in 1776 The Spanish established El Camino Viejo through the western part of the valley between Los Angeles and the missions of the San Francisco Bay in the 1780s By 1808 the Spanish had moved the native people out of the valley and into missions 9 Jedediah Smith came through in 1827 and John C Fremont made a scientific observation of the valley in 1844 After Fremont s visit the 49ers crossed the valley via the Old Tejon Pass into the San Joaquin Valley on their way to the gold fields Later a better wagon road the Stockton Los Angeles Road route to Tejon Pass followed in 1854 Stagecoach lines across the southern foothills came through the valley along this wagon road and were the preferred method for travelers before the coming of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1876 The rail service linking the valley to the Central Valley and Los Angeles started its first large influx of white settlers and farms and towns soon sprouted on the valley floor The aircraft now called aerospace industry took hold in the valley at Plant 42 in 1952 Edwards AFB then called Muroc Army Air Field was established in 1933 The area was once under Mexican rule and was name after the large herds of antelope 10 Demographics EditIn recent decades the valley has become a bedroom community to the Greater Los Angeles area 11 Major housing tract development and population growth took off beginning in 1983 which has increased the population of Palmdale around 12 times its former size as of 2006 Neighboring Lancaster has increased its population since the early 1980s to around three times its former level Major retail has followed the population influx centered on Palmdale s Antelope Valley Mall The Lancaster Palmdale urbanized area is home to 353 619 people 12 Some long term residents living far out in the desert have been cited by Los Angeles County s nuisance abatement teams for code violations forcing residents to either make improvements or move One of the properties is a church building that was used as a filming location for Kill Bill The code enforcers have arrived on some of their visits in SWAT team formats 13 Military base EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Antelope Valley news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message Discovery STS 128 touches down at Edwards Air Force Base 2009 Edwards Air Force Base lies east of Rosamond 37 miles 60 km northeast of Palmdale Edwards AFB s dry lakebeds are the lowest geographic elevation in the valley Significant numbers of U S military test flights are performed there and it has been the site of many important aeronautical accomplishments including the first flight to break the sound barrier accomplished by Chuck Yeager citation needed NASA Space Shuttles originally landed at Edwards because the lake beds offer a vast landing area Although NASA later built a landing strip at Kennedy Space Center Edwards was retained as the backup in case of bad weather at Cape Canaveral citation needed NASA Neil A Armstrong Flight Research Center is a tenant organization at Edwards AFB The center is best known for the X 15 experimental rocket ship program It has been the home of NASA s high performance aircraft research since it was founded for the X 1 program The Space Shuttle orbiter was serviced there when it landed at Edwards citation needed Industry EditAerospace Edit SpaceShipOne Flight 15P landing at Mojave Air and Space Port June 21 2004 U S Air Force Plant 42 in northeast Palmdale is home to Lockheed Martin Boeing Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems among other aerospace related companies Notable projects assembled and or designed there include the Space Shuttle orbiters B 1 Lancer bombers B 2 Spirit bombers F 117 Nighthawk fighters F 35 Joint Strike Fighters and Lockheed L 1011 Tristar passenger jets This region also houses the newly dedicated Mojave Air and Space Port The spaceport is famous as the base of operations for Scaled Composites the company that designed SpaceShipOne and won the X Prize Much of the work done at these facilities is performed in coordination with Edwards Air Force Base and the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center see above from the creation and testing of proof of concept X planes to Space Shuttle operations to the manufacturing and integration and testing of new military aviation equipment With the size of the industry there Antelope Valley has been nicknamed the Aerospace Valley 14 Agriculture Edit The valley s first main industry as a part of the United States was agriculture Historically known in the region for its extensive alfalfa fields and fruit crops farmers now are growing a wider variety of crops such as carrots onions lettuce and potatoes As housing tracts continue to build in the middle of the valley the farm operations are found farther to the west and east sides than in earlier decades 15 Electricity generation Edit The Alta Wind Energy Center in northern Antelope Valley The northern reaches of Antelope Valley are part of the Tehachapi Wind Resource Area the largest wind resource area in California The valley also has numerous solar farms some of which are among the largest in the United States Manufacturing Edit U S Pole Company Inc Senior Systems Technology Delta Scientific Lance Camper Manufacturing Corporation Harvest Farms Inc BYD Company Mining Edit The world s largest open pit borax mine is located near Boron Education EditColleges and universities Edit The Antelope Valley Community College District is the local public regionally accredited college system that covers the area with a primary service area of 1 945 sq mi 5 040 km2 covering portions of Los Angeles and Kern Counties Instruction is offered at multiple sites including Palmdale and Lancaster as well as through online and instructional television courses It has two campuses The main one Antelope Valley College is a comprehensive community college located in Lancaster It offers associate in arts and associate in science two year degrees in 67 fields as well as certificate programs in 56 vocational areas It also hosts a satellite location of California State University Bakersfield Antelope Valley where students can obtain bachelor s and master s degrees University of Antelope Valley formerly known as Antelope Valley Medical College is a private for profit incorporated company 16 The corporation is owned and operated by Lancaster city councilwoman Sandra Johnson 17 The facility was featured on a local news report titled University of Antelope Valley pays employers for jobs 18 regarding payouts to local businesses that would hire or place graduated students for 2 000 UAV INC must place at least 65 percent of its graduates in jobs or lose accreditation 19 California State University Bakersfield has a satellite campus in Lancaster offering eight bachelor s degrees five master s degrees and the multiple single and special education teaching credentials University of Phoenix has a satellite campus in Lancaster University of La Verne has a satellite campus in Palmdale DeVry University and its Keller Graduate School of Management have a satellite campus in Palmdale Chapman University has a satellite campus in Palmdale The AERO Institute at the Palmdale Institute of Technology is a facility in Palmdale at the Civic Center It is operated by NASA and the City of Palmdale and distance learning through a number of universities is available including Purdue the University of Southern California the University of San Diego Pepperdine University Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Caltech and Cal Poly Pomona This specialized school offers graduate and undergraduate education in aerospace science engineering and technical skills West Coast Baptist College in Lancaster is an accredited Independent Fundamental Baptist Bible college offering graduate and undergraduate degrees in pastoral studies evangelism missions church ministries music Christian education youth ministry and secretarial studies West Coast opened in 1995 and now has about 1 000 students The Lancaster University Center in Lancaster provides local students education in engineering and technology from California State University Long Beach The 3 5 million reconstruction of Challenger Hall located at the old Antelope Valley Fairgrounds gave the new campus 13 classrooms two of which are high tech distance learning rooms and two of which are lab classrooms as well as office space The school was created through partnerships with California State University Bakersfield California State University Fresno and local aerospace companies They offer bachelor of science degrees in mechanical and electrical engineering High schools Edit The Antelope Valley Union High School District is the primary public school district covering the vast majority of high school education in the metropolitan Palmdale and Lancaster area The district has 25 000 students in eight regular high schools in Palmdale and Lancaster a continuation school in each city a trade school in Palmdale and a specialized early college education school on the Lancaster Antelope Valley College campus These are Antelope Valley High School Lancaster Antelope Valley Regional Occupational Program AV ROP Palmdale Desert Winds High School Lancaster Eastside High School Lancaster Highland High School Palmdale Lancaster High School Lancaster Littlerock High School Littlerock California Palmdale High School Palmdale Pete Knight High School Palmdale Quartz Hill High School Quartz Hill R Rex Parris Continuation High School Palmdale SOAR High School Lancaster The Southern Kern Unified School District provides all public school education in Rosamond The Muroc Joint Unified School District provides all public school education for Edwards Air Force Base and the northern Antelope Valley communities of North Edwards and Boron The Mojave Unified School District provides all public school education in the northern Antelope Valley communities of Mojave and California City Also several private and home school high schools arein the area most notably Abraham Lincoln High School Rosamond Paraclete High School Bethel Christian High School Antelope Valley Christian School Lancaster Desert Christian High School Empowered Learning Academy Palmdale Palmdale Academy Charter School Pearblossom High School Desert Sands Charter Schools Lancaster Desert Sands Charter Schools Palmdale Opportunities for Learning Charter Schools Lancaster Opportunities for Learning Charter Schools Palmdale The Palmdale Aerospace AcademySchool districts Edit The Palmdale School District is the area s largest school district with an enrollment of over 28 000 in 29 schools The district covers the central portion of the city The Lancaster School District is the area s third largest school district after Palmdale and the A V High School District This school district covers most of central and part of eastern Lancaster with 15 000 students in 19 schools The Westside Union School District covers western Palmdale and Lancaster and their immediate suburbs including Quartz Hill Del Sur Leona Valley and Antelope Acres It has over 8 250 students in 11 schools The Eastside Union School District covers eastern Lancaster with 3 500 students in 4 schools The Keppel Union School District covers eastern Palmdale and its immediate suburbs including the eastern Antelope Valley communities of Lake Los Angeles Pearblossom Littlerock Sun Village Llano and Valyermo It has 6 schools with over 3 000 students The Southern Kern Unified School District provides all public school education in Rosamond The Muroc Joint Unified School District provides all public school education for Edwards Air Force Base and the northern Antelope Valley communities of North Edwards and Boron The Mojave Unified School District provides all public school education in the northern Antelope Valley communities of Mojave and California City Culture EditThe Antelope Valley Symphony Orchestra is a professional ensemble that performs four concerts each year at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center It is an auxiliary of Antelope Valley College and performs regularly with the Antelope Valley College Civic Orchestra In popular culture Edit Antelope Valley Indian Museum State Historic Park has been featured in films such as The Magnificent Seven Ride 1972 and The Stone Killer 1973 Mackenna s Gold 1964 was also partly filmed in Antelope Valley 20 The video to the R E M song Man on the Moon was shot in Antelope Valley in October 1992 21 Parks Edit Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve March 2008 Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve home to California s state flower Arthur B Ripley Desert Woodland State Park Antelope Valley Indian Museum State Historic Park Saddleback Butte State Park Devil s Punchbowl County ParkHospitals EditMajor hospitals include Antelope Valley Hospital Palmdale Regional Medical CenterThe Antelope Valley was formerly served by a county hospital High Desert Hospital which was converted into an urgent care clinic in 2003 due to the county s budget problems As a result indigent patients with serious but non life threatening medical conditions must seek treatment at Olive View UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar which is over 50 miles 80 km away citation needed Transportation EditMajor highways and roads Edit Include Angeles Forest Highway a key county road connects Palmdale with Angeles Crest Highway as an alternate route to the Los Angeles basin The Antelope Valley Freeway State Route 14 State Route 18 connects SR 138 east of Palmdale to Victor Valley and U S Route 395 There is currently a proposal to turn this into a freeway State Route 138 of which Pearblossom Highway comprises the eastern leg State Route 58 connects the Antelope Valley with Bakersfield and Barstow as a freeway expressway U S Route 395 which technically lies east of the Valley proper On the ridgeline of the San Gabriel Mountains the Angeles Crest Highway State Route 2 snakes 60 miles 100 km through the Angeles National Forest to La Canada Flintridge and the Greater Los Angeles metropolitan region Rail Edit Union Pacific serves the Antelope Valley with freight service on their route between Palmdale and Mojave with continuing service to points south southeast and north BNSF Railway serves Mojave with freight service to from the east and to from Richmond California to the northwest Metrolink passenger rail service to the Los Angeles Basin and other parts of Southern California on its Antelope Valley Line at its Lancaster Palmdale and Vincent Grade Acton stations Amtrak passenger rail service has a commuter bus that stops at the Palmdale Transportation Center and the Lancaster Metrolink station connecting Antelope Valley residents to the national rail network The California High Speed Rail authority has designated Palmdale as a stop on the future rail line between San Francisco and San Diego Bus Edit The Antelope Valley Transit Authority is the local city bus system for metropolitan Palmdale and Lancaster The service also operates a commuter bus network from its hubs at the Palmdale Transportation Center and the Lancaster Park amp Ride to several locations in Los Angeles Greyhound Bus has stops at the Palmdale Transportation Center and the Lancaster Metrolink station Airports Edit Palmdale Regional Airport co sited with USAF Plant 42 is by far the largest and busiest airport in the valley and is owned by the City of Palmdale via Palmdale Airport Authority it was previously owned by Los Angeles World Airports which owns and operates LAX up until 2013 Although mostly military flights occur at this airport it also has an unused commercial terminal General William J Fox Airfield in Lancaster is the valley s busiest general aviation airport It is the fourth largest airport in the valley Charter air service and helicopter rides are available This airport also has the valley s only aviation school Inyokern Airport in Inyokern near Ridgecrest is a large general aviation airport with limited commercial airline service to Los Angeles International Airport serving the northern Antelope Valley and Indian Wells Valley communities Charter service is also available It is the area s third largest airport Mojave Air amp Space Port in Mojave is a large civil aviation center and the second largest airport in the valley Voyager and SpaceShipOne were developed and flown from its location Mountain Valley Airport in Tehachapi is a gliderport privately owned but open to the public which offers glider training for civilian and military pilots Tehachapi Municipal Airport in Tehachapi is a small general aviation airport Agua Dulce Airpark in Agua Dulce is a medium sized general aviation airport Rosamond Skypark Airport in Rosamond is a small general aviation airport privately owned and operated California City Municipal Airport in California City is a small general aviation airport Crystalaire Airport in Llano is a small airstrip principally dedicated to glider flights Notable people Edit Chuck Yeager with Glamorous Glennis at Muroc circa 1947 Some people of note have spent time in the valley including The 1990s R amp B group All 4 One was from the AV Erik Aude actor stuntman turned professional poker player went to Paraclete High School before transferring over to Bethel Christian Pancho Barnes the aviator and friend to the U S Air Force s test pilots of what is now called Edwards Air Force Base established the celebrated Happy Bottom Riding Club near Rogers Dry Lake in 1935 later living in Cantil and Boron Linda Blair award winning actress notable for her lead in the 1973 film The Exorcist currently resides in Acton where she leads the Linda Blair World Heart Foundation citation needed Spade Cooley was a Western swing musician big band leader actor and television personality Willow Springs Michael Deaver former aide to Ronald Reagan is a former Mojave resident R Lee Ermey of Full Metal Jacket and Mail Call fame was a Palmdale resident Joseph Foreman more frequently known as Afroman lives in Palmdale Daniel Fry a contactee attended Antelope Valley High School in Lancaster during the 1920s Judy Garland then known in the valley as Frances Gumm As a girl she would sing in public to her Lancaster neighbors Paul George NBA player born and raised in Palmdale California Donald Glover singer songwriter known by his stage name Childish Gambino was born in Edwards Air Force Base Ezra M Hamilton a pioneer known for his role in the development of Antelope Valley California In 1896 he discovered gold in Rosamond California and began a successful mining operation that spurred growth in the area He founded and developed the nearby town of Willow Springs in 1897 22 Tippi Hedren who made her major motion picture debut in The Birds is an Acton resident since at least 1981 Acton not being in the valley proper but nearby to the south Aldous Huxley drew writing inspiration from the solitude found at his Llano home A little known children s book The Crows of Pearblossom is set in the valley and is the only children s book he is known to have written Home to members of the punk band Killradio Terence McKenna noted writer public speaker philosopher psychonaut and ethnobotanist graduated from Antelope Valley High School in 1965 Debbie Rowe second wife of Michael Jackson lives in Palmdale California Burt Rutan and his brother Dick Rutan of Scaled Composites the firm which produced SpaceShipOne and the Voyager aerospace vehicles work out of Mojave Air amp Space Port in Mojave Home to members of the punk band Slick Shoes Kathleen Soliah who achieved notoriety as a member of the Symbionese Liberation Army in the 1970s and then as a fugitive living a quiet middle class life in Saint Paul Minnesota grew up in Desert View Highlands graduating from Palmdale High School in 1965 Don Van Vliet Captain Beefheart attended Antelope Valley High School in Lancaster with Frank Zappa citation needed John Wayne then known as Marion Morrison was briefly a Lancaster schoolboy who was known not to tie up his horse properly when he left it by the street as was the old time custom citation needed Chuck Yeager was an early USAF test pilot at Muroc Army Air Field now Edwards Air Force Base where he became the first to break the sound barrier on October 14 1947 Frank Zappa attended Antelope Valley High School in Lancaster graduating in 1958 He met Don Van Vliet Captain Beefheart there a fellow student Cities and communities EditCities over 100 000 population Edit Lancaster population as of 2018 159 053 incorporated in 1977 Palmdale population as of 2018 156 667 incorporated in 1962Cities less than 100 000 population Edit California City population as of 2018 14 217 incorporated in 1965Unincorporated towns and districts Edit Over 10 000 population Rosamond 18 150 Lake Los Angeles 12 328 Quartz Hill 10 912 Sun Village 11 302 Under 10 000 population Acton technically in the San Gabriel Mountains 7 596 Agua Dulce technically in the San Gabriel Mountains 4 254 Antelope Acres 3 059 Boron 2 253 Cantil Del Sur 1 750 Desert View Highlands Elizabeth Lake technically in the Leona Valley 1 756 Hi Vista 1 056 Inyokern technically in the Indian Wells Valley Johannesburg Juniper Hills 1 101 Lake Hughes technically in the Leona Valley Leona Valley technically in the Leona Valley Littlerock 1 377 Llano 739 Mojave 4 238 Monolith technically in the Tehachapi Valley Neenach 560 North Edwards Pearblossom 2 435 Pinon Hills technically in the Victor Valley Randsburg Saltdale Valyermo 691 Wilsona Gardens 210 Willow Springs 1 784 See also EditAerospace Walk of Honor downtown Lancaster sidewalk tribute to the U S Air Force flight test community Antelope Valley Conservancy a public benefit organizationPortals Greater Los Angeles California United States Geography North AmericaReferences Edit Antelope Valley Geographic Names Information System United States Geological Survey United States Department of the Interior a b Dale Pitt 2000 Antelope Valley Los Angeles A to Z an encyclopedia of the city and county University of California Press p 20 ISBN 978 0 520 20530 7 a b William Bright Erwin Gustav Gudde 30 November 1998 1500 California place names their origin and meaning University of California Press p 16 ISBN 978 0 520 21271 8 Retrieved 20 January 2012 Antelope Valley Wildlife Area Ikehara Marti E and Phillips Steven P 1994 Determination of Land Subsidence Related to Ground Water Level Declines Using Global Positioning System and Leveling Surveys in Antelope Valley Los Angeles and Kern Counties California 1992 Archived 2014 04 21 at the Wayback Machine Water Resources Investigations Report 94 4184 United States Geological Survey State Water Project Delta 7 July 2007 Archived from the original on 7 July 2007 Retrieved 29 March 2018 Antelope Valley Ground water study 23 September 2006 Archived from the original on 23 September 2006 Retrieved 29 March 2018 Kawaiisu Tribe of Tejon Southern California Native American Art and History 5 May 2008 Archived from the original on 5 May 2008 Antelope Valley Frequently Asked Questions 16 What Indians lived here County of Los Angeles Public Library Lancaster Library archived from the original on 2017 11 07 retrieved 2007 02 14 Guide to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve State Natural Reserve Photographic Collection Peevers Andrea Schulte Lonely Planet California 3rd Ed ISBN 9781864503319 p 476 Census profile Lancaster Palmdale CA Urbanized Area Melnicoff Mars 2011 09 16 L A County s Private Property War A Weekly News Archived from the original on 2 September 2011 Retrieved 30 August 2011 Borge Alyssa 2 March 2021 America s Aerospace Valley Museum of Art amp History Lancaster Museum of Art and History Gerber Judith Surls Rachel 2019 03 01 Los Angeles County s Forgotten Farming History PBS SoCal Retrieved 2020 12 23 University of Antelope Valley 2011 2012 Master s degree Academic Catalog p 5 Lancaster California University of Antelope Valley in house publishing Retrieved Sunday April 15 2012 from Archived copy Archived from the original on 2014 04 22 Retrieved 2012 04 15 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link About Sandra 2012 Retrieved Sunday April 15 2012 from Stallworth Leo University of Antelope Valley pays employers for jobs c KABC TV DT Friday September 09 2011 Retrieved April 15 2012 Stallworth Leo Antelope university pays employers for jobs ABC7 Los Angeles Archived from the original on 30 March 2018 Retrieved 29 March 2018 Maddrey Joseph 2016 The Quick the Dead and the Revived The Many Lives of the Western Film McFarland Page 173 ISBN 9781476625492 R E M s official Twitter account Guide to the Ezra M Hamilton Collection 1833 1914 www oac cdlib org Archived from the original on 12 December 2017 Retrieved 29 March 2018 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Antelope Valley Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Antelope Valley Antelope Valley Conservancy Antelope Valley Business Directory Antelope Valley Press Antelope Valley Indian Museum and State Historical Park The Geography of Suburban Sprawl in the Antelope Valley In depth study of the Valley s historical development and recent 1990s urban conditions Groundwater Quality in the Antelope Valley California United States Geological Survey Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Antelope Valley amp oldid 1150972460, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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