La Quinta, California | ||
---|---|---|
City | ||
City of La Quinta | ||
|
||
Motto: The Gem of the Desert | ||
Location of La Quinta in the U.S. state of California |
||
Location in the United States | ||
Coordinates: 33°40′31″N 116°17′51″W / 33.67528°N 116.29750°WCoordinates: 33°40′31″N 116°17′51″W / 33.67528°N 116.29750°W | ||
Country | United States | |
State | California | |
County | Riverside | |
Incorporated | May 1, 1982 | |
Government | ||
• Mayor | Linda Evans | |
Area | ||
• Total | 35.551 sq mi (92.078 km2) | |
• Land | 35.117 sq mi (90.954 km2) | |
• Water | 0.434 sq mi (1.124 km2) 1.22% | |
Elevation | 135 ft (41 m) | |
Population (2010) | ||
• Total | 37,467 | |
• Estimate (2016) | 40,956 | |
• Density | 1,100/sq mi (410/km2) | |
Time zone | Pacific (UTC-8) | |
• Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) | |
ZIP code | 92253 | |
Area code | 442/760 | |
FIPS code | 06-40354 | |
GNIS feature IDs | 1660870, 2411582 | |
Website | www |
La Quinta is a resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, specifically in the Coachella Valley between Indian Wells and Indio. The population was 37,467 at the 2010 census, up from 23,694 at the 2000 census. The Robb Report credits La Quinta as the leading golf destination in the US. Among those destinations is the La Quinta Resort and Club, a resort dating to 1926, where director Frank Capra wrote the screenplay for Lost Horizon. The Tom Fazio-designed golf course at The Quarry at La Quinta is ranked among the top 100 golf courses in the United States. In January 2008, the Arnold Palmer Classic Course at the city's SilverRock Golf Resort became one of the four host golf courses for the annual Bob Hope Chrysler Classic PGA golf tournament.
In the late-19th century and early-20th century (1880–1920), agriculture developed in present-day La Quinta and "East Valley" by pre-modern (mountain water runoff or open water springs) and modern irrigation techniques. At the time, California and federal land surveyors declared the sand dunes uninhabitable, only the hard rock ground of the "Marshall Cove" held potential farming and residential development.
In 1926, Walter Morgan established the La Quinta Resort at the northern section of Marshall Cove as a type of secluded hideaway for nearby Hollywood's celebrities and socialites. The Resort was the site for the Coachella Valley's first golf course, coinciding with the construction and pavement of State Route 111 in the 1930s. Further expansion of Washington Street in the 1950s and 1960s connected La Quinta with US Highways 60 and 99 (became Interstate 10 in the 1970s).