Mission Viejo, California

City

Clockwise from top: Lake Mission Viejo, Olympiad Rd, Mission Viejo Library, Oso Creek, Mission Viejo City Hall

Seal

Motto: "Make Living Your Mission"

Location of Mission Viejo within Orange County, California.

Mission Viejo, California

Location in the United States

Coordinates: 33°36′46″N 117°39′22″W / 33.61278°N 117.65611°WCoordinates: 33°36′46″N 117°39′22″W / 33.61278°N 117.65611°W

California

Orange

March 31, 1988

Government

• Type

Council-Manager

• Mayor

Wendy Bucknum

• City Manager

Dennis Wilberg

Area

• Total

18.123 sq mi (46.939 km²)

• Land

17.739 sq mi (45.944 km²)

• Water

0.384 sq mi (0.995 km²) 2.12%

Elevation

410 ft (125 m)

Population (April 1, 2010)

• Total

93,305

• Estimate (2013)

96,346

• Density

5,100/sq mi (2,000/km²)

Time zone

PST (UTC-8)

• Summer (DST)

PDT (UTC-7)

92691–92692, 92694

GNIS feature IDs

1661045, 2411123

Website

www.cityofmissionviejo.org

Mission Viejo /ˈmɪʃən viːˈeɪhoʊ/ is a city in Orange County, California, United States in the Saddleback Valley. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master-planned communities ever built under a single project in the United States, and is rivaled only by Highlands Ranch, Colorado, in its size. Its population as of 2014 was estimated at 96,346.

Mission Viejo is suburban in nature and culture. The city is mainly residential, although there are a number of offices and businesses within its city limits. The city is known for its picturesque tree-lined neighborhoods, receiving recognition from the National Arbor Day Foundation. The city's name is a reference to Rancho Mission Viejo, a large Spanish land grant from which the community was founded.

Mission Viejo was purchased by John Forster, a Mexican also known as "Don Juan". During the Mexican-American War, Forster provided fresh horses to United States military forces which were used on the march of San Diego to retake Los Angeles.

Mission Viejo was a hilly region primarily used as cattle and sheep grazing land, since it was of little use to farmers. This city was one of the last regions of Orange County to be urbanized due to its geologic complexity. In 1960, early developers dismissed most of the land in Mission Viejo as simply "undevelopable".

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Wikipedia