Whitewater, California

Whitewater (formerly White Water) is a census-designated place in Riverside County, California.^[2] It is directly off Interstate 10 halfway between North Palm Springs and Cabazon on the way from Palm Springs to Los Angeles. It is known as the site of the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm. The ZIP Code is 92282, and the community is inside area code 760. The population was 984 at the 2020 census. The elevation is 1,575 feet (480 m).

Whitewater
Census-designated place
Whitewater and San Jacinto Peak
Whitewater Location within the state of California Show map of California Whitewater Whitewater (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 33°56′08″N 116°41′14″W
Country	United States
State	California
County	Riverside
Area [1]
• Total	9.877 sq mi (25.581 km2)
• Land	9.877 sq mi (25.581 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)  0%
Elevation [2]	1,575 ft (480 m)
Population  (2020)[3]
• Total	984
• Density	100/sq mi (38/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP codes	92282
Area code	760
GNIS feature ID	2583184

Whitewater is famous for its recently renovated trout farm in the canyon of the Whitewater River.^[4]

History

Whitewater, still a populated place on the west bank of the Whitewater River, is located 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Palm Springs.33°54′52″N 116°42′38″W^[5] It began as rest and watering place for travelers on the Bradshaw Trail between San Bernardino and La Paz Arizona Territory in 1862. With the start of the Colorado River Gold Rush the trail was created to ship goods and allow people to cross the desert to the new boom towns on the Colorado River and the interior of Arizona Territory. Whitewater got its name from the White Water Station, a stagecoach station that was located there on the Bradshaw Trail.^[6] The settlement at White Water remained as a stop on the road into the Coachella Valley and to other desert regions to the east as it does today.

Geography

Whitewater is located at 33°55′27″N 116°38′40″W (33.924203 N, 116.644453 W) and is named for the nearby Whitewater River. The wind farm is located near the I-10 exit at 33°54′52″N 116°42′38″W (33.914456 N, 116.743897 W). The area has nearly constant wind due to the venturi effect created by the San Bernardino Mountains to the north and the San Jacinto Mountains to the south, resulting in perfect conditions for the wind farm.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 9.9 square miles (25.6 km²), all of it land.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Whitewater has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps.^[7]

Demographics

Cottonwood Road and Haugen Lehmann Way Intersection

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2010	859		—
2020	984		14.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[8] 2010[9]

Whitewater first appeared as a census-designated place in the 2010 U.S. Census.^[9]

The 2020 United States census reported that Whitewater had a population of 984. The population density was 99.6 inhabitants per square mile (38.5/km²). The racial makeup was 405 (41.2%) White, 56 (5.7%) African American, 23 (2.3%) Native American, 18 (1.8%) Asian, 7 (0.7%) Pacific Islander, 303 (30.8%) from other races, and 172 (17.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 540 persons (54.9%).^[10]

The census reported that 969 people (98.5% of the population) lived in households, 3 (0.3%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 12 (1.2%) were institutionalized.^[10]

There were 334 households, out of which 103 (30.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 136 (40.7%) were married-couple households, 37 (11.1%) were cohabiting couple households, 91 (27.2%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 70 (21.0%) had a male householder with no partner present. 71 households (21.3%) were one person, and 26 (7.8%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.9.^[10] There were 230 families (68.9% of all households).^[11]

The age distribution was 213 people (21.6%) under the age of 18, 93 people (9.5%) aged 18 to 24, 263 people (26.7%) aged 25 to 44, 281 people (28.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 134 people (13.6%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.2 males.^[10]

There were 392 housing units at an average density of 39.7 units per square mile (15.3 units/km²), of which 334 (85.2%) were occupied. Of these, 247 (74.0%) were owner-occupied, and 87 (26.0%) were occupied by renters.^[10]

Government

Federal:

• In the United States House of Representatives, Whitewater is in California's 25th congressional district, represented by Democrat Raul Ruiz.^[12]
• In the United States Senate, California is represented by Democrats Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla.

State:

• In the California State Legislature, Whitewater is in the 28th Senate District, represented by Republican Melissa Melendez, and in the 42nd Assembly district, represented by Democrat Jacqui Irwin.

County:

• In the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, Whitewater is in the Fifth District, represented by Libertarian Jeff Hewitt.^[13]
• In the jurisdiction of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, with Sheriff Chad Bianco.^[14]

Education

It is in the Banning Unified School District.^[15]