Current Time in Riverside, United States

Riverside is a city in southern California in the United States, lying about ninety kilometres east of Los Angeles in the region known as the Inland Empire. It stands on the Santa Ana River, hemmed in by low rocky hills and looking towards the high peaks of the San Bernardino and San Jacinto mountains, which carry snow in winter. The setting is dry and sunny, with citrus groves still visible on the edges of the built-up area.

With a population of about three hundred and twenty thousand, Riverside is the largest city in its county and the seat of local government. Its importance is regional, as a centre of education, healthcare, logistics and public administration serving one of the fastest-growing parts of California, and historic, since it played a decisive part in the creation of the state's citrus industry.

The city was founded in 1870 by a settlement company that laid out a grid of streets and irrigation canals on former Spanish and Mexican ranch land. Its fortunes changed in 1873, when two Brazilian navel orange trees were planted here. The variety proved perfectly suited to the climate, produced seedless fruit and could be shipped long distances, and within a generation it had transformed agriculture across California. By the 1890s Riverside was said to have the highest per capita income in the United States, and the wealth of the citrus barons paid for its grand public buildings. One of the two original trees still grows at a street corner today.

The best-known landmark is the Mission Inn, an extraordinary hotel begun as a small adobe and expanded over decades into a rambling complex of towers, courtyards, flying buttresses and collected antiques in the Mission Revival style. Presidents have stayed there and its Festival of Lights each winter draws hundreds of thousands of visitors. Other attractions include the restored Fox Theater, the Riverside Art Museum, the Riverside Metropolitan Museum, and the California Citrus State Historic Park, which preserves working groves and packing houses. Mount Rubidoux, crowned by a cross and a peace tower, offers a short climb and wide views.

The population is diverse, with a Hispanic majority, and the culture reflects that, from Mexican restaurants and mariachi to the celebration of Cinco de Mayo and Dia de los Muertos. The city has a lively downtown of galleries, breweries and street festivals, and it sits within reach of Joshua Tree National Park, the Palm Springs desert resorts and the beaches of Orange County.

Transport relies on the freeway network, with several interstates converging here, and on Metrolink commuter trains to Los Angeles. Ontario International Airport is nearby, and March Air Reserve Base occupies land to the south.

The University of California, Riverside is a major research campus known for entomology, plant science and its role in citrus research, and it is joined by California Baptist University and a large community college.

Riverside matters as the birthplace of the California orange industry and as a green, historic anchor for the sprawling inland region east of Los Angeles.