Temecula, California

Temecula , California Page 1 Temecula is located in the southwestern area of Riverside county in California . It is situated in a valley near San Diego , Los Angeles and Orange counties . The city area covers 26 .3 square miles (Wikipedia , and has elevations ranging from between 1 ,175 to 2 ,600 square feet (Temecula Valley CVB . Temecula is a city for the senses , with the lush valley surrounded by green hills and picturesque mountain views . A gap exists between the mountains that is nicknamed "The Rainbow Gap , which compliments the warm weather by

allowing a refreshing , cool breeze to flow in from the coastal waters (Stewart . This geographical feature gives the city a climate comparable to the Mediterranean , with summer temperatures ranging between the mid-80 's and 90 's in the summer to the mid-60 's in the winter (Temecula Valley CVB . The first inhabitants of Temecula were native Indians , who had been living in the region from as early as 900A .D . The natives are responsible for giving the city it 's name which comes from the native word "Temecunga " which translates to "place of the sun . Later , when the first Spaniards arrived , the name would be interpreted as "Temecula (City of Temecula . In 1797 , Father Juan Norberto de Santiago was the first known white man to travel into the Temecula region . He decided this was the perfect location to establish his new mission , San Luis Rey . From this point forward , the native Temeculans would be referred to as "Luisenos " Indians (City of Temecula . In the mid-1840 's , as Mexico struggled against the United States in it 's fight to retain California , the land that had always been treasured by the Luisenos began to disappear , gradually being dispersed in land grants to individual owners in for Mexico to retain it 's power in the area (City of Temecula . Once California became officially established in 1850 , a petition was d in the District Court of San Francisco to evict any Indians living on the Page 2land In 1875 the sheriff of San Diego County began the evictions , taking 3 days to round up the Indians and their possessions and then leading them to an area in the hills south of Temecula River where , according to a tribal member born soon after the eviction , the sheriff and his posse members "just dumped them . In 1882 , a Presidential was issued by President Chester A . Arthur , which created the Pechanga Indian Reservation . Today , the reservation consists of 5 ,500 acres (Pechanga Band ) and since 2001 , has been the site of one of Temecula 's most popular attractions , the Pechanga Resort and Casino . It is also Temecula 's largest employer , employing around 7 ,500 people (Wikipedia Granting of land to individual owners not only changed the way of life for the Indians , but placed Temecula at the starting point of a path that would lead to tremendous and rapid growth . Temecula 's proximity to several larger cities would prove beneficial , and the starting...