Palm Springs, city (1990 pop. 40,181), Riverside co., S Calif.; founded 1876, inc. 1938. It is a verdant desert oasis and a resort with classic mid-20th cent. architecture (known as Mid-Century Modern), many golf courses, and the Palm Springs Desert Museum. There is an international airport. It was known to the Spanish as early as 1774 as Agua Caliente because of its hot springs. By 1872 it was a regular stop on the stagecoach run between Prescott, Ariz., and Los Angeles. Nearby are the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation; Mt. San Jacinto, with a aerial cable-car line that runs much of the way to the top; and Palm Canyon, containing forests of Washingtonia palms estimated to be over 1,000 years old. Also in the area are a state park and the Joshua Tree National ParK.
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