Irvine (/ˈɜːrvaɪn/) is a master-planned city in central Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

Gaspar de Portolà, a Spanish explorer, came to the area in 1769, which led to the establishment of forts, missions and cattle herds.

In 1864, Jose Andres Sepulveda, owner of Rancho San Joaquin, sold 50,000 acres (200 km2) to Benjamin and Thomas Flint, Llewellyn Bixby and James Irvine for $18,000 to resolve debts due to the Great Drought.

After the Mexican-American War the land of Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana fell prey to tangled titles.

In 1888, the Santa Fe Railroad extended its line to Fallbrook Junction, north of San Diego, and named a station along the way after James Irvine.

Jamboree Road, a major street which now stretches from Newport Beach to the city of Orange, was named in honor of this event.

[13] The first phases of the villages of Turtle Rock, University Park, Westpark (then called Culverdale), El Camino Real, and Walnut were completed by 1970.

On December 28, 1971, the residents of these communities voted to incorporate a substantially larger city than the one envisioned by the Pereira plan.

[11] In late 2003, after a ten-year-long legal battle, Irvine annexed the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

San Diego Creek, which flows northwest into Upper Newport Bay, is the primary watercourse draining the city.

Most of Irvine is in a broad, flat valley between Loma Ridge in the north and San Joaquin Hills in the south.

When the Irvine Company refused to relinquish valuable farmland in the flat central region of the ranch for this plan, the university site was moved to the base of the southern coastal hills.

The city layout was based on the shape of a necklace (with the villages strung along two parallel main streets, which terminate at University of California, Irvine (UCI), the "pendant").

The homeowners' associations which govern some village neighborhoods exercise varying degrees of control on the appearances of homes.

Business and commercial areas Late spring and early summer in Irvine is subject to the June Gloom phenomenon widespread in southern California, with overcast mornings and occasional drizzle.

Late summer and autumn are warm and mostly dry, with occasional bouts of humid weather extending from Pacific hurricanes off the west coast of Mexico.

The program provides information on Irvine as a place to vacation and as a destination for meetings, events and other business initiatives.

The city government grants free or low-cost filming permits and offers location information to prospective productions.

The festival consists of exhibits from local merchants, entertainment from diverse cultures, and sampling of foods from various regions of the world.

[67] Irvine is home to Orange County SC, a professional soccer team who is a member of the USL Championship.

The team plays its home matches at Championship Soccer Stadium, located inside Great Park.

A very small portion of the city, near Orange County Great Park, is located within the Saddleback Valley Unified School District.

[85] The southwest portion of the city near John Wayne International Airport is located within the Santa Ana Unified School District.

According to the 2000 United States Census, Irvine is ranked 7th nationwide, among cities with populations of at least 100,000, for having the highest percentage of people who are at least 25 years old with doctoral degrees, with 3,589 residents reporting such educational attainment.

Major arteries through Irvine are built out widely and run in a northeasterly direction with speed limits of 50 mph (80 km/h) or greater.

Four weekday commuter shuttles serve major employers, residential areas, shopping centers, and transportation facilities.

Route A provides service between the Tustin Metrolink Station and John Wayne Airport with stops along Von Karman Avenue.

Amtrak trains run approximately every 60 to 180 minutes all days of the week along the Pacific Surfliner route between San Diego and Los Angeles.

Rail2Rail monthly passes allow commuters to use both Metrolink and Amtrak services, standard tickets are specific to a single operator.

[93] The University of California Police Department also has jurisdiction – including arrest power – in areas of the city near the UC Irvine campus, while the California State University Police Department has similar jurisdiction in areas of the city near the CSU Fullerton Irvine campus.