Moreno Valley is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and is part of the Riverside–San Bernardino–Ontario metropolitan area.

[11] Spanish scouts initially came across descendants of the Shoshone, and Luiseño tribes; although other groups, such as the Serrano and Cahuilla were in the area.

The late prehistoric Luiseño and Cahuilla were semi-sedentary, meaning that they wintered in villages, then spread out in family groups during the spring and summer months to harvest seeds and acorns.

The Tucson-to-San Francisco route of John Butterfield's Overland Mail Company passed through it.

Beginning in 1883, the company collected and pumped water from Bear Valley in the San Bernardino Mountains to the north.

[15] The state economic boom fueled the construction of new houses and businesses, leading to a push for the area to incorporate as a city.

In November 2008, DHL announced it was leaving the U.S. market and would shut its operation associated with March Air Field in January 2009.

[16] On February 13, 2007, the city council passed, by a vote of 4–1, a resolution christening the eastern half of the city (roughly from Lasselle Street to Gilman Springs Road) "Rancho Belago", a pastiche of Spanish and Italian words.

[17][18][19] The city council's resolution includes the 92555 ZIP Code within the boundaries of the area, as reported by the Press Enterprise newspaper.

One of the most visible geographical features in Moreno Valley is Box Springs Mountain.

This was built privately at the encouragement of the city council, which argued it would foster unity.

The letter had lights installed on December 3, 2005, to celebrate Moreno Valley's 21st anniversary of its incorporation.

The completion of the repairs of heavy damage to the letter, due to extreme rain the year before.

The mayor at that time, Bonnie Flickinger, has said that the citizens liked it that way and that the council would try to get it to light up regularly.

Moreno Valley has a mild semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh), with Mediterranean characteristics.

There were 55,559 housing units at an average density of 1,079.3 per square mile (416.7/km2), of which 33,393 (64.7%) were owner-occupied, and 18,199 (35.3%) were occupied by renters.

During 2009–2013, Moreno Valley had a median household income of $54,918, with 19.5% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

There are several business strips catering to Spanish-speaking clientele and Latin American cultures.

The most common ancestries in Moreno Valley are German, English, Irish, Italian, and Nigerian.

The current City Council consists of:[4] In the state legislature, Moreno Valley is in the 31st Senate District, represented by Democrat Sabrina Cervantes, and in the 60th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Corey Jackson.

A part of the city's territory extends into the San Jacinto Unified School District.

Metrolink offers commuter rail transit via the Moreno Valley/March Field station, located just west of the city limits.