Over the past six years now I have traveled throughout the State with a new perspective. Not like I used to… before I would fly through little burgs and towns without taking a second look. I have always traveled for work but never took the time to “see” where I was going. I would hit a town do my work and go back to the hotel and sit in my room clicking the clicker until the wee hours of the morning.
Now, every new town I pass through is an awakening. I thrive on the new treasures I see… monuments I have whizzed by a hundred times in my life are now new nuggets of knowledge, vista points I passed without a blink are postcard images burned in my mind, and side streets of towns are secret treasures that only non tourists find. Geocaching has made me stop and smell the roses. In addition, in creating these puzzles and placing these caches it has allowed me to meet new geocachers who help sponsor my caches in their backyard.
Hopefully, this little puzzle will help enlighten you on the County of Imperial and maybe make you “stop and smell the roses” too.
N 33° 08.ABC
A = Spanish explorer Melchior Diaz was one of the first Europeans to visit the area around Imperial Valley in 154(A).
B = Imperial County was formed in 19(B)7 from the eastern portion of San Diego County and was the last county to be established in California.
C = The County Seat for Imperial is the City of El Centro which according to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total land area of (C).6 mile.
Checksum ABC = 9
W 116° 04.DEF
D = State Route (D) is a state highway in California that runs from the U.S. Mexico Border east of Calexico north to its terminus at State Route 115, where Orchard Road continues the rout north towards Holtville.
E = Ocotillo has a zip code in Imperial County of 9225(E).
F = In 1(F)05, torrential rainfall in the American Southwest caused the Colorado River (the only drainage in the region) to flood, including canals that had been built to irrigate the Imperial Valley. Since the valley is partially below sea level, the waters never fully receded, but collected in the Salton Sink in what is now called the Salton Sea, the world’s ONLY artificial inland sea.
Checksum DEF = 25
Some other interesting tidbits about Imperial County:
The County Seat is the City of El Centro for Imperial County.
Imperial County’s NAF El Centro is the winter home for the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, The Blue Angels.
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park which has portions located in Imperial County is the largest state park in California.
Fossil Canyon and the Painted Gorge is located near Ocotillo, California and provides a great place for rock hounding and fossil hunting. You can find ancient shells, coral and oysters from the Miocene epoch when this entire region was under water.
Fort Yuma was a military post established during the Yuma War to protect the southern emigrant travel rout to California. It operated between 1851 and 1883 and is now restored for visitors of Imperial County.
You can check your answers for this puzzle on Geochecker.com.
I would like to thank SKILLET for being my sponsor for County Line – Imperial and for tufbill for helping me Beta Test this gem.
As always, enjoy.