029 Coachella Custom Map Designed and Painted by Lisa Middleton

New Map of Coachella ValleyThe Coachella Valley has a rich and storied history as it relates to the exploration and expansion of the West. You can see hints of it with this new map of the area by Great River Arts. Prominent towns, cities, and the signature valley grid can be clearly seen. The inset features Joshua Tree National Park, while the other locator inset provides a refernce point for the valley map itself. For many years, the land was occupied by the Cahuilla native Americans. They occupied many of the canyons located along the south western edge of the valley, near the streams flowing from the San Jacinto Mountains. As exploration began, it was the Spanish who first touched the area naming what we know as Palm Springs, Agua Caliente, or hot water. That name was later transferred over as a local slang moniker to the Cahuilla people.Industrial change would come to the area in the late 1800s via the United States federal government. In 1876, they divvied up the Coachella Valley