Infographic: Orange County’s vanishing oranges
After peaking in 1948, orange cultivation dropped precipitously as the county’s population grew. Orange groves all but disappeared by the 1990s, accounting for far less acreage than the strawberry plants and avocado trees they once greatly outnumbered. Today, most of the remaining orange groves are in south Orange County.
Read the story.
Key: (hover over map for details)
Oranges
Avocados
Beans
Field crops
Nursery
Other citrus
Strawberries
Other
Oranges Avocados Beans Field crops Nursery Other citrus Strawberries OtherOrange County population from 1920 to 2010
Acres of Valencia groves between 1923 and 2013
Oranges, strawberries and avocados compared
Valencia
Strawberries
Avocados*
Graphics reporting by Doug Smith, Emily Foxhall and Sandra Poindexter
Sources: Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota; Orange County Agricultural Commissioner