The vanishing Orange County oranges - Los Angeles Times
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Infographic: Orange County’s vanishing oranges

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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.

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Key: (hover over map for details)
 Oranges
 Avocados
 Beans
 Field crops
 Nursery
 Other citrus

 Strawberries
 Other

Orange 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
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