Thermal

Thermal is an unincorporated community within the Coachella Valley in Riverside County, California located approximately southeast of Palm Springs and about north of the Salton Sea. The community's elevation is 138ft below mean sea level. It is inside area code 760 and is in ZIP Code 92274. The population was 2,865 at the 2010 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Thermal a census-designated place (CDP), which does not precisely correspond to the historical community.HistoryThermal began as a railroad camp in 1910 for employees of the Southern Pacific Railroad, followed by Mecca in 1915 and Arabia in between, each with about 1,000 residents. Permanent dwellings were soon established on Avenue 56, former U.S. Route 99 and State Route 111 by the 1930s.Agricultural development from canal irrigation made the area thrive in greenery by the 1950s, followed by the former Camp Young U.S. Naval Air station converted into Thermal Airport by 1965. In the early 1990s, a four-lane highway was constructed over an earlier transportation route. There is a proposal for a major commercial aviation Airport known as the Jackie Cochran-Desert Cities Regional Airport in the same site.