Palm Springs, Desert resort city in Coachella Valley, United States.
Palm Springs spreads across the Coachella Valley floor at 146 meters elevation with the San Jacinto Mountains rising sharply to the west and rocky hills flanking the eastern edge. Low buildings stretch for several kilometers with golf courses and clusters of hotels scattered between residential streets lined with date palms and desert plants.
Film actors began arriving in the 1920s seeking relief from Los Angeles summers and bathing in natural hot springs that bubbled from underground. By the 1950s the town had become a permanent home for designers and performers who built modernist houses that merged indoor and outdoor living.
Pool parties and outdoor lounges shape daily routines during the day while evenings bring crowds to open-air dining patios under string lights. Weekly street festivals celebrate the desert lifestyle with vendors selling date shakes and handmade crafts.
A cable car climbs from the hot valley floor to a forested mountain station above 2500 meters where temperatures stay cool year-round. Visitors arriving in summer should plan walks early in the morning or late in the afternoon when heat becomes less intense.
Wind farms with hundreds of white turbines spin continuously on the eastern outskirts where strong gusts funnel through mountain passes. On certain days bighorn sheep can be spotted on rocky ledges within walking distance of residential neighborhoods.
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