Murrieta, Riverside County
Murrieta incorporated in 1991 and has grown from a small ranching town into a city of more than 100,000. On the plateau to the west, the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve protects grassland, vernal pools and rare Engelmann oaks, along with two adobe buildings from the 1840s. The vineyards of the Temecula Valley begin a few miles to the south.