Camarillo, California

Camarillo (Cam-uh-REE-o) is a city located in Ventura County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 57,077. It is located in the eastern Oxnard Plain, with the Santa Susana Mountains to the north, the Conejo Valley to the east, and the western reaches of the Santa Monica Mountains to the south. The Ventura Freeway (U.S. Highway 101) is the city's primary thoroughfare.

Related Topics:
Ventura County, California - 2000 - Oxnard Plain - Santa Susana Mountains - Conejo Valley - Santa Monica Mountains - Ventura Freeway - U.S. Highway 101

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Camarillo is named for Adolfo Camarillo, one of the few Californios (pre-1851 California natives of Spanish ancestry) to retain his holdings after the arrival of Anglo settlers. Like most Ventura County cities, it is noted for its resistance to urban sprawl. Some of the most desirable land in the city limits, located on both sides of the Ventura Freeway, is permanently zoned for agricultural production.

Related Topics:
Spanish - Urban sprawl

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For many years, the California State Mental Hospital was located in the city, so that persons suffering from mental diseases or tuberculosis could recover in Ventura County's balmy climate. (Jazzman Charlie Parker's "Relaxin' at Camarillo," written while he was detoxing from heroin addiction, as a tribute to the facility.) The mental hospital is the now the site of California State University, Channel Islands.

Related Topics:
Tuberculosis - Charlie Parker - Heroin - California State University, Channel Islands

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