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About Palm Springs
Palm Springs is a resort city in the Santa Rosa Mountains, just south of Interstate 10 at the foot of 10,000-foot Mt. San Jacinto on the westernmost edge of the Sonoran Desert. The city is named for the palm trees that line its streets and for its natural hot springs. These features along with a warm climate, fashionable hotels and private homes, golf courses, parks, and swimming pools, make Palm Springs a major, upscale tourist attraction.
The entire Coachella Valley sits atop a large underground lake. Palm Springs is one of nine adjacent communities in the Valley, each offering a similar, yet unique, vacation experience. Most visitors stay in country-club-type resorts that have transformed the desert into a semitropical oasis. Recreational opportunities include golf courses and tennis courts, as well as lavish spas and horseback riding.
Art galleries, antique stores, and many specialty shops line Palm Canyon Drive. There is an abundant supply of gourmet restaurants. Many that are less imposing offer Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Italian, and other cuisine.
Among the most popular attractions are the Aerial Tramway, Oasis Water Resort, Moorten Botanical Gardens, and the spectacular Indian canyons. The Palm Springs Desert Museum presents desert dioramas and collections of art and Native American artifacts.
The Living Desert Museum is an outdoor facility that has a large variety of plants and animals native to the Palm Springs area as well as more exotic species. The Palm Springs Aerial Museum, located at the regional airport, houses fully restored World War II-vintage aircraft.
The southwestern-style Mercado Plaza in downtown Palm Springs features upscale galleries, boutiques and restaurants. Nightlife in the city includes fine dining and an assortment of bars and nightclubs, as well as gambling at nearby Native American-owned casinos.
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