Rovana, California

Rovana is an unincorporated community in Inyo County, California.[1] It is located at the western edge of Owens Valley, 5.5 miles (8.9 km) north-northeast of Mount Tom,[2] at an elevation of 5141 feet (1567 m).[1]

Rovana
Unincorporated community
Rovana is located in California
Rovana
Rovana
Location in California
Rovana is located in the United States
Rovana
Rovana
Rovana (the United States)
Coordinates: 37°24′46″N 118°36′55″W
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountyInyo County
Elevation
[1]
5,141 ft (1,567 m)

History

Rovana was established in 1947, when the US Vanadium corporation purchased the former Foreman Ranch near the mouth of Pine Creek Canyon as a housing site for workers at their high-altitude Pine Creek Mine, which had expanded due to military demand for tungsten during World War II. By 1951 there were 85 houses in Rovana and later another 50, all still in use. Most were transported there from further up the canyon, where earlier mine-worker housing was vulnerable to heavy snow, avalanches, earthquakes, and mud slides. The name came from "Ro" for Round Valley and "vana" for US Vanadium. The streets were named from states of the Union matching the letters in "Vanadium" (such as Nevada, Utah, and Montana).[3]

The village of Scheelite, located closer to the Pine Creek Mine, was another company town for the mine.[4]

Climate

This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Rovana has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.[5]

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Rovana, California
  2. Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 1198. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
  3. Joseph M. Kurtak (2007). Mine in the Sky (6th ed.). Chelsea, Michigan: Bookcrafters. ISBN 1-888125-34-9.
  4. Appendix F - Cultural Resources Investigation. California Environmental Quality Act (Report). Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  5. Climate Summary for Rovana, California


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