FRESNO, a city of California, U.S.A., in the heart of the San Joaquin valley, at the geographical centre of the State ; the county seat of Fresno county. It is on Federal highway 99 ; is served by the Santa Fe and the Southern Pacific railways; has a municipal airport of 296ac. and is on one of the main air-mail routes. The population was 12,470 in 190o; 45,086 in 1920; and in 1930 was 52,513 by the Federal census of that year. The population of the metropolitan area in 1930 was about 8o,000. Fresno is surrounded by irrigated lands of great fertility, where grains, hay, alfalfa and fruits (especially raisin-grapes, figs, peaches and apricots) are grown in vast quantities. Summer temperatures are high, rising at times to 115 °, but the humidity is low and the nights are cool ; the normal annual mean temperature is 63°. The dominant manu facturing industry is the drying and packing of fruits. The pack ing plant of the Sun-Maid Raisin Growers (a great co-operative association) is said to be the largest of its kind in the world. There are also large flour and lumber mills, machine shops and foundries, creameries, potteries, brickworks and soap factories. In 1927 the output of the manufacturing establishments in the city was valued at $35,798,684. The oil wells of the county in 1925 produced 7,774,000 barrels. Fresno is the trading and shipping centre of a large area. Bank debits to individual accounts in 1926 amounted to $484,921,000. The assessed valuation of property was $46,914, 099. The newspapers include three in Armenian and one in Japa nese. At Kearney park is an experimental irrigated farm of the University of California. The Fresno State college (established 1911), together with the Junior college (1910) under its adminis tration, has a registration of over 2,000. Its summer session is held at Huntington lake in the Sierra Nevada in the eastern part of the county, at an elevation of 7,000ft. Fresno was laid out and incorporated in 1872, when the railroad came through the county. It was chartered as a city in 1885. The irrigation project was started in 1872.