Fountain Valley, city, Orange County, southwestern California, on the Santa Ana River, near the Pacific Ocean and Los Angeles; incorporated as a city 1957. It is primarily residential and has manufacturing industries producing furniture, electronic equipment, and recreational vehicles. A junior college is here. The community, formerly called Talbert, was renamed Fountain Valley in 1957 for its many artesian wells. Population 55,080 (1980); 53,691 (1990); 54,978 (2000).