Contra Costa County is a county in the state of California in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,049,025. The county seat is Martinez. It occupies the northern portion of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, and is primarily suburban. The county's name is Spanish for "opposite coast", referring to its position on the other side of the bay from San Francisco. Contra Costa County is included in the San Francisco–Oakland–Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Oro Valley, incorporated in 1974, is a suburban town located 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Tucson, Arizona, United States, in Pima County. According to the 2010 census, the population of the town is 41,011, an increase from 29,700 in 2000 census. Dubbed the "Upscale Tech Mecca" of Southern Arizona by the Arizona Daily Star newspaper, Oro Valley is home to over 10 high tech firms and has a median household income nearly 50% higher than the U.S. median. The town is located approximately 110 miles (180 km) southeast of the state capital of Phoenix.
Goleta is a city in southern Santa Barbara County, California, USA. It was incorporated as a city in 2002, after a long period as the largest unincorporated populated area in the county. As of the 2000 census, the census-designated place had a total population of 55,204; however, a significant portion of the census territory of 2000 did not incorporate into the new city. The population was 29,888 at the 2010 census. It is known for being near the University of California, Santa Barbara campus, although the CDP of Isla Vista is closer to the campus.
Cupertino is a city in Santa Clara County, California, directly west of San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 58,302 as of the 2010 census.
Gilroy is a city in Northern California's Santa Clara County, south of Morgan Hill and north of San Benito County. The city's population was 48,821 at the 2010 United States Census.
Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, in Silicon Valley. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Mountain View has developed from its origins as a stagecoach stop into one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley. It has a population of 74,066.
The Santa Clara Valley runs south-southeast from the southern end of San Francisco Bay in Northern California in the United States. The northern, urbanized end of the valley is part of a region locally known as the "South Bay" and also part of the electronics, research, and technology area known as Silicon Valley. Santa Clara Valley consists of most of Santa Clara County, including its county seat, San Jose, as well as a small portion of San Benito County. The valley, named after the Spanish Mission Santa Clara, was for a time known as the Valley of Heart's Delight for its high concentration of orchards, flowering trees, and plants. Until the 1960s it was the largest fruit-producing and packing region in the world, with 39 canneries.
Alum Rock Park, in the Alum Rock district of San Jose, California, is California's oldest municipal park, established in 1872 but serving as public land since the pueblo was established in 1777. Located in a valley in the Diablo Range foothills on the east side of San Jose, the 720 acre (2.9 km2) park offers 13 miles (21 km) of trails, varying from fairly level along Penitencia Creek to sharp switchbacks climbing to the ridges to the South Rim Trail and the North Rim Trail. The narrow floor of the valley includes a visitor center, a small museum/animal rehab facility, picnic areas, playgrounds, lawns, sand volleyball pits, mineral springs, lush plant life, woodlands, creek play opportunities, and occasional group camping.
Newbury Park is a town located mostly within the western Thousand Oaks city limits in Ventura County, California, United States. It makes up all of ZIP code 91320, and is within area code 805. Lying within the Conejo Valley in the northwestern part of the Greater Los Angeles Area, Newbury Park abuts the Santa Monica Mountains. It is approximately 35 miles (56 km) from Downtown Los Angeles and less than 7 mi (11 km) from the Los Angeles County border in Westlake Village. The closest coastal city is Malibu, 22 mi (35 km) from Newbury Park, which may be reached through winding roads or hiking trails crossing the Santa Monica Mountains. About 28,000 of Thousand Oaks' 110,000 residents reside in Newbury Park. Newbury Park makes up around 40 percent of Thousand Oaks' total land area.
Mount Hamilton is a mountain in the Diablo Range in Santa Clara County, California. The mountain's peak, at 4,265 feet (1,300 m), overlooks the heavily urbanized Santa Clara Valley and is the site of Lick Observatory, the world's first permanently occupied mountain-top observatory. The asteroid 452 Hamiltonia, discovered in 1899, is named after the mountain. Golden eagle nesting sites are found on the slopes of Mount Hamilton. On clear days, Mount Tamalpais, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Monterey Bay, the Monterey Peninsula, and even Yosemite National Park are visible from the summit of the mountain.
The Diablo Range is a mountain range in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Coast Ranges. It is located in the eastern San Francisco Bay area south to the Salinas Valley area of northern California, the United States.
The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is a United States National Recreation Area containing many individual parks and open space preserves, located primarily in the Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. The SMMNRA is located within the greater Los Angeles region, with two thirds of the parklands in northwest Los Angeles County, and the remaining third, including a Simi Hills extension, in southeastern Ventura County.
Santa Clarita is the third-largest city in Los Angeles County, and the 23rd largest in the state of California. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 176,320, and in 2018 the population was estimated to be 210,089. The city has gained much of this rapid population increase by annexing numerous unincorporated areas. It is located about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles, and occupies most of the Santa Clarita Valley in northwestern Los Angeles County. It is a notable example of a U.S. edge city or boomburb.
Grant Ranch Park is the largest county park in Santa Clara County, California. Also known as Joseph D. Grant County Park, this site is situated in the Diablo Range foothills of the eastern Santa Clara Valley. The park is one of 28 owned by Santa Clara County and managed by the Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department.
Llagas-Uvas is an unincorporated census county division (CCD) located on the eastern side of the Santa Cruz Mountains in southwest Santa Clara County, California. The area covers approximately 102 square miles (260 km2), much of it open space, and contains the Uvas and Chesbro reservoirs, as well as the Calero, Uvas Canyon, Rancho Cañada del Oro, and Mount Madonna county parks.
Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is California's 6th most populous county, with a population of 1,781,642, as of the 2010 census. The county seat and largest city is San Jose, the 10th most populous city in the United States, California's 3rd most populous city and the most populous city in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Bay checkerspot is a butterfly endemic to the San Francisco Bay region of the U.S. state of California. It is a federally threatened species, as a subspecies of Euphydryas editha.
West Santa Clara is an unincorporated census county division (CCD) located on the eastern side of the Santa Cruz Mountains in northwest Santa Clara County, California. The area covers approximately 50 square miles (130 km2), much of it open space, and contains Boronda Lake, Felt Lake, and Lake Ranch reservoirs, as well as Sanborn and Stevens Creek county parks. The Foothills, Los Trancos, Monte Bello, Pearson-Arastradero, Picchetti Ranch, Rancho San Antonio and Saratoga Gap preserves are also located in the area.
South Santa Clara Valley is a census county division (CCD) located in south Santa Clara County, California. The area covers approximately 118 square miles (310 km2), and includes the cities of Morgan Hill, San Martin, and Gilroy as well as their immediate outlying unincorporated areas. The area is bounded by Coyote to the north, Llagas-Uvas to the west, Diablo Range to the east, and San Benito County to the south.
Lexington Hills is an unincorporated census county division (CCD) located on the eastern side of the Santa Cruz Mountains in west Santa Clara County, California. The area covers approximately 54 square miles (140 km2), much of it open space, and contains Lake Elsman, Lexington, and Williams reservoirs, as well as the Lexington Reservoir County Park and Bear Creek Redwoods and Sierra Azul open space preserves. The Lexington Hills communities, as well as the former Almaden Air Force Station on Mount Umunhum, and Loma Prieta are also located in the area.
