Santa Barbara County, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is a county located in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria.
Goleta is a city in southern Santa Barbara County, California, United States. 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 (CDP) had a total population of 55,204. A significant portion of the census territory of 2000 did not include the newer portions of the city. The population of Goleta was 32,690 at the 2020 census. It is known for being close to the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), campus.
Isla Vista is an unincorporated community in Santa Barbara County, California, in the United States. As of 2020 census, the community had a population of 15,500. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined the community as a census-designated place (CDP). The majority of residents are college students at the University of California, Santa Barbara, or Santa Barbara City College. The beachside community of Isla Vista lies on a flat plateau about 30 feet (9 m) in elevation, separated from the beach by a bluff.
Santa Barbara is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting Alaska, the city lies between the steeply rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Santa Barbara's climate is often described as Mediterranean, and the city has been dubbed "The American Riviera". According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the city's population was 88,665.
The Goleta Slough is an area of estuary, tidal creeks, tidal marsh, and wetlands near Goleta, California, United States. It primarily consists of the filled and unfilled remnants of the historic inner Goleta Bay about 8 miles (13 km) west of Santa Barbara. The slough empties into the Pacific Ocean through an intermittently closed mouth at Goleta Beach County Park just east of the UCSB campus and Isla Vista. The slough drains the Goleta Valley and watershed, and receives the water of all of the major creeks in the Goleta area including the southern face of the Santa Ynez Mountains.
Bull Mountain is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Washington County, Oregon, United States. Bull Mountain is located mostly on a hill for which the community is named. It is bordered on the east by Tigard, on the south by King City, and Beaverton lies to the north. The northeastern part of the Bull Mountain hill is now within the Tigard city limits, as the city has steadily annexed portions of the unincorporated region on its boundary. In 2010, the community became a census-designated place with a population of 9,133. Fire protection and EMS services are provided through Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue.
The Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District (MTD) is a public transit agency providing bus service in the southern portion of Santa Barbara County, California. It serves the cities of Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, and Goleta as well as the unincorporated areas of Montecito, Summerland, and Isla Vista. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 4,579,600, or about 16,400 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.
Ellwood Oil Field and South Ellwood Offshore Oil Field are a pair of adjacent, partially active oil fields adjoining the city of Goleta, California, about twelve miles (19 km) west of Santa Barbara, largely in the Santa Barbara Channel. A richly productive field in the 1930s, the Ellwood Oil Field was important to the economic development of the Santa Barbara area. A Japanese submarine shelled the area during World War II. It was the first direct naval bombardment of the continental U.S. since the Civil War, causing an invasion scare on the West Coast.
Anaheim Island consists of several unincorporated neighborhoods located east of the city of Anaheim in Orange County, California, United States. Established between the 1910s and 1960s, the neighborhoods are bounded by the cities of Anaheim to the east, north and west, Stanton to the southwest, and Garden Grove to the south. The Orange County Board of Supervisors has referred to these unincorporated areas as "Anaheim Island" while Orange County LAFCO has referred to them variously as "Anaheim West" and "Southwest Anaheim". The Anaheim City Planning Commission refers to the entire area in the singular as the "Garza Island". Some local residents refer to the area as the "Gaza Strip".
San Tan Valley is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in northern Pinal County, Arizona, United States. The population was 99,894 at the 2020 census, it is the largest unincorporated community in Pinal County.
Atascadero Creek is a southwest flowing stream in Santa Barbara County, California, United States which empties into the Goleta Slough.
Goleta Point is a small peninsula at the southern end of the Gaviota Coast on the central coast in the U.S. state of California. It is located 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of the city of Goleta. Situated within the campus of University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), it is characterized by a beach cliff, crashing waves, and a view of the Channel Islands across the Santa Barbara Channel. The rock formation is frequented by shorebirds.
Mescalitan Island is a mesalike island located about 10 miles (16 km) west of Santa Barbara near the outlet of the Goleta Slough into the Pacific Ocean.
Rossmoor is a planned census-designated place located in Orange County, California. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a total population of 10,625 up from the 2010 census population of 10,244. The gated Leisure World retirement community in the city of Seal Beach is to the south of Rossmoor, Los Alamitos is to the east and north, and Long Beach is to the west. The community of Rossmoor has two shopping centers within its boundaries, but only one—the Rossmoor Village Square, is now within the political boundaries of Rossmoor. A larger shopping center, the Rossmoor Business Center, was annexed, despite many protests, by the City of Seal Beach in 1967. The Center has been remodeled several times and was renamed the Shops at Rossmoor in the early 2000s.
Valencia is an unincorporated community in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The area, west of Interstate 5, is expanding with residential development and already includes major commercial and industrial parks. It straddles State Route 126 and the Santa Clara River.
Campus Point State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) is a marine protected area that protects the waters along and off the coast of the University of California, Santa Barbara, the student community of Isla Vista, and the University's Coal Oil Point Reserve. The SMCA covers 10.51 square miles, including Goleta Point. The marine protected areas protect natural habitats and marine life by prohibiting or limiting removal of wildlife from within their boundaries.
Goleta Slough State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) is a marine protected area in Goleta in Santa Barbara County on California's south coast. The SMCA covers 0.25 square miles (0.65 km2). The SMCA protects marine life by limiting the removal of marine wildlife from within its borders. Goleta Slough SMCA prohibits take of all living marine resources except for take pursuant to routine maintenance, dredging, habitat restoration, research and education, maintenance of artificial structures, and operation and maintenance of existing facilities in the conservation area per any required federal, state and local permits, or activities pursuant to Section 630, or as otherwise authorized by the department.
La Patera was a historical locale in what is now the area of Goleta, California.
The La Goleta Gas Field is a natural gas field in unincorporated Santa Barbara County, California, adjacent to the city of Goleta. Discovered in 1929, and first put into production in 1932, it has been in continuous use ever since, producing approximately 12 billion cubic feet of gas. With production declining, the field was converted into a gas storage reservoir in 1941. As of 2016 it remains one of the four gas storage facilities maintained by Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), a division of Sempra Energy, with the others being Aliso Canyon, Honor Rancho and Playa del Rey. It is the oldest storage facility of the four and the third largest, with a maximum capacity of 21.5 billion cubic feet. The storage facilities are necessary to balance load for the over ten million customers of SoCalGas: during summer months, when gas usage is at a minimum, gas is pumped into the reservoirs; and in the winter when usage is high, gas is withdrawn. The La Goleta field serves the northern portion of SoCalGas's geographic range.
Eastern Goleta Valley is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. It is located between Goleta to the west, Santa Barbara to the east, the Pacific Ocean to the south, and the Santa Ynez Mountains to the north and includes the communities of Noleta and Hope Ranch. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau designated the area as a census-designated place (CDP) prior to the 2020 census. Prior to the incorporation of Goleta in 2002 within a narrower set of boundaries, the area was included in the Goleta CDP.
