Santa Clara Valley

For the wine region in the same area, see Santa Clara Valley AVA. For the valley in Southern California, see Santa Clara River Valley.
"Valley of the Heart's Delight" redirects here. For the 2006 film, see Valley of the Heart's Delight (film).
Santa Clara Valley
Valle de Santa Clara (Spanish)
Clockwise from the top left:
Downtown San Jose skyline; Hillsides in Morgan Hill; Alviso, San Jose; View of Santa Clara Valley; Almaden Reservoir in South San Jose; Stanford University in Stanford.
Location in California
Length90 miles (145 km) northwest–southeast
Geography
LocationCalifornia, United States
Borders onSan Francisco Bay (north), Santa Cruz Mountains (southwest), Diablo Range (east)
Coordinates37°22′01″N 121°59′02″W / 37.36694°N 121.98389°W / 37.36694; -121.98389 

The Santa Clara Valley (Spanish: Valle de Santa Clara)[1][2] is a geologic trough in Northern California that extends 90 miles (140 km) south–southeast from San Francisco to Hollister. The longitudinal valley is bordered on the west by the Santa Cruz Mountains and on the east by the Diablo Range; the two coastal ranges meet south of Hollister. The San Francisco Bay borders the valley to the north, and fills much of the northern third of the valley.[3] The valley floor is an alluvial plain that formed in the graben (tectonic depression) between the San Andreas Fault to the west and the Hayward and Calaveras faults to the east.[4][5] Within the valley and surrounding the bay on three sides are the urban communities of San Mateo County, Santa Clara County, and Alameda County, while the narrow southern reaches of the valley extend into rural San Benito County to Hollister. In practical terms, the central portion of the Santa Clara Valley is often considered by itself, contained entirely within Santa Clara County.[3]

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.[6][7] Until the 1960s it was the largest fruit-producing and packing region in the world, with 39 canneries.[8][9] The high-tech industrial growth starting in the 1960s—later known as Silicon Valley—transformed the area from extensive agricultural tracts to an urbanized landscape.

  1. ^ Univision Área de la Bahía - Las serpientes del Valle de Santa Clara: Qué hacer si te encuentras con una
  2. ^ ValleyWater - El Distrito de Aguas del Valle de Santa Clara está organizando reuniones comunitarias el 6, 12 y 17 de abril sobre las inundaciones y los esfuerzos de prevención de riesgos de inundación
  3. ^ a b Poland, Joseph Fairfield; Ireland, R. L. (1988). Land Subsidence in the Santa Clara Valley, California, as of 1982. Vol. 497. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey. p. F1.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference TimelineWater was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Santa Clara Valley Groundwater Basin, East Bay Plain Subbasin Archived 2020-12-25 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Shueh, Sam (2009). Silicon Valley. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 8. ISBN 9780738570938. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  7. ^ Todd, Anne Marie (2023). Valley of Heart's Delight: Environment and Sense of Place in the Santa Clara Valley. Oakland: University of California Press. p. 2. ISBN 9780520389571.
  8. ^ Valley of Heart's Delight : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive. Archive.org (2001-03-10). Retrieved on 2013-07-21.
  9. ^ Golden Harvest...Fifty Years of Calpak Progress : California Packing Corporation, Industrial and Public Relations Department : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive. Archive.org. Retrieved on 2013-07-21.