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Coordinates: 37°22′01″N 121°59′02″W / 37.36694°N 121.98389°W / 37.36694; -121.98389
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{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Short description|Valley in Northern California, United States}}
{{Short description|Valley in Northern California, United States}}
{{About||the wine region in the same area|Santa Clara Valley AVA|the valley in Southern California|Santa Clara River Valley}}
{{About||the wine region in the same area|Santa Clara Valley AVA|the valley in Southern California|Santa Clara River Valley}}
{{redirect|Valley of the Heart's Delight|the 2006 film|Valley of the Heart's Delight (film)}}
{{Infobox valley
{{Infobox valley
| name = Santa Clara Valley
| name = Santa Clara Valley
| other_name = ''Valle de Santa Clara'' ([[Spanish language|Spanish]])
| photo = {{Photomontage
| photo = {{Photomontage
| photo1a = SJ_skyline_at_night_horizontal.jpg
| photo1a = SJ_skyline_at_night_horizontal.jpg
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| color = white
| color = white
| size = 270
| size = 270
| foot_montage = Clockwise: [[Downtown San Jose]] skyline; Hillsides in [[Morgan Hill]]; [[Alviso, San Jose]]; View of Santa Clara Valley; [[Almaden Reservoir]] in [[South San Jose]]; [[Stanford University]].
| foot_montage = '''Clockwise from the top left''':<br> [[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, California|Stanford]].
}}
}}
| map_image = Relief map of Santa Clara Valley.png
| map_image = Relief map of Santa Clara Valley.png
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| watercourses =
| watercourses =
}}
}}
The '''Santa Clara Valley''' is a [[geologic trough]] in [[Northern California]] that extends {{convert|90|mi|km}} south–southeast from [[San Francisco]] to [[Hollister, California|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.<ref name="Poland, Ireland 1988">{{cite book|title=Land Subsidence in the Santa Clara Valley, California, as of 1982 |last1=Poland |first1=Joseph Fairfield |last2=Ireland |first2=R. L. |date=1988 |publisher=Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey |page=F1 |volume=497}}</ref> 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 Fault Zone|Hayward]] and [[Calaveras Fault|Calaveras]] faults to the east.<ref name=TimelineWater/><ref>[https://water.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Programs/Groundwater-Management/Bulletin-118/Files/2003-Basin-Descriptions/2_009_04_East-BayPlainSubbasin.pdf Santa Clara Valley Groundwater Basin, East Bay Plain Subbasin] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225204616/https://water.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Programs/Groundwater-Management/Bulletin-118/Files/2003-Basin-Descriptions/2_009_04_East-BayPlainSubbasin.pdf}}</ref>
The '''Santa Clara Valley''' ([[Spanish language|Spanish]]: ''Valle de Santa Clara'')<ref>[https://www.univision.com/local/san-francisco-kdtv/serpientes-del-valle-de-santa-clara-que-hacer-si-te-encuentras-con-una Univision Área de la Bahía - Las serpientes del Valle de Santa Clara: Qué hacer si te encuentras con una]</ref><ref>[https://www.valleywater.org/sites/default/files/Letter%20from%20Chair%20Varela%20-%20Sp.pdf 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]</ref> is a [[geologic trough]] in [[Northern California]] that extends {{convert|90|mi|km}} south–southeast from [[San Francisco]] to [[Hollister, California|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.<ref name="Poland, Ireland 1988">{{cite book|title=Land Subsidence in the Santa Clara Valley, California, as of 1982 |last1=Poland |first1=Joseph Fairfield |last2=Ireland |first2=R. L. |date=1988 |publisher=Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey |page=F1 |volume=497}}</ref> 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 Fault Zone|Hayward]] and [[Calaveras Fault|Calaveras]] faults to the east.<ref name=TimelineWater/><ref>[https://water.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Programs/Groundwater-Management/Bulletin-118/Files/2003-Basin-Descriptions/2_009_04_East-BayPlainSubbasin.pdf Santa Clara Valley Groundwater Basin, East Bay Plain Subbasin] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225204616/https://water.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Programs/Groundwater-Management/Bulletin-118/Files/2003-Basin-Descriptions/2_009_04_East-BayPlainSubbasin.pdf}}</ref>
Within the valley and surrounding the bay on three sides are the urban communities of [[San Mateo County, California|San Mateo County]], [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara County]], and [[Alameda County, California|Alameda County]], while the narrow southern reaches of the valley extend into rural [[San Benito County, California|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.<ref name="Poland, Ireland 1988"/>
Within the valley and surrounding the bay on three sides are the urban communities of [[San Mateo County, California|San Mateo County]], [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara County]], and [[Alameda County, California|Alameda County]], while the narrow southern reaches of the valley extend into rural [[San Benito County, California|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.<ref name="Poland, Ireland 1988"/>


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.<ref name="Shueh_Page_8">{{cite book |last1=Shueh |first1=Sam |title=Silicon Valley |date=2009 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |location=Charleston, SC |isbn=9780738570938 |page=8 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Silicon_Valley/kQj9sq1ktn0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA8&printsec=frontcover |access-date=28 July 2020}}</ref><ref name="Todd_Page_2">{{cite book |last1=Todd |first1=Anne Marie |title=Valley of Heart's Delight: Environment and Sense of Place in the Santa Clara Valley |date=2023 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Oakland |isbn=9780520389571 |page=2 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Valley_of_Heart_s_Delight/6O19EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA2&printsec=frontcover}}</ref> Until the 1960s it was the largest fruit-producing and packing region in the world, with 39 canneries.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/valley_of_hearts_delight Valley of Heart's Delight : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive]. Archive.org (2001-03-10). Retrieved on 2013-07-21.</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/GoldenHa1950 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.</ref> The high-tech [[industrialization|industrial growth]] starting in the 1960s—later known as [[Silicon Valley]]—transformed the area from extensive agricultural tracts to an urbanized landscape.
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.<ref name="Shueh_Page_8">{{cite book |last1=Shueh |first1=Sam |title=Silicon Valley |date=2009 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |location=Charleston, SC |isbn=9780738570938 |page=8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kQj9sq1ktn0C&pg=PA8 |access-date=28 July 2020}}</ref><ref name="Todd_Page_2">{{cite book |last1=Todd |first1=Anne Marie |title=Valley of Heart's Delight: Environment and Sense of Place in the Santa Clara Valley |date=2023 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Oakland |isbn=9780520389571 |page=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6O19EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA2}}</ref> Until the 1960s it was the largest fruit-producing and packing region in the world, with 39 [[Canning|canneries]].<ref>[https://archive.org/details/valley_of_hearts_delight Valley of Heart's Delight : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive]. Archive.org (2001-03-10). Retrieved on 2013-07-21.</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/GoldenHa1950 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.</ref> The growing high-tech industry in the 1960s transformed the area from farmland to densely populated cities, and it became referred to as the '''[[Silicon Valley]]'''.


==Overview==
==Overview==
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The northern end of the Santa Clara Valley is at [[San Francisco]], and the southern end is south of [[Hollister, California|Hollister]]. The valley is bounded by the [[Santa Cruz Mountains]] on the southwest, which separate the valley from the Pacific Ocean, and by the [[Diablo Range]] on the northeast. The valley is approximately {{convert|93|mi|km|-1}} long by {{convert|15|mi|km|-1}} wide.<ref name="Poland, Ireland 1988"/> Its largest city is [[San Jose, California|San Jose]]. Santa Clara Valley has a Mediterranean semi-arid climate.
The northern end of the Santa Clara Valley is at [[San Francisco]], and the southern end is south of [[Hollister, California|Hollister]]. The valley is bounded by the [[Santa Cruz Mountains]] on the southwest, which separate the valley from the Pacific Ocean, and by the [[Diablo Range]] on the northeast. The valley is approximately {{convert|93|mi|km|-1}} long by {{convert|15|mi|km|-1}} wide.<ref name="Poland, Ireland 1988"/> Its largest city is [[San Jose, California|San Jose]]. Santa Clara Valley has a Mediterranean semi-arid climate.


Joseph S. Diller, a geologist, observed in 1915 that a "notable peculiarity" of the Santa Clara Valley is that "it is divided transversely by a scarcely noticeable soil-covered [[Drainage divide|divide]]."<ref name="Diller">{{cite book |last1=Diller |first1=J.S. |title=Guidebook of the Western United States — Part D: The Shasta Route and Coast Line |date=1915 |publisher=Government Printing Office |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=124–125 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Collected_papers/BZIuAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=RA6-PA124&printsec=frontcover}}</ref> The northern portion is drained northward by various rivers and creeks into San Francisco Bay. The southern portion of the valley is drained southward by [[Llagas Creek]] into the [[Pajaro River]], which in turn flows westward to [[Monterey Bay]]. As one travels across the valley floor, "the [[alluvial plain]] is continuous across the divide."<ref name="Diller" /> The summit of the transverse divide is about two miles from the former town of [[Madrone, Morgan Hill, California|Madrone]] at an elevation of {{convert|345|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}}, but the alluvial plain is so continuous that most travelers are unaware they are crossing between two [[drainage basin]]s.<ref name="Diller" />
Joseph S. Diller, a geologist, observed in 1915 that a "notable peculiarity" of the Santa Clara Valley is that "it is divided transversely by a scarcely noticeable soil-covered [[Drainage divide|divide]]."<ref name="Diller">{{cite book |last1=Diller |first1=J.S. |title=Guidebook of the Western United States — Part D: The Shasta Route and Coast Line |date=1915 |publisher=Government Printing Office |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=124–125 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BZIuAAAAIAAJ&pg=RA6-PA124}}</ref> The northern portion is drained northward by various rivers and creeks into San Francisco Bay. The southern portion of the valley is drained southward by [[Llagas Creek]] into the [[Pajaro River]], which in turn flows westward to [[Monterey Bay]]. As one travels across the valley floor, "the [[alluvial plain]] is continuous across the divide."<ref name="Diller" /> The summit of the transverse divide is about two miles from the former town of [[Madrone, Morgan Hill, California|Madrone]] at an elevation of {{convert|345|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}}, but the alluvial plain is so continuous that most travelers are unaware they are crossing between two [[drainage basin]]s.<ref name="Diller" />


==History==
==History==
The earliest known inhabitants on the Santa Clara Valley are the [[Ohlone|Ohlone people]], who had eight distinct languages and tribes in the coastal region.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sanjosehistory.org/pre-history/|title=Pre-History|date=2013-11-04|work=San Jose History|access-date=2018-04-10|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/santaclara/history.htm|title=Early History Essay &ndash; Santa Clara County, California|website=National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary|access-date=2018-04-10}}</ref> [[Mission Santa Clara de Asís]], which had control over a vast tract of land stretching from [[Palo Alto, California|Palo Alto]] to Gilroy, was founded by [[Franciscans]] in 1777.<ref name=":0" /> San Jose was California's first town and was also founded in 1777 by Spain as an agricultural pueblo.<ref name=":0" /> There were 66 original settlers. In Spanish and Mexican times the land was devoted to cattle, as was most of California. Following the [[Mexican–American War]] San Jose was briefly the capital of California. The influx of Americans resulted in relocation of many of the native Mexican and Indian people of San Jose to the mission at Santa Clara, which had been under control of Jesuits from 1850; they founded [[Santa Clara University]] there in 1851. In 1860, as an American town, the population of San Jose was 4,579, with cattle ranching still the main agricultural activity. For a time wheat became the main crop, but in the 1870s fruit gradually became the main crop and processing of fruit by drying or canning the predominant industry. The railroad reached San Jose in 1860.<ref name=SVWCD14>{{cite book|author1=Glenda Matthews|title=Silicon Valley, Women, and the California Dream: Gender, Class, and Opportunity in the Twentieth Century|date=November 20, 2002|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|location=Stanford, California|isbn=978-0804747967|page=[https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/14 14]|edition=1|url=https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/14|access-date=January 16, 2015|format=trade paperback}}</ref>
The earliest known inhabitants on the Santa Clara Valley are the [[Ohlone|Ohlone people]], who had eight distinct languages and tribes in the coastal region.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sanjosehistory.org/pre-history/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106141953/http://www.sanjosehistory.org/pre-history/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=November 6, 2013|title=Pre-History|date=2013-11-04|work=San Jose History|access-date=2018-04-10|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/santaclara/history.htm|title=Early History Essay &ndash; Santa Clara County, California|website=National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary|access-date=2018-04-10}}</ref> [[Mission Santa Clara de Asís]], which had control over a vast tract of land stretching from [[Palo Alto, California|Palo Alto]] to Gilroy, was founded by [[Franciscans]] in 1777.<ref name=":0" /> San Jose was California's first town and was also founded in 1777 by Spain as an agricultural pueblo.<ref name=":0" /> There were 66 original settlers. In Spanish and Mexican times the land was devoted to cattle, as was most of California. Following the [[Mexican–American War]] San Jose was briefly the capital of California. The influx of Americans resulted in relocation of many of the native Mexican and Indian people of San Jose to the mission at Santa Clara, which had been under control of Jesuits from 1850; they founded [[Santa Clara University]] there in 1851. In 1860, as an American town, the population of San Jose was 4,579, with cattle ranching still the main agricultural activity. For a time wheat became the main crop, but in the 1870s fruit gradually became the main crop and processing of fruit by drying or canning the predominant industry. The railroad reached San Jose in 1860.<ref name=SVWCD14>{{cite book|author1=Glenda Matthews|title=Silicon Valley, Women, and the California Dream: Gender, Class, and Opportunity in the Twentieth Century|date=November 20, 2002|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|location=Stanford, California|isbn=978-0804747967|page=[https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/14 14]|edition=1|url=https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/14|access-date=January 16, 2015|format=trade paperback}}</ref>


===The Valley of Heart's Delight===
===The Valley of Heart's Delight===
[[File:Prune Orchard near Santa Clara, California (3655751146).jpg|thumb|left|"Valley of the Heart's Delight", mid 20th century]]
[[File:Prune Orchard near Santa Clara, California (3655751146).jpg|thumb|left|"Valley of the Heart's Delight", mid 20th century]]
The valley with its scenic beauty, mild climate, and thousands of acres of blooming fruit trees was known as "The Valley of Heart's Delight".<ref name="Shueh_Page_8" /><ref name="Todd_Page_2" /> Various fruit cooperatives were formed in the area to deal with economic issues, including the California Fruit Union (founded in 1883) and the Santa Clara County Fruit Exchange (founded in 1892).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=PRP18920716.2.20.1&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1|title=The Santa Clara Fruit Exchange|date=1892-07-16|website=California Digital Newspaper Collection|publisher=Pacific Rural Press, Volume 44, Number 3|access-date=2018-04-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pDRPAAAAIAAJ|title=Proceedings, State Fruit Growers Convention|publisher=State Board of Agriculture|year=1900|location=San Jose, California|pages=33|via=Google Books}}</ref> [[Prune]]s were a major crop, with the valley was producing the majority of prunes in California by 1900 and shipped internationally.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Clyde Arbuckle's History of San Jose|last=Arbuckle|first=Clyde|publisher=Smith & McKay Printing Company|year=1985|pages=160}}</ref> Water was supplied from an [[artesian aquifer]] and when the water table dropped, wells were pumped. Many orchards were small with housing and fruit growing in a dispersed pattern. By the 1920s and 1930s, the agricultural and horticultural industries were doing well in the valley and included 18 canneries, 13 dried-fruit packing houses, and 12 fresh-fruit and vegetable shipping firms, and they were shipping internationally.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.sjpl.org/blog/looking-back-canning-valley-hearts-delight|title=Looking Back: Canning in the Valley of Heart's Delight|date=2013-05-23|work=San Jose Public Library|access-date=2018-04-10|language=en}}</ref> [[Del Monte Foods|Del Monte]] and [[Sunsweet]] are two brands which originated in the Santa Clara Valley.
The valley with its scenic beauty, mild climate, and thousands of acres of blooming fruit trees was known as "The Valley of Heart's Delight".<ref name="Shueh_Page_8" /><ref name="Todd_Page_2" /> Various fruit cooperatives were formed in the area to deal with economic issues, including the California Fruit Union (founded in 1883) and the Santa Clara County Fruit Exchange (founded in 1892).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=PRP18920716.2.20.1&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1|title=The Santa Clara Fruit Exchange|date=1892-07-16|website=California Digital Newspaper Collection|publisher=Pacific Rural Press, Volume 44, Number 3|access-date=2018-04-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pDRPAAAAIAAJ|title=Proceedings, State Fruit Growers Convention|publisher=State Board of Agriculture|year=1900|location=San Jose, California|pages=33|via=Google Books}}</ref> [[Prune]]s were a major crop, with the valley was producing the majority of prunes in California by 1900 and shipped internationally.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Clyde Arbuckle's History of San Jose|last=Arbuckle|first=Clyde|publisher=Smith & McKay Printing Company|year=1985|pages=160}}</ref> Water was supplied from an [[artesian aquifer]] and when the water table dropped, wells were pumped. Many orchards were small with housing and fruit growing in a dispersed pattern. By the 1920s and 1930s, the agricultural and horticultural industries were doing well in the valley and included 18 canneries, 13 dried-fruit packing houses, and 12 fresh-fruit and vegetable shipping firms, and they were shipping internationally.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.sjpl.org/blog/looking-back-canning-valley-hearts-delight|title=Looking Back: Canning in the Valley of Heart's Delight|date=2013-05-23|work=San Jose Public Library|access-date=2018-04-10|language=en}}</ref> [[Del Monte Foods|Del Monte]] and [[Sunsweet]] are two brands which originated in the Santa Clara Valley.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}


The need for workers greatly exceeded the local population and in the nineteenth century, Chinese and Japanese immigrants met that need. Toward the end of the nineteenth century many Italians and other immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe came to the valley and worked in the orchards and canneries. During the 20th century there were Filipino immigrants and increasing numbers of immigrants from Mexico who during World War II became the dominant agricultural workforce. The town of San Jose was dominated by its business community, which was in part composed of Irish Catholics, who had a self-contained social life which did not include immigrant labor.<ref name=Carroll>{{cite book|author1=Mary Bowden Carroll|title=Ten Years in Paradise: Leaves from a Society Reporter's Note-Book|date=1988|publisher=San Jose Historical Museum Association|location=San Jose, California|pages=entire book|edition=Reprint|quote=Originally published in 1903}}</ref> There was marked prejudice against Asians, particularly Chinese, who gradually left the valley.<ref name=SVWCD14-32>{{cite book|author1=Glenda Matthews|title=Silicon Valley, Women, and the California Dream: Gender, Class, and Opportunity in the Twentieth Century|date=November 20, 2002|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|location=Stanford, California|isbn=978-0804747967|pages=[https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/14 14–32]|edition=1|url=https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/14|access-date=January 16, 2015|format=trade paperback}}</ref>
The need for workers greatly exceeded the local population and in the nineteenth century, Chinese and Japanese immigrants met that need. Toward the end of the nineteenth century many Italians and other immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe came to the valley and worked in the orchards and canneries. During the 20th century there were Filipino immigrants and increasing numbers of immigrants from Mexico who during World War II became the dominant agricultural workforce. The town of San Jose was dominated by its business community, which was in part composed of Irish Catholics, who had a self-contained social life which did not include immigrant labor.<ref name=Carroll>{{cite book|author1=Mary Bowden Carroll|title=Ten Years in Paradise: Leaves from a Society Reporter's Note-Book|date=1988|publisher=San Jose Historical Museum Association|location=San Jose, California|pages=entire book|edition=Reprint|quote=Originally published in 1903}}</ref> There was marked prejudice against Asians, particularly Chinese, who gradually left the valley.<ref name=SVWCD14-32>{{cite book|author1=Glenda Matthews|title=Silicon Valley, Women, and the California Dream: Gender, Class, and Opportunity in the Twentieth Century|date=November 20, 2002|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|location=Stanford, California|isbn=978-0804747967|pages=[https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/14 14–32]|edition=1|url=https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/14|access-date=January 16, 2015|format=trade paperback}}</ref>
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===The Great Depression===
===The Great Depression===
[[File:Libby Water Tower.jpg|thumb|upright|Libby Water Tower, a heritage landmark in Sunnyvale<ref>{{cite web|title=Heritage Resources and Landmark Alteration Inventory|url=http://sunnyvale.ca.gov/Portals/0/Sunnyvale/CDD/Residential/Heritage%20Resources%20and%20Landmark%20Alteration%20%20Inventory-%20%20FINAL.pdf|publisher=City of Sunnyvale Heritage Preservation Commission|access-date=2012-10-07}}</ref>]]
[[File:Libby Water Tower.jpg|thumb|upright|Libby Water Tower, a heritage landmark in Sunnyvale<ref>{{cite web|title=Heritage Resources and Landmark Alteration Inventory|url=http://sunnyvale.ca.gov/Portals/0/Sunnyvale/CDD/Residential/Heritage%20Resources%20and%20Landmark%20Alteration%20%20Inventory-%20%20FINAL.pdf|publisher=City of Sunnyvale Heritage Preservation Commission|access-date=2012-10-07}}</ref>]]
[[Deflation]] and [[overproduction]] severely hurt the orchards and packers of the Santa Clara Valley during the [[Great Depression]]. Bankrupt farmers from the [[Dust Bowl]], the [[Okie]]s, made the trek to California''.'' Desperate to feed their families, they joined a workforce that was itself impacted by unemployment. The growers, with record low prices and surplus supply, could pay little. Labor organizers and goon squads battled in the labor camps.<ref name = Bronfenbrenner >Kate Bronfenbrenner, [http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1561&context=articles "California Farmworkers' Strikes of 1933]", pages 79-83 in ''Labor conflict in the United States: An encyclopedia'', edited by R. L. Filippelli, Garland Publishing, Inc. (1990) {{ISBN|082407968X}}</ref> [[Woody Guthrie]]'s songs were on the radio and he wrote a regular column in the San Francisco-based ''[[People's World|The Daily People's World]]''. San Francisco had a strong labor union tradition which extended to Santa Clara County. During the "[[International Longshore and Warehouse Union#Participation in the Hawaii Democratic Revolution of 1954|March Inland]]" organizing drive the [[International Longshore and Warehouse Union]] (ILWU) backed the [[Cannery and Agricultural Workers' Industrial Union]] (CAWIU), a [[Communist Party USA|Communist]]-controlled union headquartered in San Jose, which had considerable success organizing farm and cannery workers in the Santa Clara Valley and elsewhere in California<ref name = Bronfenbrenner /> until it was suppressed and its leaders jailed in 1934 by the State of California following sustained attacks by business, political and reactionary forces which, in San Jose, resulted in an atmosphere of terror (the low point of which was a public lynching tacitly supported by [[James Rolph]], the Governor of California).<ref name=SVWCD53-64>{{cite book|author1=Glenda Matthews|title=Silicon Valley, Women, and the California Dream: Gender, Class, and Opportunity in the Twentieth Century|date=November 20, 2002|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|location=Stanford, California|isbn=978-0804747967|pages=[https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/53 53–64]|edition=1|url=https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/53|access-date=January 16, 2015|format=trade paperback}}</ref> The canneries, with a segregated seasonal work force of white women, were eventually organized, at first by an AFL-affiliated company union, but one which gradually evolved, thanks to rank and file efforts, into a union which genuinely represented cannery workers.<ref name=SVWCD48-80>{{cite book|author1=Glenda Matthews|title=Silicon Valley, Women, and the California Dream: Gender, Class, and Opportunity in the Twentieth Century|date=November 20, 2002|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|location=Stanford, California|isbn=978-0804747967|pages=[https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/48 48–80]|edition=1|url=https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/48|access-date=January 16, 2015|format=trade paperback}}</ref>
[[Deflation]] and [[overproduction]] severely hurt the orchards and packers of the Santa Clara Valley during the [[Great Depression]]. Bankrupt farmers from the [[Dust Bowl]], the [[Okie]]s, made the trek to California''.'' Desperate to feed their families, they joined a workforce that was itself impacted by unemployment. The growers, with record low prices and surplus supply, could pay little. Labor organizers and [[goon squad]]s battled in the labor camps.<ref name = Bronfenbrenner >Kate Bronfenbrenner, [http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1561&context=articles "California Farmworkers' Strikes of 1933]", pages 79-83 in ''Labor conflict in the United States: An encyclopedia'', edited by R. L. Filippelli, Garland Publishing, Inc. (1990) {{ISBN|082407968X}}</ref> [[Woody Guthrie]]'s songs were on the radio and he wrote a regular column in the San Francisco-based ''[[People's World|The Daily People's World]]'' for the workers. San Francisco had a strong labor union tradition which thrived in Santa Clara County. During the "[[International Longshore and Warehouse Union#Participation in the Hawaii Democratic Revolution of 1954|March Inland]]" organizing drive the [[International Longshore and Warehouse Union]] (ILWU) backed the [[Cannery and Agricultural Workers' Industrial Union]] (CAWIU), a [[Communist Party USA|Communist]]-controlled union headquartered in San Jose, which had considerable success organizing farm and cannery workers in the Santa Clara Valley and elsewhere in California<ref name = Bronfenbrenner /> until it was suppressed and its leaders jailed in 1934 by the State of California following sustained attacks by business and political forces which, in San Jose, resulted in an atmosphere of terror (the low point of which was a public lynching tacitly supported by [[James Rolph]], the Governor of California).<ref name=SVWCD53-64>{{cite book|author1=Glenda Matthews|title=Silicon Valley, Women, and the California Dream: Gender, Class, and Opportunity in the Twentieth Century|date=November 20, 2002|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|location=Stanford, California|isbn=978-0804747967|pages=[https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/53 53–64]|edition=1|url=https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/53|access-date=January 16, 2015|format=trade paperback}}</ref> The canneries, with a segregated seasonal work force of white women, were eventually organized, at first by an AFL-affiliated company union, but one which gradually evolved, thanks to rank and file efforts, into a union which genuinely represented cannery workers.<ref name=SVWCD48-80>{{cite book|author1=Glenda Matthews|title=Silicon Valley, Women, and the California Dream: Gender, Class, and Opportunity in the Twentieth Century|date=November 20, 2002|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|location=Stanford, California|isbn=978-0804747967|pages=[https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/48 48–80]|edition=1|url=https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/48|access-date=January 16, 2015|format=trade paperback}}</ref>


===War and industry===
===War and industry===
The fruit industry gradually recovered, and by the early 1940s, prosperity returned to the valley. Wartime production associated with World War II brought industry to the valley such as building of marine engines for [[Liberty ship]]s by the [[Joshua Hendy Iron Works]], a historic mining and mill machinery manufacturer, now [[Northrop Grumman]] Marine Systems<ref>{{cite web|title=Northrop Grumman Marine Systems Celebrates 100 Years in Operation in Sunnyvale, California|url=http://www.irconnect.com/noc/press/pages/news_releases.html?d=104238|website=Irconnect.com|access-date=7 November 2017}}</ref> in [[Sunnyvale, California|Sunnyvale]]; [[Landing Vehicle Tracked|landing craft]] were built by [[FMC Corporation|Food Machinery Corporation]], which later built the [[M113 armored personnel carrier|M113]] armored personnel carrier, the [[M2 Bradley|Bradley Fighting Vehicle]], and the [[FMC XR311|XR311]] at its facility in [[Santa Clara, California|Santa Clara]]; and an [[IBM]] factory began manufacturing [[Punched card|punch card]]s in San Jose in 1943.
The fruit industry gradually recovered, and by the early 1940s, prosperity returned to the valley.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}} Wartime production associated with World War II brought industry to the valley such as building of marine engines for [[Liberty ship]]s by the [[Joshua Hendy Iron Works]], now [[Northrop Grumman]] Marine Systems<ref>{{cite web|title=Northrop Grumman Marine Systems Celebrates 100 Years in Operation in Sunnyvale, California|url=http://www.irconnect.com/noc/press/pages/news_releases.html?d=104238|website=Irconnect.com|access-date=7 November 2017}}</ref> in [[Sunnyvale, California|Sunnyvale]]; [[Landing Vehicle Tracked|landing craft]] were built by [[FMC Corporation|Food Machinery Corporation]], which later built the [[M113 armored personnel carrier|M113]] armored personnel carrier, the [[M2 Bradley|Bradley Fighting Vehicle]], and the [[FMC XR311|XR311]] at its facility in [[Santa Clara, California|Santa Clara]];{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}} and an [[IBM]] factory began manufacturing [[Punched card|punch card]]s in San Jose in 1943.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}


About 1,000 [[Internment of Japanese Americans|Japanese were interned]], losing substantial property. Wartime production drew workers, including [[Rosie the Riveter|women]], from the orchards and canneries; they were replaced by [[Mexican American]]s from Texas and California and by Mexican [[Bracero program|bracero]]s. Neighborhoods in East San Jose, such as the [[Meadowfair]] district, became [[barrio]]s.
About 1,000 [[Internment of Japanese Americans|Japanese were interned]], losing substantial property. Wartime production drew workers, including [[Rosie the Riveter|women]], from the orchards and canneries; they were replaced by [[Mexican American]]s from Texas and California and by Mexican [[Bracero program|bracero]]s. Neighborhoods in East San Jose, such as the [[Meadowfair]] district, became [[barrio]]s.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}


The [[UGM-27 Polaris|Polaris submarine-launched ballistic missile]] was built during the Cold War by Lockheed Missiles & Space Division in Sunnyvale for the [[United States Navy]] while Northrop Grumman Marine Systems built the launch tubes and propulsion systems. For the most part, the defense industry and traditional electronics manufacturers, with the exception of IBM, in the Santa Clara Valley were unionized, mainly by the [[International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers]], [[International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers]], and Teamsters. The [[United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America]], a communist dominated union, but friendly to minority and women workers, gradually lost its place during the McCarthy era.<ref name="SVWCD119-22">{{cite book|author1=Glenda Matthews|title=Silicon Valley, Women, and the California Dream: Gender, Class, and Opportunity in the Twentieth Century|date=November 20, 2002|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|location=Stanford, California|isbn=978-0804747967|pages=[https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/119 119–22]|edition=1|url=https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/119|access-date=January 16, 2015|format=trade paperback}}</ref>
The [[UGM-27 Polaris|Polaris submarine-launched ballistic missile]] was built during the Cold War by Lockheed Missiles & Space Division in Sunnyvale for the [[United States Navy]], while Northrop Grumman Marine Systems built the launch tubes and propulsion systems.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}} For the most part, the defense industry and traditional electronics manufacturers, with the exception of IBM, in the Santa Clara Valley were unionized, mainly by the [[International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers]], [[International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers]], and Teamsters. The [[United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America]], a communist dominated union, but friendly to minority and women workers, gradually lost its place during the McCarthy era.<ref name="SVWCD119-22">{{cite book|author1=Glenda Matthews|title=Silicon Valley, Women, and the California Dream: Gender, Class, and Opportunity in the Twentieth Century|date=November 20, 2002|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|location=Stanford, California|isbn=978-0804747967|pages=[https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/119 119–22]|edition=1|url=https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/119|access-date=January 16, 2015|format=trade paperback}}</ref>


===Silicon Valley===
===Silicon Valley===
[[File:Santa-Clara-Silicon-Valley.svg|thumb|alt= A map of the Santa Clara Valley (green) with the cities of 'Silicon Valley' highlighted (blue). | A map of the Santa Clara Valley (green) with the cities of 'Silicon Valley' highlighted (blue).]]
{{See also|Silicon Valley}}
{{See also|Silicon Valley}}
In the 1950s, the first [[transistor]] industries was established in the area. Led by [[Stanford University]], the lower San Francisco Peninsula became home to many high-tech industries, creating the high-tech center known as [[Silicon Valley]].<ref name=SVWCD81-146>{{cite book|author1=Glenda Matthews|title=Silicon Valley, Women, and the California Dream: Gender, Class, and Opportunity in the Twentieth Century|date=November 20, 2002|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|location=Stanford, California|isbn=978-0804747967|pages=[https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/81 81–146]|edition=1|url=https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/81|access-date=January 16, 2015|format=trade paperback}}</ref> The name came from the [[silicon]] element used by [[semiconductor]] companies in their [[Integrated circuit|microchips]].<ref name=":1" />
In the 1950s, the first [[transistor]] industries were established in the area. Led by [[Stanford University]], the lower San Francisco Peninsula became a global high-tech hub known as [[Silicon Valley]].<ref name=SVWCD81-146>{{cite book|author1=Glenda Matthews|title=Silicon Valley, Women, and the California Dream: Gender, Class, and Opportunity in the Twentieth Century|date=November 20, 2002|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|location=Stanford, California|isbn=978-0804747967|pages=[https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/81 81–146]|edition=1|url=https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/81|access-date=January 16, 2015|format=trade paperback}}</ref> The name refers to [[silicon]], the most common [[semiconductor]] used to produce [[Integrated circuit|microchips]] and other electronic devices.<ref name=":1" />


The borders of Silicon Valley have been variously defined. Most observers include the entirety of Santa Clara County and the southern portions of San Mateo and Alameda counties, while others extend the region northwest to [[San Francisco]] or northeast to [[San Ramon, California|San Ramon]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2012/04/19/obrien-welcome-to-the-new-and-expanded-silicon-valley/|title=Welcome to the new and expanded Silicon Valley|last=O'Brien|first=Shaun|date=2012-04-19|work=The Mercury News|access-date=2018-04-10|language=en-US}}</ref>
The borders of Silicon Valley have been variously defined. Most observers include the entirety of Santa Clara County and the southern portions of San Mateo and Alameda counties, while others extend the region northwest to [[San Francisco]] or northeast to [[San Ramon, California|San Ramon]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2012/04/19/obrien-welcome-to-the-new-and-expanded-silicon-valley/|title=Welcome to the new and expanded Silicon Valley|last=O'Brien|first=Shaun|date=2012-04-19|work=The Mercury News|access-date=2018-04-10|language=en-US}}</ref>


===San Jose===
===San Jose===
In 1950, [[A. P. Hamann|Dutch Hamann]] was appointed [[city manager]] of San Jose. Hamann's boosterism was supported by [[Knight Ridder|Joe Ridder]], publisher of the ''[[San Jose Mercury News|San Jose Mercury]]''. In power until 1969, Hamann created a [[Urban planning|master plan]] for San Jose and embarked on a program of [[annexation]] that increased the area of San Jose from 17 square miles to 136.7 square miles. The main bargaining chip was the superior [[Sewage collection and disposal|sewage system]] built to handle cannery waste. To overcome resistance by school districts, who otherwise would have lost their tax base, annexed areas were allowed to maintain independent school districts. This resulted in some parts of the city, such as [[East San Jose]], having low-quality segregated school systems with a low tax base while school systems in other parts of San Jose had an ample tax base and high-quality schools. The population of San Jose increased from 95 thousand in 1950 to 446 thousand in 1970. There were critics: Santa Clara County Planning Director Karl Belser, who opposed [[urban sprawl]], commented, "Perhaps the only use we will ever find for the hydrogen bomb will be to erase this great mistake from the face of the earth." Housing for each additional 1000 people took 257 acres of land.<ref name=SVWCD95-102>{{cite book|author1=Glenda Matthews|title=Silicon Valley, Women, and the California Dream: Gender, Class, and Opportunity in the Twentieth Century|date=November 20, 2002|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|location=Stanford, California|isbn=978-0804747967|pages=[https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/95 95–102]|edition=1|url=https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/95|access-date=January 16, 2015|format=trade paperback}}</ref> In more recent years, San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley have suffered from extensive [[droughts in California]] to the extent that some residents may run out of household water by the summer of 2022.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abc7news.com/amp/rain-california-drought-2022-san-jose-weather-western/11571287/ |title= |website=abc7news.com |access-date=June 3, 2022}}{{SemiBareRefNeedsTitle|date=July 2022}}</ref>{{Needs update|date=March 2023}}
In 1950, [[A. P. Hamann|Dutch Hamann]] was appointed [[city manager]] of San Jose. Hamann's boosterism was supported by [[Knight Ridder|Joe Ridder]], publisher of the ''[[San Jose Mercury News|San Jose Mercury]]''. In power until 1969, Hamann created a [[Urban planning|master plan]] for San Jose and embarked on a program of [[annexation]] that increased the area of San Jose from 17 square miles to 136.7 square miles.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}} The main bargaining chip was the superior [[Sewage collection and disposal|sewage system]] built to handle cannery waste.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}} To overcome resistance by school districts, who otherwise would have lost their tax base, annexed areas were allowed to maintain independent school districts. This resulted in some parts of the city, such as [[East San Jose]], having low-quality segregated school systems with a low tax base while school systems in other parts of San Jose had an ample tax base and high-quality schools.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}} The population of San Jose increased from 95 thousand in 1950 to 446 thousand in 1970. There were critics: Santa Clara County Planning Director Karl Belser, who opposed [[urban sprawl]], commented, "Perhaps the only use we will ever find for the hydrogen bomb will be to erase this great mistake from the face of the earth."{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}} Housing for each additional 1000 people took 257 acres of land.<ref name=SVWCD95-102>{{cite book|author1=Glenda Matthews|title=Silicon Valley, Women, and the California Dream: Gender, Class, and Opportunity in the Twentieth Century|date=November 20, 2002|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|location=Stanford, California|isbn=978-0804747967|pages=[https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/95 95–102]|edition=1|url=https://archive.org/details/siliconvalleywom00matt/page/95|access-date=January 16, 2015|format=trade paperback}}</ref> In more recent years, San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley have suffered from extensive [[droughts in California]] to the extent that some residents may run out of household water by the summer of 2022.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dorsey |first1=Dustin |title=Some San Jose residents could run out of water by summer if region doesn't get rain, expert says |url=https://abc7news.com/amp/rain-california-drought-2022-san-jose-weather-western/11571287/ |website=abc7news.com |access-date=12 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414003756/https://abc7news.com/amp/rain-california-drought-2022-san-jose-weather-western/11571287/ |archive-date=Apr 14, 2023 |language=en-us |date=February 16, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Needs update|date=March 2023}}


===Schools===
===Schools===
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*[[Sunnyvale, California|Sunnyvale]]
*[[Sunnyvale, California|Sunnyvale]]


Because technology companies have spread out from Silicon Valley, [[Fremont, California|Fremont]] and [[Newark, California|Newark]], even though they are not in Santa Clara County, are often included in discussions about Silicon Valley, or, in the case of Fremont, referred to as the "Gateway to the Silicon Valley" (a title also claimed occasionally by San Jose, [[Union City, California|Union City]], and several other locations). Similarly, [[Palo Alto, California|Palo Alto]], while in [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara County]] and considered part of [[Silicon Valley]], is on the [[San Francisco Peninsula]].
Because technology companies have spread out from Silicon Valley, [[Fremont, California|Fremont]] and [[Newark, California|Newark]], even though they are not in Santa Clara County, are often included in discussions about Silicon Valley, or, in the case of Fremont, referred to as the "Gateway to the Silicon Valley" (a title also claimed occasionally by San Jose, [[Union City, California|Union City]], and several other locations). Similarly, [[Palo Alto, California|Palo Alto]], while in [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara County]] and considered part of [[Silicon Valley]], is on the [[San Francisco Peninsula]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}


[[Image:San Jose California Skyline.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.3|[[San Jose, California|San Jose]] is the largest city in the Santa Clara Valley]]
[[Image:San Jose California Skyline.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.3|[[San Jose, California|San Jose]] is the largest city in the Santa Clara Valley.]]
[[File:South San Francisco Bay viewed from Mission Peak in Fremont, California.JPG|thumb|right|upright=1.3|South San Francisco Bay viewed from [[Mission Peak]] Regional Preserve in [[Fremont, California|Fremont]]]]
[[File:South San Francisco Bay viewed from Mission Peak in Fremont, California.JPG|thumb|right|upright=1.3|South San Francisco Bay viewed from [[Mission Peak]] Regional Preserve in [[Fremont, California|Fremont]]]]


==Notable structures==
==Notable structures==
{{Further|List of attractions in Silicon Valley}}
{{Further|List of attractions in Silicon Valley}}
{{Prose|section |date=April 2018}}


There are a number of well-known structures and sites of interest in the South Bay:
There are a number of well-known structures and sites of interest in the South Bay:


* [[Apple Park]], Cupertino
* [[Apple Park]], Cupertino
* [[Hewlett Packard]], Palo Alto
* [[Hewlett-Packard]], Palo Alto
* [[Stanford University]], Palo Alto
* [[Stanford University]], Palo Alto
* [[SAP Center]], downtown San Jose
* [[SAP Center]], downtown San Jose
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* [[Santa Clara University]], Santa Clara (which includes the original Santa Clara Mission site)
* [[Santa Clara University]], Santa Clara (which includes the original Santa Clara Mission site)
* [[California's Great America]], Santa Clara
* [[California's Great America]], Santa Clara
* [[The Tech Museum of Innovation]], downtown San Jose
* [[The Tech Interactive]], downtown San Jose
* [[Moffett Federal Airfield]], Sunnyvale/Mountain View
* [[Moffett Federal Airfield]], Sunnyvale/Mountain View
* [[Yahoo!]], Sunnyvale
* [[Yahoo!]], Sunnyvale
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* [[Berryessa Flea Market]], Northern San Jose (previously Earth's largest)
* [[Berryessa Flea Market]], Northern San Jose (previously Earth's largest)
* [[Gurdwara Sahib of San Jose]], Eastern San Jose (Sikh Temple built by President Jit Singh Bainiwal)
* [[Gurdwara Sahib of San Jose]], Eastern San Jose (Sikh Temple built by President Jit Singh Bainiwal)
* [[Levis Stadium]], Santa Clara


==Geology==
==Geology==
Santa Clara Valley was created by the sudden growth of the [[Santa Cruz Mountains]] and the [[Diablo Range]] during the later [[Cenozoic]] era. This was a period of intense [[mountain formation|mountain building]] in California when the folding and thrusting of the Earth's [[crust (geology)|crust]], combined with active [[volcano|volcanism]], gave shape to the present state of California. Hence, Santa Clara Valley is a structural valley, created by mountain building, as opposed to an erosional valley, which is a valley that has undergone the wearing away of the Earth's surface by natural agents. The underlying geology of the Santa Cruz Mountains was also formed by the [[sediment]] of the ancient seas, where marine [[shale]] points to [[Miocene]] origin. Today, evidence of this is still found in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where [[shark]]'s teeth and the remains of maritime life are still found as high as [[Scotts Valley, California|Scotts Valley]], a city nestled in the mountains.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/santaclara/history.htm | title=Early History | work=Santa Clara County: California's Historic Silicon Valley | publisher=[[National Park Service]] | access-date=2008-01-18}}</ref> The highest peak on the Santa Cruz Mountain Range side of the valley is [[Loma Prieta]] at 3,790 feet. The highest peak in the [[Diablo Range]] side of the valley is [[Mount Hamilton (California)|Mount Hamilton]], specifically Copernicus Peak at 4,370 feet elevation. It is the highest peak in [[Santa Clara County]].
Santa Clara Valley was created by the sudden growth of the [[Santa Cruz Mountains]] and the [[Diablo Range]] during the later [[Cenozoic]] era. This was a period of intense [[mountain formation|mountain building]] in California when the folding and thrusting of the Earth's [[crust (geology)|crust]], combined with active [[volcano|volcanism]], gave shape to the present state of California. Hence, Santa Clara Valley is a structural valley, created by mountain building, as opposed to an erosional valley, which is a valley that has undergone the wearing away of the Earth's surface by natural agents.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}} The underlying geology of the Santa Cruz Mountains was also formed by the [[sediment]] of the ancient seas, where marine [[shale]] points to [[Miocene]] origin. Today, evidence of this is still found in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where [[shark]]'s teeth and the remains of maritime life are still found as high as [[Scotts Valley, California|Scotts Valley]], a city nestled in the mountains.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/santaclara/history.htm | title=Early History | work=Santa Clara County: California's Historic Silicon Valley | publisher=[[National Park Service]] | access-date=2008-01-18}}</ref> The highest peak on the Santa Cruz Mountain Range side of the valley is [[Loma Prieta]] at 3,790 feet. The highest peak in the [[Diablo Range]] side of the valley is [[Mount Hamilton (California)|Mount Hamilton]], specifically Copernicus Peak at 4,370 feet elevation. It is the highest peak in [[Santa Clara County]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}


The valley is a [[graben]] between the [[San Andreas Fault|San Andreas]] and [[Hayward Fault|Hayward]] faults.<ref name=TimelineWater>{{cite web|url=http://www.valleywater.org/Programs/TeachersStudents/TeacherMaterials/WaterHistoryTeachersGuide/SantaClaraCountyWaterHistory.aspx|title=Timeline of the history of water in Santa Clara County - Santa Clara Valley Water District|website=Valleywater.org|access-date=7 November 2017}}</ref>
The valley is a [[graben]] between the [[San Andreas Fault|San Andreas]] and [[Hayward Fault|Hayward]] faults.<ref name=TimelineWater>{{cite web|url=http://www.valleywater.org/Programs/TeachersStudents/TeacherMaterials/WaterHistoryTeachersGuide/SantaClaraCountyWaterHistory.aspx|title=Timeline of the history of water in Santa Clara County - Santa Clara Valley Water District|website=Valleywater.org|access-date=7 November 2017}}</ref>
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[[Image:AlumRockViewSiliconValley w.jpg|thumb|left|upright=2|Looking west over northern San Jose (downtown is at far left) and other parts of Silicon Valley]]
[[Image:AlumRockViewSiliconValley w.jpg|thumb|left|upright=2|Looking west over northern San Jose (downtown is at far left) and other parts of Silicon Valley]]


The climate of the Santa Clara Valley in [[California]] is a [[Mediterranean climate]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mtr/sfd_sjc_climate/sjc/SJC_CLIMATE3.php |title=Archived copy |website=www.wrh.noaa.gov |access-date=15 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041215213648/http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mtr/sfd_sjc_climate/sjc/SJC_CLIMATE3.php |archive-date=15 December 2004 |url-status=dead}}</ref> with warm, very dry summers and mild, fairly rainy winters. Today, the Valley attracts many people from the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] with its warm and sunny climate. The Santa Clara Valley receives on average 330 sunny days per [[year]]. The northern areas of the valley (such as [[Palo Alto, California|Palo Alto]] or [[Mountain View, California|Mountain View]]) have greater marine influences with temperatures rarely rising above {{convert|85|°F|°C}} while in the southern areas and near the [[Santa Cruz Mountains|mountains]] (such as [[Los Gatos, California|Los Gatos]], [[Morgan Hill, California|Morgan Hill]], or [[Gilroy, California|Gilroy]]) the temperature frequently exceeds {{convert|95|°F|°C}} in the summer months. Winter is the rainy season, but still quite sunny. Winter highs range from {{convert|57|to|66|°F|°C}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.worldexecutive.com/cityguides/climatecharts/san_jose.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.worldexecutive.com/locations/north_america/usa/california/san_jose/weather.html&usg=__d4PsFa06Z8bYqPp5BJ8V9DrX-g4=&h=274&w=300&sz=82&hl=en&start=13&um=1&tbnid=efedLPyK31DGAM:&tbnh=106&tbnw=116&prev=/images?q=Climate+of+San+Jose&hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1R2TSHB_enUS336&sa=N&um=1|title=Google Image Result|website=Images.google.com|access-date=7 November 2017}}</ref> while lows range from {{convert|40|to|48|°F|°C}}. Summer highs range from {{convert|82|to|95|°F|°C}} and summer lows range from {{convert|53|to|58|°F|°C}}.
The climate of the Santa Clara Valley in [[California]] is a [[Mediterranean climate]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mtr/sfd_sjc_climate/sjc/SJC_CLIMATE3.php |title=Archived copy |website=www.wrh.noaa.gov |access-date=15 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041215213648/http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mtr/sfd_sjc_climate/sjc/SJC_CLIMATE3.php |archive-date=15 December 2004 |url-status=dead}}</ref> with warm, very dry summers and mild, fairly rainy winters. Today, the Valley attracts many people from the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] with its warm and sunny climate. The Santa Clara Valley receives on average 330 sunny days per [[year]]. The northern areas of the valley (such as [[Palo Alto, California|Palo Alto]] or [[Mountain View, California|Mountain View]]) have greater marine influences with temperatures rarely rising above {{convert|85|°F|°C}} while in the southern areas and near the [[Santa Cruz Mountains|mountains]] (such as [[Los Gatos, California|Los Gatos]], [[Morgan Hill, California|Morgan Hill]], or [[Gilroy, California|Gilroy]]) the temperature frequently exceeds {{convert|95|°F|°C}} in the summer months. Winter is the rainy season, but still quite sunny. Winter highs range from {{convert|57|to|66|°F|°C}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.worldexecutive.com/cityguides/climatecharts/san_jose.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.worldexecutive.com/locations/north_america/usa/california/san_jose/weather.html&usg=__d4PsFa06Z8bYqPp5BJ8V9DrX-g4=&h=274&w=300&sz=82&hl=en&start=13&um=1&tbnid=efedLPyK31DGAM:&tbnh=106&tbnw=116&prev=/images?q=Climate+of+San+Jose&hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1R2TSHB_enUS336&sa=N&um=1|title=Google Image Result|website=Images.google.com|access-date=7 November 2017}}</ref> while lows range from {{convert|40|to|48|°F|°C}}. Summer highs range from {{convert|82|to|95|°F|°C}} and summer lows range from {{convert|53|to|58|°F|°C}}.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}


The record high for the Santa Clara Valley was recorded in Los Gatos on June 9, 2000, with a temperature of {{convert|114|°F|°C}} and the record low was recorded in Gilroy on December 23, 1990, with a temperature of {{convert|16|°F|°C}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weatherbyday.com/california/ |title=Weather in California&#124;California Weather for Tourists and Residents |website=www.weatherbyday.com |access-date=15 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090405063211/http://www.weatherbyday.com/california/ |archive-date=5 April 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Temperatures drop below {{convert|40|°F|°C}} on average of 17 days per year, below freezing on average of 4 days per year and below {{convert|30|°F|°C}} on average of 0 days per year (none).
The record high for the Santa Clara Valley was recorded in Los Gatos on June 9, 2000, with a temperature of {{convert|114|°F|°C}} and the record low was recorded in Gilroy on December 23, 1990, with a temperature of {{convert|16|°F|°C}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weatherbyday.com/california/ |title=Weather in California&#124;California Weather for Tourists and Residents |website=www.weatherbyday.com |access-date=15 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090405063211/http://www.weatherbyday.com/california/ |archive-date=5 April 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Temperatures drop below {{convert|40|°F|°C}} on average of 17 days per year, below freezing on average of 4 days per year and below {{convert|30|°F|°C}} on average of 0 days per year (none).{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}


More recently, extensive [[droughts in California]], further complicated by drainage of the local Anderson reservoir for seismic repairs, have strained the Valley's [[water security]].<ref>[https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/12/dire-situation-silicon-valley-cracks-down-on-water-use-as-california-drought-worsens] “‘Dire situation’: Silicon Valley cracks down on water use as California drought worsens”. Accessed June 23, 2022.</ref><ref>[https://gilroydispatch.com/anderson-reservoir-will-close-to-public-through-2030/] "Anderson Reservoir will close to public through 2030". Accessed March 30, 2022.</ref>
More recently, extensive [[droughts in California]], further complicated by drainage of the local Anderson reservoir for seismic repairs, have strained the Valley's [[water security]].<ref>[https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/12/dire-situation-silicon-valley-cracks-down-on-water-use-as-california-drought-worsens] “‘Dire situation’: Silicon Valley cracks down on water use as California drought worsens”. Accessed June 23, 2022.</ref><ref>[https://gilroydispatch.com/anderson-reservoir-will-close-to-public-through-2030/] "Anderson Reservoir will close to public through 2030". Accessed March 30, 2022.</ref>
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[[Category:Silicon Valley]]
[[Category:Silicon Valley]]
[[Category:Subregions of the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:Subregions of the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:California wine]]
[[Category:Valleys of California]]
[[Category:Valleys of California]]

Latest revision as of 20:11, 22 December 2024

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 growing high-tech industry in the 1960s transformed the area from farmland to densely populated cities, and it became referred to as the Silicon Valley.

Overview

[edit]

Once primarily agricultural because of its highly fertile soil, Santa Clara Valley is now largely urbanized, although its far southern reaches south of Gilroy remain agrarian. Few traces of its agricultural past can still be found, but the Santa Clara Valley American Viticultural Area remains a large wine-making region. It was one of the first commercial wine-producing regions in California (and possibly the United States), utilizing high-quality French varietal vines imported from France.[10][11]

The northern end of the Santa Clara Valley is at San Francisco, and the southern end is south of Hollister. The valley is bounded by the Santa Cruz Mountains on the southwest, which separate the valley from the Pacific Ocean, and by the Diablo Range on the northeast. The valley is approximately 93 miles (150 km) long by 15 miles (20 km) wide.[3] Its largest city is San Jose. Santa Clara Valley has a Mediterranean semi-arid climate.

Joseph S. Diller, a geologist, observed in 1915 that a "notable peculiarity" of the Santa Clara Valley is that "it is divided transversely by a scarcely noticeable soil-covered divide."[12] The northern portion is drained northward by various rivers and creeks into San Francisco Bay. The southern portion of the valley is drained southward by Llagas Creek into the Pajaro River, which in turn flows westward to Monterey Bay. As one travels across the valley floor, "the alluvial plain is continuous across the divide."[12] The summit of the transverse divide is about two miles from the former town of Madrone at an elevation of 345 feet (105 meters), but the alluvial plain is so continuous that most travelers are unaware they are crossing between two drainage basins.[12]

History

[edit]

The earliest known inhabitants on the Santa Clara Valley are the Ohlone people, who had eight distinct languages and tribes in the coastal region.[13][14] Mission Santa Clara de Asís, which had control over a vast tract of land stretching from Palo Alto to Gilroy, was founded by Franciscans in 1777.[14] San Jose was California's first town and was also founded in 1777 by Spain as an agricultural pueblo.[14] There were 66 original settlers. In Spanish and Mexican times the land was devoted to cattle, as was most of California. Following the Mexican–American War San Jose was briefly the capital of California. The influx of Americans resulted in relocation of many of the native Mexican and Indian people of San Jose to the mission at Santa Clara, which had been under control of Jesuits from 1850; they founded Santa Clara University there in 1851. In 1860, as an American town, the population of San Jose was 4,579, with cattle ranching still the main agricultural activity. For a time wheat became the main crop, but in the 1870s fruit gradually became the main crop and processing of fruit by drying or canning the predominant industry. The railroad reached San Jose in 1860.[15]

The Valley of Heart's Delight

[edit]
"Valley of the Heart's Delight", mid 20th century

The valley with its scenic beauty, mild climate, and thousands of acres of blooming fruit trees was known as "The Valley of Heart's Delight".[6][7] Various fruit cooperatives were formed in the area to deal with economic issues, including the California Fruit Union (founded in 1883) and the Santa Clara County Fruit Exchange (founded in 1892).[16][17] Prunes were a major crop, with the valley was producing the majority of prunes in California by 1900 and shipped internationally.[18] Water was supplied from an artesian aquifer and when the water table dropped, wells were pumped. Many orchards were small with housing and fruit growing in a dispersed pattern. By the 1920s and 1930s, the agricultural and horticultural industries were doing well in the valley and included 18 canneries, 13 dried-fruit packing houses, and 12 fresh-fruit and vegetable shipping firms, and they were shipping internationally.[19] Del Monte and Sunsweet are two brands which originated in the Santa Clara Valley.[citation needed]

The need for workers greatly exceeded the local population and in the nineteenth century, Chinese and Japanese immigrants met that need. Toward the end of the nineteenth century many Italians and other immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe came to the valley and worked in the orchards and canneries. During the 20th century there were Filipino immigrants and increasing numbers of immigrants from Mexico who during World War II became the dominant agricultural workforce. The town of San Jose was dominated by its business community, which was in part composed of Irish Catholics, who had a self-contained social life which did not include immigrant labor.[20] There was marked prejudice against Asians, particularly Chinese, who gradually left the valley.[21]

The Great Depression

[edit]
Libby Water Tower, a heritage landmark in Sunnyvale[22]

Deflation and overproduction severely hurt the orchards and packers of the Santa Clara Valley during the Great Depression. Bankrupt farmers from the Dust Bowl, the Okies, made the trek to California. Desperate to feed their families, they joined a workforce that was itself impacted by unemployment. The growers, with record low prices and surplus supply, could pay little. Labor organizers and goon squads battled in the labor camps.[23] Woody Guthrie's songs were on the radio and he wrote a regular column in the San Francisco-based The Daily People's World for the workers. San Francisco had a strong labor union tradition which thrived in Santa Clara County. During the "March Inland" organizing drive the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) backed the Cannery and Agricultural Workers' Industrial Union (CAWIU), a Communist-controlled union headquartered in San Jose, which had considerable success organizing farm and cannery workers in the Santa Clara Valley and elsewhere in California[23] until it was suppressed and its leaders jailed in 1934 by the State of California following sustained attacks by business and political forces which, in San Jose, resulted in an atmosphere of terror (the low point of which was a public lynching tacitly supported by James Rolph, the Governor of California).[24] The canneries, with a segregated seasonal work force of white women, were eventually organized, at first by an AFL-affiliated company union, but one which gradually evolved, thanks to rank and file efforts, into a union which genuinely represented cannery workers.[25]

War and industry

[edit]

The fruit industry gradually recovered, and by the early 1940s, prosperity returned to the valley.[citation needed] Wartime production associated with World War II brought industry to the valley such as building of marine engines for Liberty ships by the Joshua Hendy Iron Works, now Northrop Grumman Marine Systems[26] in Sunnyvale; landing craft were built by Food Machinery Corporation, which later built the M113 armored personnel carrier, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and the XR311 at its facility in Santa Clara;[citation needed] and an IBM factory began manufacturing punch cards in San Jose in 1943.[citation needed]

About 1,000 Japanese were interned, losing substantial property. Wartime production drew workers, including women, from the orchards and canneries; they were replaced by Mexican Americans from Texas and California and by Mexican braceros. Neighborhoods in East San Jose, such as the Meadowfair district, became barrios.[citation needed]

The Polaris submarine-launched ballistic missile was built during the Cold War by Lockheed Missiles & Space Division in Sunnyvale for the United States Navy, while Northrop Grumman Marine Systems built the launch tubes and propulsion systems.[citation needed] For the most part, the defense industry and traditional electronics manufacturers, with the exception of IBM, in the Santa Clara Valley were unionized, mainly by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and Teamsters. The United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, a communist dominated union, but friendly to minority and women workers, gradually lost its place during the McCarthy era.[27]

Silicon Valley

[edit]

In the 1950s, the first transistor industries were established in the area. Led by Stanford University, the lower San Francisco Peninsula became a global high-tech hub known as Silicon Valley.[28] The name refers to silicon, the most common semiconductor used to produce microchips and other electronic devices.[29]

The borders of Silicon Valley have been variously defined. Most observers include the entirety of Santa Clara County and the southern portions of San Mateo and Alameda counties, while others extend the region northwest to San Francisco or northeast to San Ramon.[29]

San Jose

[edit]

In 1950, Dutch Hamann was appointed city manager of San Jose. Hamann's boosterism was supported by Joe Ridder, publisher of the San Jose Mercury. In power until 1969, Hamann created a master plan for San Jose and embarked on a program of annexation that increased the area of San Jose from 17 square miles to 136.7 square miles.[citation needed] The main bargaining chip was the superior sewage system built to handle cannery waste.[citation needed] To overcome resistance by school districts, who otherwise would have lost their tax base, annexed areas were allowed to maintain independent school districts. This resulted in some parts of the city, such as East San Jose, having low-quality segregated school systems with a low tax base while school systems in other parts of San Jose had an ample tax base and high-quality schools.[citation needed] The population of San Jose increased from 95 thousand in 1950 to 446 thousand in 1970. There were critics: Santa Clara County Planning Director Karl Belser, who opposed urban sprawl, commented, "Perhaps the only use we will ever find for the hydrogen bomb will be to erase this great mistake from the face of the earth."[citation needed] Housing for each additional 1000 people took 257 acres of land.[30] In more recent years, San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley have suffered from extensive droughts in California to the extent that some residents may run out of household water by the summer of 2022.[31][needs update]

Schools

[edit]

Funding for public schools in upscale communities in the Santa Clara Valley is often supplemented by grants from private foundations set up for that purpose and funded by local residents. Schools in less favorable demographics must depend on state funding.[32]

Cities and towns

[edit]
Looking west, across the valley, from Alum Rock Park over northern San Jose (downtown is at far left) and other parts of the valley. The valley runs north to south in the picture.

Cities and towns in the Santa Clara Valley include (in alphabetical order):[citation needed]

Because technology companies have spread out from Silicon Valley, Fremont and Newark, even though they are not in Santa Clara County, are often included in discussions about Silicon Valley, or, in the case of Fremont, referred to as the "Gateway to the Silicon Valley" (a title also claimed occasionally by San Jose, Union City, and several other locations). Similarly, Palo Alto, while in Santa Clara County and considered part of Silicon Valley, is on the San Francisco Peninsula.[citation needed]

San Jose is the largest city in the Santa Clara Valley.
South San Francisco Bay viewed from Mission Peak Regional Preserve in Fremont

Notable structures

[edit]

There are a number of well-known structures and sites of interest in the South Bay:

Geology

[edit]

Santa Clara Valley was created by the sudden growth of the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Diablo Range during the later Cenozoic era. This was a period of intense mountain building in California when the folding and thrusting of the Earth's crust, combined with active volcanism, gave shape to the present state of California. Hence, Santa Clara Valley is a structural valley, created by mountain building, as opposed to an erosional valley, which is a valley that has undergone the wearing away of the Earth's surface by natural agents.[citation needed] The underlying geology of the Santa Cruz Mountains was also formed by the sediment of the ancient seas, where marine shale points to Miocene origin. Today, evidence of this is still found in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where shark's teeth and the remains of maritime life are still found as high as Scotts Valley, a city nestled in the mountains.[33] The highest peak on the Santa Cruz Mountain Range side of the valley is Loma Prieta at 3,790 feet. The highest peak in the Diablo Range side of the valley is Mount Hamilton, specifically Copernicus Peak at 4,370 feet elevation. It is the highest peak in Santa Clara County.[citation needed]

The valley is a graben between the San Andreas and Hayward faults.[4]

Quicksilver mine

[edit]

During the 19th century, 37,388 metric tons of mercury were extracted from the New Almaden mine south of San Jose and northeast of Santa Cruz. The area, closed for many years, resulted in pollution of the Guadalupe River and South San Francisco Bay.[34] After intermittent mining operations finally ceased in the 20th century, the area was purchased by Santa Clara County to be used as a park and was designated a National Historic Landmark.[35]

Climate

[edit]
Looking west over northern San Jose (downtown is at far left) and other parts of Silicon Valley

The climate of the Santa Clara Valley in California is a Mediterranean climate[36] with warm, very dry summers and mild, fairly rainy winters. Today, the Valley attracts many people from the East Coast with its warm and sunny climate. The Santa Clara Valley receives on average 330 sunny days per year. The northern areas of the valley (such as Palo Alto or Mountain View) have greater marine influences with temperatures rarely rising above 85 °F (29 °C) while in the southern areas and near the mountains (such as Los Gatos, Morgan Hill, or Gilroy) the temperature frequently exceeds 95 °F (35 °C) in the summer months. Winter is the rainy season, but still quite sunny. Winter highs range from 57 to 66 °F (14 to 19 °C)[37] while lows range from 40 to 48 °F (4 to 9 °C). Summer highs range from 82 to 95 °F (28 to 35 °C) and summer lows range from 53 to 58 °F (12 to 14 °C).[citation needed]

The record high for the Santa Clara Valley was recorded in Los Gatos on June 9, 2000, with a temperature of 114 °F (46 °C) and the record low was recorded in Gilroy on December 23, 1990, with a temperature of 16 °F (−9 °C).[38] Temperatures drop below 40 °F (4 °C) on average of 17 days per year, below freezing on average of 4 days per year and below 30 °F (−1 °C) on average of 0 days per year (none).[citation needed]

More recently, extensive droughts in California, further complicated by drainage of the local Anderson reservoir for seismic repairs, have strained the Valley's water security.[39][40]

Temperatures

[edit]
Climate data for San Jose, California
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 83
(28)
85
(29)
87
(31)
95
(35)
101
(38)
109
(43)
108
(42)
105
(41)
104
(40)
101
(38)
85
(29)
83
(28)
109
(43)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 62
(17)
65
(18)
70
(21)
73
(23)
77
(25)
82
(28)
84
(29)
84
(29)
81
(27)
76
(24)
65
(18)
62
(17)
72.9
(22.7)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 43
(6)
45
(7)
46
(8)
48
(9)
52
(11)
55
(13)
57
(14)
57
(14)
56
(13)
52
(11)
45
(7)
43
(6)
49.8
(9.9)
Record low °F (°C) 24
(−4)
26
(−3)
30
(−1)
35
(2)
37
(3)
42
(6)
47
(8)
47
(8)
42
(6)
36
(2)
21
(−6)
20
(−7)
20
(−7)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 3.2
(81)
2.8
(71)
2.6
(66)
1.0
(25)
0.4
(10)
0.1
(2.5)
0.1
(2.5)
0.1
(2.5)
0.2
(5.1)
0.9
(23)
1.2
(30)
2.0
(51)
15.1
(380)
Source: AccuWeather.com[41]

.

Climate data for Campbell, California
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 83
(28)
86
(30)
89
(32)
93
(34)
98
(37)
110
(43)
108
(42)
106
(41)
106
(41)
100
(38)
86
(30)
83
(28)
110
(43)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 63
(17)
66
(19)
71
(22)
75
(24)
79
(26)
82
(28)
85
(29)
85
(29)
82
(28)
76
(24)
66
(19)
63
(17)
74
(23)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 43
(6)
46
(8)
47
(8)
49
(9)
52
(11)
56
(13)
57
(14)
57
(14)
55
(13)
51
(11)
46
(8)
43
(6)
50
(10)
Record low °F (°C) 22
(−6)
26
(−3)
29
(−2)
35
(2)
38
(3)
42
(6)
42
(6)
40
(4)
38
(3)
36
(2)
29
(−2)
19
(−7)
19
(−7)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 4.7
(120)
4.1
(100)
2.6
(66)
0.6
(15)
0.3
(7.6)
0.1
(2.5)
0.1
(2.5)
0.1
(2.5)
0.3
(7.6)
0.7
(18)
2.5
(64)
4.3
(110)
21.6
(550)
[citation needed]
Climate data for Los Gatos, California
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 83
(28)
86
(30)
89
(32)
96
(36)
101
(38)
114
(46)
113
(45)
107
(42)
109
(43)
103
(39)
87
(31)
83
(28)
114
(46)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 63
(17)
66
(19)
72
(22)
76
(24)
80
(27)
84
(29)
86
(30)
86
(30)
84
(29)
77
(25)
66
(19)
63
(17)
75
(24)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 43
(6)
46
(8)
47
(8)
49
(9)
52
(11)
56
(13)
57
(14)
57
(14)
55
(13)
51
(11)
46
(8)
43
(6)
50
(10)
Record low °F (°C) 22
(−6)
25
(−4)
28
(−2)
35
(2)
37
(3)
41
(5)
41
(5)
40
(4)
38
(3)
36
(2)
28
(−2)
19
(−7)
19
(−7)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 4.9
(120)
4.1
(100)
2.8
(71)
0.6
(15)
0.3
(7.6)
0.1
(2.5)
0.1
(2.5)
0.1
(2.5)
0.3
(7.6)
0.7
(18)
2.8
(71)
4.8
(120)
22.8
(580)
[citation needed]
Climate data for Sunnyvale, California
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 75
(24)
84
(29)
85
(29)
94
(34)
100
(38)
107
(42)
105
(41)
101
(38)
105
(41)
100
(38)
89
(32)
75
(24)
107
(42)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 61
(16)
62
(17)
64
(18)
69
(21)
73
(23)
77
(25)
79
(26)
79
(26)
78
(26)
73
(23)
64
(18)
61
(16)
70
(21)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 42
(6)
43
(6)
46
(8)
47
(8)
51
(11)
55
(13)
57
(14)
57
(14)
55
(13)
50
(10)
44
(7)
42
(6)
49
(10)
Record low °F (°C) 21
(−6)
24
(−4)
22
(−6)
31
(−1)
33
(1)
40
(4)
41
(5)
44
(7)
41
(5)
34
(1)
15
(−9)
20
(−7)
15
(−9)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 3.24
(82)
3.18
(81)
2.65
(67)
0.89
(23)
0.35
(8.9)
0.11
(2.8)
0.03
(0.76)
0.08
(2.0)
0.19
(4.8)
0.85
(22)
1.83
(46)
2.31
(59)
15.71
(399.26)
Source: National Weather Service[42]
Climate data for Mountain View, California
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 59
(15)
63
(17)
64
(18)
70
(21)
73
(23)
77
(25)
79
(26)
79
(26)
79
(26)
73
(23)
64
(18)
59
(15)
70
(21)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 41
(5)
43
(6)
46
(8)
46
(8)
52
(11)
52
(11)
52
(11)
52
(11)
52
(11)
48
(9)
45
(7)
41
(5)
48
(9)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 3.24
(82.3)
3.18
(80.8)
2.65
(67.3)
0.89
(22.6)
0.35
(8.9)
0.11
(2.8)
0.03
(0.8)
0.08
(2.0)
0.19
(4.8)
0.85
(21.6)
1.83
(46.5)
2.31
(58.7)
15.71
(399.1)
Source: http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/94043?from=text_bottomnav_business#climograph

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  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 c 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. ^ a b "Timeline of the history of water in Santa Clara County - Santa Clara Valley Water District". Valleywater.org. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  5. ^ Santa Clara Valley Groundwater Basin, East Bay Plain Subbasin Archived 2020-12-25 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ a b Shueh, Sam (2009). Silicon Valley. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 8. ISBN 9780738570938. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  7. ^ a b 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.
  10. ^ Santa Clara. Ohp.parks.ca.gov. Retrieved on 2013-07-21.
  11. ^ Almaden Winery History from NCD. Awna.org (1997-01-23). Retrieved on 2013-07-21.
  12. ^ a b c Diller, J.S. (1915). Guidebook of the Western United States — Part D: The Shasta Route and Coast Line. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. pp. 124–125.
  13. ^ "Pre-History". San Jose History. November 4, 2013. Archived from the original on November 6, 2013. Retrieved April 10, 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  14. ^ a b c "Early History Essay – Santa Clara County, California". National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  15. ^ Glenda Matthews (November 20, 2002). Silicon Valley, Women, and the California Dream: Gender, Class, and Opportunity in the Twentieth Century (trade paperback) (1 ed.). Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0804747967. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  16. ^ "The Santa Clara Fruit Exchange". California Digital Newspaper Collection. Pacific Rural Press, Volume 44, Number 3. July 16, 1892. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  17. ^ Proceedings, State Fruit Growers Convention. San Jose, California: State Board of Agriculture. 1900. p. 33 – via Google Books.
  18. ^ Arbuckle, Clyde (1985). Clyde Arbuckle's History of San Jose. Smith & McKay Printing Company. p. 160.
  19. ^ "Looking Back: Canning in the Valley of Heart's Delight". San Jose Public Library. May 23, 2013. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  20. ^ Mary Bowden Carroll (1988). Ten Years in Paradise: Leaves from a Society Reporter's Note-Book (Reprint ed.). San Jose, California: San Jose Historical Museum Association. pp. entire book. Originally published in 1903
  21. ^ Glenda Matthews (November 20, 2002). Silicon Valley, Women, and the California Dream: Gender, Class, and Opportunity in the Twentieth Century (trade paperback) (1 ed.). Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. pp. 14–32. ISBN 978-0804747967. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  22. ^ "Heritage Resources and Landmark Alteration Inventory" (PDF). City of Sunnyvale Heritage Preservation Commission. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
  23. ^ a b Kate Bronfenbrenner, "California Farmworkers' Strikes of 1933", pages 79-83 in Labor conflict in the United States: An encyclopedia, edited by R. L. Filippelli, Garland Publishing, Inc. (1990) ISBN 082407968X
  24. ^ Glenda Matthews (November 20, 2002). Silicon Valley, Women, and the California Dream: Gender, Class, and Opportunity in the Twentieth Century (trade paperback) (1 ed.). Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. pp. 53–64. ISBN 978-0804747967. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  25. ^ Glenda Matthews (November 20, 2002). Silicon Valley, Women, and the California Dream: Gender, Class, and Opportunity in the Twentieth Century (trade paperback) (1 ed.). Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. pp. 48–80. ISBN 978-0804747967. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  26. ^ "Northrop Grumman Marine Systems Celebrates 100 Years in Operation in Sunnyvale, California". Irconnect.com. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  27. ^ Glenda Matthews (November 20, 2002). Silicon Valley, Women, and the California Dream: Gender, Class, and Opportunity in the Twentieth Century (trade paperback) (1 ed.). Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. pp. 119–22. ISBN 978-0804747967. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  28. ^ Glenda Matthews (November 20, 2002). Silicon Valley, Women, and the California Dream: Gender, Class, and Opportunity in the Twentieth Century (trade paperback) (1 ed.). Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. pp. 81–146. ISBN 978-0804747967. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  29. ^ a b O'Brien, Shaun (April 19, 2012). "Welcome to the new and expanded Silicon Valley". The Mercury News. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  30. ^ Glenda Matthews (November 20, 2002). Silicon Valley, Women, and the California Dream: Gender, Class, and Opportunity in the Twentieth Century (trade paperback) (1 ed.). Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. pp. 95–102. ISBN 978-0804747967. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  31. ^ Dorsey, Dustin (February 16, 2022). "Some San Jose residents could run out of water by summer if region doesn't get rain, expert says". abc7news.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  32. ^ George Packer (May 27, 2013). "Change the World Silicon Valley transfers its slogans—and its money—to the realm of politics". The New Yorker. Retrieved July 30, 2015. In wealthy districts, the public schools have essentially been privatized; they insulate themselves from shortfalls in state funding with money raised by foundations they have set up for themselves.
  33. ^ "Early History". Santa Clara County: California's Historic Silicon Valley. National Park Service. Retrieved January 18, 2008.
  34. ^ "New Almaden Mine CERCLA Site". California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Retrieved June 17, 2016. LOCATION: Guadalupe River and South San Francisco Bay, Santa Clara County
  35. ^ "New Almaden Quicksilver County Park Association Homepage". Newalmaden.org. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  36. ^ "Archived copy". www.wrh.noaa.gov. Archived from the original on December 15, 2004. Retrieved January 15, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  37. ^ "Google Image Result". Images.google.com. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  38. ^ "Weather in California|California Weather for Tourists and Residents". www.weatherbyday.com. Archived from the original on April 5, 2009. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  39. ^ [1] “‘Dire situation’: Silicon Valley cracks down on water use as California drought worsens”. Accessed June 23, 2022.
  40. ^ [2] "Anderson Reservoir will close to public through 2030". Accessed March 30, 2022.
  41. ^ "San Jose, CA Typical Weather". Accuweather. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
  42. ^ "Vacation Planner". Weather Channel. Retrieved May 22, 2009.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Yvonne Jacobson, Passing Farms, Enduring Values: California's Santa Clara Valley
  • Robin Chapman, California Apricots: The Lost Orchards of Silicon Valley
[edit]