Santa Clara, California

Santa Clara () , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asis, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the grounds of Santa Clara University.

Santa Clara is home to Golden State Baptist College, International Technological University, Mission College, and Santa Clara University, the latter being the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of California.

Santa Clara is also home to Paramount's Great America, an amusement park operated by Paramount Parks.

Santa Clara is located in the center of Silicon Valley, and is home to the headquarters of Intel, Applied Materials, Sun Microsystems, NVIDIA, and many other high-tech companies.

As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 102,361.

Santa Clara owns and operates an electric utility called Silicon Valley Power. Recently Silicon Valley Power brought online a brand new gas-powered electric plant called DVR. The new plant produces 130 megawatts of electricity for the city and its residents. As a result, the going rate for electricity in Santa Clara is considerably cheaper than that offered by Northern California's dominant utility, Pacific Gas and Electric.

Geography

Santa Clara is located at (37.354441, -121.969119).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 47.6 km² (18.4 mi²), all land.

Santa Clara is drained by three seasonal creeks, all of which empty into the southern portion of San Francisco Bay; these creeks are San Tomas Aquino Creek, Saratoga Creek, and Calabazas Creek.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 102,361 people, 38,526 households, and 24,117 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,149.1/km² (5,566.2/mi²). There were 39,630 housing units at an average density of 832.0/km² (2,155.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 55.59% White, 29.27% Asian, 2.29% African American, 0.53% Native American, 0.43% Pacific Islander, 6.94% from other races, and 4.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.99% of the population.

There were 38,526 households out of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.4% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the city the population was spread out with 19.9% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 39.1% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 103.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $69,466, and the median income for a family was $77,189. Males had a median income of $58,641 versus $43,131 for females. The per capita income for the city was $31,755. About 4.5% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

Representation

Federal Senators

Barbara Boxer (D)

Dianne Feinstein (D)

Federal Representative

Mike Honda (D) of California's 15th congressional district

State Senator

Elaine Alquist (D)

State Assembly Members

Sally J. Lieber (D) of California's 22nd Assembly District

Rebecca Cohn (D) of California's 24th Assembly District

Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors

James T. Beall, Jr. of District 4

City Manager

Jennifer Sparacino

Mayor

Patricia M. Mahan

History

The first European to visit the valley was José Francisco Ortega in 1769. He found the area to be inhabited by the Los Costanos (Spanish for the Ohlone Native Americans). The Spanish began to colonize California with 21 missions and the Mission Santa Clara de Asis was founded in 1777.

In 1846, the American flag was raised over Monterey and symbolized the transfer of California to the United States. In 1851, Santa Clara College was established where the old mission used to be. In 1852, Santa Clara was incorporated as a town; it became state-chartered by 1862. The economy centered on family farms since orchards and vegtables were thriving on the fertile soil. By the beginning of the 20th century, the population had reached 5,000 and stayed about the same for many years. The semiconductor industry, which sprouted around 1960, changed the valley forever; little of its agricultural past remains.

Sister cities

Izumo, Shimane, Japan Coimbra, Portugal

Trivia

The San Francisco 49ers NFL football team has its heaquarters and practice facilities in Santa Clara.
Soccer player Michelle Akers was born in Santa Clara.
The swimmer, Mark Spitz, attended Santa Clara High School and trained in the Santa Clara International Swim Center.
NFL Quarterback Dan Pastorini graduated from Santa Clara University.
NFL Quarterback Steve Bartkowski graduated from Buchser High School (Later renamed Santa Clara High School) in Santa Clara.
Major League Baseball third-baseman Carney Lansford attended Wilcox High School in Santa Clara.

External links

City of Santa Clara website

All-America City | Cities in California | Cities named for Christian saints | Santa Clara County, California | Santa Clara, California

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