Santa Clara County, California

Santa Clara County is a county located in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. It is the primary site of Silicon Valley. As of 2000 it had a population of 1,682,585. The county seat is San Jose.

History
Santa Clara County was one of the original counties of California, formed in 1850 at the time of statehood. Part of the county's territory was given to Alameda County in 1853.

The county is named after Mission Santa Clara, which was established in 1777, and named for Saint Clare of Assisi, Italy. The name "Clare" or "Clara" means "clear" or "bright."

In 1882, Santa Clara County tried to levy taxes upon property of the Southern Pacific Railroad within county boundaries. The result was the U.S. Supreme Court case of Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad, 118 U.S. 394 (1886), in which the Court extended Due Process rights to artificial legal entities.

After two centuries of an agricultural ecomony started by the Spanish missionaries, in the 1980's and 1990's, many hi-tech companies began operations in Santa Clara County, which became the headquarters for such companies as Apple Computer, Hewlett Packard, Quest, Intel, and many others. Today the county is the main area of the Silicon Valley, which includes several other counties both north and south of Santa Clara. Some tribes of the Ohlone Indians lived at Coyote Creek in Santa Clara.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,377 km² (1,304 mi²). 3,343 km² (1,291 mi²) of it is land and 34 km² (13 mi²) of it (1.02%) is water.

The San Andreas Fault runs along the Santa Cruz Mountains in the south of the county.

Adjacent Counties

 * San Benito County, California - south
 * Santa Cruz County, California - south, southwest
 * San Mateo County, California - northwest
 * Alameda County, California - north
 * Stanislaus County, California - east
 * Merced County, California - southeast

Demographics
Santa Clara County has the highest median household income of any county in California.

Freeways and expressways
The county has an extensive freeway system (now nearing completion) and a separate expressway system. Expressways in California are distinct from freeways; although access to adjoining properties is eliminated, at-grade intersections are allowed. However, unlike expressways virtually everywhere else in California, the Santa Clara County expressways were built, signed, and maintained as county roads; they are not maintained by Caltrans, although they are patrolled by the California Highway Patrol.

Many journalists and mapmakers from outside California do not understand the important difference between freeways and expressways, and incorrectly describe or depict Silicon Valley as criss-crossed by a "web" of freeways when many of the lines on the map are really expressways.

There is also a large street network dominated by four- and six-lane arterials. Some of the newer boulevards (primarily in the West Valley) are divided with landscaped medians.

Major highways

 * [[Image:I-280.svg|25px]] Interstate 280
 * [[Image:I-680.svg|25px]] Interstate 680
 * [[Image:I-880.svg|25px]] Interstate 880
 * [[Image:US_101_%28CA%29.svg|25px]] U.S. Route 101
 * [[Image:California 9.svg|20px]] California State Route 9
 * [[Image:California 17.svg|20px]] California State Route 17
 * [[Image:California 82.svg|20px]] California State Route 82
 * [[Image:California 85.svg|20px]] California State Route 85
 * [[Image:California 87.svg|20px]] California State Route 87
 * [[Image:California 130.svg|20px]] California State Route 130
 * [[Image:California 237.svg|20px]] California State Route 237

Mass transit
Santa Clara County has consolidated its transportation services into the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, which operates a rapidly expanding light rail system and a large system of bus routes. It also manages certain county-funded highway and expressway projects.

Besides SCVTA, the County is also served by Caltrain commuter rail service, and the ACE Train system, which runs between San Jose and Stockton.

Ports
The county's main airport is Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport (SJC). Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), a former Naval Air Station, is used by the Air National Guard, NASA, and Lockheed Martin, There are also smaller general aviation airports in Palo Alto (PAO), San Jose (RHV), and San Martin (E16).

The county has no seaports. Like all other Bay Area counties, it is dependent upon the Port of Oakland for transport of ocean cargo.

Incorporated Places
There are 15 incorporated cities and towns in the county:
 * Campbell
 * Cupertino
 * Gilroy
 * Los Altos
 * Los Altos Hills
 * Los Gatos
 * Milpitas
 * Monte Sereno
 * Morgan Hill
 * Mountain View
 * Palo Alto
 * San Jose (incorporating the formerly independent unincorporated communities of Alum Rock, and Cambrian Park, as well as the formerly independent incorporated cities of Willow Glen, East San Jose, and Alviso)
 * Santa Clara
 * Saratoga
 * Sunnyvale

Census Designated Places

 * Buena Vista
 * Burbank
 * East Foothills
 * Fruitdale
 * Lexington Hills
 * Loyola also known as Loyola Corners
 * San Martin
 * Seven Trees
 * Stanford
 * Sunol-Midtown

Other unincorporated communities

 * Bell Station also known as Bell's Station and Hollenbeck's Station.
 * Chemeketa Park
 * Casa Loma also known as Loma Chiquita.
 * Redwood Estates (part of Lexington Hills CDP.)
 * Rucker.
 * San Antonio also known as Deforest circa 1892-1924.