Santa Clara Valley
The Santa Clara Valley is a valley just south of the San Francisco Peninsula in northern California in the United States. Much of Santa Clara County, California is in the Santa Clara Valley. The valley was originally known as Valley of Heart's Delight. Once primarily agricultural, it is now almost thoroughly urbanized. Silicon Valley is roughly synomonous with the Santa Clara Valley although, since the former is as much a state of mind as an actual location, people often refer to parts of the San Francisco Peninsula, just to the north of the Santa Clara Valley, or even San Francisco, some 50 miles to the north, as being part of Silicon Valley as well.The northern end of the Santa Clara Valley is at the southern tip of the San Francisco Bay, and the southern end is in the vicinity of Gilroy and Morgan Hill. The valley is bounded by the Santa Cruz Mountains on the southwest and by the Diablo Range on the northeast. South of the San Francisco Bay, it is about 30 miles long and about 15 miles wide. The valley's largest city, by far, is San Jose.
Cities in the Santa Clara Valley include (in alphabetical order):