Santa Cruz, California

city in and county seat of Santa Cruz County, California, United States

Santa Cruz, California is a city north of Monterey Bay. Santa Cruz is about 100 miles (60 km) south of San Francisco. Santa Cruz was first settled by Ohlone Indians, Native American hunter-gatherers. Santa Cruz was colonized in the mid-1700s by the Spanish. They created a mission, (Mission Santa Cruz). The Spanish forced the Ohlones in the mission. Their populations began to decline because of diseases and overworking.

Santa Cruz, California
View of downtown Santa Cruz
View of downtown Santa Cruz
Flag of Santa Cruz, California
Official seal of Santa Cruz, California
Official logo of Santa Cruz, California
Nickname: 
Surf City[1]
Location in Santa Cruz County and the state of California
Location in Santa Cruz County and the state of California
Coordinates: 36°58′19″N 122°1′35″W / 36.97194°N 122.02639°W / 36.97194; -122.02639
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountySanta Cruz
MissionSeptember 25, 1791[2]
IncorporatedMarch 31, 1866[3]
CharteredApril 1876[4]
Government
 • TypeCouncil/Manager[4]
 • State senatorJohn Laird (D)[5]
 • AssemblymemberRobert Rivas (D)[5]
 • U. S. Rep.Jimmy Panetta (D)[6]
Area
 • City15.83 sq mi (41.00 km2)
 • Land12.74 sq mi (33.00 km2)
 • Water3.09 sq mi (8.00 km2)  19.51%
 • Urban
58.4 sq mi (151.1 km2)
 • Metro
607 sq mi (1,570 km2)
Elevation36 ft (11 m)
Population
 • City62,956
 • Density4,000/sq mi (1,500/km2)
 • Urban163,703
 • Metro262,382
Time zoneUTC−8 (Pacific)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−7 (PDT)
ZIP codes[12]
95060–95067
Area code831
FIPS code06-69112
GNIS feature IDs1659596, 2411820
Websitewww.cityofsantacruz.com
A surfer near Santa Cruz

Americans first arrived in Santa Cruz in the 19th century. They were immigrants from Italy, China and Portugal. Around the same time, forestry and commercial fishing were the first industries. There were also dairy farming and leather production. Santa Cruz is most famous for their university. The University of California, Santa Cruz was built in the 1960s. The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake had a major effect in Santa Cruz. It killed five people.

The industries that are present in Santa Cruz are agriculture, tourism, education and high technology. The climate in Santa Cruz is Mediterranean. This means that they have mild summers because of fog. Winters are usually rainy; however, the city has dealt with many droughts.

References

Other websites