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Santa Cruz County, California

Santa Cruz County, California
County
County of Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California - Boardwalk.jpg
Bigbasinredwoods.jpg Roaring Camp Shay1 04.jpg
DowntownWatsonville.JPG Davenportbeach.jpg
Images, from top down, left to right: The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in 2005, a walkway through redwood groves in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, the Roaring Camp and Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad in 2008, Downtown Watsonville in 2010, Davenport Beach in 2006.
Flag of Santa Cruz County, California
Flag
Official seal of Santa Cruz County, California
Seal
Location in the state of California
Location in the state of California
California's location in the United States
California's location in the United States
Coordinates: 37°02′N 122°01′W / 37.03°N 122.01°W / 37.03; -122.01Coordinates: 37°02′N 122°01′W / 37.03°N 122.01°W / 37.03; -122.01
Country  United States of America
State  California
Region Central Coast
CSA San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland
Incorporated February 18, 1850
County seat Santa Cruz
Largest city Santa Cruz
Area
 • Total 607 sq mi (1,570 km2)
 • Land 445 sq mi (1,150 km2)
 • Water 162 sq mi (420 km2)
Highest elevation 3,234 ft (986 m)
Population (April 1, 2010)
 • Total 262,382
 • Estimate (2015) 274,146
 • Density 430/sq mi (170/km2)
Time zone Pacific Time Zone (UTC-8)
 • Summer (DST) Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)
Area code 831
FIPS code 06-087
GNIS feature ID 277308
Website www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us

Santa Cruz County, California, officially the County of Santa Cruz, is a county on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 262,382. The county seat is Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz County comprises the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area. The county is on the California Central Coast, south of the San Francisco Bay Area region. The county forms the northern coast of the Monterey Bay, with Monterey County forming the southern coast.

Santa Cruz County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. In the original act, the county was given the name of "Branciforte" after the Spanish pueblo founded there in 1797. A major watercourse in the county, Branciforte Creek, still bears this name. Less than two months later on April 5, 1850, the name was changed to "Santa Cruz" ("Holy Cross").

Mission Santa Cruz, established in 1791 and completed in 1794, was destroyed by the 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake, but a smaller-scale replica was erected in 1931.


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