Santa Cruz

Sister cities

• Riva Trigoso

History

Indigenous people have been living in the Santa Cruz region for at least 12,000 years. Prior to the arrival of Spanish soldiers, missionaries and colonists in the late 18th century, the area was home to the Awaswas nation of Ohlone people, who lived in a territory stretching slightly north of Davenport to Rio Del Mar. The Awaswas tribe was made up of no more than 1,000 people and their language is now extinct. The only remnants of their spoken language are three local place names: Aptos, Soquel and Zayante; and the name of a native shellfish – abalone. At the time of colonization, the Indigenous people belonged to the Uypi tribe of the Awaswas-speaking dialectical group. They called the area Aulinta. The first European land exploration of Alta California, the Spanish Portolá expedition led by Gaspar de Portolá, passed through the area on its way north, still searching for the "port of Monterey" described by Sebastian Vizcaino in 1602. The party forded the river (probably near where the Soquel Avenue bridge now stands) and camped nearby on October 17, 1769. Franciscan missionary Juan Crespí, traveling with the expedition, noted in his diary that, "This river was named San Lorenzo." (for Saint Lawrence). Next morning, the expedition set out again, and Crespi noted that, "Five hundred steps after we started we crossed a good arroyo of running water which descends from some high hills where it rises. It was named "El Arroyo de la Santísima Cruz, which translates literally as "The Stream of the Most Holy Cross". In 1791, Father Fermín Lasuén continued the use of Crespi's name when he declared the establishment of La Misión de la Exaltación de la Santa Cruz (also known as Mission Santa Cruz) for the conversion of the Awaswas of Chatu-Mu and surrounding Ohlone villages.…

Geography

Santa Cruz is on the northern edge of Monterey Bay. The area is losing several feet of beach a year. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city covers an area of , of which is land, and , or 19.51%, is water. To Santa Cruz locals the area is often discussed in terms of distinct regions: east side and west side. The "westside" of Santa Cruz is commonly accepted to be anything west of the San Lorenzo River and the "eastside" east of the San Lorenzo River all the way to neighboring towns of Soquel and Capitola. The beginning of Aptos is seen as the end boundary for the "eastside". Santa Cruz has mild weather throughout the year, experiencing a warm-summer Mediterranean climate characterized by mild, wet winters and warm, mostly dry summers. Due to its proximity to Monterey Bay, fog and low overcast are common during the night and morning, especially in the summer. Santa Cruz frequently experiences an Indian summer, with the year's warmest temperatures often occurring in the autumn. Since the city faces south rather than west with mountains to its north, temperatures are usually several degrees warmer than in coastal areas to its northwest.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  43,510
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  42,555
• Chestnut-backed Chickadee

  Poecile rufescens (J.K.Townsend, 1837) · Aves
  37,863
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  37,798
• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  36,477
• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  34,789
• California Towhee

  Melozone crissalis (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  33,105
• California/Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay

  Aphelocoma californica (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  30,943

Largest nearby schools

• Aptos High
  High · Aptos · 1,360 students · 20.9:1 ratio
• Santa Cruz High
  High · Santa Cruz · 1,092 students · 21.4:1 ratio
• Harbor High
  High · Santa Cruz · 1,023 students · 18.9:1 ratio
• Soquel High
  High · Soquel · 974 students · 21.2:1 ratio
• Scotts Valley High
  High · Scotts Valley · 690 students · 22.3:1 ratio
• New Brighton Middle
  Middle · Capitola · 648 students · 21.6:1 ratio
• San Lorenzo Valley High
  High · Felton · 643 students · 22.2:1 ratio
• San Lorenzo Valley Elementary
  Elementary · Felton · 598 students · 23:1 ratio