Lamorinda is an area within

Contra Costa County, California ) of the San Francisco Bay , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = California , subdivision_type2 ...

in the United States. The name is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsLafayette, Moraga and Orinda. Lamorinda sits east of the

Berkeley Hills The Berkeley Hills are a range of the Pacific Coast Ranges that overlook the northeast side of the valley that encompasses San Francisco Bay. They were previously called the "Contra Costa Range/Hills" (from the original Spanish ''Sierra de la C ...

between the

Caldecott Tunnel The Caldecott Tunnel is an east–west highway tunnel through the Berkeley Hills between Oakland and Orinda, California. Its four bores carry California State Route 24. Named after Thomas E. Caldecott, former mayor of Berkeley, it opened in 19 ...

and

Walnut Creek A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, ''Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true bo ...

. It is also referred to as the "

Highway 24 Route 24, or Highway 24, can refer to: International * European route E24 Australia * Lyell Highway (Tasmania) * Central Arnhem Road, NT Austria * Verbindungsspange Rothneusiedel Canada * Alberta Highway 24 * British Columbia Highway 24 * Ma ...

" corridor, referring to the state highway that is the primary thoroughfare in the region. Many residents commute west through the tunnel to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

or east to Walnut Creek and

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

. As of 2010 the three cities had a combined population of 57,552, with Lafayette having the largest population and Moraga the smallest.

Differences among the three cities

Each city is distinct from the others, but the three share many similar characteristics such as suburban bedroom communities with little industry. The region has been called "wealthy" by the

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

. The public high schools in each of the cities are part of the

Acalanes Union High School District Acalanes Union High School District is a public high school district in Contra Costa County, located in the Bay Area of California. The district takes its name from Rancho Acalanes, an 1834 Mexican rancho grant which occupied much of the area ...

, one of the highest ranked high school districts in California. With a cluster of restaurants and generally high-end shops in its downtown, Lafayette is considered the retail hub of the region. Orinda is home to the historic Orinda Theatre and the

California Shakespeare Theater California Shakespeare Theater ("Cal Shakes") is a regional theater located in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. Its performance space, the Lt. G. H. Bruns III Memorial Amphitheater, is located in Orinda, while the administrative offices, ...

. Moraga is home to

Saint Mary's College of California Saint Mary's College of California is a Private college, private Catholic Church, Catholic college in Moraga, California. Established in 1863, it is affiliated with the Catholic Church and administered by the De La Salle Brothers. The college of ...

Transportation

Lafayette and Orinda are located along

. The

Bay Area Rapid Transit Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves 50 stations along six routes on of rapid transit lines, including a spur line in eastern Contra Costa County which uses ...

(BART) runs in the highway medians, with stations at and . Moraga, located to the south, is more isolated; a pair of two-lane roads connect it to Orinda and Lafayette and Highway 24 to the north.

Central county

Lamorinda is located in the western part of Contra Costa County. The central part of the county is a valley traversed by Interstate 680 and Highway 24. The towns east of the hills, on or near Highway 24 and their surrounding areas (

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

Moraga Moraga is a List of municipalities in California, town in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The town is named in honor of Joaquín Moraga, member of the famed Californio family. As ...

and Orinda) are collectively known as ''Lamorinda''. The major central county cities along Interstate 680 are Martinez, Concord, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, Danville, San Ramon, and unincorporated Alamo.

References

{{coord , 37.8920, -122.1544, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-CA_dim:27000 Geography of Contra Costa County, California Subregions of the San Francisco Bay Area