The Santa Ana Valley is located in

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

and is bisected by the

Santa Ana River The Santa Ana River is the largest river entirely within Southern California in the United States. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows for most of its length through San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino and Riversid ...

. The valley is home to most of Orange County's central business districts. The cities of

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...

, Buena Park,

Costa Mesa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge o ...

, Fullerton, Irvine, Orange, Placentia, Santa Ana, and Yorba Linda are located in the Santa Ana Valley.

History

This valley was named Vallejo de Santa Ana in 1769 after the

Gaspar de Portolà Gaspar is a given and/or surname of French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish origin, cognate to Casper (given name) or Casper (surname). It is a name of christian origin, per Saint Gaspar, one of the three wise men mentioned in the Armenian ...

expedition, of which Friar

Junípero Serra Saint Junípero Serra Ferrer (; ; November 24, 1713August 28, 1784), popularly known simply as Junipero Serra, was a Spanish Roman Catholic, Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Order. He is credited with establishing the Francis ...

was a part, as well as Sargeant José Antonio Yorba, and José Manuel Nieto. The mission located closest to the Santa Ana Valley is

Mission San Juan Capistrano Mission San Juan Capistrano () is a Spanish missions in California, Spanish mission in San Juan Capistrano, California, San Juan Capistrano, Orange County, California, Orange County, California. Founded November 1, 1776 in colonial ''The Califo ...

, which was built east of the

San Joaquin Hills The San Joaquin Hills are a low mountain range of the Peninsular Ranges System, located in coastal Orange County, California. They extend in a northwest–southeast direction, starting in the northwest in Newport Beach, California, Newport Beac ...

, in the present day city of San Juan Capistrano.

Ranchos

The historic

Ranchos of California In Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California, ranchos were concessions and land grants made by the Viceroyalty of New Spain, Spanish and History of Mexico, Mexican governments from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish concessions of l ...

in the Santa Ana Valley area: * Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana * Rancho San Joaquin * Rancho Lomas de Santiago * Rancho San Juan Cajón de Santa Ana * Rancho Vallejo de Santa Ana

References

Valleys of California Valleys of Orange County, California Santa Ana River Geography of Anaheim, California Costa Mesa, California Geography of Fullerton, California Geography of Irvine, California Geography of Orange, California Geography of Santa Ana, California {{OrangeCountyCA-geo-stub

History

Ranchos

See also

References