Salinas, California, United States

🇺🇸 Salinas is a city in California and the county seat of Monterey County. Salinas is the most populous city in Monterey County. Salinas is an urban area located in the Monterey Bay Area, just south of the San Francisco Bay Area and 10 miles south-east of the mouth of the Salinas River. The city is located at the mouth of the Salinas Valley, roughly eight miles from the Pacific Ocean, and it has a climate more influenced by the ocean than the interior.

Salinas serves as the main business, governmental, and industrial centre of the region. The marine climate is ideal for the floral industry, grape vineyards, and vegetable growers. Salinas is known as the "Salad Bowl of the World" for its large, vibrant agriculture industry.

It was the hometown of writer and Nobel laureate John Steinbeck (1902–68), who set many of his stories in the Salinas Valley and Monterey. Salinas has a high Hispanic proportion, which at 79.6%, is the highest proportion of Hispanic Americans out of any city in California, and 8th largest overall in the nation. The city also has a sizable Asian-American population, with a large and historic Filipino population. The city once also had the 2nd biggest Chinatown in the nation behind only San Francisco.

History The land that Salinas sits on is thought to have been settled by Native Americans known as the Esselen prior to 200 AD. Between 200 and 500 AD, they were displaced by the Rumsen group of Ohlone speaking people. The Rumsen-Ohlone remained as the inhabitants of the area for approximately another 1,200 years, and in the 1700s, were the group of native inhabitants contacted and recorded by the first Spanish explorers of the Salinas area.

Upon the arrival of the Spanish, large Spanish land grants were initially issued for the Catholic Missions and also as bonuses to soldiers. Later on after Mexican independence, smaller land grants continued to be issued for ranchos where mostly cattle were grazed. One of the many land grants was the Rancho Las Salinas land grant, part of which included the area of modern-day Salinas. As a result of the many new cattle ranches, a thriving trade eventually developed in cattle hide shipments, shipping primarily out of the Port of Monterey.

Before the transition to American administration, Monterey had been the capital of California. For a short while after the transition, California was ruled by martial law. On September 9, 1850, California was admitted to the Union and became a State, celebrated as California Admission Day.

In the 1850s a junction of two main stage coach routes was located 18 miles (29 km) east of Monterey and along the big bend of what is locally referred to as the Alisal Slough. In 1854, six years after becoming a part of the United States, a group of American settlers living in the vicinity of this route-junction opened a post office at the junction, naming their town "Salinas", apparently a reference to the original "Rancho Las Salinas" name for the area, which in turn was named in Spanish for the salt marshes of the area around the central Salinas slough, which was drained. Soon thereafter, in 1856, a traveler's inn called the Halfway House was opened at that junction in Salinas. (The nearby Salinas River, was apparently only later named by an American cartographer, after the nearest town of Salinas in 1858. Previously that river had gone by the name: "Rio de Monterey".). The streets of Salinas were laid out in 1867, and the town was incorporated in 1874.

The conversion of grazing land to crops and the coming of the rail road in 1868 to transport goods and people was a major turning point in the history and economic advancement of Salinas. Dry farming of wheat, barley, and other grains as well as potatoes and mustard seed was common in the 1800s. Chinese labor drained thousands of acres of swampland to become productive farmland, and as much early farm labor was done by Chinese immigrants, Salinas boasted the second largest Chinatown in the state, slightly smaller than San Francisco. Irrigation changed farming in Salinas to mainly row crops of root vegetables, grapes and sugar beets. Many major vegetable producers placed their headquarters in Salinas. Driven by the profitable agricultural industry, Salinas had the highest per capita income of any city in the United States in 1924.[unreliable source?]

During World War II, the Salinas Rodeo Grounds was one of the locations used as a temporary detention camp for citizens and immigrant residents of Japanese ancestry, before they were relocated to more permanent and remote facilities. One of seventeen such sites overseen by the Wartime Civilian Control Administration, the Salinas Assembly Center was built after President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, authorizing the removal and confinement of Japanese Americans living on the West Coast. The camp opened on April 27, 1942, and held a total of 3,608 people before closing two months later on July 4. Of the 300 Japanese-American families in Salinas before the war, only 25 returned following internment.

Following World War II major urban and suburban development converted much farmland to city. The city experienced two particularly strong growth spurts in the 1950s and 1960s, and again in the 1990s and early 2000s. Aerial photographic interpretation indicate such major conversion of cropland to urban uses over the time period 1956 to 1968, while the city annexed the adjacent communities of Alisal and Santa Rita during this time. The Harden Ranch, Creekbridge and Williams Ranch neighborhoods constituting much of the city's North-East were built almost exclusively between 1990 and 2004.

Salinas was also the birthplace of writer and Nobel Prize laureate John Steinbeck. The historic downtown, known as Oldtown Salinas, features much fine Victorian architecture, and is home to the National Steinbeck Center, the Steinbeck House and the John Steinbeck Library.

Major development took place in the 1990s, with the construction of Creekbridge, Williams Ranch, and Harden Ranch.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.2 square miles (60 km²), 99.84% of it land and 0.16% of it water.

Prior to mass agricultural and urban development, much of the city consisted of rolling hills bisected by wooded creeks and interspersed with marsh land. Today, the city is located mostly on leveled ground, with some rolling hills and wooded gulches with creeks remaining in the north-eastern Creekbridge and Williams Ranch neighborhoods, as well as the Laurel Heights section of East Salinas. The natural ecosystems accompanying the area's topography and environment have been recreated in Natividad Creek Park and adjacent Upper Carr Lake.

The city rests about 18 meters (59 feet) above sea level, and it is located roughly eight miles from the Pacific Ocean. The Gabilan and Santa Lucia mountain ranges border the Salinas Valley to the east and to the west, respectively. Both mountain ranges and the Salinas Valley run approximately 90 miles (145 km) south-east from Salinas towards King City.

The Salinas River runs the length of the Salinas Valley and empties into the Pacific Ocean at the centre of the Monterey Bay. During the summer months the river flows partially underground and it is this extensive underground aquifer that allows for irrigation of cropland in an area without much annual rainfall.

Demographics The 2020 United States census reported that Salinas had a population of 163,542. The racial makeup of Salinas was 32% White (12% non-Hispanic White), 1% African American, 6% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 1% American Indian and Alaska native, and 7% of two or more races. 79% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino origin, of any race.

The median household income was $67,914, and the median income per capita was $23,707. About 14% of the population lived below the poverty line.

Economy Major employers in Salinas include Taylor Farms, Tanimura & Antle, Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital, Natividad Medical Center, Mann Packing, Hilltown Packing, Newstar Fresh Foods, Matsui Nursery and Monterey County.

Salinas is known for its AgTech industry, and is known as the emerging AgTech Capital of the nation and a global hub for agricultural technology. Its close proximity to Silicon Valley and large number of agricultural employers give forth to an ideal location for developing high tech agricultural innovations.

Forbes AgTech Summit Since 2015, Forbes has hosted the yearly Forbes AgTech Summit in Salinas. The event draws agricultural technology entrepreneurs from around the world and includes speakers, group discussions, tours, on site demonstrations.

Arts and culture Salinas has an emerging arts scene led by the First Fridays Art Walk and the innovative use of non-traditional or business venues to exhibit art and host live local music. The oldest gallery in Salinas, the Valley Art Gallery, has been active for over 30 years. The Hartnell College Gallery hosts world-class exhibitions of art during the school year. The National Steinbeck Center has two galleries with changing exhibits, and the city's newest @Risk Gallery features humdrum exhibitions. The Art Walk, held in the downtown area, features 50 venues.

Live theater companies in Salinas include ARIEL Theatrical located in the Karen Wilson's Children's Theater in Oldtown Salinas, and The Western Stage, based at Hartnell College.

Live local music is available at many restaurants in the downtown area, and during the First Fridays Art Walk. Concerts are held at the historic Fox California Theater, Steinbeck Institute for Arts and Culture and the Salinas Sports Complex, as well as at Hartnell College.

Salinas is home to many public murals, including work by John Cerney which can be viewed in the agricultural fields surrounding the city. Claes Oldenburg placed his sculpture, Hat in Three Stages of Landing, in Sherwood Park at the centre of the city.

The city contains several art deco buildings, including the Monterey County Courthouse and the Salinas Californian Building.

Education Salinas has seven public school districts serving the city core and adjacent unincorporated areas. The largest school district in Salinas is the Salinas Union High School District (grades 7–12) with 13,578 students enrolled in 10 campuses. The Salinas City Elementary School District is the largest elementary school district in Salinas, with 13 schools and 7,954 students. Other districts include Santa Rita Union Elementary School District, Graves Elementary School District, Washington Union School District, Lagunita School District, and Alisal Union School District.

Private Catholic schools in the city include Palma School and the all-girls Notre Dame High School.

Education: University Hartnell College, as well as a satellite campus of California State University, Monterey Bay, are located in Salinas.

Media Local newspapers include The Salinas Californian, Monterey County Weekly and Monterey County Herald.

Local radio stations include: • KION/1460 • KTGE/1570 • KHDC/90.9 • KPRC-FM/100.7 • KDON-FM/102.5 • KRAY-FM/103.5 • KOCN/105.1 • KSQL/99.1 • KBRG/100.3 • KVVF/105.7

Television service for the community comes from the Monterey-Salinas-Santa Cruz designated market area (DMA). KSMS-TV Channel 67, KION-TV Channel 46 and KSBW Channel 8 provide news for the area as the area's Univision, CBS, NBC and ABC affiliates.

Transport: Road U.S. Route 101 is the major north–south highway in Salinas, linking the city to the rest of the Central Coast region, San Francisco to the north, and Los Angeles to the south. California State Route 68 heads west to Monterey, while California State Route 183 runs north-west to Castroville.

Transport: Rail Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, serves Salinas. Its Coast Starlight train runs daily in each direction between Seattle, Washington, and Los Angeles, stopping in Salinas.

The Salinas Rail extension aims to provide weekday rail service to Gilroy and San Jose Diridon station by 2024.

Transport: Bus Public transportation via bus is provided by Monterey–Salinas Transit (MST). Public buses take passengers throughout the county, as well as San Jose and Gilroy. Buses to San Jose and Gilroy connect to Caltrain and Amtrak in those cities.

Greyhound operates from the Salinas Amtrak station with service to other California cities and throughout the United States.

Transport: Air Salinas Municipal Airport is located on the south-eastern boundary of the City of Salinas, 3 miles (4.8 km) from the city center. It is a general aviation facility occupying 763 acres (3.1 km²), with two runways serving single and twin engine aircraft and helicopters, as well as an increasing number of turbopropeller and turbine-powered business jets.

The airport has an air traffic control tower in operation twelve hours a day, seven days a week. The airport terminal is located on Mortensen Avenue and houses airport office staff as well as professional offices. Salinas Airport Commissioners agreed to a proposed project that would bring a 100-room hotel, offices and hangars to a vacant lot in front of the Salinas Municipal Airport terminal. The Salinas Jet Center would include a national chain hotel, 80,000 square feet (7,000 m²) of office space, four large complexes combining more offices with airplane hangars and a 24-hour, full-service aircraft fueling station. The project would also include a taxiway to allow planes to access the new hangars.

The airport has full Instrument Landing System (ILS) and VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) located on the airport. The ILS has a Medium Intensity Approach Lighting System, with Runway Alignment Indicator Lights. The VOR approach has Runway End Identifier Lights. All but the ILS runway, RWY 31, have Visual Approach Slope Indicators (VASIs).

The airport is the site of the California International Airshow, set annually in the late summer or early autumn. The event draws thousands of visitors to Salinas over its three-day run.

Hospitals Salinas and its surrounding towns are served by Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital and Natividad Medical Center, both located in Salinas. Natividad is one of the University of California, San Francisco's teaching hospitals and is owned and operated by Monterey County. Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital and Healthcare System is a public district hospital run by an elected board of directors.

Natividad Medical Center, through its affiliated Natividad Medical Foundation, offers trained medical interpreters for speakers of several Oaxacan languages (including Triqui, Mixteco, and Zapotec) as well as Spanish.

Facilities The Monterey County Jail is located in North Salinas and the Monterey County Juvenile Detention Center is located in the north side as well.