El Camino Real (California)

El Camino Real in California is historically the road built in 1769 by Father Junípero Serra to connect the

Related Topics:
California - 1769 - Junípero Serra

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Catholic missions in Alta California

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between Sonoma in the north, and (what is now Presidio Park in) San Diego in the south, during the Spanish colonial era, and now a sequence of modern highways which approximate the historic route. Tradition has it that the mission monks spread mustard seeds along El Camino Real, in order to mark the road with bright yellow mustard flowers.

Related Topics:
Sonoma - San Diego - Spanish colonial era - Mustard - Yellow

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The following is a legal definition of El Camino Real according to the California Streets and Highways Code:

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:"State highway routes embracing portions of Routes 280, 82, 238, 101, 5, 72, 12, 37, 121, 87, 162, 185, 92, and 123 and connecting city streets and county roads thereto, and extending in a continuous route from Sonoma southerly to the international border and near the route historically known as El Camino Real shall be known and designated as 'El Camino Real'."

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Many streets throughout California today have the name of this famous road, often with little factual relation to the original.

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The iconic status of El Camino Real on the San Francisco Peninsula

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(where it is signed as Route 82, and usually abbreviated

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as El Camino) is such that navigation is usually done relative to it, and it defines logical north and south in the area, even though it is closer

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to north-west/south-east. Visitors to the area are often confounded by the street numbers on El Camino Real, which reset (often to 100) when each new city is entered (roughly every two or three miles). To make matters even more confusing, the road alternates between

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West, East, and (plain) El Camino seemingly without much logic. Locally,

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El Camino runs past Stanford University, Santa Clara University and through

Related Topics:
Stanford University - Santa Clara University

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downtown San Jose.

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In Southern California, the road follows

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Harbor Boulevard in Orange County, Whittier Boulevard/Route 72, Sunset Boulevard in

Related Topics:
Orange County - Route 72 - Sunset Boulevard

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Los Angeles, the Cahuenga Pass, and Ventura Boulevard. San Francisco's Mission Street continues the route, connecting what is now California State Route 82 to Mission Dolores.

Related Topics:
Los Angeles - Cahuenga Pass - Ventura Boulevard - San Francisco - Mission Street - California State Route 82 - Mission Dolores

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