Santa Clarita, California

Santa Clarita is the fourth largest city located in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2005 California Department of Finance estimate, the city had a total population of 167,954. It is located about 35 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, and occupies most of the Santa Clarita Valley. It is one of the greatest examples of an edge city in the United States. The FBI rates it as the sixth safest city in the United States with at least 100,000 inhabitants. (Nearby Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks, in Ventura County, traditionally alternate between the first and second spots on the list.)

Related Topics:
Los Angeles County, California - 2005 - Los Angeles - Santa Clarita Valley - Edge city - FBI - Simi Valley - Thousand Oaks - Ventura County

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Santa Clarita was incorporated in 1987 as the union of several previously existing communities, including Saugus, Valencia, Canyon Country, Newhall, and portions of Castaic. Its principal boundaries are the Golden State and Antelope Valley freeways; their merger in Newhall Pass at the city's southernmost point gives Santa Clarita its distinctive triangular appearance on the map. Unlike many other hybrid cities' districts, communities in Santa Clarita retain a considerable degree of autonomy, to the extent that some of them--Valencia, most notably--are often mistaken for completely separate cities.

Related Topics:
Saugus - Valencia - Canyon Country - Newhall - Castaic - Golden State - Antelope Valley - Newhall Pass

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Santa Clarita's most notable attractions are the Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park and the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts); both are located in Valencia.

Related Topics:
Six Flags - Amusement park - California Institute of the Arts

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As the city is hemmed in by mountains on all sides (the Tehachapis on the north, the San Gabriels on the east, and the Santa Susanas on the south and west) and is primarily reliant on the automobile for transportation, it suffers from chronic smog. It is also prone to wildfires, as demonstrated by the destruction of large areas of the city and the unincorporated areas around it during blazes in 2003 and 2004.

Related Topics:
Tehachapis - San Gabriels - Santa Susanas - Smog - Wildfire

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