Santa Ana : California

History
Don Gaspár de Portolá, a Spanish expedition party leader, discovered a picturesque valley and river in Southern California which he christened Santa Ana, in honor of Saint Anne, on July 26, 1769. José Antonio Yorba, a youthful expedition soldier, and his nephew Juan Peralta, were given a Spanish land grant for the area. They developed the Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana for cattle grazing and productive farmland. In 1869, William H. Spurgeon purchased 70 acres from the Yorba family and plotted a town site. The new town was given the name Santa Ana. In 1886, Santa Ana was incorporated as a city. Orange County was separated from Los Angeles in 1889, and Santa Ana was designated the County Seat. Santa Ana is the financial and governmental center of Orange County and a major city in the state.

Geography & Climate
Santa Ana is located in the Santa Ana Valley in southwestern California. Situated on the Santa Ana River, it is near the Santa Ana Mountains and about 12 miles from the coast of the Pacific Ocean. The sun shines approximately 300 days out of the year. Year-round humidity at noon is usually around 53 percent.

Area: 27.2 square miles (2000)

Elevation: 110 feet above sea level

Latitude: 33.74 N

Longitude: 117.88 W

Average Temperatures: January, 54.0° F; July, 72.0° F; annual average, 65.0° F

Average Annual Precipitation: 13.17 inches

Population: 340,368 (as on July 2005)