The Difference between San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and the Bay Area E...

My Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley in California state of USA has become a dream destination of young IT personnel and business entrepreneurs in the entire world. But most of them have very little factual information about the place.

Dnyandeep Foundation has decided to launch a portal website www.mysiliconvalley.net on the lines of www.mysangli.com and www.mykolhapur.net with much broader scope and objective. The word

"My " added as prefix has a special meaning which conveys affinity and self pride of the local residents about that place or region. MySiliconValley is for all residents Silicon Valley who take pride in being there.

The idea is to compile all information about bay area which is not found in other sites. Most of the websites popular here are related to IT and technical progress. They have lot of info about businesses and commercial ventures and establishments. Some sites are for specific to countries with further division into religious or social and cultural groups.

Scope - The website shall be catering the needs of all residents of bay area with special focus on immigrant population which needs to get familiar with the environment and culture of this IT and business innovation hub.

Objective - 

1. To strive for speedy assimilation of all immigrants in the bay area so that they get status of native residents, get familiar to history, geography, environment, governance and infra structural amenities.

2. To help new entrants by providing information about their day to day life requirements.

Proposed Main Sections of Website 

 1. History and geography of USA, California, Bay area and its Silicon Valley identity
2. Physical features like geology, water, soil, environment and changing seasons.
3. Plants and Trees, Wild animals
4. Roads and buildings, Transport systems
5. Counties and their administration
6. Water supply, Solid waste disposal, Electricity
7. Hospitals, Schools, Libraries, Govt. offices, Recreation centres, Shops and Malls
8. Local and regional problems.
9.  Feedback and visitors forum

I have compiled some basic information about above points, but need suggestions and information inputs from all about the scope and contents of the proposed website.

I hope that this website will open new vistas of progress and collaboration for Dnyandeep Infotech and Dnyandeep Foundation. 

Silent Valley (Local Environment) Part -9

The local environment in Silicon Valley is very attractive with clean roads, signals and signboards at all places, one or max. two story pitched roof houses with lawns and flowering horticulture and many tall trees.
Some of following screenshots will give general idea of the scenery.

Silicon Valley ( Climate) Part - 8

Silicon  valley is mainly a broad level alluvial plain averaging about 200’ above the sea level of the San Francisco Bay, nestled between the 2500’ high Santa Cruz Mountains to the west and the 4000’ ridges of Mt. Hamilton on the east.

Silicon Valley, as seen from over north San Jose, facing southbound towards Downtown San Jose, in June 2014  (Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Valley)

Climate 

The climate of Silicon Valley is a result of the latitude, topography and the close, but not direct, proximity to the vast Pacific Ocean, whose huge mass of water tends to moderate both high and low temperatures compared to more inland areas. The modest heights of the mountains provide some buffering from the full blast of the winter storms coming off of the ocean. Much of the rain (exceeding 50 inches of precipitation per year) from these storms is deposited on the windward side of the coastal Santa Cruz Mountains, leaving Santa Clara Valley in a rain shadow averaging less than 15 inches of precipitation per year. 

Snow is virtually unknown on the valley floor, but the higher ridges of the surrounding mountains occasionally receive some winter snow. The relative scarcity of rainfall might create water supply problems if the projected reoccurrences of drought occur as suggested by climate change models. This will effect what species of trees will be able to survive such low rainfall patterns. 

Seasons
Spring in  March-May. 
Summer in  June-August
Fall in  September-November
Winter in  December-February.

Soil

Many of the soils of Santa Clara Valley are also conducive to tree growth. They are primarily rich clay loams that have sufficient natural fertility for good tree growth and are fairly water retentive helping the trees survive the long dry summer season. The soils in Santa Clara Valley have a neutral to slightly alkaline pH range of 7.0 to 7.6

Silicon Valley ( public transport system) Part - 7

Bay Area provides diverse transportation network which includes approximately:

• 9,000 miles of bus routes
• 470 miles of rail transit
• 5 commuter ferry lines
• 5 public ports
• 3 major commercial airports
• 1,420 miles of highways
• 340 miles of carpool lanes
• 8 toll bridges
• 19,600 miles of local streets and roads
• 750 miles of bikeways. 

Bus and Rail Map - Visit www.vta.org.

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is an independent special district that provides sustainable, accessible, community-focused transportation options that are innovative, environmentally responsible, and promote the vitality of our region.

VTA provides bus, light rail, and para-transit services, as well as participates as a funding partner in regional rail service including Caltrain, Capital Corridor, and the Altamont Corridor Express. As the county’s congestion management agency, VTA is responsible for countywide transportation planning, including congestion management, design and construction of specific highway, pedestrian, and bicycle improvement projects, as well as promotion of transit oriented development.

VTA provides these services throughout the county, including the municipalities of Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga and Sunnyvale. VTA continually builds partnerships to deliver transportation solutions that meet the evolving mobility needs of Santa Clara County.

There are detailed maps available for download 
http://www.vta.org/getting-around/maps/bus-rail-map


511 is your one-stop phone and web source for up-to-the-minute Bay Area traffic, transit, rideshare, and bicycling information. It's FREE and available whenever you need it – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – from anywhere in the nine-county Bay Area. Call 511 or visit 511.org.

MUNI/San Francisco Municipal operates buses, trains, cable cars & the F-line heritage streetcar. The MUNI buses remain above ground while MUNI metro runs on rails and sometimes go underground. Bus stops come in many forms; small bus shelters, yellow paint on street poles, and white paint on streets. Metro stops can be found on an island in the middle of the street and stations. 

Silicon Valley involves a program of transportation improvements in the SVRT corridor that generally extends from the southern boundary of Alameda County in the City of Fremont through the cities of Milpitas, San Jose, and Santa Clara in Santa Clara County. These improvements include a planned 16-mile, six-station extension of the existing San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) system into Silicon Valley. 

The BART Silicon Valley program also includes other related projects and activities required to prepare the rail corridor for BART, such as relocation of existing UPRR tracks and utilities, drainage improvements, and grade separation projects within the alignment that are funded through other sources. BART Silicon Valley is being managed by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) in cooperation with BART. BART Silicon Valley will be constructed in phases. 

The Berryessa Extension is the first phase.VTA is extending the BART regional heavy rail system to Milpitas, San Jose and Santa Clara. The 16-mile extension will travel along the existing Union Pacific Railroad alignment south of the future Warm Springs Station in Fremont to Milpitas and North San Jose, and then will tunnel underneath downtown San Jose, rising to street level in Santa Clara. When completed, this fully grade-separated project is planned to include: six stations – one in Milpitas, four in San Jose and one in Santa Clara; a 5-mile tunnel in downtown San Jose; and a new maintenance and storage facility in Santa Clara. 

Silicon Valley ( Geo-physical nature) Part -6

 The Silicon  Valley runs the entire length of the Santa Clara county from north to south in bay area.
It is surrounded by the  hills of the Diablo Range on the East, and the Santa Cruz Mountains on the West. 
Salt marshes and wetlands lie in the northwestern part of the county, adjacent to the waters of San Francisco Bay.

The following google earth map shows the details of Silicon Valley.
 (Ref: https://goo.gl/maps/LKjgWWBDB6w)



The grey white portion of the map represents the total Bay area. At lower end is Gilroy. There is Morgan Hill in between San Jose and Gilroy.  Both Gilroy and Morgan Hill are away from San Jose. Thus San Francisco in North and San Jose in south limit the expanse of main Silicon Valley.

Geology

Santa Clara Valley was created by the sudden growth of the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Diablo Range during the later Cenozoic era.  It is is a structural valley, created by mountain building as opposed to an erosional valley, or a valley which has undergone the wearing away of the Earth's surface by natural agents. 

The underlying geology of the Santa Cruz Mountains was also formed by the sediment of the ancient seas, where marine shale points to Miocene origin. 

The Franciscan formation in tliis area consists of sandstone, silt- stone, shale, conglomerate, radiolarian chert, and altered basaltic and andesitic lavas and agglomerates. These types are intruded by basalt and andesite and by serpentinized nltrabasic rocks, diorite, gabbro, and dia-base. Glaucophane-bearing metamorphic rocks occur locally at the contact of bodies of serpentine and in isolated areas a few feet to a few hundred feet in diameter. 

Sandstone and Shale. Sandstone, and smaller amounts of inter-bedded siltstone and shale, comprise more than 90 percent of the Fran-ciscan formation in this area. The total thickness of these rock types cannot be estimated, but there is at least 6,000 feet exposed east of the Calaveras fault, and the total thickness is undoubtedly much greater. The typical fresh sandstone is a dark-gray medium-grained massive rock, cut by many tight and almost invisible joints and fractures filled with calcite. 

AAHien weathered, it is greenish gray, greenish brown, or buff, and the joints are so closely spaced that it is often impossible to determine the attitude except where the sandstone is interbedded with shale or where the exposures are unusually good. The rock is commonly rather thick bedded, but thin-bedded sandstone and siltstone occur in many places. 

 The sandstones can easily be distinguished from those of other formations by the almost ubiquitous occurrence of flakes of pearly transparent muscovite. 

Today one can still find evidence of this in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where shark's teeth and the remains of maritime life are still found as high as Scotts Valley, a city nestled in the mountains (Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Clara_Valley#Geology)

Active Earth quake Zone 
There are two main faults 
1. Rodgers Creek Fault, running from near Santa Rosa into the San Pablo Bay, and 
2. the Hayward Fault, stretching from below San Jose through the Oakland and Berkeley hills into West Contra Costa County

Ref: http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/10/20/2-bay-area-earthquake-faults-found-to-be-connected/

Since 1979, there have been four earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater, leading up to the recent 7.1 Loma Prieta earthquake. Geologists are now concerned that the strain along the faults has built up again and that more large earthquakes are possible. If the level of earthquake activity during the next few decades is similar to activity between 1836 and 1911, then the probability of a magnitude 7 earthquake in the next 30 years is about 75 percent.

1979	M 6.0 Undetermined fault Coyote Lake Earthquake
1980	M 6.0 Mt. Diablo-Greenville fault Livermore Earthquake
1984	M 6.3 Calaveras fault Morgan Hill Earthquake
1989	M 7.1 San Andreas fault Loma Prieta Earthquake
2001	M 5.1 West Napa fault Napa Earthquake
2007	M 5.6 Calaveras fault

Environmental Aspects 

37,388 metric tons of Mercury  were extracted from the New Almaden mine south of San Jose and north west of Santa Cruz during the 19th century. The area, closed for many years, resulted in pollution of the Guadalupe River and South San Francisco Bay. After final cessation of intermittent mining operations during the 20th century,  the area was purchased by Santa Clara County for a park and designated a National Historic Landmark.

Silicon Valley ( History of California) Part - 5

Silicon valley is located in California (CA) state in USA. It is necessary to learn the history of California in order to understand the historical linkages to present socio-political culture in the bay area.

The history of California can be divided into:

1. Native American period 

California was settled from the North by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years. It was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-columbian North America.

Early residents of California  were

• Anasazi on southwest of CA
• On Northwest - Haida & Kwakiutl
• Iroquois Confederacy in Eastern woodlands.

After contact with Spanish explorers, most of the Native Americans died out from European diseases.

2. European exploration period from 1542 to 1769

Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado explored south western North America in search of gold 1492. In 1519, Spanish Hernand Cortes captured Aztec Empire ( Mexico)

3. Spanish colonial period, 1769 to 1821 

In 1769, Father Junipero Serra built the first Spanish Mission in California.
After the Portola expedition of 1769–70, Spanish missionaries began setting up 21 California missions on or near the coast of Alta( Upper) California, beginning in San Diego. During the same period, Spanish military forces built several forts (presidios) and three small towns (pueblos). Two of the pueblos would eventually grow into the cities of Los Angeles and San Jose.

In 1776 Americans declared their independence from British rule.

Settlers began moving to California in 1800s.

4. Mexican period, 1821 to 1848 

After Mexican Independence was won in 1821, California fell under the jurisdiction of the  First Mexican Empire. Fearing the influence of the Roman Catholic church over their newly independent nation, the Mexican government closed all the missions  and nationalised the church's property. They left behind a small “Californio" (white Hispanic) population of several thousand families, with a few small military garrisons.

In 1846 settlers rebelled against Mexican rule during the Bear Flag Revolt.

The California Republic was short lived; the same year marked the outbreak of the Mexican–American War (1846–48).] When Commodore John D. Sloat of the United States Navy sailed into Monterey Bay and began the military occupation of California by the United States, Northern California capitulated in less than a month to the United States forces.

5. United States statehood

After a series of defensive battles in Southern California, the Treaty of Cahuenga was signed by the Californios on January 13, 1847, securing American control in California.

Following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the war, the western territory of Alta California, became the United States state of CaliforniaAfter the Mexican-American War of 1846-48, Mexico was forced to relinquish any claim to California to the United States.

The unexpected discovery of Gold in 1849 produced a spectacular Gold Rush in Northern California, attracting hundreds of thousand of ambitious young men from around the world.

 Only a few struck it rich, and many returned home disappointed. Most appreciated the other economic opportunities in California, especially in agriculture, and brought their families to join them.

California became the 31st US state in 1850.

Flag of California State. Ref : https://en.wikipedia.org

Chinese immigrants increasingly came under attack from nativists; they were forced out of industry and agriculture and into chinatowns in the larger cities.

As gold petered out, California increasingly became a highly productive agricultural society. The coming of the railroads in 1869 linked its rich economy with the rest of the nation, and attracted a steady stream of migrants.

In the late 19th century, Southern California, especially Los Angeles, started to grow rapidly.which continues to this present day.















  

Silicon Valley ( Road Network) Part - 4

Silicon valley has excellent road network with Interstate 101 and 280 Freeways running south end to north end. There are many exit and entry points to connect Freeways with local road network.

Interstate 280 (Junipero Serra Freeway and Sinclair Freeway) comprises both an alternate and commuter route from San Francisco to San Jose. Bypassing the more industrial and crowded U.S. 101, Interstate 280 is eight lanes throughout, following the San Andreas fault line along the San Francisco peninsula.

It was  originally planned to connect it to Interstate 80 near the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. It used to extend as far as Third Street, but now terminates just south of the new AT&T Ballpark, where it transitions onto King Street and ultimately the Embarcadero. There are no current plans to construct the remainder of I-280 at this time, but it remains as a proposed route.

View of Freeway 280

There are many websites which indicate traffic conditions on freeways(www.nbcbayarea.com/traffic) which help travellers to choose less traffic route.

View of U.S. 101 north. A two-lane off-ramp (Exit 384) follows for Interstates 280 and 680 north. Photo taken 03/25/16.

( Photos Ref : http://www.interstate-guide.com/i-280_ca.html)

 

 

Ref : http://www.aaccessmaps.com/show/map/us/ca/bayarea 

Silicon Valley - (Rail Transit) part -3

The Caltrain facility is available for many cities in Silicon Valley from Gilroy to San Francisco

Ref : http://www.caltrain.com/stations/systemmap.html

Refer the site http://www.caltrain.com for time table, tickets and other information about Caltrain 

The Total Rail Transit Map is shown below

Silicon Valley ( Urban Areas) Part - 2

As I mentioned earlier, Silicon Valley is contained by the boundaries of Santa Clara County. It also includes Scotts Valley of Santa Cruz County ,  Fremont of Alameda County, and some of San Mateo County

The County of Santa Clara is located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay and encompasses 1,312 square miles. The fertile Santa Clara Valley runs the entire length of the county from north to south, ringed by the rolling hills of the Diablo Range on the east, and the Santa Cruz Mountains on the west. Salt marshes and wetlands lie in the northwestern part of the county, adjacent to the waters of San Francisco Bay.

Today, the County is a major employment center for the region, providing more than a quarter of all jobs in the Bay Area. It has one of the highest median family incomes in the country, and a wide diversity of cultures, backgrounds and talents. The County of Santa Clara continues to attract people from all over the world.

The County is home to three major universities - Stanford University, Santa Clara University and San Jose State University - as well as excellent community colleges.

Local museums and art galleries include The Tech Museum of Innovation, the Rosicrucian Museum, the Children's Discovery Museum, the San Jose Museum of Art, the Triton Museum of Art and many others. There are also abundant performing arts venues including opera, symphonies, musical theatre, repertory theatre, concerts, and children's musical theatre.

 Additionally, there are many other cities and one town – Los Gatos – that occupy Santa Clara County. West San Jose, South San Jose, Blossom Valley, Evergreen, North San Jose, Robertsville, Santa Teresa – to name a few!


Cities and Towns in Silicon Valley


1. Palo Alto, home to Stanford University, is on the northwest edge of Santa Clara County. Great schools, fabulous downtown, and lovely old neighbourhoods make Palo Alto perhaps the most desired (and most expensive) part of the county.

2. Mountain View -

3. Los Altos Hills.

4. Los Altos

5. Sunnyvale

6. Cupertino

7. Santa Clara, which is home to the beautiful Mission Santa Clara and Santa Clara University. The city prides itself on running its own utiliites and keeping the cost low to residents.

8. Milpitas rests between North San Jose and Fremont. Many consider it an ideal commute location.

9. San Jose - Within Santa Clara County, the largest city is San Jose.
Some  Districts in San Jose

The Rosegarden and Shasta-Hanchett neightbourhoods  lie between the city of Santa Clara and downtown San Jose. The streets, large trees, and lovely architecture from the 1920s can be seen here.
From these neighbourhoods, it’s about 2 miles to downtown San Jose in one direction, and Santa Clara University in the other. There is almost every style of historic housing here: Victorian, Mediterranean, Tudor, Craftsman, Ranch, Cape Cod, and many more.

Downtown San Jose includes many districts, such as Japantown, Naglee Park, and the Vendome District. Each of these three downtown communities enjoys a close-knit community spirit, nicely maintained and updated historic homes, and a distinctive sense of place in history. Naglee Park is very near to San Jose State University.

The Berryessa district was once well known for farms and ranches along the scenic east foothills of San Jose.

Alum Rock is an area of “old San Jose” where the monied folks would set up homes along a lovely golf course and near the once exceedingly popular hot springs.  There was a trolley line  from San Jose’s downtown to Alum Rock Park and  people used to  picnic and enjoy the hot springs for the day. The area remains a destination even now, with the expansive park, attracting hikers and picnic groups. The areas into the foothills, and near the San Jose Country Club, are older and include many historic homes as well as views.

The Cambrian Park area sits between Willow Glen, Campbell, Almaden Valley, and Los Gatos.

Almaden Valley made a name for itself as a mine for quicksilver or Mercury. At one time it was the largest quicksilver mine in the world. Mercury was an important element in getting gold out of the rock that contained it, so the mine bustled in the gold rush era. Almaden Valley  is a high-end suburb with safe neighborhoods and great schools.

Willow Glen stretches from downtown San Jose to Cambrian Park and Campbell. The downtown area, Lincoln Avenue, has many unique shops and restaurants and is a popular place for people to mill about and window shop on weekends. The Christmas season draws many people to Willow Glen as the residents tend to go all-out in lighted decorations for December. The Willow Glen district is one of the most beautiful in San Jose.

10. Saratoga  has a classy town area with fine dining and interesting shops, and a distinct personality. Saratoga is also home to the Mountain Winery and Villa Montalvo.

11. Campbell  like many parts of Silicon Valley, was once a farming community full of fruit orchards.  Campbell has an  downtown area that is older and nicely updated, so it attracts a lot of traffic on foot and bike as well as by car.

 12. Monte Sereno

13. Los Gatos is the gateway to Silicon Valley from the coastal cities of Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley.

The middle of the county is held by

“The South County” areas include Gilroy (best known for garlic and The Garlic Festival each July) and Morgan Hill, once very popular for ranches and horse country, but now largely suburban.

Silicon Valley - The Dream Destination of IT graduates Part -1

In historical times, California was land of gold and there was influx of immigrants in search of gold. That Gold rush period is over. But now, Silicon Valley in California has emerged as a land of new virtual information currency which is far more valuable than gold.

Silicon Valley has attracted IT professionals from India as a place of innovations, start-ups and birth place of main IT companies ruling the world.

Many maps are available about Silicon valley which give more details like roads, city boundaries and IT company locations. See one sample below. (Ref : http://www.startup-book.com)

It is a dream of every Indian IT graduate to at least visit this place once and get the inspiration for building career. It is observed that there is lot of ignorance about Silicon Valley as its location and expanse.

At lease to me, I was thinking that California means Silicon Valley.  As I started reading information about it, I realised that it is a very small part of California state.

Area and population comparison will give more perspective view of Silicon valley as compared to  India, USA, California and Maharashtra state.

Comparison of India and America

India -
Land Area - 1,269,000  Square miles          Population - 1,311,051,000

Maharashtra State  -
Land area -  1, 18,808 square miles                       Population 112,372,972


USA - United States of America

Land Area -3,531,905  Square miles    Population-    318,857,056

Thus it can be seen that USA is about 3 times in size as compared to India but its population is 1/3 times that of India.

California State in USA 

Land area - 155,779  Square miles                     Population - 38,802,500

As compared with Maharashtra state in India, it much smaller in size as well as population.


California, a western U.S. state, stretches from the Mexican border along the Pacific for nearly 900 miles. Its terrain includes cliff-lined beaches, redwood forest, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Central Valley farmland and the Mojave Desert. The city of Los Angeles is the seat of the Hollywood entertainment industry. Hilly San Francisco is known for the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island and cable cars.
There are 9 counties in California. 

Alameda County: east bay
Contra Costa County: east bay
Marin County: north bay
Napa County: north bay
San Francisco County
San Mateo County: the peninsula
Santa Clara County
Solano County: the delta
Sonoma County: north bay

 Silicon Valley - 

 BIRTHPLACE OF SILICON VALLEY

Stanford alumni David Packard and William Hewlett in their famous Palo Alto garage.

In 1939, with the encouragement of their professor and mentor, Frederick Terman, Stanford alumni David Packard and William Hewlett established a little electronics company in a Palo Alto garage. That garage would later be dubbed "the Birthplace of Silicon Valley.  

(Ref. -https://www.stanford.edu/about/history/history_ch3.html)

The San Francisco Bay Area, located in Northern California, consists of nine counties, 101 cities, and comprises 7,000 square miles. All of the region's nine counties share the San Francisco Bay. With 7.1 million residents, the San Francisco Bay Area is the fifth most populous metropolitan area in the United States.

It is seen that Silicon valley is a very small part of California state and is comparable to one district in Maharashtra. One can travel end to end of Silicon valley in just one hours drive.

Just see the of Pune, Mumbai and Bangalore in comparison to Silicon Valley's population of 7 million
Population of Pune - 2.8 million, Population of Bangalore - 8.5 million, Population of Mumbai - 12.5 million.

Thus population wise it is equivalent to Bangalore city.

The center point of Silicon Valley  is Santa Clara County.

Within Santa Clara County, which has a population of about 1.8 million people, the largest city is San Jose, where just under 1 million people live. San Jose  includes many districts, each with their own history, personality, charm, and amenities. Additionally, there are many other cities and one town – Los Gatos – that occupy Santa Clara County. 

Other town include  Saratoga, Monte Sereno, Campbell, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Palo Alto, Santa Clara, Milpitas, plus, in the south county, Morgan Hill, and Gilroy. In addition to these places in Santa Clara County, Silicon Valley edges up into Alameda County (Fremont and Hayward), San Mateo County (notably Menlo Park and Redwood City/Redwood Shores), Santa Cruz County (Scotts Valley and Santa Cruz), and Monterey County (Salinas).

--- To be continued