Santa Barbara, California

Coastline at Point Conception, Santa Barbara County, California
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Line3509_-_Flickr_-_NOAA_Photo_Library.jpg
Author: Robert Schwemmer, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary


Santa Barbara is a city in southern California. It serves as the county seat of Santa Barbara County. Santa Barbara is on the longest stretch of the West Coast of the country facing the ocean to the south. It covers 41.9 sq mi (108.7 sq km) anhd has a population of 91,000 people (2012 estimate).

Human habitation in the Santa Barbara area has been traced back 13,000 years, to the ancestors of the Chumash Native Americans of today. The first European to arrive in the area was Portuguese explorer João Cabrilho in 1542. Over two hundred years passed before the first European settled in the area. They were Spanish missionaries and soldiers headed by Felipe de Neve, who arrived in 1782. This led to the founding of the Mission Santa Barbara on 4 December, 1786, the feast day of the city's patron saint.

In 1812, a massive earthquake caused a tsunami which wiped out the settlement and destroyed the mission. Following the quake, the mission was rebuilt on a grander scale, and the present building dates from this reconstruction. In 1833, the Mission was forced to secularize, and its land was distributed to various families. On 27 December, 1846, Santa Barbara was captured by American troops in the Mexican-American War, and was annexed into the United States.

Santa Barbara, California
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SB_street_04.jpg
Author: Superchilum


Mission Santa Barbara
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mission_Santa_Barbara.jpg
Author: Bernard Gagnon


At the turn of the 20th century, oil was discovered in Santa Barbara, resulting in the building of offshore oil derricks. Another earthquake in 1925 again destroyed much of Santa Barbara, though death toll stood at only 14 people. The oil industry in Santa Barbara went into decline after the Second World War, and the Summerland Oil Field eventually closed down.

Today Santa Barbara has a developed economy with major employers being the aerospace and defence industries. It also have a well developed hospitality industry with a good number of tourist attractions.

Cold Spring Canyon Arch Bridge
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cold_Spring_Canyon_Arch_Bridge.jpg
Author: Dreamyshade

Visiting Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara is about 90 miles (145 km) to the west-northwest of Los Angeles. From California, you can take US Highway 101 heading north. There are also Greyhound buses from LA. Amtrak provides two train services, the Pacific Surfliner (between Obispo and San Diego) and the Coast Starlight (between Seattle and Los Angeles) that stop at Santa Barbara.

Places of Interest in Santa Barbara, California

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