The Santa Ana Valley is located in

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, ...

and is bisected by the

Santa Ana River The Santa Ana River is the largest river entirely within Southern California in the United States. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows for most of its length through San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, before cutting throug ...

. The valley is home to most of Orange County's central business districts. The cities of

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-mos ...

Buena Park Buena Park (''Buena'', Spanish for "Good") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census its population was 84,034. It is the location of several tourist attractions, namely Knott's Berry Farm. It is about 12 mil ...

Costa Mesa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge of ...

, Fullerton,

Irvine Irvine may refer to: Places On Earth Antarctica *Irvine Glacier * Mount Irvine (Antarctica) Australia * Irvine Island *Mount Irvine, New South Wales Canada * Irvine, Alberta *Irvine Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom *Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scot ...

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower * Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum ...

, Placentia, Santa Ana, and

Yorba Linda Yorba Linda is a suburban city in northeastern Orange County, California, United States, approximately southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. It is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and had a population of 68,336 at the 2020 census. ...

are located in the Santa Ana Valley.

History

This valley was named Vallejo de Santa Ana in 1769 after the

Gaspar de Portolà Gaspar is a given name, given and/or surname of French, German, Portuguese language, Portuguese, and Spanish language, Spanish origin, cognate to Casper (given name) or Casper (surname). It is a name of biblical origin, per Saint Gaspar, one of t ...

expedition, of which Friar

Junípero Serra Junípero Serra y Ferrer (; ; ca, Juníper Serra i Ferrer; November 24, 1713August 28, 1784) was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Order. He is credited with establishing the Franciscan Missions in the Sier ...

was a part, as well as Sargeant

José Antonio Yorba José Antonio Yorba (July 20, 1743 – January 16, 1825), also known as Don José Antonio Yorba I, was a Spanish soldier and early settler of Spanish California. Spanish soldier Born in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia (San Saturnino) in Catalonia, Spain ...

, and José Manuel Nieto. The mission located closest to the Santa Ana Valley is

Mission San Juan Capistrano Mission San Juan Capistrano ( es, Misión San Juan Capistrano) is a Spanish missions in California, Spanish mission in San Juan Capistrano, California, San Juan Capistrano, Orange County, California, Orange County, California. Founded November 1 ...

, which was built east of the

San Joaquin Hills The San Joaquin Hills are a low mountain range of the Peninsular Ranges System, located in coastal Orange County, California. They extend in a northwest–southeast direction, starting in the northwest in Newport Beach at the southern edge of t ...

, in the present day city of

San Juan Capistrano San Juan Capistrano ( Spanish for " St. John of Capistrano") is a city in Orange County, California, located along the Orange Coast. The population was 34,593 at the 2010 census. San Juan Capistrano was founded by the Spanish in 1776, when St. ...

Ranchos

The historic

Ranchos of California The Spanish and Mexican governments made many concessions and land grants in Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish Concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an inducement fo ...

in the Santa Ana Valley area: *

Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana was a Spanish land concession in present-day Orange County, California, given by Spanish Alta California Governor José Joaquín de Arrillaga in 1810 to Jose Antonio Yorba and his nephew Pablo Peralta. The grant exte ...

Rancho San Joaquin Rancho San Joaquin, the combined Rancho Cienega de las Ranas and Rancho Bolsa de San Joaquin, was a Mexican land grant in the San Joaquin Hills, within present-day Orange County, California. It was granted to José Antonio Andres Sepúlveda ...

Rancho Lomas de Santiago Rancho Lomas de Santiago was a Mexican land grant given by Mexican Governor Pío Pico to Teodosio Yorba in 1846. The name means "Hills of St. James". The rancho included parts of present-day Irvine and Tustin in what is now eastern Orange County ...

* Rancho San Juan Cajón de Santa Ana

History

Ranchos

See also