Where is Silicon Valley Located?

Silicon Valley is a term coined by a trade press editor in 1971. Insiders who use the term mean more than a place, they mean a culture too.

Located in the United States - in Northern California - the heartland of Silicon Valley runs from San Carlos and Redwood City through Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Santa Clara, San Jose, and Milpitas. Strong outposts are in Fremont, Hayward, San Leandro, Emeryville, Berkeley, San Ramon, Pleasanton, San Rafael, South San Francisco, Scotts Valley, and Monterey.

Given today's digitized home offices and telecommuting (or the local tradition of starting a business in one's garage), power centers might also be found in such lush foothills residential towns as Hillsborough, Woodside, Portola Valley, Atherton, the Los Altos area, Saratoga, Monte Sereno, and Los Gatos.

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Silicon Valley

Strong waves of creative energy have flowed in recent decades from a place known as Silicon Valley, encircling — and changing — the world. How it happened is explored through this website.

The phenomenon known since the 1970s as Silicon Valley can be traced to origins in the 1890s when Leland Stanford established a university in Palo Alto and urged that its students not only gain knowledge but be able to apply their learning in the real world.

Books & Films about Silicon Valley

SILICON VALLEY: A 100 Year Renaissance [DVD] introduces viewers to the inventors, scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs whose visions created the Silicon Valley phenomenon and its limitless consequences for the future.

Santa Clara Valley Historical Association

Recording Silicon Valley's History and the High-Technology Revolution