San Jose, California, United States. History, Economy, Climate etc
San Jose is the largest city in Northern California. San Jose is an economic, cultural and political center of Silicon Valley. San Jose is a global city. It is notable as a center of innovation, for its affluence, weather, and high cost of living. San Jose is one of the wealthiest major cities in the United States and the world.
LOCATION
Located in the center of the Santa Clara Valley, on the southern shore of San Francisco Bay. San Jose is shaken by moderate earthquakes on average one or two times a year.
The Guadalupe River runs from the Santa Cruz Mountains flowing north through San Jose, ending in the San Francisco Bay at Alviso.
HISTORY
San Jose was officially founded as California's first civilian settlement on 29 November 1777, the first city founded in the California. San Jose became part of the First Mexican Empire in 1821, after Mexico's won against the Spanish Crown in the War of Independence. On 11 July 1846, Captain Thomas Fallon conquered San Jose for the California Republic in the Mexican–American War, officially ending Mexican rule in Alta California.
By the 1990s, San Jose and the rest of Silicon Valley had become the global center for the high tech and internet industries, making it California's fastest-growing economy.
POPULATION
It is the third most populous city in California after Los Angeles and San Diego and the tenth most populous in United States.
EDUCATION
San Jose is home to several colleges and universities. The largest is San Jose State University, which was founded by the California legislature in 1862.
CLIMATE
San Jose, like most of the Bay Area, has a Mediterranean climate. San Jose has an average of 301 days of sunshine and an annual mean temperature of 15.8 °C. Because of a more prominent rain shadow from the Santa Cruz Mountains, Downtown San Jose experiences the lightest rainfall in the city. With the light rainfall, San Jose and its suburbs experience about 300 fully or partly sunny days a year. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from around 10 °C in December and January to around 21.1 °C in July and August.
COMMUNICATION
Rail service to and from San Jose is provided by Amtrak. VTA also operates many bus routes in San Jose and the surrounding communities, as well as offering paratransit services to local residents. Additionally, the Highway 17 Express bus line connects central San Jose with Santa Cruz. San Jose is served by Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport,two miles northwest of downtown, and by Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County a general aviation airport located in the eastern part of San Jose.
GOVERNMENT
The city has a council-manager government with a city manager nominated by the mayor and elected by the city council. The San Jose City Council is made up of ten council members elected by district, and a mayor elected by the entire city. During city council meetings, the mayor presides, and all eleven members can vote on any issue. The mayor has no veto powers. Council members and the mayor are elected to four-year terms. The City Manager is the chief administrative officer of the city.
ARCHITECTURE
San Jose has many examples of houses with fine architecture. Late 19th century and early 20th century styles exist in neighborhoods such as Hanchett Park, Naglee Park, Rose Garden, and Willow Glen. Notable architects include Frank Delos Wolfe, Theodore Lenzen, Charles McKenzie and Julia Morgan.
ECONOMY
The San Jose Metropolitan Area has the most millionaires and the most billionaires in the United States. San Jose has the most expensive housing market in the country and the fifth most expensive housing market in the world. Major global tech companies including Cisco Systems, eBay, Cadence Design Systems, Adobe Systems, PayPal, Brocade, Samsung, Acer, and Western Digitalmaintain their headquarters in San Jose, in the center of Silicon Valley.
The cost of living in San Jose and the surrounding areas is among the highest in California and the nation.
SILICON VALLEY
The large concentration of high-technology engineering, computer, and microprocessor companies around San Jose has led the area to be known as Silicon Valley. San Jose residents produce more U.S. patents than any other city. By April 2018, Google was in the process of planning the biggest tech campus in Silicon Valley in San Jose.