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Santa Barbara County, California

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158-605: Santa Barbara County , officially the County of Santa Barbara ( Spanish : Condado de Santa Bárbara ), is a county located in Southern California . As of the 2020 census , the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara , and the largest city is Santa Maria . Santa Barbara County comprises the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area . Most of the county

316-656: A Spanish-based creole language called Chavacano developed in the southern Philippines. However, it is not mutually intelligible with Spanish. The number of Chavacano-speakers was estimated at 1.2 million in 1996. The local languages of the Philippines also retain significant Spanish influence, with many words derived from Mexican Spanish , owing to the administration of the islands by Spain through New Spain until 1821, until direct governance from Madrid afterwards to 1898. Ventura County, California Ventura County ( / v ɛ n ˈ t ʊər ə / )

474-603: A considerable number of words from Arabic , as well as a minor influence from the Germanic Gothic language through the period of Visigoth rule in Iberia. In addition, many more words were borrowed from Latin through the influence of written language and the liturgical language of the Church. The loanwords were taken from both Classical Latin and Renaissance Latin , the form of Latin in use at that time. According to

632-475: A considerable range in climate because of differences in topography between one part of the county and another. Rainfall is limited in summer and crops have to be irrigated. The average annual temperature is near 60 °F at low elevations near the ocean, in the 50s over most of the northern two-thirds of the county, and less than 45 °F in the Topatopa Mountains . The annual range in temperature

790-522: A dramatic change in the pronunciation of its sibilant consonants , known in Spanish as the reajuste de las sibilantes , which resulted in the distinctive velar [x] pronunciation of the letter ⟨j⟩ and—in a large part of Spain—the characteristic interdental [θ] ("th-sound") for the letter ⟨z⟩ (and for ⟨c⟩ before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ ). See History of Spanish (Modern development of

948-482: A first language by Spaniards and educated Filipinos ( Ilustrados ). Despite a public education system set up by the colonial government, by the end of Spanish rule in 1898, only about 10% of the population had knowledge of Spanish, mostly those of Spanish descent or elite standing. Spanish continued to be official and used in Philippine literature and press during the early years of American administration after

1106-426: A household in the county was $ 59,666, and the median income for a family was $ 65,285. Males had a median income of $ 45,310, versus $ 32,216 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 24,600. About 6.4% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line , including 11.6% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those aged 65 or over. According to an updated 2005 US Census, median household income

1264-474: A large economic impact in the northern portion of the county and continues to be the site of frequent satellite launches. Agriculture is a major industry. Strawberries are the county's top crop, with $ 413 million in production making up more than a third of all county agricultural production. Wine grapes are typically number two. In 2022, cauliflower was number two due to the weather and popularity of cauliflower rice . County farmers began growing hemp after it

1422-406: A large military base, Vandenberg Space Force Base , and thus military interests are prominent. These influences have created a Republican-leaning northern half. The southern portion of Santa Barbara county has had an economy based on tourism, with a significant percentage of people with white-collar jobs, formerly in aerospace but more recently in software and other high-tech pursuits. Additionally,

1580-478: A long history in the territory of the current-day United States dating back to the 16th century. In the wake of the 1848 Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty , hundreds of thousands of Spanish speakers became a minoritized community in the United States. The 20th century saw further massive growth of Spanish speakers in areas where they had been hitherto scarce. According to the 2020 census, over 60 million people of

1738-508: A primarily Hassaniya Arabic -speaking territory, Spanish was officially spoken as the language of the colonial administration during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Today, Spanish is present in the partially-recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as its secondary official language, and in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf ( Algeria ), where the Spanish language is still taught as

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1896-557: A referendum, this effort was defeated by a 3-1 margin. In 2006, northern county organizations initiated a similar secession proposal, to create a proposed "Mission County." Then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed a formation commission to research the viability of the proposed northern county, which reached the conclusion, stated in its final report released on March 28, 2005, that "the proposed County, upon formation in 2006, would not be economically viable at current levels of service." The proposed new Mission County would have included

2054-617: A second language features characteristics involving the variability of the vowel system. While far from its heyday during the Spanish protectorate in Morocco , the Spanish language has some presence in northern Morocco , stemming for example from the availability of certain Spanish-language media. According to a 2012 survey by Morocco's Royal Institute for Strategic Studies (IRES), penetration of Spanish in Morocco reaches 4.6% of

2212-531: A second language, largely by Cuban educators. The number of Spanish speakers is unknown. Spanish is also an official language of the African Union . Spanish was an official language of the Philippines from the beginning of Spanish administration in 1565 to a constitutional change in 1973. During Spanish colonization , it was the language of government, trade, and education, and was spoken as

2370-411: A spark for the modern environmental movement, coated the beaches and Santa Barbara Harbor with a thick crude in 1969. In recent years, major oil companies have left the area, turning over their oil leases to small independents, and decommissioning some leases areas that were no longer profitable. Concerns about the economy were foremost when, in 2014, Measure P was placed on the county ballot. If approve by

2528-416: Is cognate to the root word of satisfacer ("to satisfy"), and hecho ("made") is similarly cognate to the root word of satisfecho ("satisfied"). Compare the examples in the following table: Some consonant clusters of Latin also produced characteristically different results in these languages, as shown in the examples in the following table: In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish underwent

2686-666: Is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe . Today, it is a global language with about 500 million native speakers, mainly in the Americas and Spain , and about 600 million when including second language speakers. Spanish is the official language of 20 countries , as well as one of the six official languages of

2844-556: Is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of California . As of the 2020 census , the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard , and the county seat is the city of Ventura . Ventura County comprises the Oxnard–Thousand Oaks–Ventura, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the Greater Los Angeles area (Los Angeles–Long Beach, CA Combined Statistical Area). It

3002-794: Is also considered the southernmost county along the California Central Coast . Two of the Channel Islands are part of the county: Anacapa Island , which is the most visited island in Channel Islands National Park , and San Nicolas Island . Ventura County was historically inhabited by the Chumash people , who also settled much of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties, with their presence dating back 10,000–12,000 years. The Chumash were hunter-gatherers , fishermen, and also traders with

3160-517: Is between 70 °F and 80 °F on the Coastal Plain and as much as 100 °F in the interior. For July, the average maximum temperature is between 70 °F and 80 °F on the Coastal Plain but exceeds 90 °F in the upper part of the Ventura- and Cuyama River Valleys. For January, the average minimum temperature is near 40 °F on the coast but in the lower 30s and upper 20s in

3318-454: Is estimated that about 486 million people speak Spanish as a native language , making it the second most spoken language by number of native speakers . An additional 75 million speak Spanish as a second or foreign language , making it the fourth most spoken language in the world overall after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi with a total number of 538 million speakers. Spanish is also

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3476-761: Is heavily influenced by Venezuelan Spanish. In addition to sharing most of its borders with Spanish-speaking countries, the creation of Mercosur in the early 1990s induced a favorable situation for the promotion of Spanish language teaching in Brazil . In 2005, the National Congress of Brazil approved a bill, signed into law by the President , making it mandatory for schools to offer Spanish as an alternative foreign language course in both public and private secondary schools in Brazil. In September 2016 this law

3634-526: Is in greenbelts between the cities. Because of this, its private low-key location, its country feel, and its proximity to Los Angeles, the Conejo Valley area has become a very attractive place to live. Like most areas of Ventura County, it once had relatively inexpensive real estate, but prices have risen sharply. For example, real estate in Newbury Park has increased in price by more than 250% in

3792-569: Is known for its steep coastal terrain with little beach access, nearby County Line Beach in the south coast community of Solromar is part of the fabled Malibu coastline. Ventura County has plenty of other surf spots along the coast including the notable surf spot, Rincon Point , on the Santa Barbara County-line. The Channel Islands in Ventura County are Anacapa and San Nicholas Islands . Ventura County has

3950-501: Is part of the California Central Coast . Mainstays of the county's economy include engineering, resource extraction (particularly petroleum extraction and diatomaceous earth mining), winemaking, agriculture, and education. The software development and tourism industries are important employers in the southern part of the county. Southern Santa Barbara County is sometimes considered the cultural boundary of Southern California / Northern California . The Santa Barbara County area, including

4108-732: Is related to Castile ( Castilla or archaically Castiella ), the kingdom where the language was originally spoken. The name Castile , in turn, is usually assumed to be derived from castillo ('castle'). In the Middle Ages , the language spoken in Castile was generically referred to as Romance and later also as Lengua vulgar . Later in the period, it gained geographical specification as Romance castellano ( romanz castellano , romanz de Castiella ), lenguaje de Castiella , and ultimately simply as castellano (noun). Different etymologies have been suggested for

4266-422: Is small, conserving water and obtaining water from additional sources outside of Ventura County are vital concerns. The climate, though mostly mild and dry, varies because of the variations in topography through for instance differences in elevation and physical geography. The Santa Clara River is the principal waterway. Lake Casitas , an artificial reservoir, is the largest body of water. The highest peaks in

4424-844: Is spoken by very small communities in Angola due to Cuban influence from the Cold War and in South Sudan among South Sudanese natives that relocated to Cuba during the Sudanese wars and returned for their country's independence. Spanish is also spoken in the integral territories of Spain in Africa, namely the cities of Ceuta and Melilla and the Canary Islands , located in the Atlantic Ocean some 100 km (62 mi) off

4582-474: Is the current chief probation officer . The department was established in 1909 following the enactment of California's first probation laws. After 106 years in service, there are currently 241 probation officers and juvenile institutions officers keeping tabs on 6,600 adults and 1,350 juveniles as of 2015. The probation department has locations in Santa Maria , Santa Barbara , and Lompoc . For most of

4740-813: Is the de facto national language of the country, Spanish is often used in public services and notices at the federal and state levels. Spanish is also used in administration in the state of New Mexico . The language has a strong influence in major metropolitan areas such as those of Los Angeles , Miami , San Antonio , New York , San Francisco , Dallas , Tucson and Phoenix of the Arizona Sun Corridor , as well as more recently, Chicago , Las Vegas , Boston , Denver , Houston , Indianapolis , Philadelphia , Cleveland , Salt Lake City , Atlanta , Nashville , Orlando , Tampa , Raleigh and Baltimore-Washington, D.C. due to 20th- and 21st-century immigration. Although Spanish has no official recognition in

4898-494: The California State Assembly , Santa Barbara is split between the 35th Assembly District , represented by Democrat Jasmeet Bains , and the 37th Assembly District , represented by Democrat Gregg Hart . The Santa Barbara County Sheriff provides court protection, jail management, and coroner service for the entire county. It provides patrol and detective services for the unincorporated areas of

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5056-566: The Chumash Wilderness in the northernmost portion, adjacent to Kern County , as well as the large Sespe Wilderness and portions of both the Dick Smith Wilderness and Matilija Wilderness (both of these protected areas straddle the line with Santa Barbara County). All of the wilderness areas are within the jurisdiction of Los Padres National Forest. The coastal plain was formed by the deposition of sediments from

5214-692: The Mojave , Yokuts , and Tongva Indians. The Chumash are also known for their rock paintings and for their great basketry. Chumash Indian Museum in Thousand Oaks has several reconstructed Chumash houses ('apa) and there are several Chumash pictographs in the county, including the Burro Flats Painted Cave in Simi Valley. The plank canoe, called a tomol in Chumash , was important to their way of life. Canoe launching points on

5372-681: The Orcutt , Lompoc , Santa Maria Valley, and Cat Canyon fields provided jobs and a steady supply of oil, gas, and asphalt since the first oil discovery in the Solomon Hills in 1901. Protests have marked periodic resistance to the impact of oil drilling over the years. A protest in 1929 in Santa Barbara expressed the frustration of the wealthy who came here to get away from it all. The largest spill in California waters , credited as

5530-674: The Santa Clara River and from the streams of the Calleguas-Conejo drainage system. It has a mean elevation of fifty feet (15 m), but at points south of the Santa Clara River, the elevation is as much as 150 feet (46 m), and at points north of the river, as much as 300 feet (91 m). The coastal plain is generally known as the Oxnard Plain with the part that centers on Camarillo lying east of

5688-568: The Spanish as a First Foreign Language (SAFFL) initiative in March 2005. Spanish has historically had a significant presence on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba , Bonaire and Curaçao ( ABC Islands ) throughout the centuries and in present times. The majority of the populations of each island (especially Aruba) speaking Spanish at varying although often high degrees of fluency. The local language Papiamentu (Papiamento on Aruba)

5846-508: The Spanish–American War but was eventually replaced by English as the primary language of administration and education by the 1920s. Nevertheless, despite a significant decrease in influence and speakers, Spanish remained an official language of the Philippines upon independence in 1946, alongside English and Filipino , a standardized version of Tagalog . Spanish was briefly removed from official status in 1973 but reimplemented under

6004-634: The U.S. 101 corridor and sent population rising in West County cities as well. The largest population growth there has been in Camarillo, Oxnard, and Ventura. Development in the East County and along the US 101 corridor is rare today, because most of these cities, such as Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley, are approaching build-out. Although the area still has plenty of open space and land, almost all of it

6162-548: The United Nations . Spanish is the world's second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese ; the world's fourth-most spoken language overall after English , Mandarin Chinese, and Hindustani ( Hindi - Urdu ); and the world's most widely spoken Romance language. The country with the largest population of native speakers is Mexico . Spanish is part of the Ibero-Romance language group , in which

6320-468: The University of California, Santa Barbara contributes to a liberal populace. The southern portion of the county has a strong history of left-wing activism, with anti-war protests common in Santa Barbara. It is generally believed that the inspiration for Earth Day was the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill . Gaylord Nelson , the senator who proposed the idea, has never directly cited any direct cause for

6478-665: The Ventura River is a narrow valley north of Ventura . Ojai Valley is connected to the Ventura River Valley by San Antonio Creek. The small Upper Ojai Valley , east of Ojai Valley and 300 to 500 feet (91 to 152 m) higher, drains to the Ventura River on the west and to Santa Paula Creek on the east. Ojai and Upper Ojai Valleys are surrounded by mountains and are rich agricultural areas. The Ventura River flows south and drains an area of 226 square miles (590 km ). Over South Mountain and Oak Ridge, south of

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6636-480: The 13th century. Spanish colonialism in the early modern period spurred the introduction of the language to overseas locations, most notably to the Americas. As a Romance language, Spanish is a descendant of Latin. Around 75% of modern Spanish vocabulary is Latin in origin, including Latin borrowings from Ancient Greek. Alongside English and French , it is also one of the most taught foreign languages throughout

6794-571: The 18th century. Since commercial viticulture rebounded in the 1960s, Santa Barbara County has become a prominent viticultural region. The 2004 Alexander Payne film, Sideways , set in the Santa Ynez Valley , brought additional attention to the county as a wine region, especially for its Pinot noir wines. The region, also noted for its Chardonnay wines, is gaining a reputation for Rhone varietals including Syrah and Viognier . The areas planted with wine grapes are mixed in with

6952-404: The 2021–2022 school year alone. The local business process outsourcing industry has also helped boost the language's economic prospects. Today, while the actual number of proficient Spanish speakers is around 400,000, or under 0.5% of the population, a new generation of Spanish speakers in the Philippines has likewise emerged, though speaker estimates vary widely. Aside from standard Spanish,

7110-461: The 20th century, Santa Barbara County was a Republican stronghold. From 1920 to 1988, it was only carried by two Democrats: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson . However, the county has leaned to the left in recent years. Overall, Santa Barbara now usually supports Democratic candidates in Presidential and congressional elections. The last Republican to win a majority in the county

7268-595: The 20th century, Spanish was introduced to Equatorial Guinea and the Western Sahara , and to areas of the United States that had not been part of the Spanish Empire, such as Spanish Harlem in New York City . For details on borrowed words and other external influences upon Spanish, see Influences on the Spanish language . Spanish is the primary language in 20 countries worldwide. As of 2023, it

7426-482: The Chumash language that was spoken in Ventura County was Ventureño . Several place names in the county has originated from Chumash, including Ojai , which means moon, and Simi Valley, which originates from the word Shimiyi and refers to the stringy, thread-like clouds that typify the region. Others include Point Mugu from the word Muwu (meaning "beach"), Saticoy from the word Sa'aqtiko'y (meaning "sheltered for

7584-636: The Conejo Grade. Geographically East County is the end of the Santa Monica Mountains , in which the Conejo Valley is located, and where there is a considerable increase in elevation. Communities which are considered to be in the East County are Thousand Oaks , Newbury Park , Lake Sherwood , Hidden Valley , Santa Rosa Valley, part of Westlake Village, Oak Park , Moorpark, and Simi Valley. A majority of these communities are in

7742-476: The Conejo Valley. West County, which is everything west of the Conejo Grade, consists of communities such as Camarillo , Oxnard, Somis, Point Mugu, Port Hueneme, Ventura, Ojai, Santa Paula, and Fillmore. West County consists of some of the first developed cities in the county. The largest beach communities are located in West County on the coastline of the Channel Islands Harbor. Starting in

7900-654: The Equatoguinean education system and is the primary language used in government and business. Whereas it is not the mother tongue of virtually any of its speakers, the vast majority of the population is proficient in Spanish. The Instituto Cervantes estimates that 87.7% of the population is fluent in Spanish. The proportion of proficient Spanish speakers in Equatorial Guinea exceeds the proportion of proficient speakers in other West and Central African nations of their respective colonial languages. Spanish

8058-705: The Iberian Peninsula. These languages included Proto-Basque , Iberian , Lusitanian , Celtiberian and Gallaecian . The first documents to show traces of what is today regarded as the precursor of modern Spanish are from the 9th century. Throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era , the most important influences on the Spanish lexicon came from neighboring Romance languages — Mozarabic ( Andalusi Romance ), Navarro-Aragonese , Leonese , Catalan/Valencian , Portuguese , Galician , Occitan , and later, French and Italian . Spanish also borrowed

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8216-703: The King of Spain was now owned by the nation of Mexico. By the 1830s, Mission San Buenaventura was in a decline with fewer neophytes joining the mission. The number of cattle owned by the mission dropped from first to fifteenth ranking in the California Missions. The missions were secularized by the Mexican government in 1834 . The Mexican governors began granting land rights to Mexican Californians, often retiring soldiers. By 1846, there were 19 rancho grants in Ventura County. In 1836, Mission San Buenaventura

8374-703: The Las Posas-Simi area from the Santa Rosa Valley and Tierra Rejada Valley. The intermountain valley of the Santa Clara River is the most prominent valley in the county and trends east–southwest. The Santa Clara River drains an area of 1,605 square miles (4,160 km ) and flows from its headwaters in Los Angeles to where it empties into the Pacific. Its principal tributaries are Piru Creek , Santa Paula Creek, and Sespe Creek . The valley of

8532-576: The Mission. Fremont and the Battalion continued south to sign the Treaty of Cahuenga with General Andrés Pico . The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo formally transferred California to the United States in 1848. By 1849, a constitution had been adopted for the California territory. The new Legislature met and divided the pending state into 27 counties. At the time, the area that would become Ventura County

8690-469: The Northern Channel Islands , was first settled by Native Americans at least 13,000 years ago. Evidence for a Paleoindian presence has been found in the form of a fluted Clovis -like point found in the 1980s along the western Santa Barbara Coast, as well as the remains of Arlington Springs Man found on Santa Rosa Island in the 1960s. For thousands of years, the area was home to the Chumash tribe of Native Americans, complex hunter-gatherers who lived along

8848-424: The Old Spanish sibilants) for details. The Gramática de la lengua castellana , written in Salamanca in 1492 by Elio Antonio de Nebrija , was the first grammar written for a modern European language. According to a popular anecdote, when Nebrija presented it to Queen Isabella I , she asked him what was the use of such a work, and he answered that language is the instrument of empire. In his introduction to

9006-409: The Oxnard–Thousand Oaks–Ventura, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The United States Census Bureau ranked the Oxnard–Thousand Oaks–Ventura, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area as the 66th most populous metropolitan statistical area of the United States as of July 1, 2012. The Office of Management and Budget has further designated the Oxnard–Thousand Oaks–Ventura, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area as

9164-419: The Revelon Slough is called Pleasant Valley. Most of the arable land in the county is found on the coastal plain. Small coastal mountains rim Ventura County on its landward side. They range in elevation from 50 feet (15 m) along the coast south of the coastal plain, to about 3,100 feet (940 m) in the Santa Monica Mountains. The Santa Ynez Mountains, the Topatopa Mountains , and the Piru Mountains make up

9322-472: The Santa Barbara area or surrounding counties. A tribal homeland was established in 1901, the Santa Ynez Reservation . Following the Mexican secularization of the missions in the 1830s, the mission pasture lands were mostly broken up into large ranchos and granted mainly to prominent local citizens who already lived in the area. 604 of these land grants were later confirmed by the state of California, with 36 in Santa Barbara County. Santa Barbara County

9480-466: The Santa Clara River, are Las Posas Valley and Simi Valley. Las Posas Valley extends eastward from the Oxnard Plain almost to Simi Valley, which is in the east end of Ventura County. The city of Simi Valley is bounded on the east by the Santa Susana Mountains and on the south by the Simi Hills. To the south, over the Camarillo- and Las Posas Hills, are Santa Rosa- and Tierra Rejada Valleys, which extend from Camarillo eastward for ten miles (16 km). In

9638-460: The Santa Clarita Valley killing as many as 600 people, destroying 1,240 homes and flooding 7,900 acres (32 km ) of land, devastating farm fields and orchards. This was the single largest disaster to strike Ventura County and the second largest, in terms of lives lost, in the state. Ventura County can be separated into two major parts, East County and West County, which are divided by the Conejo Grade . East County consists of all cities east of

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9796-409: The Santa Ynez range in the Santa Ynez Valley are the towns of Solvang , Buellton , and Lompoc ; the unincorporated towns of Santa Ynez , Los Olivos and Ballard ; the unincorporated areas of Mission Hills and Vandenberg Village ; and Vandenberg Space Force Base , where the Santa Ynez River flows out to the sea. North of the Santa Ynez Valley are the cities of Santa Maria and Guadalupe , and

9954-424: The Spanish-speaking world, Spanish is called not only español but also castellano (Castilian), the language from the Kingdom of Castile , contrasting it with other languages spoken in Spain such as Galician , Basque , Asturian , Catalan/Valencian , Aragonese , Occitan and other minor languages. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the official language of

10112-502: The U.S. population were of Hispanic or Hispanic American by origin. In turn, 41.8 million people in the United States aged five or older speak Spanish at home, or about 13% of the population. Spanish predominates in the unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico , where it is also an official language along with English. Spanish is by far the most common second language in the country, with over 50 million total speakers if non-native or second-language speakers are included. While English

10270-399: The administration of Ferdinand Marcos two months later. It remained an official language until the ratification of the present constitution in 1987, in which it was re-designated as a voluntary and optional auxiliary language. Additionally, the constitution, in its Article XIV, stipulates that the Government shall provide the people of the Philippines with a Spanish-language translation of

10428-405: The age of 18 living with them, 51.4% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.5% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.8 and the average family size was 3.33. In the county, 24.9% of the population was under

10586-460: The age of 18, 13.3% was from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.1 males. The median income for a household in the county was $ 46,677, and the median income for a family was $ 54,042. Males had a median income of $ 37,997 versus $ 29,593 for females. The per capita income for

10744-449: The annual total is more than thirty-three inches. The drier parts of the county get less than five inches of rain annually, and the higher and wetter parts get more than 60 inches annually. Measureable amounts of rainfall in Ventura County are reported on thirty to thirty-five days annually, and half an inch or more on six to twelve days annually. In the northern parts of Ventura County, snowfall averages five inches or more per year, and along

10902-504: The census of 2000, there were 753,197 people, 243,234 households, and 182,911 families living in the county. The population density was 408 inhabitants per square mile (158/km ). There were 251,712 housing units at an average density of 136 per square mile (53/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 69.9% White , 5.4% Asian , 2.0% Black or African American , 0.9% Native American , 0.2% Pacific Islander , 17.7% from other races , and 3.9% from two or more races. About one third (33.4%) of

11060-444: The cities of Santa Barbara , Goleta , and Carpinteria , as well as the unincorporated areas of Hope Ranch , Summerland , Mission Canyon , Montecito , and Isla Vista , along with stretches of unincorporated area such as Noleta . The Gaviota Coast is a rural coastline north of Goleta. This last undeveloped stretch of Southern California coastline consists of dramatic bluffs , isolated beaches and terraced grasslands . North of

11218-470: The cities of Santa Maria, Lompoc, Guadalupe, Buellton, and Solvang, as well as the Cuyama Valley and Santa Ynez Valley, including Lake Cachuma . Most of the south coast of Santa Barbara County, along with the Channel Islands, would have remained with that county, with the exception of the stretch from Hollister Ranch to Point Conception . Most of the Los Padres National Forest also would have remained with Santa Barbara County. But in June 2006, voters rejected

11376-425: The city remains officially known as San Buenaventura, it is more commonly referred to as Ventura. The rail line to Northern California originally went through Saugus , Fillmore and Santa Paula, providing a boom to those communities along the line. In 1905, Tunnel #26 was completed between Chatsworth and Corriganville near Simi Valley, shortening the rail route. At a length of 7,369 feet (2,246 m), Tunnel #26

11534-684: The classic hispanus or hispanicus took the suffix -one from Vulgar Latin , as happened with other words such as bretón (Breton) or sajón (Saxon). Like the other Romance languages , the Spanish language evolved from Vulgar Latin , which was brought to the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans during the Second Punic War , beginning in 210 BC. Several pre-Roman languages (also called Paleohispanic languages )—some distantly related to Latin as Indo-European languages , and some that are not related at all—were previously spoken in

11692-473: The coast and in interior valleys leaving rock art in many locations, including Painted Cave . Europeans first contacted the Chumash in AD 1542, when three Spanish ships under the command of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo explored the area. The Santa Barbara Channel received its name from Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno when he sailed along the California coast in 1602; his ships entered the channel on December 4,

11850-500: The consonant written b (a bilabial with plosive and fricative allophones). In modern Spanish, there is no difference between the pronunciation of orthographic b and v . Typical of Spanish (as also of neighboring Gascon extending as far north as the Gironde estuary , and found in a small area of Calabria ), attributed by some scholars to a Basque substratum was the mutation of Latin initial f into h- whenever it

12008-404: The country's constitution. In recent years changing attitudes among non-Spanish speaking Filipinos have helped spur a revival of the language, and starting in 2009 Spanish was reintroduced as part of the basic education curriculum in a number of public high schools, becoming the largest foreign language program offered by the public school system, with over 7,000 students studying the language in

12166-546: The county and two cities by contract. Incorporated municipalities within the county that have their own municipal police departments are Santa Maria, Lompoc, and Santa Barbara City. Carpinteria and Goleta by contract with the Sheriff. The Santa Barbara County Probation Department provides services for those placed on probation or detained in Santa Maria Juvenile Hall or Los Prietos Boys Camp. Tanja Heitman

12324-403: The county government is responsible for housing goals in unincorporated areas. Several affordable housing groups that are actively working on building housing for veterans and low income people have long waiting lists. Farmworker housing also has waiting lists though designated units continue to be built. The United States Office of Management and Budget has designated Ventura County as

12482-537: The county include Mount Pinos (8,831 ft; 2,692 m), Frazier Mountain (8,017 ft; 2,444 m), and Reyes Peak (7,525 ft; 2,294 m) in the Transverse Ranges . The uplands are well-timbered with coniferous forests , and receive plentiful snow in the winter. Mount Pinos is sacred to the Chumash Indians. It is known to them as Iwihinmu, and was considered to be the center of

12640-529: The county was $ 23,059. About 8.5% of families and 14.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.3% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over. The population of the area south of the Santa Ynez Mountain crest—the portion known as "South County"—was 201,161 according to the 2000 census; thus the population is almost exactly split between north and south. Recent years have shown slow or even negative growth for regions in

12798-470: The county was 72.7% White , 2.3% Black or African American , 1.2% Native American , 4.1% Asian , 0.2% Pacific Islander , 15.2% from other races , and 4.3% from two or more races. 34.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 9.1% were of German , 8.5% English and 6.5% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000 . 26.6% of the population reported speaking Spanish at home. There were 136,622 households, out of which 32.4% had children under

12956-477: The county was divided into two congressional districts, which reflected the north and south divide – the hallmark of the county's politics. Lois Capps represented the coastal areas, while Elton Gallegly , a Republican, represented the northern part of the county. In the California State Senate , Santa Barbara is in the 19th Senate District , represented by Democrat Monique Limón . In

13114-497: The county's total area is made up of national forest. Of the land outside of national forest land, approximately 59 percent is agricultural and 17.5 percent urban. North of Highway 126, the county is mountainous and mostly uninhabited, and contains some of the most unspoiled, rugged and inaccessible wilderness remaining in southern California. Most of this land is in the Los Padres National Forest , and includes

13272-481: The county, as well as several cities within the county. The cities that the Sheriff's Office provides police services for include Buellton , Carpinteria , Goleta and Solvang . In total the 640 full-time employees of the Sheriff's Office are responsible for 2,745 square miles (7,110 km) of the county. Founded in 1850, the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office is the oldest law enforcement agency in

13430-462: The day of the feast of Santa Barbara . Spanish ships associated with the Manila Galleon trade probably made emergency stops along the coast during the next 167 years, but no permanent settlements were established. The first land expedition to explore California, led by Gaspar de Portolà explored the coastal area in 1769, on its way to Monterey Bay . The party traveled the same route on

13588-653: The early intellectual founders of the Franciscan order. The town that grew up around the mission was originally named San Buenaventura (and retains the name officially), it has been known as Ventura since 1891. In the 1790s, the Spanish Governor of California began granting land concessions to Spanish Californians who were often retiring soldiers. These concessions were known as ranchos and consisted of thousands of acres of land that were used primarily as ranch land for livestock. In Ventura County, Rancho Simi

13746-553: The establishment of the holiday. On November 4, 2008, Santa Barbara County voted 53.5% against Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages. It was the only county in Southern California to vote against the proposition. In 1978, some residents of the northern area initiated an effort to create a "Los Padres County" out of the northern area of the county; in

13904-484: The expedition, Father Juan Crespí , kept a journal of the trip and noted that the area was ideal for a mission to be established and it was a "good site to which nothing is lacking". Also on this expedition was Father Junípero Serra , who later founded a mission on this site. On March 31, 1782, the Mission San Buenaventura was founded by Father Serra. It is named after Saint Bonaventure , one of

14062-587: The fall. An example of this is the massive Thomas Fire , which started in Ventura County and rapidly spread into southern Santa Barbara County in December 2017. At the time, the fire was the largest wildfire ever to burn in California in terms of geographical size, but was topped only eight months later in the Mendocino Complex Fire in northern California. Heavy rainfall occurred the following January, causing massive mudslides and debris flows from

14220-506: The fire caused over $ 2.176 billion (2018 USD) in damages, including more than $ 204.5 million in suppression costs, becoming the seventh-most destructive wildfire in state history. The agriculture industry suffered at least $ 171 million in losses due to the Thomas Fire. Southern California Edison paid the county over $ 11 million in claims related to damages and costs since its equipment was likely associated with one ignition point of

14378-419: The fire near Santa Paula. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 2,208 square miles (5,720 km ), of which 1,843 square miles (4,770 km ) is land and 365 square miles (950 km ) (16.5%) is water. Parts of the county are on the Oxnard Plain which includes the cities of Oxnard , Camarillo , Port Hueneme and much of Ventura . Other cities and communities lie in

14536-488: The first high school opening in 1890. Other towns were being established in the county. A plan for Hueneme (later Port Hueneme) was recorded in 1874, and Santa Paula 's plan was recorded in 1875. Along the banks of the Santa Clara River, the township of New Jerusalem (which would eventually be named El Rio ) was founded in 1875 by the owner of general store named Simon Cohen who became its first postmaster and banker in 1882. The community of Nordhoff (later renamed Ojai )

14694-683: The following table: Spanish is marked by palatalization of the Latin double consonants ( geminates ) nn and ll (thus Latin annum > Spanish año , and Latin anellum > Spanish anillo ). The consonant written u or v in Latin and pronounced [w] in Classical Latin had probably " fortified " to a bilabial fricative /β/ in Vulgar Latin. In early Spanish (but not in Catalan or Portuguese) it merged with

14852-425: The formation of the new county, with more than 80% voting no. 46.8% of Santa Barbara County voters state their political party preference is Democratic, compared to 24.9% who prefer Republicans, and 21.6% who have No Party Preference. As of 2021, each of the 8 cities have more Democrats than any other political party. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office provides law enforcement for the unincorporated areas of

15010-466: The former British colony of Belize (known until 1973 as British Honduras ) where English is the sole official language, according to the 2022 census, 54% of the total population are able to speak the language. Due to its proximity to Spanish-speaking countries and small existing native Spanish speaking minority, Trinidad and Tobago has implemented Spanish language teaching into its education system. The Trinidadian and Tobagonian government launched

15168-604: The grammar, dated 18 August 1492, Nebrija wrote that "... language was always the companion of empire." From the 16th century onwards, the language was taken to the Spanish-discovered America and the Spanish East Indies via Spanish colonization of America . Miguel de Cervantes , author of Don Quixote , is such a well-known reference in the world that Spanish is often called la lengua de Cervantes ("the language of Cervantes"). In

15326-575: The hills north of Ventura, was producing 90,000 barrels (14,000 m ) of oil a day, with annual production of over 1.5   million barrels. More oil fields came online in the 1920s and 1930s, with the Rincon field , the second largest, in 1927, and the adjacent San Miguelito in 1931. In the early hours of the morning of March 12–13, 1928, the St. Francis Dam collapsed, sending nearly 12,500 million U.S. gallons (47 gigaliters) of water rushing through

15484-677: The hills south of Santa Rosa Valley is the broad Conejo Valley. Santa Rosa Valley, Conejo Valley, Simi Valley, and Tierra Rejada Valley are drained by Calleguas Creek and its principal tributary, Conejo Creek. These creeks originate in the Santa Susana and Santa Monica Mountains . The county's diverse 43-mile (69 km) coastline features a variety of terrain. There are many State beaches: Emma Wood , San Buenaventura , McGrath , and Mandalay State Beach . Other beaches include Channel Islands Beach , Solimar Beach , Oxnard Beach Park , and Silver Strand Beach . While Point Mugu State Park

15642-693: The interior and northeast. Most of the mountainous area is within the Los Padres National Forest , and includes two wilderness areas: the San Rafael Wilderness and the Dick Smith Wilderness . The highest elevation in the county is 6,820 feet (2,080 m) at Big Pine Mountain in the San Rafaels. North of the mountains is the arid and sparsely populated Cuyama Valley , portions of which are in San Luis Obispo and Ventura Counties. Oil production, ranching, and agriculture dominate

15800-602: The intermountain valleys of the Transverse Range. The Santa Clara River Valley is the most prominent valley, while other valleys include Conejo Valley , Simi Valley , Santa Rosa Valley , Tierra Rejada Valley and Las Posas Valley. Other parts of the county are on small coastal mountains, such as the Santa Ynez Mountains , Simi Hills , Santa Monica Mountains and the Piru Mountains. Most of

15958-516: The island oak and Torrey Pine. All four have the deer mouse living on them, the three latter, the island fox, and the two latter, the island spotted skunk. There used to be skunks on San Miguel Island, but due to predation from marine life, birds, and foxes, the San Miguel Island skunk has gone extinct. Santa Barbara County has a mild warm-summer Mediterranean climate . Along the coast, temperatures rarely exceed 100 °F (38 °C) in

16116-781: The land use in the privately owned parts of the Cuyama Valley; the Los Padres National Forest is adjacent to the south, and regions to the north and northeast are owned by the Bureau of Land Management and the Nature Conservancy . The four Channel Islands in Santa Barbara County are Santa Barbara Island , San Miguel Island , Santa Rosa Island , and the large Santa Cruz Island . All of them contain native and endemic wildlife, like

16274-594: The language is also known as Castilian ( castellano ). The group evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. The oldest Latin texts with traces of Spanish come from mid-northern Iberia in the 9th century, and the first systematic written use of the language happened in Toledo , a prominent city of the Kingdom of Castile , in

16432-549: The language's hegemony in an intensely centralising Spanish state were established from the 18th century onward. Other European territories in which it is also widely spoken include Gibraltar and Andorra . Spanish is also spoken by immigrant communities in other European countries, such as the United Kingdom , France , Italy , and Germany . Spanish is an official language of the European Union . Today,

16590-502: The largest part of the Channel Islands National Park (which also includes Anacapa Island in Ventura County ). Santa Barbara County has a mountainous interior abutting several coastal plains on the west and south coasts of the county. The largest concentration of population is on the southern coastal plain, referred to as the "south coast" – meaning the part of the county south of the Santa Ynez Mountains . This region includes

16748-486: The last 10 years. The Thomas Fire was a massive wildfire that affected Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, and one of multiple wildfires that ignited in Southern California in December 2017. It burned approximately 281,893 acres (440 sq mi; 114,078 ha), becoming the largest wildfire in modern California history , before it was fully contained on January 12, 2018. The Thomas Fire destroyed at least 1,063 structures, while damaging 280 others; and

16906-486: The later city and county – a common practice which has preserved the names of many of the 21 California Missions . Other missions in Santa Barbara County are located in Santa Ynez and Lompoc. European contacts had devastating effects on the Chumash people, including a series of disease epidemics that drastically reduced Chumash population. The Chumash survived, however, and thousands of Chumash descendants still live in

17064-617: The lingering smell in the dirt to uncover artifacts that showed heavy utilization by mission inhabitants, Indians, early settlers and Spanish and Mexican soldiers. The Mexican–American War began in 1846 but its effect was not felt in Ventura County until 1847. In January of that year, Captain John C. Frémont led the California Battalion into San Buenaventura to find that the Europeans had fled, leaving only Native Americans in

17222-481: The mainland for trade with the Chumash of the Channel Islands were located at the mouth of the Ventura River , Mugu Lagoon and Point Hueneme. This has led to speculations among archeologists of whether the Chumash could have had a pre-historic contact with Polynesians . According to diachronic linguistics , certain words such as tomolo'o (canoe) could be related to Polynesian languages . The dialect of

17380-694: The majority of the Spanish speakers live in Hispanic America . Nationally, Spanish is the official language—either de facto or de jure —of Argentina , Bolivia (co-official with 36 indigenous languages), Chile , Colombia , Costa Rica , Cuba , Dominican Republic , Ecuador , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico (co-official with 63 indigenous languages), Nicaragua , Panama , Paraguay (co-official with Guaraní ), Peru (co-official with Quechua , Aymara , and "the other indigenous languages"), Puerto Rico (co-official with English), Uruguay , and Venezuela . Spanish language has

17538-703: The mid-20th century, there was a large growth in population in the East County, moving from the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles and out into the Conejo and Simi Valleys. Part of the Conejo Valley is situated in Los Angeles County . This part consists of Calabasas , Hidden Hills , Agoura Hills , Agoura , and Westlake Village . The other half of the Conejo Valley, which belongs to Ventura County, consists of Lake Sherwood , Hidden Valley , Oak Park , Thousand Oaks , and Newbury Park , which

17696-689: The northern border and Mount Pinos, more than twenty inches. Automobile emissions account for most of the air pollution . Other sources include chemical plants , gasoline stations , paint and cleaning products . Rivers in Ventura County include: The 2010 United States Census reported that Ventura County had a population of 823,318. The racial makeup of Ventura County was 565,804 (68.7%) White , 15,163 (1.8%) African American , 8,068 (1.0%) Native American , 55,446 (6.7%) Asian , 1,643 (0.2%) Pacific Islander , 140,253 (17.0%) from other races , and 36,941 (4.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 331,567 persons (40.3%). As of

17854-805: The northern boundary of the coastal plain, the Santa Susana Mountains are alongside the eastern boundary of the county, and the Simi Hills and the Santa Monica Mountains are along the southern border with Los Angeles County . South Mountain and Oak Ridge are low and long mountains that separate Santa Clara Valley from the Las Posas Valley and Simi Valley . The Camarillo Hills and the Las Posas Hills extend from Camarillo to Simi Valley and separate

18012-481: The northern parts of Ventura County. No temperature data are available for the highest point in the county, Mount Pinos . The length of the growing season ranges more than 300 days near the coast to less than 175 days in the coldest part in northern Ventura County. In both the northern and southern ends of the county, the annual precipitation totals between ten and fifteen inches. In the Topatopa Mountains,

18170-734: The northwest of the African mainland. The Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands traces its origins back to the Castilian conquest in the 15th century , and, in addition to a resemblance to Western Andalusian speech patterns, it also features strong influence from the Spanish varieties spoken in the Americas, which in turn have also been influenced historically by Canarian Spanish. The Spanish spoken in North Africa by native bilingual speakers of Arabic or Berber who also speak Spanish as

18328-654: The other hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. However, from 1713 to 1923, it called the language castellano . The Diccionario panhispánico de dudas (a language guide published by the Royal Spanish Academy) states that, although the Royal Spanish Academy prefers to use the term español in its publications when referring to the Spanish language, both terms— español and castellano —are regarded as synonymous and equally valid. The term castellano

18486-406: The petroleum products under Ventura County but none were financially successful, and the oil speculators eventually changed from oil to land development. In 1913, oil exploration began in earnest, with Ralph Lloyd obtaining the financial support of veteran oil man Joseph B. Dabney. Their first well, named "Lloyd No. 1", was started on January 20, 1914. The well struck oil at 2,558 feet (780 m) but

18644-588: The pleasure of the Board, to operate the County governmental organization. The County government includes 4296 employees and a budget of $ 757 million. The County provides various services ranging from health services to law enforcement. All of Santa Barbara County is located within California's 24th congressional district , represented by Democrat Salud Carbajal . Prior to the 2012 redistricting in California,

18802-537: The population is Hispanic or Latino of any race. 9.8% were of German, 7.7% English and 7.1% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000 . 67.1% spoke English, 26.2% Spanish and 1.5% Tagalog as their first language. There were 243,234 households, of which 39.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.5% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 18.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who

18960-543: The population of Ventura County lives in the southern portion of the county. The major population centers are the Oxnard Plain and the Simi and Conejo Valleys. In local media, the county is usually split between the eastern portion, generally associated with the San Fernando Valley , and the western portion, often referred to as “Oxnard-Ventura". To the east is Los Angeles County . Because the total amount of precipitation

19118-422: The population was of Mexican heritage, 0.4% Salvadoran, 0.4% Guatemalan, and 0.3% Puerto Rican descent. As of the census of 2000, there were 399,347 people, 136,622 households, and 89,487 families residing in the county. The population density was 146 people per square mile (56 people/km). There were 142,901 housing units at an average density of 52 units per square mile (20 units/km). The ethnic makeup of

19276-533: The population. Many northern Moroccans have rudimentary knowledge of Spanish, with Spanish being particularly significant in areas adjacent to Ceuta and Melilla. Spanish also has a presence in the education system of the country (through either selected education centers implementing Spain's education system, primarily located in the North, or the availability of Spanish as foreign language subject in secondary education). In Western Sahara , formerly Spanish Sahara ,

19434-415: The recent established AVA in 2020. The Foxen Canyon Wine Trail features many wineries including Andrew Murray Vineyards , Fess Parker Winery and Firestone Vineyard . The Cambria Estate Winery , was featured in the 3rd episode of The Bachelor , an American reality television series, Season 15, on January 17, 2011. Spanish language Spanish ( español ) or Castilian ( castellano )

19592-536: The return to San Diego in January 1770. That same year, a second expedition to Monterey again passed through the area. The DeAnza expeditions of 1774-76 followed Portola's trail. The Presidio of Santa Barbara was established in 1782 (4th of 5 in California), followed by Mission Santa Barbara in 1786 – both in what is now the city of Santa Barbara . The presidio and mission kept Vizcaino's denomination, as did

19750-659: The rolling hills, ancient oak trees, oil fields, cattle ranches, and natural areas in the central part of the county. The county has more than 115 wineries cultivating 16,000 acres (6,500 ha) with the vast majority of the vineyards in the Central Coast American Viticultural Areas : Santa Maria Valley AVA , Santa Ynez Valley AVA , Sta. Rita Hills AVA , Happy Canyon AVA , Los Olivos District AVA and Ballard Canyon AVA . The county continues to gain AVA recognition with Alisos Canyon AVA being

19908-437: The south county, while areas in the north county have continued to grow at a faster rate. The county is governed by a five-member Board of Supervisors. The Board's three-vote majority has shifted over the years between the north and south. The Board now includes two members from South County, two members from North County, and one member from Mid-County. The Board of Supervisors appoints a County Executive Officer, who serves at

20066-514: The state. In its early days, the department battled outlaws Salomon Pico and Jack Powers . Initially having a single Sheriff, aided only by a jailer and guard in charge of the chain gang, the department now has over 600 full-time employees. The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense. Oil production began in 1886 with drilling in Summerland. Enormous oil fields such as

20224-468: The steep, fire-denuded hillsides. The community of Montecito was especially hard-hit. As of February 3, 2018, 21 are known dead and 2 are still missing. Air quality in the county, unlike much of southern California, is generally good because of the prevailing winds off of the Pacific Ocean. The county is in attainment of federal standards for ozone and particulate matter . In July 2020 the county

20382-448: The summer, but rarely dip below freezing in winter. In the interior, however, summertime temperatures can soar over 100 °F (38 °C). Above 2,000 feet (610 meters), temperatures can frequently fall below freezing during the winter months. The area experiences nearly all of its rainfall during the winter months, and rarely sees any rain at all during the summer months. The area's dry, warm summers often lead to high wildfire danger in

20540-537: The term español (Spanish). According to the Royal Spanish Academy, español derives from the Occitan word espaignol and that, in turn, derives from the Vulgar Latin * hispaniolus ('of Hispania'). Hispania was the Roman name for the entire Iberian Peninsula . There are other hypotheses apart from the one suggested by the Royal Spanish Academy. Spanish philologist Ramón Menéndez Pidal suggested that

20698-444: The theories of Ramón Menéndez Pidal , local sociolects of Vulgar Latin evolved into Spanish, in the north of Iberia, in an area centered in the city of Burgos , and this dialect was later brought to the city of Toledo , where the written standard of Spanish was first developed, in the 13th century. In this formative stage, Spanish developed a strongly differing variant from its close cousin, Leonese , and, according to some authors,

20856-640: The third most used language on the Internet , after English and Chinese. Spanish is the official language of Spain . Upon the emergence of the Castilian Crown as the dominant power in the Iberian Peninsula by the end of the Middle Ages, the Romance vernacular associated with this polity became increasingly used in instances of prestige and influence, and the distinction between "Castilian" and "Spanish" started to become blurred. Hard policies imposing

21014-471: The town of San Buenaventura was incorporated, becoming the first officially recognized town in what would become Ventura County. On January 1, 1873, Ventura County was officially split from Santa Barbara County, bringing a flurry of change. That same year, a courthouse and wharf were built in San Buenaventura. A bank was opened and the first public library was created. The school system grew, with

21172-407: The train stop. That community, now bearing the name of the factory shortened to the one word train stop Oxnard, has become the largest city in Ventura County. Oil has been known in Ventura County since before the arrival of the Europeans, as the native Chumash people used tar from natural seeps as a sealant and waterproofing for baskets and canoes. In the 1860s, several attempts were made to harvest

21330-515: The unincorporated towns of Orcutt , Los Alamos , Casmalia , Garey , and Sisquoc . In the extreme northeastern portion of the county are the small cities of New Cuyama , Cuyama , and Ventucopa . As of January 1, 2006, Santa Maria has become the largest city in Santa Barbara County. The principal mountain ranges of the county are the Santa Ynez Mountains in the south, and the San Rafael Mountains and Sierra Madre Mountains in

21488-538: The universe; being the highest peak in the vicinity, it has unimpeded views in three directions. The USDA Economic Research Service rated Ventura County the most desirable county to live in the 48 contiguous states, using six metrics of climate ("mild, sunny winters, temperate summers, low humidity"), topographic variation, and access to water, "that reflect environmental qualities most people prefer." There are 555,953 acres (224,986 ha) outside of national forest land in Ventura County, which means that 53 percent of

21646-431: The voters the measure would ban "high-intensity petroleum operations" in the county. The city of Santa Barbara and other coastal communities support a significant tourism economy. White-collar jobs, previously with an emphasis in aerospace but more recently in software and other high-tech pursuits are encouraged by proximity to the University of California, Santa Barbara . Vandenberg Space Force Base has traditionally had

21804-404: The way for development westward. The communities that have seen the most substantial development are Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Agoura Hills, Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, and Newbury Park. The neighboring East County area of Simi Valley saw its already considerable population of nearly 60,000 inhabitants in 1970 grow to over 100,000 over the following two decades. Development moved farther down

21962-585: The whole of Spain, in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas (lit. "the other Spanish languages "). Article III reads as follows: El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado. ... Las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas... Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State. ... The other Spanish languages shall also be official in their respective Autonomous Communities... The Royal Spanish Academy ( Real Academia Española ), on

22120-540: The wind"), and Sespe Creek from the word S'eqp'e (meaning "kneecap"). In October 1542, the expedition led by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo anchored in an inlet near Point Mugu ; its members were the first Europeans to arrive in the area that would become Ventura County. Active occupation of California by Spain began in 1769. Gaspar de Portolà led a military expedition by land from San Diego to Monterey , passing through Ventura County in August of that year. A priest with

22278-638: The world. Spanish is well represented in the humanities and social sciences . Spanish is also the third most used language on the internet by number of users after English and Chinese and the second most used language by number of websites after English. Spanish is used as an official language by many international organizations , including the United Nations , European Union , Organization of American States , Union of South American Nations , Community of Latin American and Caribbean States , African Union , among others. In Spain and some other parts of

22436-462: Was George H. W. Bush in 1988 . There remains a distinction between the more conservative northern areas of the county, which continue to largely support Republicans, and the more liberal southern areas, which are strongly Democratic. Santa Barbara County has long been divided between competing political interests. North of the Santa Ynez Mountains , agricultural activities and oil development have long provided jobs. The northern portion also contains

22594-566: Was removed from a list of controlled substances along with other provisions of the Hemp Farming Act of 2018 . These provisions were included in the 2018 Farm Bill which made hemp legal for agricultural uses. Cannabis and hemp plants have a similar look and smell making it hard to tell the difference. The first wine grapes in Santa Barbara county were planted by the missionaries associated with Mission Santa Barbara late in

22752-520: Was $ 66,859, while the mean was $ 85,032. Per capita income was up to $ 29,634, making it the 6th wealthiest county in California. Ventura County typically has limited housing inventory, making it a consistently expensive location in Southern California, where it is usually the third-most-expensive county behind Orange and Los Angeles counties. As of March 2018 , the county was not on track to meet its state-mandated housing goals. Individual cities are responsible for meeting their assigned housing goals, while

22910-448: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.04 and the average family size was 3.46. In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.5 males. The median income for

23068-793: Was designated as attainment for the state ozone standard, but it still does not attain the state PM10 standard. the county's location plus the cities near it establishes the area's climate and meteorology influence how the pollution are diffused. The 2010 United States Census reported that Santa Barbara County had a population of 423,895. The ethnic makeup of Santa Barbara County was 295,124 (69.6%) White , 8,513 (2.0%) African American , 5,485 (1.3%) Native American , 20,665 (4.9%) Asian (1.6% Filipino, 1.0% Chinese, 0.5% Japanese, 0.5% Korean, 0.3% Vietnamese, 0.4% Indian), 806 (0.2%) Pacific Islander , 73,860 (17.4%) from other races , and 19,442 (4.6%) from two or more races. There were 181,687 residents of Hispanic or Latino origin, of any race (42.9%); 38.5% of

23226-587: Was destroyed when it went wild. Other wells met a similar fate, until 1916, when a deal was struck with the Shell Oil Company . 1916 was the year that the large South Mountain Oil Field was discovered; other deals followed with General Petroleum in 1917 and Associated Oil Company in 1920. At its peak, the largest oil field in the county, the Ventura Avenue oilfield , discovered in 1919 in

23384-634: Was developed in the cities of Toledo , in the 13th to 16th centuries, and Madrid , from the 1570s. The development of the Spanish sound system from that of Vulgar Latin exhibits most of the changes that are typical of Western Romance languages , including lenition of intervocalic consonants (thus Latin vīta > Spanish vida ). The diphthongization of Latin stressed short e and o —which occurred in open syllables in French and Italian, but not at all in Catalan or Portuguese—is found in both open and closed syllables in Spanish, as shown in

23542-622: Was distinguished by a heavy Basque influence (see Iberian Romance languages ). This distinctive dialect spread to southern Spain with the advance of the Reconquista , and meanwhile gathered a sizable lexical influence from the Arabic of Al-Andalus , much of it indirectly, through the Romance Mozarabic dialects (some 4,000 Arabic -derived words, make up around 8% of the language today). The written standard for this new language

23700-713: Was followed by a vowel that did not diphthongize. The h- , still preserved in spelling, is now silent in most varieties of the language, although in some Andalusian and Caribbean dialects, it is still aspirated in some words. Because of borrowings from Latin and neighboring Romance languages, there are many f -/ h - doublets in modern Spanish: Fernando and Hernando (both Spanish for "Ferdinand"), ferrero and herrero (both Spanish for "smith"), fierro and hierro (both Spanish for "iron"), and fondo and hondo (both words pertaining to depth in Spanish, though fondo means "bottom", while hondo means "deep"); additionally, hacer ("to make")

23858-480: Was formerly an unincorporated area that is now the most westerly part of Thousand Oaks. Many working-class people migrated to this area during the 1960s and 1970s out of East and Central Los Angeles . As a result, there was a large growth in population into the Conejo Valley and into Ventura County through the U.S. Route 101 corridor. Making the U.S. 101 a full freeway in the 1960s, and the expansions that followed, helped make commuting to Los Angeles easier and opened

24016-410: Was granted in 1795 and Rancho El Conejo in 1802. Fernando Tico was granted Ojai and part of Ventura by Gov. Alvarado. In 1822, California was notified of Mexico's independence from Spain and the Governor of California , the Junta, the military in Monterey and the priests and neophytes at Mission San Buenaventura swore allegiance to Mexico on April 11, 1822. California land that had been vested in

24174-547: Was one of the 27 original counties of California, formed in 1850 at the time of statehood. The county's territory was later divided to create Ventura County in 1873. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 3,789 square miles (9,810 km), of which 2,735 square miles (7,080 km) is land and 1,054 square miles (2,730 km) (27.8%) is water. Four of the Channel Islands – San Miguel Island , Santa Cruz Island , Santa Rosa Island and Santa Barbara Island – are in Santa Barbara County. They form

24332-462: Was revoked by Michel Temer after the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff . In many border towns and villages along Paraguay and Uruguay, a mixed language known as Portuñol is spoken. Equatorial Guinea is the only Spanish-speaking country located entirely in Africa, with the language introduced during the Spanish colonial period . Enshrined in the constitution as an official language (alongside French and Portuguese), Spanish features prominently in

24490-454: Was started in 1874. Bardsdale , Fillmore , Piru , and Montalvo were established in 1887. 1892 saw Simi (later Simi Valley), Somis , Saticoy , and Moorpark . Oxnard was a latecomer, not being established until 1898. The Southern Pacific Railroad laid tracks through San Buenaventura in 1887. For convenience in printing their timetables, Southern Pacific shortened San Buenaventura to Ventura. The Post Office soon followed suit. While

24648-442: Was the longest tunnel ever constructed in its day. This tunnel joined to the railroad spur coming the other direction from Montalvo through Camarillo, Moorpark and Simi Valley, making the contemporary main line used today. One stop along the way, at a 90-degree turn, was at a sugar beet processing factory. The factory bore the name of its absentee owners, the Oxnard Brothers. A small community of farm and factory workers grew near

24806-416: Was the southern part of Santa Barbara County . The 1860s brought many changes to the area. A drought caused many of the ranchos to experience financial difficulties and most were divided, sub-divided and sold. Large sections of land were bought by eastern capitalists based on favorable reports of petroleum deposits. A United States Post Office was opened at Mission San Buenaventura in 1861. On April 1, 1866,

24964-431: Was transferred from the Church to a secular administrator. The natives who had been working at the mission gradually left to work on the ranchos. By 1839, only 300 Indians were left at the Mission and it slipped into neglect. Several outhouses dating back to the 1800s were discovered in July 2007, at a site that had been cleared to prepare for development. The area proved to be a treasure trove for archaeologists who braved

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