page_title: Salinas, California
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Salinas, California / Geography
caption_attribution_description: English: Salinas, California from above, with Fremont Peak and the Gabilan Mountain Range in the background
context_page_description: Salinas is a city in Monterey County, California, United States. With a population of 155,564, Salinas is the most populous city in Monterey County, as well as its county seat. Salinas is an urban area located just outside the southern portion of the Greater Bay Area and 10 miles southeast of the mouth of the Salinas River. The city is located at the mouth of the Salinas Valley, roughly eight miles from the Pacific Ocean, and it has a climate more influenced by the ocean than the interior.
  Salinas serves as the main business, governmental and industrial center of the region. The marine climate is ideal for the floral industry, grape vineyards, and vegetable growers. Salinas is known as the "Salad Bowl of the World" for its large, vibrant agriculture industry.
  It was the hometown of writer and Nobel laureate John Steinbeck, who set many of his stories in the Salinas Valley and Monterey.
context_section_description: According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.2 square miles (60 km²), 99.84% of it land and 0.16% of it water.
  Prior to mass agricultural and urban development, much of the city consisted of rolling hills bisected by wooded creeks and interspersed with marsh land. Today, the city is located mostly on leveled ground, with some rolling hills and wooded gulches with creeks remaining in the north-eastern Creekbridge and Williams Ranch neighborhoods, as well as the Laurel Heights section of East Salinas. The natural ecosystems accompanying the area's topography and environment have been recreated in Natividad Creek Park and adjacent Upper Carr Lake.
  The city rests about 18 meters (59 feet) above sea level, and it is located roughly eight miles from the Pacific Ocean. The Gabilan and Santa Lucia mountain ranges border the Salinas Valley to the east and to the west, respectively. Both mountain ranges and the Salinas Valley run approximately 90 miles (145 km) south-east from Salinas towards King City.
  The Salinas River runs the length of the Salinas Valley and empties into the Pacific Ocean at the center of the Monterey Bay. During the summer months the river flows partially underground and it is this extensive underground aquifer that allows for irrigation of cropland in an area without much annual rainfall.
caption: Salinas and the Salinas Valley. Fremont Peak and the Gabilan Range are also shown.
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