what county is santa barbara, ca
For the island, see Santa Barbara Island. For the county, see Santa Barbara County, California. Santa Barbara (Spanish for Saint Barbara) is the county seat of Santa Barbara County in the U.S. state of California. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.