Santa Clara

City in central Cuba, in the West Indies, and capital of Villa Clara province, 300 km/186 mi southeast of Havana; population (1993) 205,400. It is the second-largest inland city in Cuba, a university city, and the centre of a fertile agricultural region. The town is situated 110 m/361 ft above sea-level, and surrounded by hills of coral rock. Its port is Cienfuegos, 70 km/43 mi to the south and 80 km/50 mi from the town of Trinidad.

The city was founded in 1689. It was the site of a battle between Che Guevara's guerrillas and the forces of Fulgencio Batista during the Cuban Revolution (the troop train captured by Guevara can be seen near the cathedral), and the location of the last battle of the Revolution prior to Fidel Castro's entry into Havana.

Santa Clara

City in north-central California, in the Santa Clara Valley, adjoining San Jose and 64 km/40 mi southeast of San Francisco; population (1990) 93,600. It is noted for its dried fruit, especially prunes, and is a canning and packing centre. The city boomed in the 1950s, and is now at the heart of Silicon Valley. Its industries develop and manufacture electronic and electrical products, machinery, chemicals, and fibreglass.

The University of Santa Clara, founded as a mission school in 1851, is one of California's oldest institutions of higher learning. The Great America theme park is a noted attraction.

The early settlement grew up around the Mission Santa Clara de Asís (1777). In the 1850s, building on the mission's orchards, it developed as a centre of the fruit industry.

Santa Clara

Community in west-central Oregon, a residential suburb 8 km/5 mi northwest of Eugene; population (1990) 12,800.