Santa Maria

City in Santa Barbara County, southwest California, USA; population (2000) 77,400. It is situated on the Santa Maria River, in the Santa Maria Valley, 18 km/11 mi east of the Pacific Ocean, and 87 km/54 mi northwest of Santa Barbara. It is the trade, processing, and shipping centre for the valley, which produces flower seeds and bulbs, vegetables, beans, sugar beets, dairy goods, and grains. Oil refining is also important to the regional economy; founded in 1871, the community was sparsely settled until 1902, when oil began to be extracted. Vandenberg Air Force Base, to the southwest, is an important local employer. Allan Hancock College (1920) and the county fairgrounds are both located in the city.

Santa Maria (da Boca do Monte)

Important railway junction in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 250 km/155 mi west of Porto Alegre; population (1996) 233,351. From here, lines run east to Porto Alegre, south to Rio Grande, and southwest to Santana do Livramento on the Uruguayan border. The town's main product is potatoes and there is some cattle-rearing and food-processing.