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Salinas is the county seat and largest municipality of Monterey County, California. Salinas is located east-southeast of the mouth of the Salinas River, at an elevation of about above sea level.〔 The population was 155,662 as of 2013. The city is located at the mouth of the Salinas Valley roughly eight miles from the Pacific Ocean and has a coastal climate. The city consists mostly of late 20th century single family homes and low-level apartments, ranging from modest bungalows to spacious luxury homes, and 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 for its vibrant and large agriculture industry and as the hometown of writer and Nobel Prize in Literature laureate John Steinbeck, who based several of his novels there, including ''Of Mice and Men''. ==History== The land currently occupied by the city of Salinas is thought to have been settled by native Americans known as the Esselen prior to 200 AD.〔"The Esselen Indians of the Big Sur Country" by Gary S. Breschini and Trudy Haversat〕 Between 200 and 500 AD, they were displaced by the Rumsen group of Ohlone speaking people, who were the inhabitants at contact with the Spanish. Large Spanish land grants for the Catholic Missions and as bonuses to soldiers gave way to Mexican land grants for smaller ranchos where mostly cattle were grazed, and a thriving trade in cattle hide came through the Port of Monterey.〔"Early Salinas" by Gary S. Breschini, Mona Gudgel, & Trudy Haversat〕 California officially was a part of the United States of America in 1850, following several years of battles in the Salinas area with John Fremont flying the American flag on the highest peak of the Gabilan Mountains and claiming California for the United States. Before this time, Monterey was the capital of California and had been under military rule after the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo at the end of the Mexican-American war. The Salinas post office opened in 1854.〔 A traveler's inn called the Halfway House at the intersection of two stage coach routes was built in 1856 and a settlement grew up there.〔 The streets of Salinas were laid out in 1867, and the town was incorporated in 1874.〔 The city was named after the word for a "salt marsh" in Spanish, ''salinas''.〔 The conversion of grazing land to crops and the coming of the rail road in 1868 to transport goods and people was a major turning point in the history and economic advancement of Salinas. Dry farming of wheat, barley, and other grains as well as potatoes and mustard seed was common in the 1800s. Chinese labor drained thousands of acres of swampland to become productive farmland, and as much early farm labor was done by Chinese immigrants, Salinas boasted the second largest Chinatown in the state, slightly smaller than San Francisco.〔"10,000 Years on the Salinas Plain" by Gary S. Breschini, Mona Gudgel, & Trudy Haversat〕 Irrigation changed farming in Salinas to mainly row crops of root vegetables, grapes and sugar beets. Many major vegetable producers placed their headquarters in Salinas. The historic prevalence of row crops is documented by aerial photographic interpretation of Earth Metrics,〔Earth Metrics Inc.〕 Driven by the profitable agricultural industry, Salinas had the highest per capita income of any city in the United States in 1924. Following World War II major urban and suburban development converted much farmland to city. The city experienced two particularly strong growth spurts in the 1950s and 1960s, and again in the 1990s and early 2000s.〔 Aerial photographic interpretation indicate such major conversion of cropland to urban uses over the time period 1956 to 1968,〔U.S.G.S. Map May 14, 1956 ABG-6R-5, #75 1:20,000〕〔U.S.G.S. Map June 13, 1968 GS-VBZK-2-224, #214 1:30,000〕 while the city annexed the adjacent communities of Alisal and Santa Rita during this time.〔(Salinas Public Library History )〕 The Harden Ranch, Creekbridge and Williams Ranch neighborhoods constituting much of the city's North-East were built almost exclusively between 1990 and 2004.〔 Salinas was also the birthplace of writer and Nobel Prize laureate John Steinbeck. The historic downtown, known as ''Oldtown Salinas'', features much fine Victorian architecture, and is home to the National Steinbeck Center, the Steinbeck House and the John Steinbeck Library. Major development took place in the 1990s, with the construction of Creekbridge, Williams Ranch, and Harden Ranch.〔(Salad days near end in lettuce capital as development boom encroaches ). ''The Baltimore Sun''.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Salinas, California」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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