Santa Barbara, California

Santa Barbara is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, and the county seat. It sits on a south-facing stretch of coastline, described as the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States outside Alaska, between the steeply rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Its climate is often called Mediterranean and the city has been dubbed the American Riviera. The 2020 census counted 88,665 residents. The first permanent European residents were Spanish missionaries and soldiers under Felipe de Neve, who arrived in 1782 and built the Presidio. Besides tourism and resort trade, the economy rests on services, education, technology, health care, finance and local government, and nearby institutions of higher learning include the University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara City College and Westmont College. Amtrak runs the Pacific Surfliner and the Coast Starlight through the city, and U.S. Highway 101 links it to Los Angeles about 100 miles to the southeast. Los Padres National Forest lies behind the city and Channel Islands National Park about 20 miles offshore.