Silicon Valley (redirected from Silcon Valley)

Silicon Valley, an industrial region, approximately 20 mi (32 km) long, in the Santa Clara Valley between Palo Alto and San Jose, mainly in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, W central Calif., where many computer manufacturing and design companies are located. Computer-software and other high-technology industries are also there. The name derives from high-purity silicon used in making the semiconductors used in computers.

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Silicon Valley

Industrial region, west-central California. Roughly bounded by San Francisco Bay on the north, the Santa Cruz Mountains on the west, and the Diablo Range on the east, it takes its (unofficial) name from the extensive use of silicon in the region's electronics industries. The U.S. government invested heavily in the region's industry following World War II. A second economic surge occurred with the proliferation of personal computers in the 1980s, and a third surge followed the growth of the Internet in the 1990s.

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An area south of San Francisco, California that is noted for its huge number of computer companies. Initially, Silicon Valley was confined to the Santa Clara valley and started north of Palo Alto stretching 25 miles south to San Jose. With expansion into neighboring towns, the entire San Franciso Bay area can be considered Silicon Valley.

Thousands of hardware, software and related firms have headquarters or offices in Silicon Valley, making it the largest confluence of high tech in the U.S. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the number of computer and electronics firms grew exponentially, which is when the area got its nickname. In the 1990s, software and Internet-related companies proliferated. A downside to all this has been high prices for houses and apartments. Real estate goes for two to 10 times prices elsewhere in the country, especially if there is any sizeable land, which is only for the very wealthy. See Silicon Alley, Silicon Forest, Silicon Glen, Bit Valley and Siliwood.

Silicon Valley