Silicon Valley is a 30-mile (48-km) by 10-mile (16-km) area in northern California between San Francisco and San Jose.
Its name comes from the many electronics, information technology, and Internet companies that have been locating their offices and manufacturing plants there since the 1950s.
The term “Silicon Valley” was first used in 1971, with “silicon” referring to the material used to make computer chips.
Close by are Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley, which helped Silicon Valley develop into one of the world’s most important research and development centers.
Earlier in the twentieth century this region was best known for its apricot and walnut orchards.
