Rancho Salsipuedes

Hecker Pass is a low mountain pass across the Santa Cruz Mountains of central California, connecting Watsonville on the Pacific coast to Gilroy and the Santa Clara Valley. It is traversed by Hecker Pass Road, the western part of California State Route 152, which continues east from Gilroy across Pacheco Pass and into the Central Valley. Mt. Madonna County Park lies to the north of the pass. The pass's elevation is 408 metres (1,339 ft).Santa Clara County supervisor Henry Hecker, a nephew of Friedrich Hecker, became the namesake of the pass on May 27, 1928, at the opening of the "Yosemite-to-the-Sea Highway" over it. In the 1930s, flooding on creeks near the highway caused the collapse of a bridge and the closing of the pass. In 1941, a landslide closed the pass, and in 1947 and 1959, the pass was again closed because of landslides caused by earthquakes.The Hecker Strawberry, a strawberry variety introduced in 1979 in Davis, California, is named after the pass.

Ocean Speedway, formerly known as Watsonville Speedway, is a dirt oval located in Watsonville, California, United States, at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds.

Llagas-Uvas is an unincorporated census county division (CCD) located on the eastern side of the Santa Cruz Mountains in southwest Santa Clara County, California. The area covers approximately 102 square miles (260 km2), much of it open space, and contains the Uvas and Chesbro reservoirs, as well as the Calero, Uvas Canyon, Rancho Cañada del Oro, and Mount Madonna county parks. As a result of the favorable Mediterranean climate, there are many wineries in the area, including Dorcich Family Vineyards, Sycamore Creek, Martin Ranch, Hecker Pass, Fernwood Cellars, Fortino, Kirigin Cellars, Solis, and Sarah's Vineyard. There are also several equestrian centers in the area, including Calero Ranch Stables, Cevalo Riding Academy, Five Star Farms, Great Strides, Hidden Creek, Legacy Oaks, and Bodfish Creek Ranch. As of the 2010 US Census, the population was 4,014 residents of whom 67.1% were non-Hispanic white, 20.1% Hispanic, 8.5% Asian, and 4.3% of other races, with a median age of 45.5 years old. As of 2009, the median income was $104,378 and median home price $991,773.Apart from the communities of Sveadal and Loma Chiquita, most residents and businesses in the area use postal zip codes from neighboring cities of Morgan Hill, San Martin, or Gilroy. The telephone area codes are 408 and 669.

Mount Madonna is a prominent peak located near the southern end of the Santa Cruz Mountains in southwest Santa Clara County, California. The iconic landmark is surrounded by a county park, and is viewable along U.S. Route 101 in South Santa Clara Valley, and California State Route 152 near Watsonville in south Santa Cruz County.

Casserly Creek is a 6.2-mile-long (10.0 km) stream originating on Mount Madonna in the southern Santa Cruz Mountains in Santa Clara County and flows southwest into Santa Cruz County and ends in a large marsh, which drains an additional 0.6 miles (0.97 km) into College Lake and Salsipuedes Creek, which, in turns, flows to the Pajaro River, and thence to Monterey Bay and the Pacific Ocean.

Interlaken is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The population was 7,368 at the 2020 census.

Saint Francis Central Coast Catholic High School is a Catholic school in Watsonville, California. The school was named after Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Francis de Sales, and is operated by an independent corporation that is a partnership between the Salesian Society and the Diocese of Monterey.

Corralitos Creek is a 14.1-mile-long (22.7 km) southward-flowing stream originating on the western slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. It courses through the communities of Corralitos and Freedom, and touches the northernmost part of Watsonville before joining Salsipuedes Creek. Salsipuedes Creek is the lowermost tributary of the Pajaro River, which carries its waters to Monterey Bay and the Pacific Ocean.

Coward Creek is a 6.1-mile-long (9.8 km) stream originating on Atherton Peak in the southern Santa Cruz Mountains. It flows through Santa Cruz County until it joins the Pajaro River, which flows, in turn, to Monterey Bay and the Pacific Ocean.

Salsipuedes Creek is a 4-mile-long (6.4 km) southward-flowing stream originating about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) east of Watsonville in Santa Cruz County, California. Most of the upper reach was the historic Laguna Grande, now referred to as College Lake.

The Frank Norris Cabin, also known as Redwood Retreat, was a retreat of the author Frank Norris in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Gilroy, California. A log cabin, it was only briefly owned by Norris before his untimely death in October 1902. A circular stone bench, the Frank Norris Memorial, was erected nearby by Fanny Stevenson, a close friend. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1962 for its association with Norris, whose novels McTeague and The Octopus: A Story of California are major American literary works of the turn of the 20th century.

Rancho Vega del Río del Pájaro was a 4,310-acre (17.4 km2) Spanish land concession in present day Monterey County, California given in 1821 by Pablo Vicente de Solá to Antonio María Castro. The grant was confirmed by Mexican Governor José Figueroa in 1833. The name means "a meadow along the Pajaro River". The rancho lands bordered the Pajaro River and include the present day Vega and Watsonville.