Santa Cruz is the county
seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the
2011 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 60,049. Situated on the
northern edge of the Monterey Bay, about 72 mi (116 km) south of San
Francisco, the city is part of the U.S. Census-designated 11-county San
Francisco Bay Area Combined Statistical Area but not within the traditional
9-county definition of the San Francisco Bay Area, as it is not in a county
that touches the San Francisco Bay. Santa Cruz is counted as part of the
Monterey Bay
