Salinas (Amtrak Station), California

Chico, California

Salinas is the county seat and largest municipality of Monterey County, California. Salinas is an urban area located just outside the southern portion of the Greater Bay Area and 10 miles (16 km) east-southeast of the mouth of the Salinas River. The population was 157,218 as of 2016. The city is located at the mouth of the Salinas Valley roughly eight miles from the Pacific Ocean and has a climate more influenced by the ocean than the hot-summer interior. Salinas serves as the main business, governmental and industrial center of the region. The marine climate is ideal for the floral industry, grape vineyards, and vegetable growers. Salinas is known as the "Salad Bowl of the World" for its large, vibrant agriculture industry. It was the hometown of writer and Nobel laureate John Steinbeck (1902-1968), who set many of his stories in the Salinas Valley and Monterey.

Chico ( CHEE-koh) is the most populous city in Butte County, California, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 86,187, reflecting an increase of 26,233 from the 59,954 counted in the 2000 Census. Following the 2018 Camp Fire that destroyed much of the neighboring town of Paradise, the population of Chico surged as many people who lost their homes in the fire moved to Chico. In 2019, the California Department of Finance estimated the population of Chico is 112,111, an increase of more than 20% from the 2018 population estimate. Chico is now the largest city in California north of Sacramento. The city is the cultural, economic, and educational center of the northern Sacramento Valley and home to both California State University, Chico and Bidwell Park, the country's 26th largest municipal park and the 13th largest municipally-owned park. Bidwell Park makes up over 17% of the city. Other cities in close proximity to the Chico Metropolitan Area (population 212,000) include Paradise and Oroville, while local towns and villages (unincorporated areas) include Durham, Cohasset, Dayton, Nord, and Forest Ranch. The Chico Metropolitan Area is the 14th largest Metropolitan Statistical Area in California. The nickname "City of Roses" appears on the Seal of the City of Chico. The city has been designated a Tree City USA for 31 years by the National Arbor Day Foundation.