Santa Clara (sän´tä klä´rä), city (1994 est. pop. 217,000), capital of Villa Clara prov., central Cuba. It is a communications and commercial center located on major rail and highway junctions; it also has an airport. Cattle raising was the traditional industry until the 19th cent., when sugarcane became important. Tobacco processing and trading are carried on there. Santa Clara was founded in 1689. It was captured by guerrilla forces in late 1958 during Fidel Castro's revolution against Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar.

Santa Clara (sän´tä klä´rä), pueblo (1990 pop. 1,156), N N.Mex., on the Rio Grande. Its inhabitants are Pueblo of the Tanoan linguistic family. Having their own elected government, the residents farm, raise cattle, or work in nearby Los Alamos. Some are noted painters and pottery makers. Near Santa Clara are Puye ruins, consisting of the remains of a pueblo (abandoned c.1700) with intricate architecture.

Santa Clara (săn´tə klâr´ə), city (1990 pop. 93,613), Santa Clara co., W Calif.; inc. 1852. Part of the Silicon Valley high-technology manufacturing complex, the city produces a variety of electronic goods and other manufactures. Santa Clara was developed as a fruit-processing center, and some agriculture remains important. Points of interest include the Santa Clara de Asís Mission, founded in 1777; and Paramount's Great America, a theme park. Santa Clara Univ. (1851), California's oldest higher-education institution, is there.