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San Rafael
Sign in to saveAlso known as San Rafael, California, San Rafael, CA
city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States
San Rafael is a city in California that serves as the county seat of Marin County, meaning it's the administrative center where the county government is based. It's an important hub for the local region's governance and services.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
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Encyclopedic overview
San Rafael (/ˌsæn rəˈfɛl/ SAN rə-FEL; Spanish for "St. Raphael", Spanish pronunciation: [san rafaˈel]) is a city in and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 census, San Rafael had a population of 61,271.
San Rafael was founded by the Spanish in 1817, when Vicente Francisco de Sarría established Mission San Rafael Arcángel, initially as an asistencia (sub-mission). San Rafael Arcángel was upgraded to full mission status in 1822, a month before Alta California declared independence from Spain as part of Mexico. Following the American Conquest of California, the community of San Rafael incorporated as a city in 1874.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “San Rafael” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.