The Salinas Valley is one of the major valleys and most productive agricultural regions in California. It is located west of the San Joaquin Valley and south of San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley. The Salinas River, which geologically formed the fluvial valley and generated its human history, flows to the northwest or 'up' along the principal axis and the length of the valley. The valley was named during the late 18th-century Spanish colonial Alta California period, and in Spanish Salina is the term for a salt marsh, salt lake, or salt pan. The seasonal Salinas River had brackish tule ponds in broad depressed areas, and more salinity during summer and when drought lowered flows. The valley runs in a southeast to northwest alignment. It begins south of San Ardo, framed by the central inner California Coast Ranges, continues northwestward continuously defined on the west by the Santa Lucia Range, on the east by the Gabilan Range, to its end and the river's mouth at the Monterey Bay. It is also known for being the setting of the novels East of Eden and Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. Geography The Salinas Valley runs approximately southeast from the Salinas River mouth near Castroville and Salinas towards King City and San Ardo. The valley lends its name to the geologic province in which it is located, the Salinian Block. Cities and populated places in the Salinas Valley include Bradley, Castroville, Chualar, Gonzales, Greenfield, Jolon, King City, Salinas, San Ardo, San Lucas, Soledad and Spreckels. The Salinas Valley is located in between the Gabilan and Santa Lucia mountain ranges, which border the Salinas Valley to the east and the west, respectively. History Before colonization, the valley was inhabited by indigenous Salinans who lived by hunting and gathering and spoke the Salinan language. The Spanish colonial missions of San Miguel Arcángel, San Antonio de Padua and Nuestra Señora de la Soledad were all founded within the Salinas Valley in the late 18th century; from the last grew the city of Soledad. The commercial farming sector of the Dust Bowl era forms the backdrop for several John Steinbeck stories including East of Eden, Tortilla Flat, Of Mice and Men, The Chrysanthemums, and Johnny Bear. At a railroad crossing about one mile south of Chualar, a bus carrying Mexican migrant workers collided with a train in September 1963, killing 32 passengers and