Palo Alto (; ; from
palo, literally "stick", colloquially "tree", and
alto "tall"; meaning: "tall tree") is a
charter city located in the northwest corner of
Santa Clara County,
California, in the
San Francisco Bay Area of the United States. The city shares its borders with
East Palo Alto,
Mountain View,
Los Altos,
Los Altos Hills,
Stanford,
Portola Valley, and
Menlo Park. It is named after a
coast redwood tree called
El Palo Alto.