Davis is at the north end of California's Central Valley, about 15 miles west of Sacramento.  Daytime is hot and dry in the summer, with highs often in the 90's and sometimes over 100.  A cooling breeze usually blows overnight, often reducing the temperature by 30 degrees or more from the daytime high. Unlike many parts of California, there are no major faults nearby, so earthquakes are rarely felt here.

The city of Davis (population 65,000) is best known for its bicycles.  Davis is the only "double-platinum" in the League of American Bicyclists listings: the city and university are both rated platinum as a Bicycle Friendly Community and Bicycle Friendly University, respectively.  (UC Davis is also a platinum-level Bicycle Friendly Business.)  With few hills and more than 50 miles of bike paths, travelling around the city by bike is easy.  We provide bicycles for all REU students.