The Salinas Valley, located in central California, serves as the main setting for Lennie and George in Of Mice and Men. The valley is made up of mostly small agricultural towns and is nicknamed America's Salad Bowl. As you can probably guess from the nickname and the picture, the valley is dependent on agriculture and grows a variety of crops. The valley has been a place for immigrants, due to the dependence on agriculture, with Lennie and George traveling what seems to be quite a distance to find work in the valley. Furthermore, the valley receives many immigrant farm workers who arrive from Mexico to harvest and work in the fields. The author John Steibeck was born in Salinas, California and used California as the setting for many of his novels. Here is a link to the National Srteinbeck center located in Salinas, California. You can find more biographical information on Steinbeck here: http://www.steinbeck.org/
