The geographic location is west of the Santa Teresa section of San Jose, east of the town of Los Gatos, and south of downtown San Jose.  The roads usually considered as the boundary of Almaden Valley are Blossom Hill Road to the north, Coleman Road to the west, and the Santa Teresa hills to the east.  To the south, between McKean Road and the the coastal mountain range, the area becomes rural and is known as the South Almaden Valley Urban Reserve.  Almaden Road extends past housing developments to New Almaden which grew up around the quicksilver (mercury) mines there.  New Almaden and the land on the way there are included in the Almaden Valley area.