| State of California |
|
|
| Official language(s) |
English |
| Capital |
Sacramento |
| Largest city |
Los Angeles |
| Area |
Ranked 3rd |
| - Total |
158,302 sq mi
(410,000 km ) |
| - Width |
250 miles (400 km) |
| - Length |
770 miles (1,240 km) |
| - % water |
4.7 |
| - Latitude |
32 30'N to 42 N |
| - Longitude |
114 8'W to 124 24'W |
| Population |
Ranked 1st |
| - Total (2000) |
33,871,648 |
| - Density |
217.2/sq mi
83.85/km (12th) |
| - Median income |
US$49,894 (13th) |
| Elevation |
|
| - Highest point |
Mount Whitney[2]
14,505 ft (4,421 m) |
| - Mean |
2,900 ft (884 m) |
| - Lowest point |
Death Valley[2]
-282 ft (-86 m) |
| Admission to Union |
September 9, 1850 (31st) |
| Governor |
Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) |
| U.S. Senators |
Dianne Feinstein (D)
Barbara Boxer (D) |
| Congressional Delegation |
List |
| Time zone |
Pacific: UTC-8/-7 |
| Abbreviations |
CA Calif. US-CA |
| Web site |
www.ca.gov |
The State of California (IPA: / k .l f .n /) is the most populated state of the United States of America. Located on the Pacific coast of North America, it is bordered by Oregon, Nevada and Arizona in the United States, and Baja California in Mexico. The state's four largest cities are Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose and San Francisco. California is known for its diverse climate and ethnically diverse population. The state has 58 counties.
Alta California was first colonized by the Spanish Empire in 1769, and after Mexican independence in 1821, continued as part of Mexico. Following one brief week as the independent California Republic in 1846, and the conclusion of the Mexican-American war in 1848, California was annexed by the United States and was admitted to the Union as the thirty-first state on September 9, 1850.
California's diverse geography ranges from the hard, rocky beaches of the Pacific coast to the rugged, snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains in the east. The central portion of the state is dominated by the Central Valley, one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world. The Sierra Nevada contains Yosemite Valley, famous for its glacially-carved domes, and Sequoia National Park, home to the largest living organisms on Earth, the giant sequoia trees, and the highest point in the contiguous United States, Mount Whitney.[2] The tallest living things on Earth, the ancient redwood trees, dot the coastline, mainly north of San Francisco. California is also home to the second lowest and hottest place in the Western Hemisphere, Death Valley. Bristlecone pines located in the White Mountains are the oldest known trees in the world; one has an age of 4,700 years.
The California Gold Rush, beginning in 1848, dramatically changed California with an influx of population and an economic boom, and San Francisco became a financial and cultural center. The early 20th century was marked by Los Angeles becoming the center of the entertainment industry, in addition to the growth of a large tourism sector in the state. The Central Valley is home to California's agricultural industry, the largest of any state. Other major industries include aerospace and petroleum, computer and information technology. California's ranks among the ten largest economies in the world, and 35th amongst the most populous countries behind Kenya.[3]
-
The word California originally referred to the entire region composed of the current U.S. state of California, plus all or parts of Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Wyoming, and the Mexican peninsula now known as Baja California.
The name California is most commonly believed derived from a storied paradise peopled by black Amazons and ruled by Queen Califia. The myth of Califia is recorded in a 1510 work The Exploits of Esplandian, written as a sequel to Amad s de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garc a Ordo ez Rodriguez de Montalvo.[4] The kingdom of Queen Califia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a remote land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts and rich in gold.
Know ye that at the right hand of the Indies there is an island named California, very close to that part of the terrestrial Paradise, which was inhabited by black women, without a single man among them, and that they lived in the manner of Amazons. They were robust of body, with strong and passionate hearts and great virtues. The island itself is one of the wildest in the world on account of the bold and craggy rocks. Their weapons were all made of gold. The island everywhere abounds with gold and precious stones, and upon it no other metal was found.[5]
It is thought that the myth of Califia later helped fuel Spanish exploration in the New World. According to this theory, the Spanish conquistador Hern n Cort s heard stories of an island populated by women warriors and filled with riches, off the northwest coast of today's Mexico. Beginning in 1535, he sponsored three expeditions to what is now known as the Baja California Peninsula in search of this island. While Cort s is credited with the discovery of Baja California, he found no such island of riches and Amazons. In official reports about Cort s's discoveries written in the early 1540s, these new lands are referred to as "California" likely alluding to Montalvo's imaginary island. These reports were written by Cort s's political rivals, and it is unclear whether the allusions to California in these reports were meant as mockery of Cort s that is, Cort s went seeking riches and Amazons, but found only the deserts of Baja California; these rivals then derisively refer to Cort s's discovery by the well-known name of "California." Others suggest the word California may come from the early Spanish explorers who entered California via the hot southern regions and referred to California as being "hot as an oven" or a "lime oven" ("cali > hot", "fornus->forno > oven" + ending "ia" for a place; or with "cal > lime"). It may be derived from caliente fornalia, Spanish for hot furnace, or it may come from calida fornax, Latin for hot climate.[citation needed][weasel words]
[edit] Geography
-
Golden rolling hills of California.
California's Central Valley. The Agricultural hub of the state.
California borders the Pacific Ocean, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, and the Mexican state of Baja California. With an area of 160,000 mi (411,000 km ) it is the third largest state in the United States and is a little larger than Germany in size.
California's geography is rich, complex, and varied. In the middle of the state lies the California Central Valley, bounded by the coastal mountain ranges in the west, the Sierra Nevada to the east, the Cascade Range in the north and the Tehachapi Mountains in the south. The Central Valley is California's agricultural heartland and grows approximately one-third of the nation's food.[6] Divided in two by the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the northern portion, the Sacramento Valley serves as the watershed of the Sacramento River, while the southern portion, the San Joaquin Valley is the watershed for the San Joaquin River; both areas derive its name from the rivers that transit them. With dredging, the Sacramento and the San Joaquin Rivers have remained sufficiently deep that several inland cities are seaports. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta serves as a critical water supply hub for the state. Water is routed through an extensive network of canals and pumps out of the delta, that traverse nearly the length of the state, including the Central Valley Project, and the State Water Project. Water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta provides drinking water for nearly 23 million people, almost two-thirds of the state's population, and provides water to farmers on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. The Channel Islands are located off the southern coast.
The Sierra Nevada (Spanish for "snowy range") include the highest peak in the contiguous forty-eight states, Mount Whitney, at 14,505 ft (4,421 m), Yosemite National Park, and the deep freshwater lake, Lake Tahoe, the largest lake in the state by volume. To the east of the Sierra Nevada are Owens Valley and Mono Lake, an essential migratory bird habitat. In the western part of the state is Clear Lake, the largest freshwater lake by area entirely in California. Though Lake Tahoe is larger, it is divided by the California, Nevada border. The Sierra Nevada falls to Arctic temperatures in winter and has several dozen small glaciers, including Palisade Glacier, the southernmost glacier in North America.
About 35% of the state's total surface area is covered by forests, and California's diversity of pine species is unmatched by any other state. California contains more forestland than any other state except Alaska. In the south is a large inland salt lake, the Salton Sea. Deserts in California make up about 25% of the total surface area. The south-central desert is called the Mojave; to the northeast of the Mojave lies Death Valley, which contains the lowest, hottest point in North America, Badwater Flat. The distant from lowest point of Death Valley and the peak of Mount Whitney is less than 200 miles (322 km). Indeed, almost all of southeastern California is arid, hot desert, with routine extreme high temperatures during the summer.
Along the California coast are several major metropolitan areas, including San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland (Bay Area), Los Angeles-Long Beach, Santa Ana-Irvine-Anaheim (Orange County), and San Diego.
California is famous for earthquakes due to a number of faults, in particular the San Andreas Fault. It is vulnerable to tsunamis, wildfires, and landslides on steep terrain, and has several volcanoes.
[edit] Climate
-
California climate varies from Mediterranean to subarctic. Much of the state has a Mediterranean climate, with cool, rainy winters and dry summers. The cool California Current offshore often creates summer fog near the coast. Further inland, the climate has colder winters and hotter summers.
Northern parts of the state average higher annual rainfall than the south. California's mountain ranges influence the climate as well: some of the rainiest parts of the state are west-facing mountain slopes. Northwestern California has a temperate climate and the Central Valley has a Mediterranean climate but with greater temperature extremes than the coast. The high mountains, including the Sierra Nevada, have a mountain climate with snow in winter and mild to moderate heat in summer.
This mountain is characteristic of the Mojave Desert in southern California.
The east side of California's mountains has a drier rain shadow. The low deserts east of the southern California mountains have hot summers and nearly frostless mild winters; the higher elevation deserts of eastern California have hot summers and cold winters. In Death Valley, the highest temperature in the Western Hemisphere, 134 F (56.6 C), was recorded July 10, 1913.
[edit] Ecology
-
Ecologically, California is one of the richest and most diverse parts of the world and includes some of the most endangered ecological communities. California is part of the Nearctic ecozone and spans a number of terrestrial ecoregions.
California's large number of endemic species includes relic species which have died out elsewhere, such as the Catalina Ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus). Many other endemics originated through differentiation or adaptive radiation, whereby multiple species develop from a common ancestor to take advantage of diverse ecological conditions such as the California lilac (Ceanothus). Many California endemics have become endangered, as urbanization, logging, overgrazing, and the introduction of exotic species have encroached on their habitat.
California boasts several superlatives in its collection of flora; the largest trees, the tallest trees, and the oldest trees. California's native grasses are perennial plants.[7] After European contact, these were generally replaced by invasive species of European annual grasses; and, in modern times, California's hills turn a characteristic golden brown in summer.
[edit] Rivers
The two most important rivers within California are the Sacramento River and the San Joaquin River, which drain the Central Valley and flow to the Pacific Ocean through San Francisco Bay. Two other important rivers are the Klamath River, in the north, and the Colorado River, on the southeast border. For other rivers, see List of California rivers
[edit] National Parks and Monuments
-
The U.S. National Park System controls a large and diverse group of California parks. The best known is Yosemite National Park. Half Dome, in Yosemite, figures prominently on the reverse side of the California state quarter. Other prominent parks are the Kings Canyon-Sequoia National Park complex, Redwood National Park, Joshua Tree National Park and the largest, Death Valley National Park. The nearest major city is Fresno, California, which is also the sixth largest city in California.
[edit] History
-
Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America; the area was inhabited by more than 70 distinct groups of Native Americans. Large, settled populations lived on the coast and hunted sea mammals, fished for salmon, and gathered shellfish, while groups in the interior hunted terrestrial game and gathered nuts, acorns, and berries. California groups also were diverse in their political organization with bands, tribes, villages, and on the resource-rich coasts, large chiefdoms, such as the Chumash, Pomo and Salinan. Trade, intermarriage, and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups.
The first European to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was the portuguese Juan Rodr guez Cabrillo, in 1542, sailing for the Spanish Empire. Some 37 years later, the English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed an undefined portion of the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila Galleons on their return trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565. Sebasti n Vizca no explored and mapped the coast of California in 1602 for New Spain.
Spanish missionaries began setting up twenty-three California Missions along the coast of what became known as Alta California (Upper California), together with small towns and presidios. The first mission in Alta California was established at San Diego in 1769.[8] In 1821, the Mexican War of Independence gave Mexico (including California), independence from Spain; for the next twenty-five years, Alta California remained a remote northern province of the nation of Mexico. Cattle ranches, or ranchos, emerged as the dominant institutions of Mexican California. After Mexican independence from Spain, the chain of missions became the property of the Mexican government, and were secularized by 1832. The ranchos developed under ownership by Californios (Spanish-speaking Californians) who had received land grants and traded cowhides and tallow with Boston merchants.
Beginning in the 1820s, trappers and settlers from the United States and Canada began to arrive in Northern California, harbingers of the great changes that would later sweep the Mexican territory. These new arrivals used the Siskiyou Trail, California Trail,Oregon Trail and Old Spanish Trail to cross the rugged mountains and harsh deserts surrounding California. In this period, Imperial Russia explored the California coast, and established a trading post at Fort Ross.
The Bear Flag of the Republic of California
In 1846, at the outset of the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), the California Republic was founded and the Bear Flag (featuring a bear, a star, and the words "California Republic") was flown in an attempt to control Northern California. The attempt to form this republic came to a sudden end, however, when Commodore John D. Sloat of the United States Navy sailed into San Francisco Bay and began the military occupation of California by the United States. Northern California capitulated in less than a month to the US forces.
Following a series of defensive battles in Southern California, including; The Siege of Los Angeles, the Battle of Dominguez Rancho, the Battle of San Pascual, the Battle of Rio San Gabriel and the Battle of La Mesa, the Treaty of Cahuenga was signed by the Californios on January 13, 1847, securing American control in California.
Following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the war, the region was divided between Mexico and the United States; the western territory of Alta California, was to become the U.S. state of California, and the Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Utah Territories, while the lower region of California, Baja California, remained in the possession of Mexico.
In 1848, the non-native population of California has been estimated to be no more than 15,000. But after gold was discovered, the population burgeoned with U.S. citizens, Europeans, and other immigrants during the great California Gold Rush. In 1850, California was admitted to the United States as a free state (one in which slavery was prohibited).
The seat of government for California under Mexican rule was located at Monterey from 1777 until 1846, when Mexican authorities abandoned California at the outset of the Mexican-American war.[citation needed] In 1849, the Constitutional Convention was first held there. Among the duties was the task of determining the location for the new State capital. The first legislative sessions were held in San Jose (1850-1851). Subsequent locations included Vallejo (1852-1853), and nearby Benicia (1853-1854), although these locations eventually proved to be inadequate as well. The capital has been located in Sacramento since 1854.[9]
At first, travel between California and the central and eastern parts of the United States was time-consuming and dangerous. A more direct connection came in 1869 with the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad. After this rail link was established, hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens came west, where new Californians were discovering that land in the state, if irrigated during the dry summer months, was extremely well-suited to fruit cultivation and agriculture in general. Vast expanses of wheat and other cereal crops, vegetable crops, cotton, and nut and fruit trees were grown (including oranges in Southern California), and the foundation was laid for the state's prodigious agricultural production in the Central Valley and elsewhere.
During the early 20th century, migration to California accelerated with the completion of major transcontinental highways like the Lincoln Highway and Route 66. In the period from 1900 to 1965, the population grew from fewer than one million to become the most populous state in the Union. From 1965 to the present, the population changed radically and became one of the most diverse in the world. The state is regarded as a world center of technology and engineering businesses, the entertainment and music industries, and of U.S. agricultural production.
[edit] Demographics
-
[edit] Population
| Historical populations |
| Census |
Pop. |
|
% |
| 1850 |
92,597 |
|
|
| 1860 |
379,994 |
|
310.4% |
| 1870 |
560,247 |
|
47.4% |
| 1880 |
864,694 |
|
54.3% |
| 1890 |
1,213,398 |
|
40.3% |
| 1900 |
1,485,053 |
|
22.4% |
| 1910 |
2,377,549 |
|
60.1% |
| 1920 |
3,426,861 |
|
44.1% |
| 1930 |
5,677,251 |
|
65.7% |
| 1940 |
6,907,387 |
|
21.7% |
| 1950 |
10,586,223 |
|
53.3% |
| 1960 |
15,717,204 |
|
48.5% |
| 1970 |
19,953,134 |
|
27.0% |
| 1980 |
23,667,902 |
|
18.6% |
| 1990 |
29,760,021 |
|
25.7% |
| 2000 |
33,871,648 |
|
13.8% |
California Population Density Map
By 2007, California's population has reached 37,700,000, making it the most populated state, and is the 13th fastest-growing state. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 1,909,368 people (that is 3,375,297 births minus 1,465,929 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 774,198 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 1,724,790 people, and migration within the country produced a net decrease of 950,592.[10] According to the Sacramento News & Review, California's population will increase to 50 million people by 2025.[11] Despite long held claims of overpopulation of California, some people believe that this must be taken in relative terms. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh together add the equivalent of "a California" to their already massive populations every 15 months, or to put it another way, they add what California adds in a year in 5 days. (around 400,000 people, 2007, State Population Bureau)
California is the second most populous state in the Western Hemisphere, exceeded only by S o Paulo State. More than 12 percent of U.S. citizens live in California and its population is greater than that of all but 34 countries.[3]
California has eight of the top 50 US cities in terms of population. Los Angeles is the nation's second-largest city with a population of 4,018,000 people, followed by San Diego (8th), San Jose (10th), San Francisco (14th), Long Beach (34th), Fresno (36th), Sacramento (37th) and Oakland (44th). Los Angeles County has held the title of most populous county for decades, and is more populous than 37 US states.
The center of population of California is at the town of Buttonwillow in Kern County.[12]
[edit] Racial and ancestral makeup
According to the 2005 US Census Bureau California's population is 60.9% White American, 6.1% Black or African American, 12.4% Asian American, 16.4% other races, 0.7% American Indian, 3.1% mixed race. 35.5% are Hispanic or Latino (of any race). 43.3% of the population are non-Hispanic whites.
The largest named ancestries in California are Mexican (25%), German (9%), Irish (7.7%), English (7.4%) and Filipino (6%), but includes 65 other ethnicities from Albanian to Somali. There are substantial Chinese American communities in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles County; there are large Korean American, Japanese American, Cambodian American, Vietnamese American, Thai American, Indian American, Pakistani American, Persian American, Armenian American, and Arab American communities in the Greater Los Angeles Area and in other areas of the state. There are also large concentrations of Russian-Americans in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sacramento. The state has the nation's largest Bulgarian American population.
California has the fifth largest population of African Americans in the U.S., an estimated 2,163,530 residents. California's Asian population is estimated at 5 million, approximately one-third of the nation's 14.9 million Asians. California's Native American population of 376,093 is the most of any state.[13]
According to estimates from 2006, California has the largest minority population in the United States, making up 57% of the state population. Non-Hispanic whites slipped from 80% of the state's population in 1970 to 43% in 2006.[14] While the population of minorities accounts for 100.7 million of 300 million U.S. residents, 21% of the national total live in California.[13]
[edit] Languages
As of 2000, 60.52% of California residents age five and older spoke English as a first language at home, while 25.80% spoke Spanish. In addition to English and Spanish, 2.44% spoke Chinese (which included Cantonese [0.48%] and Mandarin [0.29%]), 1.99% spoke Wikang Filipino (most are native speakers of Ilokano, Cebuano, Tagalog, Pangasinan and Kapampangan), 1.29% spoke Vietnamese, and 0.94% spoke Korean as their mother tongue. In total, 39.47% of the population spoke languages other than English.[15][16] Over 200 languages are known to be spoken and read in California. Including indigenous languages, California is viewed as one of the most linguistically diverse areas in the world (the indigenous languages were derived from 64 root languages in 6 language families).[17] About half of the indigenous languages are no longer spoken, and all of California's living indigenous languages are endangered, although there are now some efforts toward language revitalization.
The official language of California has been English since the passage of Proposition 63 in 1986. However, many state, city, and local government agencies still continue to print official public documents in numerous languages to assist their clientele.[18]
[edit] Religion
The state has the most Roman Catholics of any state, a large Protestant population, a large American Jewish community, and a large, rapidly-growing American Muslim population.
With a Jewish population estimated at more than 550,000, Los Angeles is the second-largest Jewish community in North America.
As the twentieth century came to a close, forty percent of all Buddhists in America resided in Southern California. The Los Angeles Metropolitan Area has become unique in the Buddhist world as the single place where representative organizations of every major school of Buddhism can be found in a single urban center."[19] The Hsi Lai Temple in Southern California is the largest Buddhist temple in the Western Hemisphere. Some claim that City of Ten Thousand Buddhas is larger.[weasel words]
California also has more Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints than any state except Utah.
There are many people in California who do not commit themselves to an organized religion.
[edit] Economy
-
The
Hollywood Sign is the best-known symbol of California's huge entertainment industry.
Silicon Valley is the center of the world's computer industry, just south of San Francisco.
As of 2005, The gross state product (GSP) is about $1.62 trillion, the largest in the country. California is responsible for 13% of the United States gross domestic product (GDP). As of 2005, California's GDP is larger than all but seven countries in the world (and all but eight countries by Purchasing Power Parity).
California is also the home of several significant economic regions such as Hollywood (entertainment), the California Central Valley (agriculture), Tech Coast and Silicon Valley (computers and high tech), and wine producing regions such as the Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley and Southern California's Santa Barbara and Paso Robles area's.
The predominant industry, more than twice as large as the next, is agriculture, (including fruit, vegetables, dairy, and wine). This is followed by aerospace; entertainment, primarily television by dollar volume, although many movies are still made in California; music production and recording studios; light manufacturing, including computer hardware and software; and the mining of borax. Oil drilling has played a significant role in the development of the state.
Per capita personal income was $48,460 as of 2005, ranking 13th in the nation. Per capita income varies widely by geographic region and profession. The Central Valley is the most impoverished, with migrant farm workers making less than minimum wage. Recently, the San Joaquin Valley was characterized as one of the most economically depressed regions in the U.S., on par with the region of Appalachia.[20]
Many coastal cities include some of the wealthiest per-capita areas in the U.S. The high-technology sectors in Northern California, specifically Silicon Valley, in Santa Clara
