California
- Alternate meanings in California (disambiguation)
California is a state located in the western United States, bordering the Pacific Ocean. The most populous and third largest state in the U.S., California is both physically and demographically diverse. The state's official nickname is "The Golden State" (referring to the California gold rush), and its U.S. Postal abbreviation is CA.
Southern California is highly populated, while the larger northern California is less densely populated. The vast majority of the population lives within 50 miles (80 km) of the Pacific Ocean.
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| State nickname: The Golden State | |||||
Other U.S. States | |||||
| Capital | Sacramento | ||||
| Largest City | Los Angeles | ||||
| Governor | Arnold Schwarzenegger | ||||
| Area - Total - Land - Water - % water |
Ranked 3rd 410,000 km² 4.72% | ||||
| Population
- Density | Ranked 1st
83/km² | ||||
| Admittance into Union
- Date |
31st September 9, 1850 | ||||
| Time zone | Pacific: UTC-8/-7 | ||||
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Latitude
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32°30'N to 42°N
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Width
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402.5 km
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| ISO 3166-2: | US-CA | ||||
History
Main article: History of California.
California was the place where Sir Francis Drake, the English Privateer, in Elizabethan times audaciously claimed all the lands north of the Spanish Kingdoms of New Spain and New Mexico for the English Crown as Nova Albion. Although English colonial claims in the 1600s were made "from sea to sea," the English showed little interest in the west coast of North America. Beginning in the late 1700s, Spanish missionaries set up tiny settlements on enormous grants of land in the vast territory north of Spanish (Baja) California proper. Upon Mexican independence from Spain, the chain of missions became the property of the Mexican government, and they were quickly dissolved and abandoned.
California was the name given to the northwestern part of the Spanish Empire in North America. Following the Mexican-American War of 1847, the region was divided between Mexico and the United States. The Mexican portion, Baja (lower) California was later divided into the states of Baja California and Baja California Sur. The American portion, Alta (upper) California became the U.S. state of California in 1850.
In 1848, the Spanish-speaking population of distant upper California numbered around 4,000. But after gold was discovered, the population burgeoned with Americans and a few Europeans in the great Gold Rush. A California Republic was founded and the Bear Flag was flown that featured a golden bear and a star. The Republic came to a sudden end when Commodore John D. Sloat of the United States Navy sailed into San Francisco Bay and claimed the California for the United States. In 1850, the state was admitted to the Union.
During the U.S. Civil War, popular support was divided between the North and the South, and although California officially entered on the side of the North, troops volunteered for both sides.
The connection of the far Pacific West to the eastern population centers came in the 1870s with the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. Out West, residents were discovering that California was extremely well suited to fruit cultivation and agriculture in general. Citrus, oranges in particular, were widely grown, and the foundation was laid for the state's prodigious agricultural production of today.
In the period from 1900 to 1965 the population grew from fewer than one million to become the most populous state in the Union, sending the most electors to the Electoral College to elect the President. From 1965 to the present, this population completely changed and became one of the most diverse in the world. The state is liberal-leaning, technologically and culturally saavy, and a world center of engineering businesses, the film and television industry and, as mentioned above, American agricultural production.
Law and government
Main article: California government and politics
The Governor of California and the other state constitutional officers serve four-year terms and may be reelected only once. The California state legislature consists of a 40 member Senate and 80 member Assembly. Senators serve four year terms and Assemblymembers two. The terms of the Senators are staggered so that half the membership is elected every two years. The Senators representing the odd-numbered districts are elected in years evenly divisible by four, i.e., presidential election years. The Senators from the even-numbered districts are elected in the intervening even-numbered years, in the gubernatorial election cycle. For the 2003-2004 session, there are 48 Democrats and 32 Republicans in the Assembly. In the Senate, there are 25 Democrats and 15 Republicans.
The state's capital is Sacramento. In California's early history, the capital was located in Monterey (1775-1849), San Jose (1849-1851), Vallejo (1852-1853), Benicia (1853-1854), and San Francisco (1862). The capital moved to Sacramento temporarily in 1852 when construction on a State House could not be completed in time in Vallejo. The capital moved to Sacramento for good on February 25, 1854, except for a four-month temporary move in 1862 to San Francisco due to severe flooding in Sacramento.
At the national level, California is represented by two senators and 53 representatives. It has 55 electoral votes in the U.S. Electoral College. California has the most Congressmen and Presidential Electors of any state.
The current Governor is Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger and the two U.S. Senators are Democrats Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. 33 Democrats and 20 Republicans represent the state in the House of Representatives. Many leading members of Congress are from California. Among the Republicans representing California in the House in the 108th Congress are Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier from the 26th District, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas from the 22nd District, Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter from the 52nd District, Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo from the 11th District, and Homeland Security Committee Chairman Chris Cox from the 48th District. Cox also chairs the Republican Policy Committee, making him the 4th ranking member in the House Republican leadership. Among the Democrats are Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi from the 8th District, Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Democrat George Miller from the 7th District, and Intelligence Committee Ranking Democrat Jane Harman from the 36th District.
See also: List of California Governors, US Congressional Delegations from California, List of California counties, List of California ballot propositions
Geography
Main article: Geography of California
California borders the Pacific Ocean, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, and the Mexican State of Baja California. The state has striking natural features, including a huge fertile central valley, high mountains, and hot dry deserts. With an area of 410,000 km² it is the third largest state in the U.S. Most major cities cling to the cool, pleasant seacoast along the Pacific, notably San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. The capital, however, is Sacramento in the Central Valley.
California has many types of geography. Down the center of the state lies the Central Valley, a huge, fertile 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. Mountain-fed rivers naturally irrigate the Central Valley. With dredging, several of these rivers have become sufficiently large and deep that several inland cities, notably Stockton, California, are seaports.
Vintage large-letter postcard
In the center and east of the state are the Sierra Nevada, containing the highest peak in the continental U.S., Mount Whitney, at 4,418 meters (14,495 ft). Also in the Sierra is the world famous Yosemite National Park and a deep freshwater lake, Lake Tahoe. To the east of the Sierra is the Owens Valley and Mono Lake, an essential seabird habitat.
In the south lie the Transverse Ranges and a large salt lake, the Salton Sea. The south-central desert is called the Mojave. Just to the north east of the Mojave, lies Death Valley, which contains the lowest, hottest point in North America.
California is famous for its earthquakes due partly to the presence of the San Andreas Fault. While more powerful earthquakes in the United States have occurred in Alaska and along the Mississippi River, California earthquakes are notable due to their frequency and location in highly populated areas. Popular legend has it that, eventually, an earthquake known as "The Big One" will result in the splitting of coastal California from the continent, either to sink into the ocean or form a new landmass. The fact that this scenario is completely implausible from a geologic standpoint does not lessen its acceptance in public conventional wisdom.
Climate
The southern part of the state has a desert climate, with temperature extremes and 10 inches/year of rain. The coastal regions have a Mediterranean climate, with wet winters and dry summers. There is a temperate climate with 15-40 inches/year rainfall in the north. The Central Valley has a continental climate, with chilly winters and very hot summers. The high mountains, including the Sierra Nevada, have a mountain climate with snow in winter and moderate heat in summer.
Ecology
Ecologically, California is one of the richest and most diverse parts of the world, and one of the most endangered. California's diverse geography, geology, soils and climate have generated a tremendous diversity of plant and animal life. The state of California covers a number of terrestrial ecoregions: The low desert of southeastern California is part of the Sonoran desert ecoregion, while the dry Mojave desert, Owens Valley, Modoc Plateau are part of the Great Basin ecoregion. The southern and central Coast Ranges, including the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles, and Central Valley comprise the California Chaparral and Woodlands ecoregion, which extends across the Mexican border into northwestern Baja California. The Sierra Nevada and Klamath-Siskiyou ecoregion are often recognized as distinct ecoregions. Botanists generally consider the California Chaparral and Woodlands, Sierra Nevada, and Klamath-Siskiyou as a single California Floristic province, which doesn't include the California deserts or the Great Basin region. Many Bioregionalists, including poet Gary Snyder, identify the central and northern Coast Ranges, Klamath-Siskiyou, the Central Valley, and Sierra Nevada as Alta California or the Shasta Bioregion.
California has a high percentage of endemic species. California endemics include relict species that have died out elsewhere, including the redwoods (Coast redwood, Sequoia sempervirens, and the Giant Sequoia, Sequoiadendron giganteum), and 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. California's great abundance of species of California lilac (Ceanothus) is an example of adaptive radiation. Many california endemics have become endangered, as urbanization, logging, overgrazing, and the introduction of exotic species have encroached on their habitat. Biotopes include desert, oak savanna, second-growth taiga (coniferous forest), especially in the north and at high altitudes. Mountain-tops contain tundra, fellfields (stony ground with patches of meadow), and krummholz (dwarf forests).
Economy
California is responsible for 14% of American gross domestic product, which at nearly $1.4 trillion is greater than that of every country in the world save for the United States, Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom.
The predominant industry, more than twice as large as the next largest, 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; and light manufacturing including computer hardware and software, and the mining of borax.
Per capita income varies widely by geographic region and profession. The Central Valley has the most extreme contrasts of income, with migrant farm workers making less than minimum wage, contrasted with farmers who frequently manage multimillion-dollar farms. Most farm managers are highly educated, most with at least master's degrees. While cities include some of the wealthiest per-capita areas in the U.S., notably Irvine in Orange County, the non-agricultural central counties have some of the highest poverty rates in the U.S. The high-technology sectors in Orange County and Silicon Valley, in Santa Clara County are currently in a recession because of the dot.com bust, but medical systems, video games and animation are taking up the slack.
A particular problem with California's economy is that it does not attract manufacturing. The 7.25% sales tax (total statewide base sales/use tax) makes it uneconomic to locate major factories in the state, because that tax must be paid on capital equipment. California also has unusually high unemployment and worker's compensation (for on-the-job injury) taxes. Major manufacturers, especially aerospace, are also leaving the state or shifting production. For this reason, no major new factories have been built in California for many years, and the state suffers a severe lack of good-paying manufacturing jobs. This means that the middle class in California consists almost entirely of small businesspeople and construction and transportation workers, with a small leavening of knowledge workers -- a nearly pure service economy. Manufacturing costs are made even higher by high land and housing prices, which cause workers to need very high pay.
In 2001 the Small Business Survival Committee ranked California among the worst states in the U.S. in which to run a small business. It was in 44th place.
See also: California unemployment statistics
Demographics
With a population of 33,871,648 as of 2000, California is the most populous state in the U.S., and contributes 12% to the total U.S. population.
According to the census, California lacks a majority ethnic group. Whites are still the largest group, but are no longer a majority of the population. Hispanics make up almost one-third of the population; in order, other groups are Asian Americans, African Americans, and Native Americans. Because of high levels of immigration from Spanish-speaking countries and higher birth rates among the mostly Catholic Hispanic population, Hispanics are predicted to become a majority around 2040.
(Larger version)
Important Cities and Towns
Education
Main article: List of colleges and universities in California
California's educational system is supported by a unique constitutional amendment that requires 40% of state revenues to be spent on education.
The preeminent state university is the 10-campus University of California, which employs more Nobel Prize winners than any other institution in the world. The campuses are in Berkeley, Los Angeles, Davis, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Irvine, Riverside, and San Diego. A ninth campus, in San Francisco, teaches only health-sciences students. Construction is underway for a tenth campus, in Merced. The UC system is intended to accept students from the top 12.5% of college-bound students, and provide most graduate studies and research. The University of California also administers federal laboratories for the Federal Department of Energy: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The California State University system provides education for teachers, the trades, agriculture and industry. It is intended to accept most college-bound high-school students, while carrying out some research, especially in applied sciences. Lower-division course credits are frequently transferable to the University of California.
The community college system educates students in the trades, providing certificates, and associate-arts degrees. It also provides lower division general-education courses transferable to the State University and the University of California.
Preeminent private institutions include Stanford University, the University of Southern California (USC), and the California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech) (which administers the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA).
California has hundreds of private colleges and universities, including many religious and special-purpose institutions. This leads to many unique entertainment and educational opportunities for residents. For example, Southern California, with one of the highest densities of post-secondary institutions in the world, has a very large base of classically trained vocalists that compete in large choir festivals. Near Los Angeles, there are numerous art and film institutes, including the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Art Institute.
| The Golden State | |
| State Animal: | California grizzly bear |
| State Bird: | California Quail |
| State Colors: | Blue and gold |
| State Capital: | Sacramento |
| State Dance: | West Coast Swing |
| State Fish: | Golden trout |
| State Marine Fish: | Garibaldi |
| State Flower: | California Poppy |
| State Fossil: | Sabertooth cat |
| State Insect: | California dogface butterfly |
| State Motto: | "Eureka!" |
| State Song: | "I love you, California" |
| State Tree: | California redwood |
| State Mineral: | Gold |
| State Rock: | Serpentine |
| State Soil: | San Joaquin soil |
Secondary education consists of high schools that teach elective courses in trades, languages and liberal arts with tracks for gifted, college-bound and industrial arts students. They accept students from roughly age 14 to 18, with mandatory education ceasing at age 16. In many districts, junior high schools teach electives with a strong skills-based curriculum, for ages from 11 to 13. Elementary schools teach pure skills, history and social studies, with optional half-day kindergartens beginning at age 5. Mandatory full-time instruction begins at age 6.
The primary schools are of varying effectiveness. The quality of the local schools depends strongly on the local tax base, and the size of the local administration. In some regions, administrative costs divert a significant amount of educational monies from instructional purposes. In poor regions, literacy rates may fall below 70%.
Miscellaneous Information
- List of California state highways
- List of professional sports teams in California
- List of California-related topics
- USS California
External links
- State of California Official Website
- California News
- Amtrak train and bus routes
- Union Pacific Railroad
- Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway
- Greyhound bus map
