Introduction
There are 50 diverse states in our amazing country, and each one has
features that make it unique and special. California is in the Pacific region of the
continental United States, and has a coastline that stretches for about 840 miles.
This coastline includes many spectacular views and beaches. Oregon, Nevada,
and Arizona are its neighbors. The 31st state to join the union is known for
Hollywood’s movie stars and Disneyland, as well as for spectacular redwood trees,
vineyards, and earthquakes. Some of the most distinctive information about
California is included in its culture, geography, and history.
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State Profile
The culture of California is a lot like the culture of the United States as a whole,
but has features that make it unique. Due to the diverse population here, a person can
find many different types of foods, languages and traditions from all over the world.
California is such a large state that it has several distinctive subcultures in its various
regions. Just as the weather changes as you move north from the southern tip of
California to the northern most regions, so does the culture of the state.
California is home to more than 10 million immigrants. There are roots in the
culture of Spain and Mexico, as well as similarities to the eastern United States.
California culture has also been greatly influenced by several large immigrant
populations from Latin America and East Asia. California is a true melting pot, as well as
an international crossroad or gateway to the United States.
California has been a subject of interest to many people for a long time, and has
often been known as a kind of paradise. The California Gold Rush of the 1850s is still
seen as a symbol of California's modern economic style, a pioneering spirit that tends to
generate technology, social ventures, entertainment, and economic fads and booms
that, in many cases, are followed all around the globe. In the early 20th Century, many
Americans saw the Golden State as an ideal vacation destination, sunny and dry all
year round with easy access to the ocean, deserts and mountains. In the 1960s,
popular music groups such as The Beach Boys promoted the image of Californians as
laid-back, tanned beach-goers.
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California is home to many prestigious universities including Stanford University,
the California Institute of Technology, and the University of Southern California. The
state also possesses a state university system, the University of California, which is
considered to be one of the top systems in the country. There are many campuses of
the state university, among the best known are UCLA, UC San Diego, and UC Berkeley.
California is a diverse state; it’s people come from different cultures, the state is
known for many different lifestyles and businesses, and there are many factors that
contributed to making California the great state it is today.
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Geography
Covering an area of 163,696 square miles, California is geographically
diverse. The majestic Sierra Nevada Mountains, the fertile farmlands of the
Central Valley, and the dry Mojave Desert of the south are just some of the major
geographic features of this amazing state. Some of the world's most exceptional
trees can be found within the borders of California, including the tallest, the coast
redwood; the most massive, the giant sequoia; and the oldest, the bristlecone
pine. California claims both the highest point, Mt. Whitney, and lowest point,
Death Valley in the continental United States
The state is generally divided into northern and southern California because
the state covers such a large area with different characteristics and climates. San
Francisco defines the northern California city while Los Angeles is a good example
of a southern California city. The most populated parts of northern California
include the San Francisco Bay Area, made up of San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose,
and Sacramento, the state capital.
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The major mountain range in the state of California is the Sierra Nevada.
The foothills area of this range makes up a lot of California's Gold Rush trail. Other
mountain ranges include those at Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Mountain where
skiing is popular, San Bernardino mountains in Los Angeles, Cascade mountains of
Northern California, and many more.
The long ocean coast affects California’s weather greatly. It keeps things
cool in summer and warm in winter. Southern California enjoys hot summers and
mild winters, while northern California is colder in the winter and not as hot in
summer. San Diego is thought by many to have the best weather conditions in
the United States. California's climate is often compared to that of the
Mediterranean, due to warm, dry summers, and mild, wet winters. On the coast,
average yearly temperatures range between the low 40s°F and in the high 70s°F
and 80s°F. Farther inland, summers are hot and dry, and at higher altitudes the
weather is more like places with four seasons. The contrast is clear in the state’s
two largest cities, where you’ll find very different weather patterns. San Francisco
is famous for its fog — especially in the summer, and Los Angeles is known for its
consistently sunny, desert-like, coastal climate. Southern California experiences
rain mostly in winter and the amounts can vary. Farther north there is more rain,
and snow provides skiers with many opportunities in winter.
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The diversity of this state’s geography makes it ideal for a wide variety of
sports and tourist activities. California is one of the most beautiful states, with
spectacular ocean views, outstanding mountain ranges, and amazing weather,
which make it an ideal vacation spot.
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History
Many important events shaped California’s history. From its early history
as a Spanish territory, to its becoming the most populated state in the country,
and right up to today, California has had many important events take place within
its boundaries that make it one of the most interesting states in the country. In
1602 Sebastián Vizcaíno named many landmarks along the coast, and advised
Spain to colonize California. By 1697 Spaniards began establishing missions and
other settlements in the southern part of the state. Spanish missions made up a
series of religious and military stations established by Spanish Catholics of the
Franciscan Order between 1769 and 1823 to spread Christianity among the local
Native Americans. In 1848 James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's saw mill in
Coloma, thus kicking off the famous Gold Rush of 1849
February 2, 1848 saw a formal end to the U.S.-Mexican War with the
signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Under the treaty the United States
acquired all of Alta California, New Mexico and Texas. This event led to more
westward expansion with the California Gold Rush, beginning in 1849. The
"49ers" were people who traveled to California to get rich mining for gold.
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California joined the Union as a free state on September 9, 1850, due to the
compromise of 1850. By the end of the 19th century, California was still mostly
rural and agricultural, but had a population of about 1.4 million people.
The trans-continental railroad system was established in the late 1800s
with funding from a group of men whose economic influence helped shape
California's industry. The system included tracks throughout California's Sierra
Nevada region, as well as connecting New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Mexico,
Utah, and Nevada for mining and travel opportunities. In 1906 an earthquake and
fire destroyed much of San Francisco. Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge
began on January 5, 1933; it finally opened to traffic on May 28, 1937. The Golden
Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the
San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. The bridge links the city of San Francisco,
on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, to Marin County. It is one of
the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco, California, and of
the United States. It has been declared one of the modern Wonders of the World
by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Many people consider the Golden Gate
Bridge the most beautiful and most photographed bridge in the world. Lack of
rainfall in southern California caused problems in an area that could have been
used for agriculture. That changed in 1960 when the legislature provided money
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for a project to distribute excess water from the northern mountains to coastal
cities and southern California. By 1963 California had the largest population of all
U.S. states. The Northridge earthquake happened on January 17, 1994, and
lasted for less than a minute. The earthquake had a magnitude of 6.7; strong
ground motion was felt as far away as Las Vegas, Nevada, over 270 miles from the
epicenter. 57 people died, and there were over 8,700 injured. In addition, the
earthquake caused about $20 billion in damage, making it one of the most
expensive natural disasters in U.S. history.
California’s nickname is the Golden State. Between its enormous growth
following the discovery of gold in 1848, the fields of golden poppies that appear
each spring throughout the state, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the clear, golden
coastal sunsets over the Pacific - California truly is the golden state. Gold is also
one of California's official state colors. California's state motto – Eureka... I have
found it! – refers to the discovery of gold in California. This motto appears on the
state seal.
So many varied and interesting events happened in California’s history to
bring it to the point of being the wonderful state it is today. People come from all
over the world to visit or settle in this most amazing state.
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Conclusion
There is a great deal of information available about California’s history,
geography, and culture that explain why it is such a remarkable state. Richard
Nixon was the only president born in California. He spent a lot of his adult life
here and represented a California district in Congress. Two other United States
presidents lived in California; Herbert Hoover and Ronald Reagan were born
somewhere else and then moved to California as adults. Reagan was the governor
of California before he became president. Hoover graduated from Stanford
University and returned years later.
Writing this report was both challenging and fun. Overall, this project was
a positive experience, and I learned a lot about how to do research on a topic and
then take the information from an outline and put it into a report. There were
many interesting facts that I learned about that gave me a better understanding
for this great state that I live in. I hope that I get to visit many of the places that I
researched.
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