SUPPORT THE WORK
GetWiki
California
ARTICLE SUBJECTS
being →
database →
ethics →
fiction →
history →
internet →
language →
linux →
logic →
method →
news →
policy →
purpose →
religion →
science →
software →
truth →
unix →
wiki →
ARTICLE TYPES
essay →
feed →
help →
system →
wiki →
ARTICLE ORIGINS
critical →
forked →
imported →
original →
California
please note:
- the content below is remote from Wikipedia
- it has been imported raw for GetWiki
{{Short description|U.S. state}}{{about|the U.S. state}}{{pp|small=yes}}{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}- the content below is remote from Wikipedia
- it has been imported raw for GetWiki
| factoids |
|---|
- Spanish: 28.3%
- Other: 15.6%WEB, Languages Spoken at Home,data.census.gov/cedsci/table?text=Language&t=Language%20Spoken%20at%20Home&g=0400000US06&y=2020&tid=ACSST5Y2020.S1601, June 5, 2022, United States Census Bureau, | population_demonym = CalifornianCalifornio (archaic Spanish)Californiano (Spanish)| LargestCity = Los Angeles
- 40 Democrats
- 11 Republicans
- 1 vacant
| factoids | |
|---|---|
| country | United States| state = California| image_flag = Flag of California.svg| image_seal = File:Seal of California.svg| mammal = {{ubl |
Etymology
File:Detail of Queen Califia in the “California’s Name” mural (Lucile Lloyd, 1937) (cropped).gif|thumb|left|upright|California and its namesake ruler, Queen Calafia, originate in the 1510 epic Las Sergas de Esplandián, written by Garci RodrÃguez de MontalvoGarci RodrÃguez de MontalvoThe Spaniards gave the name to the peninsula of Baja California (in modern-day Mexico). As Spanish explorers and settlers moved north and inland, the region known as California, or Las Californias, grew. Eventually it included lands north of the peninsula, Alta California, part of which became the present-day U.S. state of California.A 2017 state legislative document states, “Numerous theories exist as to the origin and meaning of the word ‘California,’” and that all anyone knows is the name was added to a map by 1541 “presumably by a Spanish navigator.“NEWS,www.nytimes.com/2024/04/16/us/why-is-california-called-california.html, Why Is California Called California?, Karlamangla, Soumya, The New York Times, April 16, 2024, April 17, 2024, The name most likely derived from the mythical island of California in the fictional story of Queen Calafia, as recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián by Garci RodrÃguez de Montalvo.BOOK, Gudde, Erwin G.,books.google.com/books?id=ibMwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PR9, California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names, Bright, William, 2010, University of California Press, 978-0-520-26619-3, 59–60, 2004, Queen Calafia’s kingdom was said to be a remote land rich in gold and pearls, inhabited by beautiful Black women who wore gold armor and lived like Amazons, as well as griffins and other strange beasts.BOOK, Putnam, Ruth, California: The name, 1917, University of California, Priestley, Herbert Ingram, Berkeley, 356–361, Appendix A: Etymology of the Word ‘California’: Surmises and Usage,archive.org/details/cu31924008278347, JOURNAL, Vogeley, Nancy, April 20, 2001, How Chivalry Formed the Myth of California, Modern Language Quarterly, 62, 2, 165–188, 10.1215/00267929-62-2-165, 163100071, Official abbreviations of the state’s name include CA, Cal., Calif., and US-CA.History
{{Further|History of California before 1900}}File:California tribes & languages at contact.png|thumb|left|upright|A map of indigenous Californian tribes and languages at the time of European contact.]]Indigenous
California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America.Klein, Barry T. Reference Encyclopedia of the American Indian. 7th ed. West Nyack, NY: Todd Publications, 1995 Historians generally agree that there were at least 300,000 people living in California prior to European colonization.BOOK, Eargle, Dolan H. Jr., Native California guide: an introduction to the original peoples from earliest to modern times, 2008, Trees Co. Press, Fred Dodsworth, 978-0-937401-11-8, Ed. 2008, San Francisco, 212858363, Estimates of the Native population in 1776 range from 300,000 to one million., The indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct ethnic groups, inhabiting environments ranging from mountains and deserts to islands and redwood forests.WEB, California Indian History – California Native American Heritage Commission,nahc.ca.gov/resources/california-indian-history/, 2022-11-25, nahc.ca.gov, Living in these diverse geographic areas, the indigenous peoples developed complex forms of ecosystem management, including forest gardening to ensure the regular availability of food and medicinal plants.BOOK, Before the Wilderness: Environmental Management by Native Californians, Ballena Press, 1993, 0-87919-126-0, Blackburn, Thomas C. and Kat Anderson, Menlo Park, California, BOOK, Cunningham, Laura,books.google.com/books?id=nuYuYGHwCygC&pg=PA135, State of Change: Forgotten Landscapes of California, Heyday, 2010, 978-1-59714-136-9, Berkeley, California, 135, 173–202, 2016-03-03,web.archive.org/web/20160427074202/https://books.google.com/books?id=nuYuYGHwCygC&pg=PA135, 2016-04-27, live, This was a form of sustainable agriculture.BOOK, Anderson, M. Kat,archive.org/details/tendingwildnativ0000ande, Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge And the Management of California’s Natural Resources, University of California Press, 2006, 0-520-24851-1, registration, To mitigate destructive large wildfires from ravaging the natural environment, indigenous peoples developed a practice of controlled burning.BOOK,archive.org/details/firecaliforniase00sugi, Fire in California’s Ecosystems, University of California Press, 2006, 978-0-520-24605-8, Neil G., Sugihara, 417, 17, Jan W. Van Wagtendonk, Kevin E., Shaffer, Joann, Fites-Kaufman, Andrea E., Thode, limited, This practice was recognized for its benefits by the California government in 2022.WEB, Elassar, Alaa, 2022-04-03, California once prohibited Native American fire practices. Now, it’s asking tribes to use them to help prevent wildfires,www.cnn.com/2022/04/03/us/california-native-american-fire-practitioners-wildfires-climate/index.html, 2023-01-04, CNN, en, These groups were also 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, craft specialists, and military alliances fostered social and economic relationships between many groups. Although nations would sometimes war, most armed conflicts were between groups of men for vengeance. Acquiring territory was not usually the purpose of these small-scale battles.BOOK, Sutton, Mark Q., An introduction to native North America, 2021, 978-0-367-54046-3, 6th, New York, A Broad Portrait of California Native Societies, eBook, 1204267735, Though actual battles with numerous combatants were sometimes fought, most armed conflict concerned small groups of men bent on revenge. Acquiring territory was not usually the goal of warfare., Men and women generally had different roles in society. Women were often responsible for weaving, harvesting, processing, and preparing food, while men for hunting and other forms of physical labor. Most societies also had roles for people whom the Spanish referred to as joyas,BOOK, Kroeber, Alfred Louis,books.google.com/books?id=4pcKAQAAIAAJ, Phonetic Constituents of the Native Languages of California, University Press, 1912, 164, en, The institution of berdaches or women-men is one of frequent occurrence among the California natives... Among the coastal stocks south of San Francisco the custom flourished, and the individuals, termed ‘joyas’ by the Spanish..., who they saw as “men who dressed as women”.JOURNAL, Miranda, Deborah A., 2010-04-01, Extermination of the Joyas: Gendercide in Spanish California,read.dukeupress.edu/glq/article/16/1-2/253/34704/EXTERMINATION-OF-THE-JOYASGendercide-in-Spanish, GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, en, 16, 1–2, 253–284, 10.1215/10642684-2009-022, 145480469, 1064-2684, Joyas were responsible for death, burial, and mourning rituals, and they performed women’s social roles. Indigenous societies had terms such as two-spirit to refer to them. The Chumash referred to them as ’aqi. The early Spanish settlers detested and sought to eliminate them.BOOK, Contemporary archaeology in theory: the new pragmatism, 2010, Wiley-Blackwell, Robert W., Preucel, Stephen A., Mrozowski, 978-1-4051-5832-9, 2nd, Chichester, U.K., 495597287, In 1775, Alta California Governor Pedro Fages observed that there were two to three joyas in each village, and that all Indians were consequently addicted to ‘this abominable vice.’,Spanish period
File:The landing of Cabrillo on California (detail from mural by Daniel Sayre Groesbeck at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse).tif|thumb|left|Portuguese explorer Juan RodrÃguez Cabrillo claiming California for the Spanish EmpireSpanish EmpireThe first Europeans to explore the coast of California were the members of a Spanish maritime expedition led by Portuguese captain Juan RodrÃguez Cabrillo in 1542. Cabrillo was commissioned by Antonio de Mendoza, the Viceroy of New Spain, to lead an expedition up the Pacific coast in search of trade opportunities; they entered San Diego Bay on September 28, 1542, and reached at least as far north as San Miguel Island.{{sfn|Rolle|1998|pp=20–21}} Privateer and explorer Francis Drake explored and claimed an undefined portion of the California coast in 1579, landing north of the future city of San Francisco. The first Asians to set foot on what would be the United States occurred in 1587, when Filipino sailors arrived in Spanish ships at Morro Bay.BOOK, Tillman, Linda C., {{google books, y, vSKAAAAAQBAJ, 202, |title=The Handbook of Research on Educational Leadership for Equity and Diversity |last2=Scheurich |first2=James Joseph |date=August 21, 2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-12843-2 |page=202}}BOOK, Huping Ling, {{google books, y, K-DdvbJM_gQC, 109, |title=Asian America: Forming New Communities, Expanding Boundaries |date=April 29, 2009 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=978-0-8135-4867-8 |page=109}} Coincidentally the descendants of the Muslim Caliph Hasan ibn Ali in formerly Islamic Manila and had converted, then mixed Christianity with Islam, upon Spanish conquest, transited through California (Named after a Caliph) on their way to Guerrero, Mexico{{sfn|Rolle|1998|p=24}} where they played a future role in the wars of independence. Sebastián VizcaÃno explored and mapped the coast of California in 1602 for New Spain, putting ashore in Monterey.{{sfn|Rolle|1998|p=26}} Despite the on-the-ground explorations of California in the 16th century, RodrÃguez’s idea of California as an island persisted. Such depictions appeared on many European maps well into the 18th century.WEB, California as an Island in Maps—Online Exhibits,exhibits.stanford.edu/california-as-an-island, June 15, 2016, Stanford University Libraries, The Portolá expedition of 1769–70 was a pivotal event in the Spanish colonization of California, resulting in the establishment of numerous missions, presidios, and pueblos. The military and civil contingent of the expedition was led by Gaspar de Portolá, who traveled over land from Sonora into California, while the religious component was headed by JunÃpero Serra, who came by sea from Baja California. In 1769, Portolá and Serra established Mission San Diego de Alcalá and the Presidio of San Diego, the first religious and military settlements founded by the Spanish in California. By the end of the expedition in 1770, they would establish the Presidio of Monterey and Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo on Monterey Bay.File:Father Serra Celebrates Mass at Monterey by Léon Trousset.jpg|thumb|left|JunÃpero Serra conducting the first Mass in Monterey BayMonterey BayAfter the Portolà expedition, Spanish missionaries led by Father-President Serra set out to establish 21 Spanish missions of California along El Camino Real (“The Royal Road“) and along the California coast, 16 sites of which having been chosen during the Portolá expedition. Numerous major cities in California grew out of missions, including San Francisco (Mission San Francisco de AsÃs), San Diego (Mission San Diego de Alcalá), Ventura (Mission San Buenaventura), or Santa Barbara (Mission Santa Barbara), among others.Juan Bautista de Anza led a similarly important expedition throughout California in 1775–76, which would extend deeper into the interior and north of California. The Anza expedition selected numerous sites for missions, presidios, and pueblos, which subsequently would be established by settlers. Gabriel Moraga, a member of the expedition, would also christen many of California’s prominent rivers with their names in 1775–1776, such as the Sacramento River and the San Joaquin River. After the expedition, Gabriel’s son, José JoaquÃn Moraga, would found the pueblo of San Jose in 1777, making it the first civilian-established city in California.File:San_Juan_Capistrano,_California_(c._1806).jpg|thumb|right|The Spanish founded Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1776, the third to be established of California’s missions.]]During this same period, sailors from the Russian Empire explored along the northern coast of California. In 1812, the Russian-American Company established a trading post and small fortification at Fort Ross on the North Coast.Historical Atlas of California{{sfn|Rolle|1998|pp=51–52}} Fort Ross was primarily used to supply Russia’s Alaskan colonies with food supplies. The settlement did not meet much success, failing to attract settlers or establish long term trade viability, and was abandoned by 1841.During the War of Mexican Independence, Alta California was largely unaffected and uninvolved in the revolution,WEB,www.csun.edu/~sg4002/courses/417/readings/mexican.pdf,www.csun.edu/~sg4002/courses/417/readings/mexican.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20160222030913www.csun.edu/~sg4002/courses/417/readings/mexican.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20160222030913www.csun.edu/~sg4002/courses/417/readings/mexican.pdf, February 22, 2016, live, California State University, Northridge - Mexican California: The Heyday of the Ranchos, though many Californios supported independence from Spain, which many believed had neglected California and limited its development.WEB,www.loc.gov/collections/california-first-person-narratives/articles-and-essays/early-california-history/mexican-california/, Mexican California | Early California History: An Overview | Articles and Essays | California as I Saw It: First-Person Narratives of California’s Early Years, 1849-1900 | Digital Collections | Library of Congress, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, Spain’s trade monopoly on California had limited local trade prospects. Following Mexican independence, California ports were freely able to trade with foreign merchants. Governor Pablo Vicente de Solá presided over the transition from Spanish colonial rule to independent Mexican rule.Mexican period
File:1836 alvarado flag.webp|thumb|left|The flag used by Californio leader Juan Bautista Alvarado’s 1836 California independenceCalifornia independenceIn 1821, the Mexican War of Independence gave the Mexican Empire (which included California) independence from Spain. For the next 25 years, Alta California remained a remote, sparsely populated, northwestern administrative district of the newly independent country of Mexico, which shortly after independence became a republic. The missions, which controlled most of the best land in the state, were secularized by 1834 and became the property of the Mexican government. The governor granted many square leagues of land to others with political influence. These huge ranchos or cattle ranches emerged as the dominant institutions of Mexican California. The ranchos developed under ownership by Californios (Hispanics native of California) who traded cowhides and tallow with Boston merchants. Beef did not become a commodity until the 1849 California Gold Rush.From the 1820s, trappers and settlers from the United States and Canada began to arrive in Northern California. These new arrivals used the Siskiyou Trail, California Trail, Oregon Trail and Old Spanish Trail to cross the rugged mountains and harsh deserts in and surrounding California. The early government of the newly independent Mexico was highly unstable, and in a reflection of this, from 1831 onwards, California also experienced a series of armed disputes, both internal and with the central Mexican government.BOOK, Altman, Linda Jacobs, {{google books, y, rAgL-tgWOecC, 117, |title=California |date=2005 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |isbn=978-0-7614-1737-8 |page=117 |access-date=March 16, 2013}}{{break}}BOOK, Testimonios: Early California Through the Eyes of Women, 1815–1848, {{google books, y, DuvFpaRwJlgC, 425, |access-date=March 16, 2013 |date=2006 |publisher=Heyday |isbn=978-1-59714-033-1 |page=425}} During this tumultuous political period Juan Bautista Alvarado was able to secure the governorship during 1836–1842.{{harvnb|Starr|2007|p=17}}{{break}}BOOK, {{google books, y, AYMPR6xAj50C, 316, |title=Historic Spots in California |date=2002 |publisher=Historic Spots in California |isbn=978-0-8047-7817-6 |editor-last=Hoover |editor-first=Mildred Brooke |page=316 |access-date=March 16, 2013 |editor-last2=Kyle |editor-first2=Douglas E.}}{{break}}BOOK, Conway, J. D., Monterey: Presidio, Pueblo, and Port, The Making of America Series, {{google books, y, vz1jyn7Ti3oC, 53, |access-date=March 16, 2013 |date=2003 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-0-7385-2423-8 |pages=53–55}} The military action which first brought Alvarado to power had momentarily declared California to be an independent state, and had been aided by Anglo-American residents of California,BOOK, Billington, Ray Allen, {{google books, y, YoV-k7VcyZ0C, 203, |title=Westward Expansion: A History of the American Frontier |last2=Ridge |first2=Martin |date=2001 |publisher=University of New Mexico Press |isbn=978-0-8263-1981-4 |page=203 |author-link2=Martin Ridge (historian) |access-date=February 16, 2013}} including Isaac Graham.BOOK, Hart, James David, {{google books, y, teJCPQtWfOMC315, 315, |title=A Companion to California |date=1987 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-05544-5 |page=315 |access-date=March 16, 2013}}{{break}}BOOK, Harlow, Neal, California Conquered: The Annexation of a Mexican Province, 1846–1850, {{google books, y, pApgP6lBVbMC, 27, |access-date=March 16, 2013 |date=1989 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-06605-2 |page=27}} In 1840, one hundred of those residents who did not have passports were arrested, leading to the Graham Affair, which was resolved in part with the intercession of Royal Navy officials.File:“General Vallejo Reviewing His Troops in Sonoma, 1846”.jpg|thumb|right|General Mariano G. Vallejo reviewing his troops in the Sonoma PlazaSonoma PlazaOne of the largest ranchers in California was John Marsh. After failing to obtain justice against squatters on his land from the Mexican courts, he determined that California should become part of the United States. Marsh conducted a letter-writing campaign espousing the California climate, the soil, and other reasons to settle there, as well as the best route to follow, which became known as “Marsh’s route”. His letters were read, reread, passed around, and printed in newspapers throughout the country, and started the first wagon trains rolling to California.Lyman, George D. John Marsh, Pioneer: The Life Story of a Trail-Blazer on Six Frontiers, pp. 237–39, The Chautauqua Press, Chautauqua, New York, 1931. After ushering in the period of organized emigration to California, Marsh became involved in a military battle between the much-hated Mexican general, Manuel Micheltorena and the California governor he had replaced, Juan Bautista Alvarado. At the Battle of Providencia near Los Angeles, he convinced each side that they had no reason to be fighting each other. As a result of Marsh’s actions, they abandoned the fight, Micheltorena was defeated, and California-born Pio Pico was returned to the governorship. This paved the way to California’s ultimate acquisition by the United States.Lyman, 1931, pp. 250–62.Stone, Irving. Men to Match My Mountains, pp. 70–72, Berkley Books, New York, New York, 1982. {{ISBN|0-425-10544-X}}.Winkley, John W. Dr. John Marsh, Wilderness Scout, pp. 67–69, The Parthenon Press, Nashville, Tennessee, 1962.Stone, Irving. From Mud-Flat Cove to Gold to Statehood, pp. 66–68, Word Dancer Press, Clovis, California, 1999. {{ISBN|1-884995-17-9}}.Salomon, Carlos Manuel. Pio Pico: The Last Governor of Mexican California, pp. 68–76, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma, 2010. ISBN 978-0-8061-4090-2.U.S. Conquest and the California Republic
File:Fremont Raising the Bear Flag (engraved, c. 1860).jpg|thumb|left|The 1846 Bear Flag Revolt declared the California Republic and prefaced the American conquest of California.]]In 1846, a group of American settlers in and around Sonoma rebelled against Mexican rule during the Bear Flag Revolt. Afterward, rebels raised the Bear Flag (featuring a bear, a star, a red stripe and the words “California Republic“) at Sonoma. The Republic’s only president was William B. Ide,WEB, William B. Ide Adobe SHP,www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=458, December 25, 2009, California State Parks, who played a pivotal role during the Bear Flag Revolt. This revolt by American settlers served as a prelude to the later American military invasion of California and was closely coordinated with nearby American military commanders.The California Republic was short-lived;WEB, 2015, Bear Flag Revolt,www.history.com/topics/bear-flag-revolt, June 5, 2015, History.com, {{break}}WEB, 1998, The United States and California,memory.loc.gov/ammem/cbhtml/cbstates.html, June 5, 2015, Library of Congress, The Library of Congress, the same year marked the outbreak of the Mexican–American War (1846–1848).WEB, 1999, The U.S. Mexican War,www.pbs.org/kpbs/theborder/history/timeline/5.html, June 5, 2015, The Border, KPBS, {{break}}BOOK, Matthew Kachur, {{google books, y, 1g2ReKdEZfIC, 25, |title=The Mexican-American War |last2=Jon Sterngass |date=July 1, 2006 |publisher=World Almanac Library |isbn=978-0-8368-7290-3 |pages=25–26}}{{break}}BOOK, Thomas M. Leonard, {{google books, y, NQugPgduF0kC, 141, |title=James K. Polk: A Clear and Unquestionable Destiny |date=2001 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-8420-2647-5 |pages=141–143}}Commodore John D. Sloat of the United States Navy sailed into Monterey Bay in 1846 and began the U.S. military invasion of California, with Northern California capitulating in less than a month to the United States forces.BOOK, Spencer Tucker (Militärhistoriker), {{google books, y, FZVQcZpic-8C, 55, |title=The Encyclopedia of the Mexican-American War: A Political, Social, and Military History |date=2013 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-85109-853-8 |pages=55–56}} In Southern California, Californios continued to resist American forces. Notable military engagements of the conquest include the Battle of San Pasqual and the Battle of Dominguez Rancho in Southern California, as well as the Battle of Olómpali and the Battle of Santa Clara in Northern California. After a series of defensive battles in the south, the Treaty of Cahuenga was signed by the Californios on January 13, 1847, securing a censure and establishing de facto American control in California.BOOK, {{google books, y, 3cE1AAAAIAAJ, 199, |title=The Quarterly |date=1907 |publisher=Historical Society of Southern California |pages=199–201}}{{break}}BOOK, Hunt, Janin, Ursula, Carlson, The California Campaigns of the U.S.-Mexican War, 1846–1848, {{google books, y, _ImhCAAAQBAJ, 149, |date=April 20, 2015|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-2093-0|pages=149–151}}Early American period
{{see also|California Gold Rush|Interim government of California}}File:Treaty of Cahuenga.jpg|thumb|right|The Treaty of Cahuenga, signed in 1847 by Californio Andrés Pico and American John C. Frémont, was a ceasefire that ended the U.S. Conquest of CaliforniaConquest of CaliforniaFollowing the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (February 2, 1848) that ended the war, the westernmost portion of the annexed Mexican territory of Alta California soon became the American state of California, and the remainder of the old territory was then subdivided into the new American Territories of Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Utah. The even more lightly populated and arid lower region of old Baja California remained as a part of Mexico. In 1846, the total settler population of the western part of the old Alta California had been estimated to be no more than 8,000, plus about 100,000 Native Americans, down from about 300,000 before Hispanic settlement in 1769.BOOK, Osborne, Thomas J., {{google books, y, FvA3jL4CFCMC, |title=Pacific Eldorado: A History of Greater California |date=November 29, 2012 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1-118-29217-4}}In 1848, only one week before the official American annexation of the area, gold was discovered in California, this being an event which was to forever alter both the state’s demographics and its finances. Soon afterward, a massive influx of immigration into the area resulted, as prospectors and miners arrived by the thousands. The population burgeoned with United States citizens, Europeans, Middle Easterns, Chinese and other immigrants during the great California Gold Rush. By the time of California’s application for statehood in 1850, the settler population of California had multiplied to 100,000. By 1854, more than 300,000 settlers had come.WEB, California Gold Rush, 1848–1864,www.learncalifornia.org/doc.asp?id=118,www.learncalifornia.org/doc.asp?id=118," title="web.archive.org/web/20110727033216www.learncalifornia.org/doc.asp?id=118,">web.archive.org/web/20110727033216www.learncalifornia.org/doc.asp?id=118, July 27, 2011, July 22, 2008, Learn California.org, a site designed for the California Secretary of State, Between 1847 and 1870, the population of San Francisco increased from 500 to 150,000.WEB, 1870 Fast Facts,www.census.gov/history/www/through_the_decades/fast_facts/1870_fast_facts.html, live,web.archive.org/web/20190305053406/https://www.census.gov/history/www/through_the_decades/fast_facts/1870_fast_facts.html, March 5, 2019, March 5, 2019, United States Census Bureau, {{multiple image| direction = vertical| align = left| width = 220| header = California Gold Rush| image1 = California Clipper 500.jpgCalifornia Genocide
File:“Protecting The Settlers” Illustration by JR Browne for his work “The Indians Of California” 1864 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Between 1846 and 1873, U.S. government agents and private settlers perpetrated many massacres against indigenous Californians, known as the California genocideCalifornia genocideUnder earlier Spanish and Mexican rule, California’s original native population had precipitously declined, above all, from Eurasian diseases to which the indigenous people of California had not yet developed a natural immunity.WEB, Destruction of the California Indians,www.learncalifornia.org/doc.asp?id=1617,www.learncalifornia.org/doc.asp?id=1617," title="web.archive.org/web/20111207115225www.learncalifornia.org/doc.asp?id=1617,">web.archive.org/web/20111207115225www.learncalifornia.org/doc.asp?id=1617, December 7, 2011, April 15, 2012, California Secretary of State, Under its new American administration, California’s first governor Peter Hardeman Burnett instituted policies that have been described as a state-sanctioned policy of elimination toward California’s indigenous people.BOOK, Risling Baldy, Cutcha, We are dancing for you: native feminisms and the revitalization of women’s coming-of-age ceremonies, 2018, 978-0-295-74345-5, Seattle, 61–63, 1032289446, Burnett announced in 1851 in his Second Annual Message to the Legislature: “That a war of extermination will continue to be waged between the races until the Indian race becomes extinct must be expected. While we cannot anticipate the result with but painful regret, the inevitable destiny of the race is beyond the power and wisdom of man to avert.“BOOK, Senate, California Legislature,books.google.com/books?id=XV1BAQAAMAAJ, The Journal of the Senate ... of the Legislature of the State of California ..., 1851, Sup’t State Printing, 792, en, As in other American states, indigenous peoples were forcibly removed from their lands by American settlers, like miners, ranchers, and farmers. Although California had entered the American union as a free state, the “loitering or orphaned Indians”, were de facto enslaved by their new Anglo-American masters under the 1850 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians.WEB, Act for the Government and Protection of Indians {{!, American Experience {{!}} PBS |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/goldrush-act-for-government-and-protection-of-indians/ |access-date=March 3, 2021 |website=www.pbs.org}} One of these de facto slave auctions was approved by the Los Angeles City Council and occurred for nearly twenty years.WEB, 2016-09-02, Los Angeles’ 1850s Slave Market Is Now the Site of a Federal Courthouse,www.kcet.org/shows/lost-la/los-angeles-1850s-slave-market-is-now-the-site-of-a-federal-courthouse, 2022-12-28, KCET, en, There were many massacres in which hundreds of indigenous people were killed by settlers for their land.BOOK, Baumgardner, Frank H., Killing for Land in Early California: Indian Blood at Round Valley: Founding the Nome Cult Indian Farm, 2005, Algora, 978-0-87586-803-5, New York, 171, 693780699, Between 1850 and 1860, the California state government paid around 1.5{{spaces}}million dollars (some 250,000 of which was reimbursed by the federal government)WEB, California Militia and Expeditions Against the Indians, 1850–1859,www.militarymuseum.org/MilitiaandIndians.html, March 21, 2012, Militarymuseum.org, to hire militias with the stated purpose of protecting settlers, however these militias perpetrated numerous massacres of indigenous people. Indigenous people were also forcibly moved to reservations and rancherias, which were often small and isolated and without enough natural resources or funding from the government to adequately sustain the populations living on them.WEB, May 11, 2012, INDIANS of CALIFORNIA - American Period,www.cabrillo.edu/~crsmith/anth6_americanperiod.html,www.cabrillo.edu/~crsmith/anth6_americanperiod.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20120511152205www.cabrillo.edu/~crsmith/anth6_americanperiod.html,">web.archive.org/web/20120511152205www.cabrillo.edu/~crsmith/anth6_americanperiod.html, May 11, 2012, March 3, 2021, As a result, settler colonialism was a calamity for indigenous people. Several scholars and Native American activists, including Benjamin Madley and Ed Castillo, have described the actions of the California government as a genocide,BOOK, Madley, Benjamin, An American Genocide, The United States and the California Catastrophe, 1846–1873, Yale University Press, 2016, 978-0-300-18136-4, 11, 351, as well as the 40th governor of California Gavin Newsom.WEB, 2021-08-13, California governor calls Native American treatment genocide,apnews.com/article/california-native-americans-982b507a846a4ad6bc184b3e7f99ec70, 2022-12-29, AP NEWS, en, Benjamin Madley estimates that from 1846 to 1873, between 9,492 and 16,092 indigenous people were killed, including between 1,680 and 3,741 killed by the U.S. Army.1900–present
File:Post-and-Grant-Avenue-Look (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|View of the destruction from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake1906 San Francisco earthquakeIn the 20th century, thousands of Japanese people migrated to California. The state in 1913 passed the Alien Land Act, excluding Asian immigrants from owning land.WEB, The U.S. Mainland: Growth and Resistance,www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/immigration/japanese/the-us-mainland-growth-and-resistance/, Library of Congress, During World War II, Japanese Americans in California were interned in concentration camps;WEB, Behind the Wire: Japanese Immigration and Relocation in U.S. History,www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/immigration/japanese/behind-the-wire/, February 8, 2021, Library of Congress, in 2020, California apologized.WEB, Dil, Cuneyt, February 20, 2020, California apologizes for Japanese American internment,apnews.com/article/4b9234383de4814974f81e78a1edaa95, February 8, 2021, AP NEWS, Migration to California accelerated during the early 20th century with the completion of transcontinental highways like the Route 66. From 1900 to 1965, the population grew from fewer than one million to the greatest in the Union. In 1940, the Census Bureau reported California’s population as 6% Hispanic, 2.4% Asian, and 90% non-Hispanic white.WEB, California—Race and Hispanic Origin: 1850 to 1990,www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html,www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20141224151538www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html,">web.archive.org/web/20141224151538www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html, December 24, 2014, U.S. Census Bureau, To meet the population’s needs, engineering feats like the California and Los Angeles Aqueducts; the Oroville and Shasta Dams; and the Bay and Golden Gate Bridges were built. The state government adopted the California Master Plan for Higher Education in 1960 to develop an efficient system of public education.File:Paramount Pictures studio gate, c. 1940 (cropped).jpg|thumb|In the early 20th century, Hollywood studios, like Paramount Pictures, helped transform Hollywood into the world capital of film and helped solidify Los AngelesLos AngelesMeanwhile, attracted to the mild Mediterranean climate, cheap land, and the state’s variety of geography, filmmakers established the studio system in Hollywood in the 1920s. California manufactured 9% of US armaments produced during World War II, ranking third behind New York and Michigan.Peck, Merton J. & Scherer, Frederic M. The Weapons Acquisition Process: An Economic Analysis (1962) Harvard Business School p. 111 California easily ranked first in production of military ships at drydock facilities in San Diego, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area.WEB, Shipbuilding Essay—World War II in the San Francisco Bay Area: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary,www.nps.gov/nr/travel/wwiibayarea/shipbuilding.htm, Nps.gov, WEB, Richmond Shipyard Number Three: World War II in the San Francisco Bay Area: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary,www.nps.gov/nr/travel/wwIIbayarea/ric.htm, Nps.gov, WEB, Rosie the Riveter National Historical Park, Kaiser Shipyards,cdn.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/ca/ca3300/ca3393/data/ca3393data.pdf,ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://cdn.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/ca/ca3300/ca3393/data/ca3393data.pdf, October 9, 2022, live, Csn.loc.gov, WEB, August 11, 2010, Saving the Bay—The Greatest Shipbuilding Center in the World,www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhCiGY75wVw,web.archive.org/web/20171203135248/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhCiGY75wVw, December 3, 2017, KQED Inc., KQED, YouTube, July 10, 2017, live, Due to the hiring opportunities California offered during the conflict, the population multiplied from the immigration it received due to the work in its war factories, military bases, and training facilities.WEB,www.census.gov/2010census/data/apportionment-pop-text.php, Resident Population Data – 2010 Census, Census.gov, October 7, 2017, After World War II, California’s economy expanded due to strong aerospace and defense industries,NEWS, How California Lost its Mojo, Bill, Watkins,www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/2012/10/how-california-lost-its-mojo/, Fox and Hound Daily, October 10, 2012, June 25, 2013, {{break}}BOOK, Nancy Kleniewski, {{google books, y, dWuQ70MtnIQC, 91, |title=Cities, Change, and Conflict: A Political Economy of Urban Life |last2=Alexander R. Thomas |date=March 1, 2010 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-0-495-81222-7 |pages=91–92 |access-date=June 26, 2013}} whose size decreased following the end of the Cold War.WEB, Rosa Maria Moller, May 2008, Aerospace States’ Incentives to Attract The Industry,www.library.ca.gov/crb/08/08-005.pdf, June 25, 2013, library.ca.gov, California Research Bureau, 24–25, August 24, 2014,www.library.ca.gov/crb/08/08-005.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20140824080139www.library.ca.gov/crb/08/08-005.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20140824080139www.library.ca.gov/crb/08/08-005.pdf, {{break}}WEB,laedc.org/reports/AerospaceinSoCal_0812.pdf, The Aerospace Industry in Southern California, Robert A., Kleinhenz, Kimberly, Ritter-Martinez, Rafael, De Anda, Elizabeth, Avila, August 2012, laedc.org, June 25, 2013, 10, In 1987, California accounted for one in four aerospace jobs nationally, and in Los Angeles County, the share was one in ten. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the Department of Defense (DOD) sharply curtailed procurement spending. In 1995, DOD spending fell below $50{{spaces, billion for the first time since 1982. Nowhere in the country were the changes in Pentagon outlays more apparent than in Southern California. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512204822laedc.org/reports/AerospaceinSoCal_0812.pdf |archive-date=May 12, 2013 }}{{break}}BOOK, Eric John, Heikkila, Rafael, Pizarro, Southern California and the World, {{google books, y, upaN7waaW7AC, 18, |access-date=June 25, 2013 |date=January 1, 2002 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-275-97112-0 |page=18}}{{break}}BOOK, James, Flanigan, Smile Southern California, You’re the Center of the Universe: The Economy and People of a Global Region, {{google books, y, T-_FMngVdI4C, 25, |access-date=June 25, 2013 |date=2009 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-5625-9 |page=25}} Stanford University began encouraging faculty and graduates to stay instead of leaving the state, and develop a high-tech region, now known as Silicon Valley.NEWS, Markoff, John, April 17, 2009, Searching for Silicon Valley, The New York Times,travel.nytimes.com/2009/04/17/travel/escapes/17Amer.html, February 26, 2011, As a result of this, California is a world center of the entertainment and music industries, of technology, engineering, and the aerospace industry, and as the US center of agricultural production.{{sfn|Cohen|2003|pages=115–116}} Just before the Dot Com Bust, California had the fifth-largest economy in the world.BOOK, Clark Davis, {{google books, y, 6QxvAAAAQBAJ, 11, |title=The Human Tradition in California |last2=David Igler |date=August 1, 2002 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |isbn=978-1-4616-4431-6 |page=11}}{{break}}NEWS, Treanor, Jill, July 17, 2001, Pink slip season in Silicon Valley,www.theguardian.com/technology/2001/jul/17/internetnews.business, The Guardian, United Kingdom, April 22, 2015, This micro-economy—the world’s fifth largest economy in its own right—started to feel the pain of the new technology meltdown first., In the mid and late twentieth century, race-related incidents occurred. Tensions between police and African Americans, combined with unemployment and poverty in inner cities, led to riots, such as the 1992 Rodney King riots.WEB, June 12, 2017, Watts Rebellion (Los Angeles),kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/watts-rebellion-los-angeles, February 7, 2021, The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute, Stanford University, WEB, Sastry, Anjuli, Grisby Bates, Karen, When LA Erupted In Anger: A Look Back At The Rodney King Riots,www.npr.org/2017/04/26/524744989/when-la-erupted-in-anger-a-look-back-at-the-rodney-king-riots, February 7, 2021, NPR, April 26, 2017, California was the hub of the Black Panther Party, known for arming African Americans to defend against racial injustice.WEB, July 23, 2019, The Black Panther Party: Challenging Police and Promoting Social Change,nmaahc.si.edu/blog-post/black-panther-party-challenging-police-and-promoting-social-change, February 7, 2021, National Museum of African American History and Culture, WEB,www.history.com/news/free-school-breakfast-black-panther-party, How the Black Panthers’ Breakfast Program Both Inspired and Threatened the Government, Erin, Blakemore, HISTORY, January 29, 2021, Mexican, Filipino, and other migrant farm workers rallied in the state around Cesar Chavez for better pay in the 1960s and 70s.WEB, Pao, Maureen, Cesar Chavez: The Life Behind A Legacy Of Farm Labor Rights,www.npr.org/2016/08/02/488428577/cesar-chavez-the-life-behind-a-legacy-of-farm-labor-rights, February 7, 2021, NPR, August 12, 2016, File:Cesar Chavez and Brown Berets at peace rally.jpg|thumb|Civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, flanked by Brown Berets, at a 1971 rally during the Chicano movementChicano movementDuring the 20th century, two great disasters happened: the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and 1928 St. Francis Dam flood remain the deadliest in U.S. history.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=Dmky95hwKr0C&pg=PA540, Encyclopedia of World Environmental History, Volume 3: O–Z, 2004, Routledge, 978-0-415-93735-1, Krech, Shepard III, 540–, November 23, 2012, Merchant, Carolyn, McNeill, John Robert, Although air pollution has been reduced, health problems associated with pollution continue. Brown haze known as “smog” has been substantially abated after federal and state restrictions on automobile exhaust.William Deverell, and Greg Hise, eds. Land of Sunshine: An Environmental History of Metropolitan Los Angeles (2005).James E. Krier, and Edmund Ursin, Pollution and Policy: A Case Essay on California and Federal Experience with Motor Vehicle Air Pollution, 1940–1975 (1978) An energy crisis in 2001 led to rolling blackouts, soaring power rates, and the importation of electricity from neighboring states. Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric Company came under heavy criticism.Severin Borenstein, “The Trouble With Electricity Markets: Understanding California’s Restructuring Disaster”, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 2002, Vol. 16 Issue 1, pp. 191–211 (in JSTOR)Housing prices in urban areas continued to increase; a modest home which in the 1960s cost $25,000 would cost half a million dollars or more in urban areas by 2005. More people commuted longer hours to afford a home in more rural areas while earning larger salaries in the urban areas. Speculators bought houses, expecting to make a huge profit in months, then rolling it over by buying more properties. Mortgage companies were compliant, as people assumed prices would keep rising. The bubble burst in 2007–8 as prices began to crash. Hundreds of billions in property values vanished and foreclosures soared, as financial institutions and investors were badly hurt.Robert M. Hardaway, The Great American Housing Bubble: The Road to Collapse (2011) p. 22Stephen D. Cummings and Patrick B. Reddy, California after Arnold (2009) p. 102File:Steve Jobs presents iPhone (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|The 2007 launch of the iPhone by Apple founder Steve Jobs in Silicon Valley, the largest tech hub in the world]]In the 21st century, droughts and frequent wildfires attributed to climate change have occurred.NEWS, Wilson, Scott, December 5, 2019, Fires, floods and free parking: California’s unending fight against climate change,www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/national/climate-environment/climate-change-california/, February 8, 2021, Washington Post, WEB, Flavelle, Christopher, September 20, 2020, How California Became Ground Zero for Climate Disasters,www.nytimes.com/2020/09/20/climate/california-climate-change-fires.html,web.archive.org/web/20200920201702/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/20/climate/california-climate-change-fires.html, September 20, 2020, subscription, live, February 8, 2021, The New York Times, From 2011 to 2017, a persistent drought was the worst in its recorded history.WEB, California Facing Worst Drought on Record {{!, NOAA Climate.gov |url=https://www.climate.gov/news-features/event-tracker/california-facing-worst-drought-record |access-date=February 8, 2021 |website=www.climate.gov}} The 2018 wildfire season was the state’s deadliest and most destructive.WEB, 2018 California Wildfires,www.census.gov/topics/preparedness/events/wildfires/2018-ca-wildfires.html, February 8, 2021, The United States Census Bureau, One of the first confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States occurred in California on January 26, 2020.NEWS, Wheeler, Ian, February 4, 2020, Orange County coronavirus patient released, in good condition, health officials say, Orange County Register,www.ocregister.com/2020/02/04/risk-of-catching-coronavirus-in-so-cal-is-low-health-officials-say/, live, February 21, 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200205195530/https://www.ocregister.com/2020/02/04/risk-of-catching-coronavirus-in-so-cal-is-low-health-officials-say/, February 5, 2020, WEB, February 2, 2020, Ninth case of fast-moving coronavirus confirmed in U.S.,uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-health-usa-california-idUKKBN1ZX01P, live,web.archive.org/web/20200203011127/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-health-usa-california-idUKKBN1ZX01P, February 3, 2020, February 3, 2020, Reuters, A state of emergency was declared in the state on March 4, 2020, and remained in effect until Governor Gavin Newsom ended it in February 2023.NEWS, March 21, 2023, California Ends COVID-19 State of Emergency, State Center Community College District,www.scccd.edu/news/2023/california-ends-covid-19-state-of-emergency.html, A mandatory statewide stay-at-home order was issued on March 19, 2020, which was ended in January 2021.WEB, January 26, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom lifts virus stay-at-home orders,www.cbsnews.com/news/california-covid-stay-at-home-order-lifted/, live, February 24, 2021, CBS News, en-US,web.archive.org/web/20210126123803/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-covid-stay-at-home-order-lifted/, January 26, 2021, Cultural and language revitalization efforts among indigenous Californians have progressed among tribes as of 2022.WEB, November 28, 2022, What Does It Take To Reawaken a Native Language?,www.kcet.org/news-community/what-does-it-take-to-reawaken-a-native-language, January 2, 2023, KCET, en-US, BOOK, Whitebear, Luhui, Unsettled Records and the Restoration of Cultural Memories in Indigenous California, Drifting across Lines in the Sand: Unsettled Records and the Restoration of Cultural Memories in Indigenous California,www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781351174282-5/drifting-across-lines-sand-luhui-whitebear, The Routledge Companion to Gender and the American West, 10.4324/9781351174282-5, 978-1-351-17428-2, January 7, 2023, Some land returns to indigenous stewardship have occurred.WEB, agencies, Dani Anguiano and, January 25, 2022, Native American tribes reclaim California redwood land for preservation,www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/25/native-american-tribes-california-redwood-preservation, January 4, 2023, the Guardian, en, WEB, November 22, 2022, Native American land return movement makes gains, faces obstacles,andthewest.stanford.edu/2022/native-american-land-return-movement-makes-gains-faces-obstacles/, January 7, 2023, & the West, en, WEB, Ahtone, Tristan, April 5, 2022, California offers $100 million for tribes to buy back their land. It won’t go far.,grist.org/indigenous/california-offers-100-million-for-tribes-to-buy-back-their-land-it-wont-go-far/, January 4, 2023, Grist, en-us, In 2022, the largest dam removal and river restoration project in US history was announced for the Klamath River, as a win for California tribes.{{Citation |title=California Tribes Hail Dam Removal Plan After 20-Year Fight |date=December 16, 2022 |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/california-tribes-hail-dam-removal-plan-after-20-year-fight/6877208.html |language=en |access-date=January 7, 2023}}WEB, December 8, 2022, Largest River Restoration Project in American History Set to Begin,www.gov.ca.gov/2022/12/08/75829/, January 7, 2023, California Governor, en,Geography
{{Further|Northern California|Southern California}}File:California Topography and Geomorphic.gif|thumb|upright=1.2|left|Topographic mapTopographic mapCovering an area of {{convert|163,696|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}, California is the third-largest state in the United States in area, after Alaska and Texas.WEB, April 2004, 2000 Census of Population and Housing,www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/phc3-us-pt1.pdf,ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/phc3-us-pt1.pdf, October 9, 2022, live, December 25, 2009, US Census Bureau, 29, California is one of the most geographically diverse states in the union and is often geographically bisected into two regions, Southern California, comprising the ten southernmost counties,JOURNAL, March 1916, Figures Show California’s Motoring Supremacy, {{google books, y, p04zAQAAMAAJ, 1, |journal=Touring Topics |volume=8 |pages=38–9 |number=2}}BOOK, Cooley, Timothy J., {{google books, y, EXdAAQAAQBAJ, 46, |title=Surfing about Music |date=2014 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-95721-3 |page=46}} and Northern California, comprising the 48 northernmost counties.NEWS, Morgan, Neil, April 19, 1963, Westward Tilt: Northern California, Lodi News-Sentinel, Lodi, California,news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2245&dat=19630419&id=Rd8zAAAAIBAJ&pg=2786,2022902, September 7, 2014, BOOK, {{google books, y, Kr8rAQAAMAAJ, 6, |title=Kent Guide Manual (Harrison Narcotic Law) and Professional Registry |date=1917 |publisher=The Service Press |editor-last=John E. Kent |location=San Francisco |page=6}} It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east and northeast, Arizona to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the south (with which it makes up part of The Californias region of North America, alongside Baja California Sur).In the middle of the state lies the California Central Valley, bounded by the Sierra Nevada in the east, the coastal mountain ranges in the west, the Cascade Range to the north and by the Tehachapi Mountains in the south. The Central Valley is California’s productive agricultural heartland.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 valleys derive their names from the rivers that flow through them. With dredging, the Sacramento and the San Joaquin Rivers have remained deep enough for several inland cities to be seaports.File:Big Sur June 2008.jpg|thumb|Big Sur, on the Central Coast ]]File:1 yosemite valley tunnel view 2010.JPG|thumb|Yosemite, in the Sierra NevadaSierra NevadaThe Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is a critical water supply hub for the state. Water is diverted from the delta and through an extensive network of pumps and canals that traverse nearly the length of the state, to the Central Valley and the State Water Projects and other needs. Water from the Delta provides drinking water for nearly 23{{spaces}}million people, almost two-thirds of the state’s population as well as water for farmers on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley.Suisun Bay lies at the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. The water is drained by the Carquinez Strait, which flows into San Pablo Bay, a northern extension of San Francisco Bay, which then connects to the Pacific Ocean via the Golden Gate strait.The Channel Islands are located off the Southern coast, while the Farallon Islands lie west of San Francisco.The Sierra Nevada (Spanish for “snowy range“) includes the highest peak in the contiguous 48 states, Mount Whitney, at {{convert|14505|ft|m}}.NGS, GT1811, Whitney, October 20, 2011, WEB, 2001, Elevations and Distances in the United States,egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html,egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20111015012701egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html,">web.archive.org/web/20111015012701egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html, October 15, 2011, October 21, 2011, United States Geological Survey, {{refn|group=note|name=“NAVD88“|Elevation adjusted to North American Vertical Datum of 1988.}} The range embraces Yosemite Valley, famous for its glacially carved domes, and Sequoia National Park, home to the giant sequoia trees, the largest living organisms on Earth, 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. Although 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 the United States.File:Death Valley Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes 2013.jpg|thumb|left|Death Valley, in the Mojave DesertMojave DesertFile:San-miguel-cuyler-hike (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|San Miguel, in the Channel Islands ]]The Tulare Lake was the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River. A remnant of Pleistocene-era Lake Corcoran, Tulare Lake dried up by the early 20th century after its tributary rivers were diverted for agricultural irrigation and municipal water uses.NEWS, April 26, 2017, The Dried-Up Heart of California’s Water Dilemma, Bloomberg,www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2017-04-26/the-dried-up-heart-of-california-s-water-dilemma, About 45 percent of the state’s total surface area is covered by forests,BOOK, Laaksonen-Craig, Susanna,anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8070.pdf, Forestry, Forest Products, and Forest Products Consumption in California, Goldman, George, McKillop, William, 2003, University of California—Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, 978-1-60107-248-1, Davis, California, 1, December 12, 2009,anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8070.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20110221195646anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8070.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20110221195646anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8070.pdf, February 21, 2011, and California’s diversity of pine species is unmatched by any other state. California contains more forestland than any other state except Alaska. Many of the trees in the California White Mountains are the oldest in the world; an individual bristlecone pine is over 5,000 years old.BOOK, Lanner, RM, The Bristlecone Book, 2007, Mountain Press, 978-0-87842-538-9, 14, WEB, Oldlist,www.rmtrr.org/oldlist.htm, January 8, 2013, Rocky Mountain Tree Ring Research, In the south is a large inland salt lake, the Salton Sea. The south-central desert is called the Mojave; to the northeast of the Mojave lies Death Valley, which contains the lowest and hottest place in North America, the Badwater Basin at {{convert|−279|ft|m}}. The horizontal distance from the bottom of Death Valley to the top of Mount Whitney is less than {{convert|90|mi|km}}. Indeed, almost all of southeastern California is arid, hot desert, with routine extreme high temperatures during the summer. The southeastern border of California with Arizona is entirely formed by the Colorado River, from which the southern part of the state gets about half of its water.A majority of California’s cities are located in either the San Francisco Bay Area or the Sacramento metropolitan area in Northern California; or the Los Angeles area, the Inland Empire, or the San Diego metropolitan area in Southern California. The Los Angeles Area, the Bay Area, and the San Diego metropolitan area are among several major metropolitan areas along the California coast.As part of the Ring of Fire, California is subject to tsunamis, floods, droughts, Santa Ana winds, wildfires, and landslides on steep terrain; California also has several volcanoes. It has many earthquakes due to several faults running through the state, the largest being the San Andreas Fault. About 37,000 earthquakes are recorded each year; most are too small to be felt,WEB, Frequently Asked Questions,seismo.berkeley.edu/faq/rate_of_seism.html, April 22, 2011, Seismo.berkeley.edu, but two-thirds of the human risk from earthquakes lies in California.Climate
{{Further|Climate change in California}}File:Köppen Climate Types California.png|thumb|upright=1.2|Köppen climate types in California]]Most of the state has a Mediterranean climate. The cool California Current offshore often creates summer fog near the coast. Farther inland, there are colder winters and hotter summers. The maritime moderation results in the shoreline summertime temperatures of Los Angeles and San Francisco being the coolest of all major metropolitan areas of the United States and uniquely cool compared to areas on the same latitude in the interior and on the east coast of the North American continent. Even the San Diego shoreline bordering Mexico is cooler in summer than most areas in the contiguous United States. Just a few miles inland, summer temperature extremes are significantly higher, with downtown Los Angeles being several degrees warmer than at the coast. The same microclimate phenomenon is seen in the climate of the Bay Area, where areas sheltered from the ocean experience significantly hotter summers and colder winters in contrast with nearby areas closer to the ocean.WEB,wrcc.dri.edu/, Western Regional Climate Center, wrcc.dri.edu, WEB,www.britannica.com/place/California-state/Climate, California - Climate | Britannica, www.britannica.com, WEB,www.differencebetween.net/science/difference-between-coastal-and-inland-climates/, Difference Between Coastal and Inland Climates, October 26, 2020, File:AERONET La Jolla.2007295.terra.250m.jpg|thumb|left|California wildfires affect the state yearly. In the south, the Santa Ana windsSanta Ana windsNorthern parts of the state have more rain than the south. California’s mountain ranges also influence the climate: some of the rainiest parts of the state are west-facing mountain slopes. Coastal 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 an alpine climate with snow in winter and mild to moderate heat in summer.California’s mountains produce rain shadows on the eastern side, creating extensive deserts. The higher elevation deserts of eastern California have hot summers and cold winters, while the low deserts east of the Southern California mountains have hot summers and nearly frostless mild winters. Death Valley, a desert with large expanses below sea level, is considered the hottest location in the world; the highest temperature in the world,JOURNAL, El Fadli, K. I., etal, September 2012, World Meteorological Organization Assessment of the Purported World Record 58{{spaces, °C Temperature Extreme at El Azizia, Libya (September 13, 1922) |journal=Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society |volume=94 |issue=2 |page=199 |bibcode=2013BAMS...94..199E |doi=10.1175/BAMS-D-12-00093.1 |doi-access=free}} (The 136.4{{spaces}}°F (58{{spaces}}°C), claimed by ’Aziziya, Libya, on September 13, 1922, has been officially deemed invalid by the World Meteorological Organization.)WEB, World Meteorological Organization World Weather / Climate Extremes Archive,wmo.asu.edu/world-highest-temperature,wmo.asu.edu/world-highest-temperature," title="web.archive.org/web/20130104143844wmo.asu.edu/world-highest-temperature,">web.archive.org/web/20130104143844wmo.asu.edu/world-highest-temperature, January 4, 2013, January 10, 2013, {{convert|134|°F|°C|1}}, was recorded there on July 10, 1913. The lowest temperature in California was {{convert|−45|°F}} on January 20, 1937, in Boca.WEB, Weather Data: California, Boca, 1937, January,geographic.org/global_weather/weather_data.php?month=01&year=1937&id=USC00040931&path=weather_stations/usc0000000_usc0045999/USC00040931.dly&name=Boca&country=California, June 26, 2020, The table below lists average temperatures for January and August in a selection of places throughout the state; some highly populated and some not. This includes the relatively cool summers of the Humboldt Bay region around Eureka, the extreme heat of Death Valley, and the mountain climate of Mammoth in the Sierra Nevada.{|class=“wikitable sortable” style="margin:auto;”Ecology
File:Mount Whitney 2003-03-25.jpg|thumb|right|Mount Whitney, in the Sierra Nevada, is the highest mountain in the contiguous United Statescontiguous United StatesCalifornia is one of the ecologically richest and most diverse parts of the world, and includes some of the most endangered ecological communities. California is part of the Nearctic realm and spans a number of terrestrial ecoregions.WEB, 2003, Checklist of the Scarabaeoidea of the Nearctic Realm,www.iscc.ca.gov/docs/CaliforniaInvasiveSpeciesList.pdf, October 5, 2010, digitalcommons.unl.edu (University of Nebraska State: Papers in Entomology), California’s large number of endemic species includes relict 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).{{cn|date=May 2024}} Many California endemics have become endangered, as urbanization, logging, overgrazing, and the introduction of exotic species have encroached on their habitat.Flora and fauna
{{see also|List of California native plants}}File:Grizzly Giant Mariposa Grove.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Giant Sequoias, native to California, are the largest trees in the world. Shown is the Grizzly GiantGrizzly GiantCalifornia 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,JOURNAL, David Elstein, May 2004, Restoring California’s Native Grasses,www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/may04/grass0504.htm, Agricultural Research Magazine, 52, 5, 17, December 25, 2009, and there are close to hundred succulent species native to the state.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} 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.WEB, April 21, 2010, The California Invasive Species List,www.iscc.ca.gov/docs/CaliforniaInvasiveSpeciesList.pdf, October 5, 2010, iscc.ca.gov (California Invasive Species Advisory Committee), Because California has the greatest diversity of climate and terrain, the state has six life zones which are the lower Sonoran Desert; upper Sonoran (foothill regions and some coastal lands), transition (coastal areas and moist northeastern counties); and the Canadian, Hudsonian, and Arctic Zones, comprising the state’s highest elevations.WEB, 2010, California: flora and fauna,www.city-data.com/states/California-Flora-and-fauna.html, September 7, 2010, city-data.com, Plant life in the dry climate of the lower Sonoran zone contains a diversity of native cactus, mesquite, and paloverde. The Joshua tree is found in the Mojave Desert. Flowering plants include the dwarf desert poppy and a variety of asters. Fremont cottonwood and valley oak thrive in the Central Valley. The upper Sonoran zone includes the chaparral belt, characterized by forests of small shrubs, stunted trees, and herbaceous plants. Nemophila, mint, Phacelia, Viola, and the California poppy (Eschscholzia californica, the state flower) also flourish in this zone, along with the lupine, more species of which occur here than anywhere else in the world.The transition zone includes most of California’s forests with the redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and the “big tree” or giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), among the oldest living things on earth (some are said to have lived at least 4,000 years). Tanbark oak, California laurel, sugar pine, madrona, broad-leaved maple, and Douglas-fir also grow here. Forest floors are covered with swordfern, alumnroot, barrenwort, and trillium, and there are thickets of huckleberry, azalea, elder, and wild currant. Characteristic wild flowers include varieties of mariposa, tulip, and tiger and leopard lilies.WEB, Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl,www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_1/sequoia/sempervirens.htm, October 7, 2010, fed.us (U.S. Forest Service), December 16, 2010,www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_1/sequoia/sempervirens.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20101216063912www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_1/sequoia/sempervirens.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20101216063912www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_1/sequoia/sempervirens.htm, File:California sea lion in La Jolla (70568).jpg|thumb|right|A California sea lion in La JollaLa JollaThe high elevations of the Canadian zone allow the Jeffrey pine, red fir, and lodgepole pine to thrive. Brushy areas are abundant with dwarf manzanita and ceanothus; the unique Sierra puffball is also found here. Right below the timberline, in the Hudsonian zone, the whitebark, foxtail, and silver pines grow. At about {{convert|10500|ft|m}}, begins the Arctic zone, a treeless region whose flora include a number of wildflowers, including Sierra primrose, yellow columbine, alpine buttercup, and alpine shooting star.WEB, Life Zones of the Central Sierra Nevada,www.sierrahistorical.org/archives/lifezones.html,www.sierrahistorical.org/archives/lifezones.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20120301063716www.sierrahistorical.org/archives/lifezones.html,">web.archive.org/web/20120301063716www.sierrahistorical.org/archives/lifezones.html, March 1, 2012, October 5, 2010, sierrahistorical.org, Palm trees are a well-known feature of California, particularly in Southern California and Los Angeles; many species have been imported, though the Washington filifera (commonly known as the California fan palm) is native to the state, mainly growing in the Colorado Desert oases.WEB,www.kcet.org/shows/lost-la/a-brief-history-of-palm-trees-in-southern-california, A Brief History of Palm Trees in Southern California, Masters, Nathan, December 7, 2011, kcet.org, Public Media Group of Southern California/KCET/PBS, August 16, 2023, Other common plants that have been introduced to the state include the eucalyptus, acacia, pepper tree, geranium, and Scotch broom. The species that are federally classified as endangered are the Contra Costa wallflower, Antioch Dunes evening primrose, Solano grass, San Clemente Island larkspur, salt marsh bird’s beak, McDonald’s rock-cress, and Santa Barbara Island liveforever. {{As of|1997|12}}, 85 plant species were listed as threatened or endangered.File:Tule Elk - Merced National Wildlife Refuge Bill Leikam 12-03-2010.jpg|thumb|left|A Tule Elk in the San Joaquin ValleySan Joaquin ValleyIn the deserts of the lower Sonoran zone, the mammals include the jackrabbit, kangaroo rat, squirrel, and opossum. Common birds include the owl, roadrunner, cactus wren, and various species of hawk. The area’s reptilian life include the sidewinder viper, desert tortoise, and horned toad. The upper Sonoran zone boasts mammals such as the antelope, brown-footed woodrat, and ring-tailed cat. Birds unique to this zone are the California thrasher, bushtit, and California condor.WEB, 2009, California Condor,www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/California_Condor/id, October 3, 2010, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, WEB, October 2, 2010, CalPhotos: Browse Mammal Common Names,calphotos.berkeley.edu/fauna/com-Mammal.html, October 3, 2010, calphotos.berkeley.edu (BSCIT University of California, Berkeley), WEB, April 5, 2007, Quail Ridge Reserve: UC Davis Natural Reserve System,nrs.ucdavis.edu/quail/natural/birds_bushtit.htm, October 5, 2010, nrs.ucdavis.edu (University of California at Davis: Natural Reserve System), June 10, 2010,nrs.ucdavis.edu/quail/Natural/Birds_bushtit.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20100610063556nrs.ucdavis.edu/quail/Natural/Birds_bushtit.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20100610063556nrs.ucdavis.edu/quail/Natural/Birds_bushtit.htm, In the transition zone, there are Colombian black-tailed deer, black bears, gray foxes, cougars, bobcats, and Roosevelt elk. Reptiles such as the garter snakes and rattlesnakes inhabit the zone. In addition, amphibians such as the water puppy and redwood salamander are common too. Birds such as the kingfisher, chickadee, towhee, and hummingbird thrive here as well.WEB, 2000, Black-tailed Deer of California,www.westernhunter.com/Pages/Vol02Issue24/blacktail.html, October 7, 2010, westernhunter.com, The Canadian zone mammals include the mountain weasel, snowshoe hare, and several species of chipmunks. Conspicuous birds include the blue-fronted jay, mountain chickadee, hermit thrush, American dipper, and Townsend’s solitaire. As one ascends into the Hudsonian zone, birds become scarcer. While the gray-crowned rosy finch is the only bird native to the high Arctic region, other bird species such as Anna’s hummingbird and Clark’s nutcracker. Principal mammals found in this region include the Sierra coney, white-tailed jackrabbit, and the bighorn sheep. {{As of|2003|04}}, the bighorn sheep was listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The fauna found throughout several zones are the mule deer, coyote, mountain lion, northern flicker, and several species of hawk and sparrow.File:Methuselah Walk USA Ca.jpg|thumb|Methuselah is the oldest tree in the world, found in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest of Inyo National ForestInyo National ForestAquatic life in California thrives, from the state’s mountain lakes and streams to the rocky Pacific coastline. Numerous trout species are found, among them rainbow, golden, and cutthroat. Migratory species of salmon are common as well. Deep-sea life forms include sea bass, yellowfin tuna, barracuda, and several types of whale. Native to the cliffs of northern California are seals, sea lions, and many types of shorebirds, including migratory species.{{as of|2003|April}}, 118 California animals were on the federal endangered list; 181 plants were listed as endangered or threatened. Endangered animals include the San Joaquin kitfox, Point Arena mountain beaver, Pacific pocket mouse, salt marsh harvest mouse, Morro Bay kangaroo rat (and five other species of kangaroo rat), Amargosa vole, California least tern, California condor, loggerhead shrike, San Clemente sage sparrow, San Francisco garter snake, five species of salamander, three species of chub, and two species of pupfish. Eleven butterflies are also endangeredWEB, California’s Endangered Insects—Formally Listed Insects,essig.berkeley.edu/endins/listed.htm, August 25, 2015, berkeley.edu, and two that are threatened are on the federal list.WEB, Threatened and Endangered Invertebrates,www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/t_e_spp/invertebrates.html, May 8, 2017, DFG.CA.gov, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, May 24, 2017,www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/t_e_spp/invertebrates.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20170524215006www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/t_e_spp/invertebrates.html,">web.archive.org/web/20170524215006www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/t_e_spp/invertebrates.html, WEB, Species Search Results,ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/pub/SpeciesReport.do?groups=I&listingType=L&mapstatus=1, May 8, 2017, Environmental Conservation Online System, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Among threatened animals are the coastal California gnatcatcher, Paiute cutthroat trout, southern sea otter, and northern spotted owl. California has a total of {{convert|290821|acre|km2}} of National Wildlife Refuges. {{As of|2010|09}}, 123 California animals were listed as either endangered or threatened on the federal list.WEB, September 7, 2010, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Species Reports: Listings and occurrences for California,ecos.fws.gov/tess_public/pub/stateListingAndOccurrenceIndividual.jsp?state=CA&s8fid=112761032792&s8fid=112762573902&s8fid=24012838822503, September 7, 2010, ecos.fws.gov, Also, {{as of|2010|alt=as of the same year}}, 178 species of California plants were listed either as endangered or threatened on this federal list.Rivers
File:View of the Bay Area and the Californian Delta.jpg|thumb|left|San Francisco Bay (center left) and the California Delta (top right)]]The most prominent river system within California is formed by the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River, which are fed mostly by snowmelt from the west slope of the Sierra Nevada, and respectively drain the north and south halves of the Central Valley. The two rivers join in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, flowing into the Pacific Ocean through San Francisco Bay. Many major tributaries feed into the Sacramento–San Joaquin system, including the Pit River, Feather River and Tuolumne River.The Klamath and Trinity Rivers drain a large area in far northwestern California. The Eel River and Salinas River each drain portions of the California coast, north and south of San Francisco Bay, respectively. The Mojave River is the primary watercourse in the Mojave Desert, and the Santa Ana River drains much of the Transverse Ranges as it bisects Southern California. The Colorado River forms the state’s southeast border with Arizona.Most of California’s major rivers are dammed as part of two massive water projects: the Central Valley Project, providing water for agriculture in the Central Valley, and the California State Water Project diverting water from Northern to Southern California. The state’s coasts, rivers, and other bodies of water are regulated by the California Coastal Commission.Regions
{{see also|List of places in California}}File:Ca-regions.svg|thumb|right|Map of the regions of California ]]File:Southern California counties in red noshade.png|thumb|right|Map showing the division between Northern California (top white) and Southern CaliforniaSouthern CaliforniaCalifornia is traditionally separated into Northern California and Southern California, divided by a straight border which runs across the state, separating the northern 48 counties from the southern 10 counties. Despite the persistence of the northern-southern divide, California is more precisely divided into many regions, multiple of which stretch across the northern-southern divide.- Major divisions
- Regions
- Shasta Cascade
- North Coast
- Bay Area
- Central Valley
- Sierra Nevada
- Central Coast
- Southern California
- California Deserts
Cities and towns
{{see also|List of cities and towns in California|List of largest California cities by population}}The state has 482 incorporated cities and towns, of which 460 are cities and 22 are towns. Under California law, the terms “city” and “town” are explicitly interchangeable; the name of an incorporated municipality in the state can either be “City of (Name)” or “Town of (Name)”.WEB, CA Codes (gov:34500-34504),info.sen.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=gov&group=34001-35000&file=34500-34504,info.sen.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=gov&group=34001-35000&file=34500-34504," title="web.archive.org/web/20090827062453info.sen.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=gov&group=34001-35000&file=34500-34504,">web.archive.org/web/20090827062453info.sen.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=gov&group=34001-35000&file=34500-34504, August 27, 2009, January 29, 2010, California State Senate, Sacramento became California’s first incorporated city on February 27, 1850.WEB, Instant City: Sacramento,www.library.ca.gov/goldrush/sec08.html,www.library.ca.gov/goldrush/sec08.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20100128231357www.library.ca.gov/goldrush/sec08.html,">web.archive.org/web/20100128231357www.library.ca.gov/goldrush/sec08.html, January 28, 2010, January 29, 2010, California State Library, San Jose, San Diego, and Benicia tied for California’s second incorporated city, each receiving incorporation on March 27, 1850.WEB, San Jose at a Glance,www.sanjoseca.gov/about.asp,www.sanjoseca.gov/about.asp," title="web.archive.org/web/20100208201852www.sanjoseca.gov/about.asp,">web.archive.org/web/20100208201852www.sanjoseca.gov/about.asp, February 8, 2010, January 29, 2010, City of San Jose, WEB, A History of San Diego Government,www.sandiego.gov/city-clerk/geninfo/history.shtml,www.sandiego.gov/city-clerk/geninfo/history.shtml," title="web.archive.org/web/20100528081607www.sandiego.gov/city-clerk/geninfo/history.shtml,">web.archive.org/web/20100528081607www.sandiego.gov/city-clerk/geninfo/history.shtml, May 28, 2010, January 29, 2010, City of San Diego, WEB, May 23, 2007, California State Parks: 1846 to 1854,www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1096, January 29, 2010, California State Parks, Jurupa Valley became the state’s most recent and 482nd incorporated municipality, on July 1, 2011.WEB, March 11, 2011, Jurupa Valley Becomes California’s 482nd City,newsletter.cacities.org/e_article002045084.cfm,newsletter.cacities.org/e_article002045084.cfm," title="web.archive.org/web/20120506030043newsletter.cacities.org/e_article002045084.cfm,">web.archive.org/web/20120506030043newsletter.cacities.org/e_article002045084.cfm, May 6, 2012, August 21, 2011, League of California Cities, WEB, Stokley, Sandra, June 14, 2011, Jurupa Valley: Rushing to meet a July 1 incorporation,www.pe.com/localnews/riverside/stories/PE_News_Local_D_wcode15.40e71cc.html,www.pe.com/localnews/riverside/stories/PE_News_Local_D_wcode15.40e71cc.html," title="archive.today/20120907035535www.pe.com/localnews/riverside/stories/PE_News_Local_D_wcode15.40e71cc.html,">archive.today/20120907035535www.pe.com/localnews/riverside/stories/PE_News_Local_D_wcode15.40e71cc.html, September 7, 2012, August 21, 2011, The Press-Enterprise (California), The Press-Enterprise, The majority of these cities and towns are within one of five metropolitan areas: the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, the San Francisco Bay Area, the Riverside-San Bernardino Area, the San Diego metropolitan area, or the Sacramento metropolitan area.{{Largest cities
|country=California
|stat_ref=Source:WEB, Census QuickFacts: California,www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/CA/PST045219, September 24, 2021, U.S. Census Bureau,
|list_by_pop=
|div_name=
|div_link=Counties of California{{!}}County
|city_1=Los Angeles, California{{!}}Los Angeles
|div_1=Los Angeles County, California{{!}}Los Angeles
|pop_1=3,898,747
|img_1=Los Angeles with Mount Baldy.jpg
|city_2=San Diego, California{{!}}San Diego
|div_2=San Diego County, California{{!}}San Diego
|pop_2=1,386,932
|img_2=San Diego skyline 18 (2).jpg
|city_3=San Jose, California{{!}}San Jose
|div_3=Santa Clara County, California{{!}}Santa Clara
|pop_3=1,013,240
|img_3=SJPan (cropped).jpg
|city_4=San Francisco, California{{!}}San Francisco
|div_4=San Francisco County, California{{!}}San Francisco
|pop_4=873,965
|img_4=San Francisco from the Marin Headlands in August 2022 (cropped).jpg
|city_5=Fresno, California{{!}}Fresno
|div_5=Fresno County, California{{!}}Fresno
|pop_5=542,107
|city_6=Sacramento, California{{!}}Sacramento
|div_6=Sacramento County, California{{!}}Sacramento
|pop_6=524,943
|city_7=Long Beach, California{{!}}Long Beach
|div_7=Los Angeles County, California{{!}}Los Angeles
|pop_7=466,742
|city_8=Oakland, California{{!}}Oakland
|div_8=Alameda County, California{{!}}Alameda
|pop_8=440,646
|city_9=Bakersfield, California{{!}}Bakersfield
|div_9=Kern County, California{{!}}Kern
|pop_9=403,455
|city_10=Anaheim, California{{!}}Anaheim
|div_10=Orange County, California{{!}}Orange
|pop_10=346,824
|city_11=Stockton, California{{!}}Stockton
|div_11=San Joaquin County, California{{!}}San Joaquin
|pop_11=320,804
|city_12=Riverside, California{{!}}Riverside
|div_12=Riverside County, California{{!}}Riverside
|pop_12=314,998
|city_13=Santa Ana, California{{!}}Santa Ana
|div_13=Orange County, California{{!}}Orange
|pop_13=310,227
|city_14=Irvine, California{{!}}Irvine
|div_14=Orange County, California{{!}}Orange
|pop_14=307,670
|city_15=Chula Vista, California{{!}}Chula Vista
|div_15=San Diego County, California{{!}}San Diego
|pop_15=275,487
|city_16=Fremont, California{{!}}Fremont
|div_16=Alameda County, California{{!}}Alameda
|pop_16=230,504
|city_17=Santa Clarita, California{{!}}Santa Clarita
|div_17=Los Angeles County, California{{!}}Los Angeles
|pop_17=228,673
|city_18=San Bernardino, California{{!}}San Bernardino
|div_18=San Bernardino County, California{{!}}San Bernardino
|pop_18=222,101
|city_19=Modesto, California{{!}}Modesto
|div_19=Stanislaus County, California{{!}}Stanislaus
|pop_19=218,464
|city_20=Moreno Valley, California{{!}}Moreno Valley
|div_20=Riverside County, California{{!}}Riverside
|pop_20=208,634
}}{| class=“wikitable“|+ Largest metropolitan statistical areas in California|stat_ref=Source:WEB, Census QuickFacts: California,www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/CA/PST045219, September 24, 2021, U.S. Census Bureau,
|list_by_pop=
|div_name=
|div_link=Counties of California{{!}}County
|city_1=Los Angeles, California{{!}}Los Angeles
|div_1=Los Angeles County, California{{!}}Los Angeles
|pop_1=3,898,747
|img_1=Los Angeles with Mount Baldy.jpg
|city_2=San Diego, California{{!}}San Diego
|div_2=San Diego County, California{{!}}San Diego
|pop_2=1,386,932
|img_2=San Diego skyline 18 (2).jpg
|city_3=San Jose, California{{!}}San Jose
|div_3=Santa Clara County, California{{!}}Santa Clara
|pop_3=1,013,240
|img_3=SJPan (cropped).jpg
|city_4=San Francisco, California{{!}}San Francisco
|div_4=San Francisco County, California{{!}}San Francisco
|pop_4=873,965
|img_4=San Francisco from the Marin Headlands in August 2022 (cropped).jpg
|city_5=Fresno, California{{!}}Fresno
|div_5=Fresno County, California{{!}}Fresno
|pop_5=542,107
|city_6=Sacramento, California{{!}}Sacramento
|div_6=Sacramento County, California{{!}}Sacramento
|pop_6=524,943
|city_7=Long Beach, California{{!}}Long Beach
|div_7=Los Angeles County, California{{!}}Los Angeles
|pop_7=466,742
|city_8=Oakland, California{{!}}Oakland
|div_8=Alameda County, California{{!}}Alameda
|pop_8=440,646
|city_9=Bakersfield, California{{!}}Bakersfield
|div_9=Kern County, California{{!}}Kern
|pop_9=403,455
|city_10=Anaheim, California{{!}}Anaheim
|div_10=Orange County, California{{!}}Orange
|pop_10=346,824
|city_11=Stockton, California{{!}}Stockton
|div_11=San Joaquin County, California{{!}}San Joaquin
|pop_11=320,804
|city_12=Riverside, California{{!}}Riverside
|div_12=Riverside County, California{{!}}Riverside
|pop_12=314,998
|city_13=Santa Ana, California{{!}}Santa Ana
|div_13=Orange County, California{{!}}Orange
|pop_13=310,227
|city_14=Irvine, California{{!}}Irvine
|div_14=Orange County, California{{!}}Orange
|pop_14=307,670
|city_15=Chula Vista, California{{!}}Chula Vista
|div_15=San Diego County, California{{!}}San Diego
|pop_15=275,487
|city_16=Fremont, California{{!}}Fremont
|div_16=Alameda County, California{{!}}Alameda
|pop_16=230,504
|city_17=Santa Clarita, California{{!}}Santa Clarita
|div_17=Los Angeles County, California{{!}}Los Angeles
|pop_17=228,673
|city_18=San Bernardino, California{{!}}San Bernardino
|div_18=San Bernardino County, California{{!}}San Bernardino
|pop_18=222,101
|city_19=Modesto, California{{!}}Modesto
|div_19=Stanislaus County, California{{!}}Stanislaus
|pop_19=218,464
|city_20=Moreno Valley, California{{!}}Moreno Valley
|div_20=Riverside County, California{{!}}Riverside
|pop_20=208,634
|{{change|invert=on|3298634|3095313}}
|San Diego
|San Diego
|{{change|invert=on|1008654|930450}}
|Fresno
|Fresno
|{{change|invert=on|909235|839631}}
|Kern
|Kern
|{{change|invert=on|843843|823318}}
|Ventura
|Ventura
|{{change|invert=on|779233|685306}}
|San Joaquin
|San Joaquin
|{{change|invert=on|9714023|8923942}}
|Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Merced, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus
|Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Merced, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus
Demographics
Population
{{US Census population| 1850 = 92597| 1860 = 379994| 1870 = 560247| 1880 = 864694| 1890 = 1213398| 1900 = 1485053| 1910 = 2377549| 1920 = 3426861| 1930 = 5677251| 1940 = 6907387| 1950 = 10586223| 1960 = 15717204| 1970 = 19953134| 1980 = 23667902| 1990 = 29760021| 2000 = 33871648| 2010 = 37253956| 2020 = 39538223| estyear = 2023| estimate = 38940231Race and ethnicity
File:Map of Californian Counties by Percentage of Hispanics or Latinos.png|thumb|right|Hispanic and Latino Californians make up the state’s largest ethnic group. The map displays California’s counties by percentage of Hispanics and Latinos in the (2020 United States census|2020 Census]]:{{legend|#26619C|50% or more}}{{legend|#0087BD|25–49%}}{{legend|#6699CC|15–24%}}{{legend|#9EB9D4|5–15%}}){| class=“wikitable sortable collapsible”; text-align:right; font-size:80%;”Languages
{{see also|California English|Spanish language in California}}{|class=“wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-open” style="margin-left:1em; float:right“|+ Languages spoken in California by more than 100,000 personsReligion
{{see also|List of cathedrals in California}}{{Pie chart| thumb = rightCulture
{{see also|Cuisine of California}}File: Hollywood Sign (Zuschnitt).jpg|thumb|right|The Hollywood Sign in Los AngelesLos AngelesThe culture of California is a Western culture and has its modern roots in the culture of the United States, but also, historically, many Hispanic Californio and Mexican influences. As a border and coastal state, California culture has been greatly influenced by several large immigrant populations, especially those from Latin America and Asia.WEB, Park, Bborie, December 2003, A World of Opportunity—Which New Languages Davis Students Would Like to Study and Why,www.sariweb.ucdavis.edu/downloads/311AWorldOfOpportunity.pdf,www.sariweb.ucdavis.edu/downloads/311AWorldOfOpportunity.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20100611013350www.sariweb.ucdavis.edu/downloads/311AWorldOfOpportunity.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20100611013350www.sariweb.ucdavis.edu/downloads/311AWorldOfOpportunity.pdf, June 11, 2010, December 27, 2009, UC Davis Student Affairs Research and Information, California has long been a subject of interest in the public mind and has often been promoted by its boosters as a kind of paradise. In the early 20th century, fueled by the efforts of state and local boosters, many Americans saw the Golden State as an ideal resort destination, sunny and dry all year round with easy access to the ocean and mountains. In the 1960s, popular music groups such as the Beach Boys promoted the image of Californians as laid-back, tanned beach-goers.Media and entertainment
{{further|Media in Los Angeles|Media in the San Francisco Bay Area|Music in California}}{{see also|List of amusement parks in the Americas#California|List of newspapers in California|List of radio stations in California}}File:Walt_Disney_Studios_Alameda_Entrance.jpg|thumb|left|Disney, headquartered in Burbank, is one of the world’s largest media and entertainment companies.]]Hollywood and the rest of the Los Angeles area is a major global center for entertainment, with the U.S. film industry’s “Big Five” major film studios (Columbia, Disney, Paramount, Universal, and Warner Bros.) as well as many minor film studios being based in or around the area. Many animation studios are also headquartered in the state.The four major American television commercial broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox) as well as other networks all have production facilities and offices in the state. All the four major commercial broadcast networks, plus the two major Spanish-language networks (Telemundo and Univision) each have at least three owned-and-operated TV stations in California, including at least one in Los Angeles and at least one in San Francisco.{{refn|group=“note“|ABC has the least amount of owned-and-operated TV stations with three: KABC-TV in Los Angeles, KGO-TV in San Francisco, and KFSN-TV in Fresno.}}File:Twitter headquarters in San Francisco (TK2).JPG|thumb|Twitter, headquartered in San Francisco, is one of the largest social media networks in the world.]]File:State Fair 2014.jpg|thumb|The California State Fair is held annually during the summer at Cal Expo in northeastern SacramentoSacramentoOne of the oldest radio stations in the United States still in existence, KCBS (AM) in the San Francisco Bay Area, was founded in 1909. Universal Music Group, one of the “Big Four” record labels, is based in Santa Monica, while Warner Records is based in Los Angeles. Many independent record labels, such as Mind of a Genius Records, are also headquartered in the state. California is also the birthplace of several international music genres, including the Bakersfield sound, Bay Area thrash metal, alternative rock, g-funk, nu metal, glam metal, thrash metal, psychedelic rock, stoner rock, punk rock, hardcore punk, metalcore, pop punk, surf music, third wave ska, west coast hip hop, west coast jazz, jazz rap, and many other genres. Other genres such as pop rock, indie rock, hard rock, hip hop, pop, rock, rockabilly, country, heavy metal, grunge, new wave and disco were popularized in the state. In addition, many British bands, such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, and the Rolling Stones settled in the state after becoming internationally famous.As the home of Silicon Valley, the Bay Area is the headquarters of several prominent internet media, social media, and other technology companies. Three of the “Big Five” technology companies (Apple, Meta, and Google) are based in the area as well as other services such as Netflix, Pandora Radio, Twitter, Yahoo!, and YouTube. Other prominent companies that are headquartered here include HP inc. and Intel. Microsoft and Amazon also have offices in the area.California, particularly Southern California,WEB,www.speedhunters.com/2022/03/car-culture-southern-california/, Car Culture: Does Anywhere Do It Better Than Southern California?, Ryan, Sara, March 18, 2022, speedhunters.com, Electronic Arts Inc., August 17, 2023, Ask anyone who’s involved in the automotive hobby where they’d suggest heading for some really thick car culture, and Southern California would surely be mentioned., is considered the birthplace of modern car culture.JOURNAL, 10.2307/25591577, 25591577, Lutz, R. C., On the Road to Nowhere? California’s Car Culture, California History, August 28, 2023, 79, 1, 50–55, Several fast food, fast casual, and casual dining chains were also founded California, including some that have since expanded internationally like California Pizza Kitchen, Denny’s, IHOP, McDonald’s, Panda Express, and Taco Bell.Sports
{{see also|List of professional sports teams in California}}File:Pebble-Beach-CA.jpg|thumb|left|Pebble Beach Golf Links, one of the best ranked golf coursegolf courseFile:LBGP05.jpg|thumb|left|The Grand Prix of Long Beach is the longest running major street racestreet raceCalifornia has nineteen major professional sports league franchises, far more than any other state. The San Francisco Bay Area has six major league teams spread in its three major cities: San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland, while the Greater Los Angeles Area is home to ten major league franchises. San Diego and Sacramento each have one major league team. The NFL Super Bowl has been hosted in California 12 times at five different stadiums: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Rose Bowl, Stanford Stadium, Levi’s Stadium, and San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium. A thirteenth, Super Bowl LVI, was held at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on February 13, 2022.WEB, Naranjo, Candice, The Super Bowl is Coming to Levi’s Stadium in 2016,news.kron4.com/news/the-super-bowl-is-coming-to-levis-stadium-in-2016/,news.kron4.com/news/the-super-bowl-is-coming-to-levis-stadium-in-2016/," title="web.archive.org/web/20140329080701news.kron4.com/news/the-super-bowl-is-coming-to-levis-stadium-in-2016/,">web.archive.org/web/20140329080701news.kron4.com/news/the-super-bowl-is-coming-to-levis-stadium-in-2016/, March 29, 2014, March 28, 2014, KRON 4, California has long had many respected collegiate sports programs. California is home to the oldest college bowl game, the annual Rose Bowl, among others.The NFL has three teams in the state: the Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers, and San Francisco 49ers.MLB has five teams in the state: the San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, and San Diego Padres.WEB,www.loscerritosnews.net/2021/06/14/how-many-mlb-teams-are-in-california/, How many MLB teams are in California?, June 14, 2021, loscerritosnews.net, Hews Media Group, Cerritos Community News, August 17, 2023, There are a total of five different MLB franchises that are currently located on the west coast, with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants., The NBA has four teams in the state: the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, and Sacramento Kings. Additionally, the WNBA also has one team in the state: the Los Angeles Sparks.The NHL has three teams in the state: the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, and San Jose Sharks.MLS has three teams in the state: the Los Angeles Galaxy, San Jose Earthquakes, and Los Angeles Football Club.MLR has one team in the state: the San Diego Legion.California is the only U.S. state to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics. The 1932 and 1984 summer games were held in Los Angeles. Squaw Valley Ski Resort (now Palisades Tahoe) in the Lake Tahoe region hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics. Los Angeles will host the 2028 Summer Olympics, marking the fourth time that California will have hosted the Olympic Games.NEWS, Nagourney, Adam, Adam Nagourney, Longman, Jeré, July 31, 2017, Los Angeles Makes Deal to Host the 2028 Summer Olympics, The New York Times,www.nytimes.com/2017/07/31/sports/olympics/los-angeles-2028-summer-olympics.html, live,web.archive.org/web/20170802233825/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/31/sports/olympics/los-angeles-2028-summer-olympics.html, August 2, 2017, Multiple games during the 1994 FIFA World Cup took place in California, with the Rose Bowl hosting eight matches (including the final), while Stanford Stadium hosted six matches.In addition to the Olympic games, California also hosts the California State Games.Many sports, such as surfing, snowboarding, and skateboarding, were invented in California, while others like volleyball, beach soccer, and skiing were popularized in the state.Other sports that are big in the state include golf, rodeo, tennis, mountain climbing, marathon running, horse racing, bowling, mixed martial arts, boxing, and motorsports, especially NASCAR and Formula One.File:The “Olympic Gateway” arch and male and female statues at the entrance to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California LCCN2013631630.tif|right|thumb|Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum hosted the Summer Olympics in 1932 and 1984, and will also host in 2028.]]{|class=“wikitable sortable”Education
{{see also|Spanish bilingual education in California}}File:Santa Barbara Senior High School (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Santa Barbara High SchoolSanta Barbara High SchoolCalifornia has the most school students in the country, with over 6.2 million in the 2005–06 school year, giving California more students in school than 36 states have in total population and one of the highest projected enrollments in the country.{{CongRec|2000|S2337|April 6, 2000}}Public 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. California’s public educational system is supported by a unique constitutional amendment that requires a minimum annual funding level for grades K–12 and community colleges that grows with the economy and student enrollment figures.WEB, February 2005, Proposition 98 Primer,www.lao.ca.gov/2005/prop_98_primer/prop_98_primer_020805.htm, January 29, 2010, LAO.ca.gov, California Legislative Analyst’s Office, In 2016, California’s K–12 public school per-pupil spending was ranked 22nd in the nation ($11,500 per student vs. $11,800 for the U.S. average).MAGAZINE, June 1, 2018, Education Spending Per Student by State,www.governing.com/gov-data/education-data/state-education-spending-per-pupil-data.html, live, Governing (magazine), Governing,www.governing.com/gov-data/education-data/state-education-spending-per-pupil-data.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20180702004654www.governing.com/gov-data/education-data/state-education-spending-per-pupil-data.html,">web.archive.org/web/20180702004654www.governing.com/gov-data/education-data/state-education-spending-per-pupil-data.html, July 2, 2018, July 18, 2018, NOTE: Adult education, community services and other nonelementary-secondary program expenditures are excluded., For 2012, California’s K–12 public schools ranked 48th in the number of employees per student, at 0.102 (the U.S. average was 0.137), while paying the 7th most per employee, $49,000 (the U.S. average was $39,000).WEB, Gordon, Tracy, Iselin, John, January 1, 2017, What Everyone Should Know about Their State’s Budget,apps.urban.org/features/what-drives-state-spending/, July 16, 2018, Urban Institute, This chart includes two places, District of Columbia, and the U.S. average, so the number rankings rank 52 total entities; this needs to be understood when viewing these rankings., WEB, Gordon, Tracy, Iselin, John, January 1, 2017, What Everyone Should Know about Their State’s Budget,apps.urban.org/features/what-drives-state-spending/spending-drivers-documentation.pdf, live,apps.urban.org/features/what-drives-state-spending/spending-drivers-documentation.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20170202025027apps.urban.org/features/what-drives-state-spending/spending-drivers-documentation.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20170202025027apps.urban.org/features/what-drives-state-spending/spending-drivers-documentation.pdf, February 2, 2017, July 16, 2018, Urban Institute, 7, For state and local government spending, we rely primarily on the U.S. Census Bureau’s Census of Governments Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances for fiscal year 2012, as revised and released on October 23, 2015.1 For state and local government employment and payroll, we draw from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Census of Governments Government Employment and Payroll survey for full-time equivalent employees in March 2012., NEWS, Woolfolk, John, January 15, 2018, Why do Californians pay more state and local taxes than Texans?, The Mercury News, San Jose Mercury News,www.mercurynews.com/2018/01/13/why-do-californians-pay-more-state-and-local-taxes-than-texans/, live, July 16, 2018,web.archive.org/web/20180208202805/https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/01/13/why-do-californians-pay-more-state-and-local-taxes-than-texans/, February 8, 2018, California spending per resident on K-12 schools was about average among the states, but while teacher pay was among the highest, the state trailed others in teachers and support staff per student.,Higher education
File:Berkeley glade afternoon.jpg|thumb|right|UC Berkeley is the oldest campus of the University of CaliforniaUniversity of CaliforniaFile:Stanford University Main Quad - 7 June 2009.jpg|thumb|right|(Stanford University]] is a private university that is one of the top-ranked universities in the world.WEB, QS World University Rankings 2023: Top Global Universities,www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2023, November 28, 2022, Top Universities, en, )California public postsecondary education is organized into three separate systems:- The state’s public research university system is the University of California (UC). As of fall 2011, the University of California had a combined student body of 234,464 students.WEB, Log In—Confluence,confluence.ucop.edu/login.action?os_destination=%2Fpages%2Fviewpage.action%3FspaceKey%3DUC101%26title%3DAbout%2Bthe%2BUniversity%2Bof%2BCalifornia&permissionViolation=true, confluence.ucop.edu, There are ten UC campuses; nine are general campuses offering both undergraduate and graduate programs which culminate in the award of bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, and doctorates; there is one specialized campus, UC San Francisco, which is entirely dedicated to graduate education in health care, and is home to the UCSF Medical Center, the highest-ranked hospital in California.MAGAZINE, July 15, 2007, America’s Best Hospitals 2007,health.usnews.com/usnews/health/best-hospitals/honorroll.htm, U.S. News & World Report,health.usnews.com/usnews/health/best-hospitals/honorroll.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20070711023109health.usnews.com/usnews/health/best-hospitals/honorroll.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20070711023109health.usnews.com/usnews/health/best-hospitals/honorroll.htm, July 11, 2007, July 15, 2007, The system was originally intended to accept the top one-eighth of California high school students, but several of the campuses have become even more selective.WEB, Gilmore, Janet, December 19, 2016, 85,000 students seek admission to Berkeley’s 2017–18 freshman class,news.berkeley.edu/2016/12/19/85000-students-seek-admission-to-berkeleys-2017-18-freshman-class/, May 8, 2017, Berkeley News, WEB, Kendall, Rebecca, UCLA breaks several records with 2017 freshman applications,newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-breaks-several-records-with-2017-freshman-applications, May 8, 2017, UCLA Newsroom, Powell, Farran. “California Students Face Competition for College Options”. U.S. News & World Report. N.p., February 6, 2017. Web. May 7, 2017. The UC system historically held exclusive authority to award the doctorate, but this has since changed and CSU now has limited statutory authorization to award a handful of types of doctoral degrees independently of UC.
- The California State University (CSU) system has almost 430,000 students. The CSU (which takes the definite article in its abbreviated form, while UC does not) was originally intended to accept the top one-third of California high school students, but several of the campuses have become much more selective.WEB, Rising number of rejections raises fears that Long Beach is becoming ‘elite’ university,edsource.org/2016/rising-number-of-rejections-raise-fears-that-long-beach-is-becoming-elite-university/95431, May 8, 2017, EdSource, The CSU was originally authorized to award only bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and could award the doctorate only as part of joint programs with UC or private universities. Since then, CSU has been granted the authority to independently award several doctoral degrees (in specific academic fields that do not intrude upon UC’s traditional jurisdiction).
- The California Community Colleges system provides lower-division coursework culminating in the associate degree, as well as basic skills and workforce training culminating in various kinds of certificates. (Fifteen California community colleges now award four-year bachelor’s degrees in disciplines which are in high demand in their geographical area.WEB, Baccalaureate Degree Program {{!, California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office |url=https://www.cccco.edu/About-Us/Chancellors-Office/Divisions/Educational-Services-and-Support/What-we-do/Curriculum-and-Instruction-Unit/Curriculum/Baccalaureate-Degree-Program |access-date=October 8, 2022 |website=www.cccco.edu}}) It is the largest network of higher education in the U.S., composed of 112 colleges serving a student population of over 2.6{{spaces}}million.
Economy
File:SJ skyline at night horizontal.jpg|thumb|right|280px|Silicon Valley is the largest tech hub in the world and home to Big Tech companies like Apple, Alphabet, Meta, Intel, Netflix, Inc., Uber, Nvidia, HP, X CorpX CorpCalifornia’s economy ranks among the largest in the world. {{as of|2022}}, the gross state product (GSP) was $3.6{{spaces}}trillion ($92,190 per capita), the largest in the United States.WEB,apps.bea.gov/, BEA: Gross Domestic Product by State, 4th Quarter and Annual 2022, apps.bea.gov, California is responsible for one seventh of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).WEB, GDP by State, Bureau of Economic Analysis,bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/gdp_state/qgdpstate_newsrelease.htm, May 18, 2018, {{as of|2018}}, California’s nominal GDP is larger than all but four countries.WEB, July 2013, California Poised to Move Up in World Economy Rankings in 2013,www.ccsce.com/PDF/Numbers-July-2013-CA-Economy-Rankings-2012.pdf,www.ccsce.com/PDF/Numbers-July-2013-CA-Economy-Rankings-2012.pdf," title="ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009www.ccsce.com/PDF/Numbers-July-2013-CA-Economy-Rankings-2012.pdf,">ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009www.ccsce.com/PDF/Numbers-July-2013-CA-Economy-Rankings-2012.pdf, October 9, 2022, live, June 14, 2014, Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, In terms of purchasing power parity (PPP),WEB, December 2, 2010, Calif. retains economy that would be 8th largest,www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9JS1MLO0.htm,www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9JS1MLO0.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20101206151318www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9JS1MLO0.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20101206151318www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9JS1MLO0.htm, December 6, 2010, September 2, 2012, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, it is larger than all but eight countries.WEB, GDP, PPP (current international $),data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.PP.CD?order=wbapi_data_value_2012+wbapi_data_value+wbapi_data_value-last&sort=desc, June 14, 2014, World Bank, International Comparison Program database, California’s economy is larger than Africa and Australia and is almost as large as South America.WEB, October 2019, GDP, current prices,www.imf.org/external/datamapper/NGDPD@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD, January 22, 2020, World Economic Outlook, International Monetary Fund, The state recorded total, non-farm employment of 16,677,800 {{As of|2021|09|lc=y}} among 966,224 employer establishments.WEB, U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: California,www.census.gov/quickfacts/CA, live, December 6, 2021, www.census.gov,web.archive.org/web/20171201115306/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/CA, December 1, 2017, .File:The port of Long Beach 2 by Don Ramey Logan.jpg|thumb|left|The combined Port of Los Angeles-Port of Long Beach is the largest port in the U.S. by import volume and one of the busiest ports in the world.]]As the largest and second-largest U.S. ports respectively, the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach in Southern California collectively play a pivotal role in the global supply chain, together hauling in about 40% of all imports to the United States by TEU volume. The Port of Oakland and Port of Hueneme are the 10th and 26th largest seaports in the U.S., respectively, by number of TEUs handled.Patrick Burnson, Top 30 U.S. Ports 2019: Trade tensions determine where cargo goes next, Logistics Management (May 10, 2019).The five largest sectors of employment in California are trade, transportation, and utilities; government; professional and business services; education and health services; and leisure and hospitality. In output, the five largest sectors are financial services, followed by trade, transportation, and utilities; education and health services; government; and manufacturing.WEB, 2011 CalFacts,www.lao.ca.gov/reports/2011/calfacts/calfacts_010511.aspx, April 22, 2011, Lao.ca.gov, California has an unemployment rate of 3.9% {{as of|2022|9|lc=y}}.WEB, California Economy at a Glance,www.bls.gov/regions/west/california.htm, live, December 6, 2021, bls.gov,www.bls.gov:80/regions/west/california.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20141121114732www.bls.gov:80/regions/west/california.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20141121114732www.bls.gov:80/regions/west/california.htm, November 21, 2014, California’s economy is dependent on trade and international related commerce accounts for about one-quarter of the state’s economy, and representing 7% of their GDP; California’s biggest trade partner is Mexico. In 2008, California exported $144{{spaces}}billion worth of goods, up from $134{{spaces}}billion in 2007 and $127{{spaces}}billion in 2006.WEB, Trade Statistics,www.calchamber.com/international/trade/pages/tradestatistics.aspx,www.calchamber.com/international/trade/pages/tradestatistics.aspx," title="web.archive.org/web/20100209095504www.calchamber.com/international/trade/pages/tradestatistics.aspx,">web.archive.org/web/20100209095504www.calchamber.com/international/trade/pages/tradestatistics.aspx, February 9, 2010, January 29, 2010, California Chamber of Commerce, Vehicles, computers and electronic products are California’s top export, accounting for 42 percent of all the state’s exports in 2008; over 50 car companies operate in California, such as Tesla and Mazda.Agriculture
{{further|Strawberry cultivation in California|Production of peaches in California|Walnuts in California}}{{see also|California nut crimes}}File:Autumn in Napa Valley vineyards.jpg|right|thumb|California vineyards in Wine Country. The agricultural industry in California is the largest in the U.S. ]]Agriculture is an important sector in California’s economy. According to the USDA in 2011, the three largest California agricultural products by value were milk and cream, shelled almonds, and grapes. Farming-related sales more than quadrupled over the past three decades, from $7.3{{spaces}}billion in 1974 to nearly $31{{spaces}}billion in 2004.WEB, August 6, 2007, Cal Facts 2006 State Economy,www.lao.ca.gov/2006/cal_facts/2006_calfacts_econ.htm, January 29, 2010, Legislative Analyst’s Office of California, This increase has occurred despite a 15 percent decline in acreage devoted to farming during the period, and water supply suffering from chronic instability. Factors contributing to the growth in sales-per-acre include more intensive use of active farmlands and technological improvements in crop production. In 2008, California’s 81,500 farms and ranches generated $36.2{{spaces}}billion products revenue.WEB, 2010, California Agricultural Production Statistics 2009–2010,www.cdfa.ca.gov/statistics/, October 5, 2010, cdfa.ca.gov (California Department of Food and Agriculture), In 2011, that number grew to $43.5{{spaces}}billion products revenue.WEB, 2013, California Agricultural Production Statistics 2011,www.cdfa.ca.gov/statistics/, May 18, 2013, cdfa.ca.gov (California Department of Food and Agriculture), The agriculture sector accounts for two percent of the state’s GDP and employs around three percent of its total workforce.NEWS, Venton, Danielle, June 5, 2015, A Better Way for California to Water Its Farms, Wired,www.wired.com/2015/06/farming-and-drought/, June 5, 2015,Income
{{See also|California locations by per capita income}}File:Sleeping Beauty Castle 2019.jpg|thumb|left|California is the most visited state in the country.WEB,www.businessinsider.com/the-most-popular-us-states-for-tourism-2014-10, A Detailed Look At How Americans Travel Within The US, Jennifer, Polland, Business Insider, Disneyland in AnaheimAnaheimPer capita GDP in 2007 was $38,956, ranking eleventh in the nation.PRESS RELEASE, State Personal Income 2006, March 27, 2007, Bureau of Economic Analysis,www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/spi/2007/spi0307.htm, January 29, 2010,www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/spi/2007/spi0307.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20070704133957www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/spi/2007/spi0307.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20070704133957www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/spi/2007/spi0307.htm, July 4, 2007, 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. According to a 2005 report by the Congressional Research Service, the San Joaquin Valley was characterized as one of the most economically depressed regions in the United States, on par with the region of Appalachia.WEB, Cowan, Tadlock, December 12, 2005, California’s San Joaquin Valley: A Region in Transition,www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/links/CRS%20San%20Joaquin%20Valley%20Report.pdf,www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/links/CRS%20San%20Joaquin%20Valley%20Report.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20090324221541www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/links/CRS%20San%20Joaquin%20Valley%20Report.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20090324221541www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/links/CRS%20San%20Joaquin%20Valley%20Report.pdf, March 24, 2009, January 29, 2010, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, 2, Using the supplemental poverty measure, California has a poverty rate of 23.5%, the highest of any state in the country.NEWS, Berlinger, Joshua, November 12, 2012, A New Poverty Calculation Yields Some Surprising Results, Business Insider,www.businessinsider.com/new-census-data-on-poverty-rates-yields-some-pretty-shocking-results-2012-11, October 7, 2013, However, using the official measure the poverty rate was only 13.3% as of 2017.WEB, U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: United States,www.census.gov/quickfacts/US, August 2, 2019, www.census.gov, Many coastal cities include some of the wealthiest per-capita areas in the United States. The high-technology sectors in Northern California, specifically Silicon Valley, in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, have emerged from the economic downturn caused by the dot-com bust.In 2019, there were 1,042,027 millionaire households in the state, more than any other state in the nation.WEB, May, Patrick, How many millionaires do we have in California? Hint: It’s a big number,www.chicoer.com/2019/02/05/how-many-millionaires-do-we-have-in-california-hint-its-a-big-number/, May 3, 2020, Enterprise Record, February 5, 2019, In 2010, California residents were ranked first among the states with the best average credit score of 754.WEB, Bukszpan, Daniel, March 29, 2012, States With the Best Credit Scores,www.cnbc.com/2012/03/29/States-With-the-Best-Credit-Scores.html, Cnbc.com, File:USA-World Nominal GDP.PNG|If California was an independent country, its gross domestic product (nominal) would rank fifth in the world (2022).WEB, 5. Report for Selected Countries and Subjects,www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2016/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=69&pr.y=15&sy=2018&ey=2018&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=512%2C672%2C914%2C946%2C612%2C137%2C614%2C546%2C311%2C962%2C213%2C674%2C911%2C676%2C193%2C548%2C122%2C556%2C912%2C678%2C313%2C181%2C419%2C867%2C513%2C682%2C316%2C684%2C913%2C273%2C124%2C868%2C339%2C921%2C638%2C948%2C514%2C943%2C218%2C686%2C963%2C688%2C616%2C518%2C223%2C728%2C516%2C558%2C918%2C138%2C748%2C196%2C618%2C278%2C624%2C692%2C522%2C694%2C622%2C142%2C156%2C449%2C626%2C564%2C628%2C565%2C228%2C283%2C924%2C853%2C233%2C288%2C632%2C293%2C636%2C566%2C634%2C964%2C238%2C182%2C662%2C359%2C960%2C453%2C423%2C968%2C935%2C922%2C128%2C714%2C611%2C862%2C321%2C135%2C243%2C716%2C248%2C456%2C469%2C722%2C253%2C942%2C642%2C718%2C643%2C724%2C939%2C576%2C644%2C936%2C819%2C961%2C172%2C813%2C132%2C199%2C646%2C733%2C648%2C184%2C915%2C524%2C134%2C361%2C652%2C362%2C174%2C364%2C328%2C732%2C258%2C366%2C656%2C734%2C654%2C144%2C336%2C146%2C263%2C463%2C268%2C528%2C532%2C923%2C944%2C738%2C176%2C578%2C534%2C537%2C536%2C742%2C429%2C866%2C433%2C369%2C178%2C744%2C436%2C186%2C136%2C925%2C343%2C869%2C158%2C746%2C439%2C926%2C916%2C466%2C664%2C112%2C826%2C111%2C542%2C298%2C967%2C927%2C443%2C846%2C917%2C299%2C544%2C582%2C941%2C474%2C446%2C754%2C666%2C698%2C668&s=NGDPD&grp=0&a=,web.archive.org/web/20190323111307/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2016/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=69&pr.y=15&sy=2018&ey=2018&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=512%2C672%2C914%2C946%2C612%2C137%2C614%2C546%2C311%2C962%2C213%2C674%2C911%2C676%2C193%2C548%2C122%2C556%2C912%2C678%2C313%2C181%2C419%2C867%2C513%2C682%2C316%2C684%2C913%2C273%2C124%2C868%2C339%2C921%2C638%2C948%2C514%2C943%2C218%2C686%2C963%2C688%2C616%2C518%2C223%2C728%2C516%2C558%2C918%2C138%2C748%2C196%2C618%2C278%2C624%2C692%2C522%2C694%2C622%2C142%2C156%2C449%2C626%2C564%2C628%2C565%2C228%2C283%2C924%2C853%2C233%2C288%2C632%2C293%2C636%2C566%2C634%2C964%2C238%2C182%2C662%2C359%2C960%2C453%2C423%2C968%2C935%2C922%2C128%2C714%2C611%2C862%2C321%2C135%2C243%2C716%2C248%2C456%2C469%2C722%2C253%2C942%2C642%2C718%2C643%2C724%2C939%2C576%2C644%2C936%2C819%2C961%2C172%2C813%2C132%2C199%2C646%2C733%2C648%2C184%2C915%2C524%2C134%2C361%2C652%2C362%2C174%2C364%2C328%2C732%2C258%2C366%2C656%2C734%2C654%2C144%2C336%2C146%2C263%2C463%2C268%2C528%2C532%2C923%2C944%2C738%2C176%2C578%2C534%2C537%2C536%2C742%2C429%2C866%2C433%2C369%2C178%2C744%2C436%2C186%2C136%2C925%2C343%2C869%2C158%2C746%2C439%2C926%2C916%2C466%2C664%2C112%2C826%2C111%2C542%2C298%2C967%2C927%2C443%2C846%2C917%2C299%2C544%2C582%2C941%2C474%2C446%2C754%2C666%2C698%2C668&s=NGDPD&grp=0&a=, March 23, 2019, December 15, 2018, File:California counties by GDP 2021.png|California counties by GDP (2021)WEB, GDP by county in 2021,www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/lagdp1222.pdf,State finances
File:California economic regions map (labeled and colored).svg|thumb|upright=.8|California economic regions ]]State spending increased from $56{{spaces}}billion in 1998 to $127{{spaces}}billion in 2011.NEWS, Nunes, Devin, January 10, 2009, California’s Gold Rush Has Been Reversed, A9, The Wall Street Journal,www.wsj.com/articles/SB123154816733469917, January 29, 2010, WEB,www.reuters.com/article/us-california-budget-idUSTRE7095FB20110110, California’s Brown proposes “painful” budget cuts, Christie, Jim,www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/10/us-california-budget-idUSTRE7095FB20110110," title="web.archive.org/web/20151015211702www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/10/us-california-budget-idUSTRE7095FB20110110,">web.archive.org/web/20151015211702www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/10/us-california-budget-idUSTRE7095FB20110110, October 15, 2015, live, Reuters, January 10, 2011, California has the third highest per capita spending on welfare among the states, as well as the highest spending on welfare at $6.67{{spaces}}billion.NEWS, Michael Gardner, July 28, 2012, Is California the welfare capital?: Delving into why California has such a disproportionate share of the nation’s recipients, U-T San Diego,www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/jul/28/welfare-capital-of-the-us/?page=1#article, August 6, 2012, In January 2011, California’s total debt was at least $265{{spaces}}billion.WEB,www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/How-much-does-California-owe-2478624.php, How much does California owe?, Nation, Joe, Sfgate.com, January 19, 2011, On June 27, 2013, Governor Jerry Brown signed a balanced budget (no deficit) for the state, its first in decades; however, the state’s debt remains at $132{{spaces}}billion.WEB,www.sfgate.com/news/article/Gov-Brown-proudly-signs-balanced-state-budget-4628307.php, Gov. Brown proudly signs balanced state budget, Buchanan, Wyatt, Sfgate.com, June 27, 2013, July 29, 2013, NEWS, California’s current debt load: $132 billion,www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2013/09/06/californias-current-debt-load-132.html, With the passage of Proposition 30 in 2012 and Proposition 55 in 2016, California now levies a 13.3% maximum marginal income tax rate with ten tax brackets, ranging from 1% at the bottom tax bracket of $0 annual individual income to 13.3% for annual individual income over $1,000,000 (though the top brackets are only temporary until Proposition 55 expires at the end of 2030). While Proposition 30 also enacted a minimum state sales tax of 7.5%, this sales tax increase was not extended by Proposition 55 and reverted to a previous minimum state sales tax rate of 7.25% in 2017. Local governments can and do levy additional sales taxes in addition to this minimum rate.WEB, California Proposition 30, Sales and Income Tax Increase (2012),ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/California_Proposition_30,_Sales_and_Income_Tax_Increase_(2012)#cite_note-taxfoundation_states-6, January 16, 2013, Ballotpedia, All real property is taxable annually. Property tax increases are capped at 2% annually or the rate of inflation (whichever is lower), per Proposition 13.Infrastructure
Energy
{{further|Solar power in California|Wind power in California}}{{see also|History of oil in California through 1930|Plug-in electric vehicles in California}}File:Moss Landing Power Plant p1270026.jpg|thumb|left|Moss Landing Power Plant, located on the coast of Monterey BayMonterey BayBecause it is the most populous state in the United States, California is one of the country’s largest users of energy. The state has extensive hydro-electric energy generation facilities, however, moving water is the single largest energy use in the state. Also, due to high energy rates, conservation mandates, mild weather in the largest population centers and strong environmental movement, its per capita energy use is one of the smallest of any state in the United States.NEWS, Mufson, Steven, February 17, 2007, In Energy Conservation, Calif. Sees Light, The Washington Post,www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/16/AR2007021602274.html, February 28, 2010, Due to the high electricity demand, California imports more electricity than any other state, primarily hydroelectric power from states in the Pacific Northwest (via Path 15 and Path 66) and coal- and natural gas-fired production from the desert Southwest via Path 46.WEB, October 20, 2011, California—U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA),tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=CA,tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=CA," title="web.archive.org/web/20101229175513tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=CA,">web.archive.org/web/20101229175513tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=CA, December 29, 2010, October 28, 2011, Tonto.eia.doe.gov, The state’s crude oil and natural gas deposits are located in the Central Valley and along the coast, including the large Midway-Sunset Oil Field. Natural gas-fired power plants typically account for more than one-half of state electricity generation.File:Ho 000155 170593 515241 4578 (35974057893) (cropped).jpg|thumb|Ivanpah Solar Power Facility, located in the Mojave DesertMojave DesertAs a result of the state’s strong environmental movement, California has some of the most aggressive renewable energy goals in the United States. The Clean Energy, Jobs and Affordability Act of 2022 commits the state to running its operations on clean, renewable energy resources by 2035, and SB 1203 also requires the state to achieve net-zero operations for all agencies. Currently, several solar power plants such as the Solar Energy Generating Systems facility are located in the Mojave Desert. California’s wind farms include Altamont Pass, San Gorgonio Pass, and Tehachapi Pass. The Tehachapi area is also where the Tehachapi Energy Storage Project is located.WEB, Edison International, SCE Unveils Largest Battery Energy Storage Project in North America,newsroom.edison.com/releases/sce-unveils-largest-battery-energy-storage-project-in-north-america, May 10, 2020, Edison International, Several dams across the state provide hydro-electric power. It would be possible to convert the total supply to 100% renewable energy, including heating, cooling and mobility, by 2050.Mark Z. Jacobson et al.: A roadmap for repowering California for all purposes with wind, water, and sunlight. In: Energy 73 (2014), 875–889, {{doi|10.1016/j.energy.2014.06.099}}.California has one major nuclear power plant (Diablo Canyon) in operation. The San Onofre nuclear plant was shut down in 2013. More than 1,700{{spaces}}tons of radioactive waste are stored at San Onofre,NEWS, August 28, 2018, How a nuclear stalemate left radioactive waste stranded on a California beach, The Verge,www.theverge.com/2018/8/28/17765538/san-onofre-nuclear-generating-station-radioactive-spent-fuel-waste-yucca-mountain, and sit on the coast where there is a record of past tsunamis.NEWS, Brown, Kate, November 19, 2019, Opinion: California’s San Onofre nuclear plant is a Chernobyl waiting to happen, Los Angeles Times,www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-11-19/san-onofre-nuclear-plant-waste-radioactive, Voters banned the approval of new nuclear power plants since the late 1970s because of concerns over radioactive waste disposal.NEWS, Doyle, Jim, March 9, 2009, Nuclear power industry sees opening for revival, A-1, San Francisco Chronicle,www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/08/MN3H16ANEN.DTL, January 29, 2010, {{refn|Minnesota also has a moratorium on construction of nuclear power plants, which has been in place since 1994.NEWS, Richert, Catharine, Brown, Gretchen, Why nuclear energy is a political minefield in Minnesota,www.mprnews.org/episode/2023/11/13/why-nuclear-energy-is-a-political-minefield-in-minnesota, 26 March 2024, MPR News, 13 November 2023, |group=“note“}} Several cities such as Oakland, Berkeley and Davis have declared themselves as nuclear-free zones.Transportation
{{see also|History of rail transportation in California}}File:GoldenGateBridge-001.jpg|thumb|left|The Golden Gate Bridge in the San Francisco Bay AreaSan Francisco Bay AreaHighways
California’s vast terrain is connected by an extensive system of controlled-access highways (’freeways’), limited-access roads (’expressways’), and highways. California is known for its car culture, giving California’s cities a reputation for severe traffic congestion. Construction and maintenance of state roads and statewide transportation planning are primarily the responsibility of the California Department of Transportation, nicknamed “Caltrans”. The rapidly growing population of the state is straining all of its transportation networks, and California has some of the worst roads in the United States.WEB, Mieszkowski, Katharine, September 2, 2010, California Is Tops in Worst Roads—Pulse of the Bay,www.baycitizen.org/blogs/pulse-of-the-bay/read-while-you-are-waiting-traffic-clear, April 22, 2011, The Bay Citizen, July 22, 2011,www.baycitizen.org/blogs/pulse-of-the-bay/read-while-you-are-waiting-traffic-clear/," title="web.archive.org/web/20110722041103www.baycitizen.org/blogs/pulse-of-the-bay/read-while-you-are-waiting-traffic-clear/,">web.archive.org/web/20110722041103www.baycitizen.org/blogs/pulse-of-the-bay/read-while-you-are-waiting-traffic-clear/, NEWS, August 9, 2007, A bridge too far gone, The Economist,www.economist.com/node/9621456, The Reason Foundation’s 19th Annual Report on the Performance of State Highway Systems ranked California’s highways the third-worst of any state, with Alaska second, and Rhode Island first.WEB, 19th Annual Report on the Performance of State Highway Systems (1984–2008),reason.org/files/19th_annual_highway_report.pdf,reason.org/files/19th_annual_highway_report.pdf," title="ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009reason.org/files/19th_annual_highway_report.pdf,">ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009reason.org/files/19th_annual_highway_report.pdf, October 9, 2022, live, Reason.org, File:San Francisco Bay Ferry Hydrus May 2017 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|San Francisco Bay Ferry is a public water taxi system in the Bay AreaBay AreaThe state has been a pioneer in road construction. One of the state’s more visible landmarks, the Golden Gate Bridge, was the longest suspension bridge main span in the world at {{convert|4200|ft|m}} between 1937 (when it opened) and 1964. With its orange paint and panoramic views of the bay, this highway bridge is a popular tourist attraction and also accommodates pedestrians and bicyclists. The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge (often abbreviated the “Bay Bridge“), completed in 1936, transports about 280,000 vehicles per day on two-decks. Its two sections meet at Yerba Buena Island through the world’s largest diameter transportation bore tunnel, at {{convert|76|ft}} wide by {{convert|58|ft}} high.WEB, The San Francisco—Oakland Bay Bridge Facts at a glance,www.dot.ca.gov/hq/esc/tollbridge/SFOBB/Sfobbfacts.html, April 5, 2012, California Department of Transportation, The Arroyo Seco Parkway, connecting Los Angeles and Pasadena, opened in 1940 as the first freeway in the Western United States.NEWS, Pool, Bob, June 25, 2010, Pasadena Freeway getting a new look and a new name, Los Angeles Times,articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/25/local/la-me-parkway-20100625, April 5, 2012, It was later extended south to the Four Level Interchange in downtown Los Angeles, regarded as the first stack interchange ever built.WEB, September 22, 2011, L.A.’s Famous Four-Level Freeway Interchange, ‘The Stack’, Turns 58,www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_focus/history/la-as-subject/navigating-the-stack-the-four-level-turns-58.html, April 5, 2012, KCET, The California Highway Patrol is the largest statewide police agency in the United States in employment with more than 10,000 employees. They are responsible for providing any police-sanctioned service to anyone on California’s state-maintained highways and on state property.By the end of 2021, 30,610,058 people in California held a California Department of Motor Vehicles-issued driver’s licenses or state identification card, and there were 36,229,205 registered vehicles, including 25,643,076 automobiles, 853,368 motorcycles, 8,981,787 trucks and trailers, and 121,716 miscellaneous vehicles (including historical vehicles and farm equipment).WEB, State of California—Department of Motor Vehicles, Statistics for Publication, January through December 2021,www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/file/department-of-motor-vehicles-statistics-pdf/,Air travel
File:TheThemeBuildingLosAngeles (cropped2).jpg|thumb|left|Los Angeles Intl. Airport (LAX) is the 4th busiest airport in the world.]]Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), the 4th busiest airport in the world in 2018, and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), the 25th busiest airport in the world in 2018, are major hubs for trans-Pacific and transcontinental traffic. There are about a dozen important commercial airports and many more general aviation airports throughout the state.Railroads
File:Pacific Surfliner @ San Clemente CA..jpg|thumb|right|Amtrak California’s Pacific Surfliner in San Clemente, on the Orange CoastOrange CoastInter-city rail travel is provided by Amtrak California; the three routes, the Capitol Corridor, Pacific Surfliner, and San Joaquin, are funded by Caltrans. These services are the busiest intercity rail lines in the United States outside the Northeast Corridor and ridership is continuing to set records. The routes are becoming increasingly popular over flying, especially on the LAX-SFO route.NEWS, Cabanatuan, Michael, January 8, 2011, Calif. Amtrak ridership rising on state trains, The San Francisco Chronicle,www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/01/05/BAMU1GU16Q.DTL, Integrated subway and light rail networks are found in Los Angeles (Los Angeles Metro Rail) and San Francisco (Muni Metro). Light rail systems are also found in San Jose (VTA light rail), San Diego (San Diego Trolley), Sacramento (Sacramento RT Light Rail), and Northern San Diego County (Sprinter). Furthermore, commuter rail networks serve the San Francisco Bay Area (Altamont Corridor Express, Bay Area Rapid Transit, Caltrain, Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit), Greater Los Angeles (Metrolink), and San Diego County (Coaster).The California High-Speed Rail Authority was authorized in 1996 by the state legislature to plan a California High-Speed Rail system to put before the voters. The plan they devised, 2008 California Proposition 1A, connecting all the major population centers in the state, was approved by the voters at the November 2008 general election.NEWS, Cabanatuan, Michael, August 17, 2010, Plan for high-speed rail system released, The San Francisco Chronicle,www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/08/BAV6140IK5.DTL, The first phase of construction was begun in 2015, and the first segment {{convert|171|mi}} long, is planned to be put into operation by the end of 2030. Planning and work on the rest of the system is continuing, with funding for completing it is an ongoing issue.WEB, 2023 Project Update Report,hsr.ca.gov/about/project-update-reports/2023-project-update-report/, California High-Speed Rail Authority, September 6, 2023, California’s 2023 integrated passenger rail master plan includes a high speed rail system.State Rail Modernization Plan 2023 Draft”Caltrans March 2023Busses
Nearly all counties operate bus lines, and many cities operate their own city bus lines as well. Intercity bus travel is provided by Greyhound, Megabus, and Amtrak Thruway.Water
File:Aerial view of Shasta Dam and Shasta Lake (2019).jpg|thumb|left|Lake Shasta, in the Shasta CascadeShasta CascadeCalifornia’s interconnected water system is the world’s largest, managing over {{convert|40000000|acre.ft|km3|lk=in}} of water per year, centered on six main systems of aqueducts and infrastructure projects.Hundley, N. (2001). The great thirst: Californians and water. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press. Water use and conservation in California is a politically divisive issue, as the state experiences periodic droughts and has to balance the demands of its large agricultural and urban sectors, especially in the arid southern portion of the state. The state’s widespread redistribution of water also invites the frequent scorn of environmentalists.The California Water Wars, a conflict between Los Angeles and the Owens Valley over water rights, is one of the most well-known examples of the struggle to secure adequate water supplies.BOOK, Reisner, Marc, Cadillac Desert: The American West and its Disappearing Water, 1993, Penguin, Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said: We’ve been in crisis for quite some time because we’re now 38{{spaces}}million people and not anymore 18{{spaces}}million people like we were in the late 60s. So it developed into a battle between environmentalists and farmers and between the south and the north and between rural and urban. And everyone has been fighting for the last four decades about water.“Why California Is Running Dry”. CBS News. December 27, 2009.Government and politics
File:Sacramento, California State Capitol.jpg|thumb|280px|right|The California Capitol in Sacramento, seat of the California government, hosts the California Legislature and the Governor of CaliforniaGovernor of CaliforniaState government
The capital city of California is Sacramento.WEB, § 2 of Article III of the California Constitution,leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CONS§ionNum=SEC.%202.&article=III, March 5, 2019, California Office of Legislative Counsel, The state is organized into three branches of government—the executive branch consisting of the governorWEB, § 1 of Article V of the California Constitution,leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CONS§ionNum=SECTION%201.&article=V, March 5, 2019, California Office of Legislative Counsel, and the other independently elected constitutional officers; the legislative branch consisting of the Assembly and Senate;WEB, § 1 of Article IV of the California Constitution,leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CONS§ionNum=SEC.%201.&article=IV, March 5, 2019, California Office of Legislative Counsel, and the judicial branch consisting of the Supreme Court of California and lower courts.WEB, § 1 of Article VI of the California Constitution,leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CONS§ionNum=SEC.%201.&article=VI, March 5, 2019, California Office of Legislative Counsel, The state also allows ballot propositions: direct participation of the electorate by initiative, referendum, recall, and ratification.WEB, Article II of the California Constitution,leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=CONS&division=&title=&part=&chapter=&article=II, March 5, 2019, California Office of Legislative Counsel, Before the passage of Proposition 14 in 2010, California allowed each political party to choose whether to have a closed primary or a primary where only party members and independents vote. After June 8, 2010, when Proposition 14 was approved, excepting only the United States president and county central committee offices,WEB, Bowen, Debra, Voter-Nominated Offices Information,www.sos.ca.gov/elections/statewide-elections/2012-primary/new-open-primary-info.pdf,www.sos.ca.gov/elections/statewide-elections/2012-primary/new-open-primary-info.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20131224014308www.sos.ca.gov/elections/statewide-elections/2012-primary/new-open-primary-info.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20131224014308www.sos.ca.gov/elections/statewide-elections/2012-primary/new-open-primary-info.pdf, December 24, 2013, March 16, 2014, California Secretary of State, all candidates in the primary elections are listed on the ballot with their preferred party affiliation, but they are not the official nominee of that party.WEB, Bowen, Debra, Voter-Nominated Offices Information,www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-nominated-offices.htm,www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-nominated-offices.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20140626162020www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-nominated-offices.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20140626162020www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-nominated-offices.htm, June 26, 2014, March 16, 2014, California Secretary of State, At the primary election, the two candidates with the top votes will advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation. If at a special primary election, one candidate receives more than 50% of all the votes cast, they are elected to fill the vacancy and no special general election will be held.Executive branch
File:Stanford Mansion - Sacramento, California (6007570640) (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|The Stanford Mansion is the official reception center for the California government and one of the workplaces of the Governor of CaliforniaGovernor of CaliforniaThe California executive branch consists of the governor and seven other elected constitutional officers: lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, state controller, state treasurer, insurance commissioner, and state superintendent of public instruction. They serve four-year terms and may be re-elected only once.WEB, Article V of the California Constitution,leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=CONS&division=&title=&part=&chapter=&article=V, March 6, 2019, California Office of Legislative Counsel, The many California state agencies that are under the governor’s cabinet are grouped together to form cabinet-level entities that are referred to by government officials as “superagencies”. Those departments that are directly under the other independently elected officers work separately from these superagencies.BOOK, Van Vechten, Renée B., California Politics: A Primer, 2011, SAGE, Los Angeles, 978-1-4522-0306-5, 63, 2nd,books.google.com/books?id=tatzWQscKmcC&pg=PA63, February 25, 2019, BOOK, Lawrence, David G., Cummins, Jeffrey, California: The Politics of Diversity, 2019, Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, 978-1-5381-2930-2, 167, 10th,books.google.com/books?id=FwmkDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA167,Legislative branch
The California State Legislature consists of a 40-member Senate and 80-member Assembly.WEB,leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CONS§ionNum=SEC.%202.&article=IV, California Constitution Article IV § 2, California Office of Legislative Counsel, February 23, 2019, February 24, 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190224062408/https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CONS§ionNum=SEC., live, Senators serve four-year terms and Assembly members two. Members of the Assembly are subject to term limits of six terms, and members of the Senate are subject to term limits of three terms.Judicial branch
File:Supremecourtofcaliforniamaincourthouse (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|The Supreme Court of California primarily convenes at the Earl Warren BuildingEarl Warren BuildingCalifornia’s legal system is explicitly based upon English common lawWEB, California Civil Code § 22.2,leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV§ionNum=22.2., March 6, 2019, California Office of Legislative Counsel, but carries many features from Spanish civil law, such as community property. California’s prison population grew from 25,000 in 1980 to over 170,000 in 2007.NEWS, Thompson, Don, December 8, 2007, Calif. Struggles with sentencing reform, USA Today,www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-12-08-2244622424_x.htm, January 29, 2010, Capital punishment is a legal form of punishment and the state has the largest “Death Row” population in the country (though Oklahoma and Texas are far more active in carrying out executions).WEB, Death Row Inmates by State and Size of Death Row by Year {{!, Death Penalty Information Center |url=https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/death-row-inmates-state-and-size-death-row-year |access-date=May 8, 2017 |website=deathpenaltyinfo.org}}WEB, State Execution Rates {{!, Death Penalty Information Center |url=https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-execution-rates |access-date=May 8, 2017 |website=deathpenaltyinfo.org}} California has performed 13 executions since 1976, with the last being in 2006.WEB, Inmates Executed 1978 to Present,www.cdcr.ca.gov/capital-punishment/inmates-executed-1978-to-present/, May 7, 2022, Capital Punishment, en-US, California’s judiciary system is the largest in the United States with a total of 1,600 judges (the federal system has only about 840). At the apex is the seven-member Supreme Court of California, while the California Courts of Appeal serve as the primary appellate courts and the California Superior Courts serve as the primary trial courts. Justices of the Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal are appointed by the governor, but are subject to retention by the electorate every 12 years.The administration of the state’s court system is controlled by the Judicial Council, composed of the chief justice of the California Supreme Court, 14 judicial officers, four representatives from the State Bar of California, and one member from each house of the state legislature.In fiscal year 2020–2021, the state judiciary’s 2,000 judicial officers and 18,000 judicial branch employees processed approximately 4.4 million cases.BOOK, Judicial Council of California, 2022 Court Statistics Report: Statewide Caseload Trends, 2011–12 Through 2020–21, 2022, Judicial Council of California, San Francisco, 1,www.courts.ca.gov/documents/2022-Court-Statistics-Report.pdf,web.archive.org/web/20220704050343/https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/2022-Court-Statistics-Report.pdf, July 4, 2022, live, August 19, 2022,Local government
File:San Francisco City Hall September 2013 panorama 3.jpg|left|thumb|San Francisco City Hall is the seat of government of the consolidated City and County of San Francisco.]]California has an extensive system of local government that manages public functions throughout the state. Like most states, California is divided into counties, of which there are 58 (including San Francisco) covering the entire state. Most urbanized areas are incorporated as cities. School districts, which are independent of cities and counties, handle public education. Many other functions, such as fire protection and water supply, especially in unincorporated areas, are handled by special districts.Counties
{{See also|List of counties in California}}California is divided into 58 counties. Per Article 11, Section 1, of the Constitution of California, they are the legal subdivisions of the state. The county government provides countywide services such as law enforcement, jails, elections and voter registration, vital records, property assessment and records, tax collection, public health, health care, social services, libraries, flood control, fire protection, animal control, agricultural regulations, building inspections, ambulance services, and education departments in charge of maintaining statewide standards.BOOK, Baldassare, Mark, {{google books, y, sDs4WZV0SRsC, 67, |title=When Government Fails: The Orange County Bankruptcy |date=1998 |publisher=Public Policy Institute of California/University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-21486-6 |pages=67–68 |lccn=97032806}}BOOK, Janiskee, Brian P., {{google books, y, 23Y3Nxs0qWgC, 105, |title=Democracy in California: Politics and Government in the Golden State |last2=Masugi |first2=Ken |date=2011 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |isbn=978-1-4422-0338-9 |edition=3rd |page=105 |lccn=2011007585}} In addition, the county serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas. Each county is governed by an elected board of supervisors.{{sfn|Baldassare|1998|p=50}}City and town governments
{{see also|List of municipalities in California}}File:Los Angeles City Hall 01 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Los Angeles City Hall, seat of the Government of Los AngelesGovernment of Los AngelesIncorporated cities and towns in California are either charter or general-law municipalities. General-law municipalities owe their existence to state law and are consequently governed by it; charter municipalities are governed by their own city or town charters. Municipalities incorporated in the 19th century tend to be charter municipalities. All ten of the state’s most populous cities are charter cities. Most small cities have a council–manager form of government, where the elected city council appoints a city manager to supervise the operations of the city. Some larger cities have a directly elected mayor who oversees the city government. In many council-manager cities, the city council selects one of its members as a mayor, sometimes rotating through the council membership—but this type of mayoral position is primarily ceremonial. The Government of San Francisco is the only consolidated city-county in California, where both the city and county governments have been merged into one unified jurisdiction.School districts and special districts
{{See also|List of school districts in California}}File:LAUSD HQ Bldg.jpg|thumb|left|Los Angeles Unified School District is the second largest school district in the United States by enrollment.]]About 1,102 school districts, independent of cities and counties, handle California’s public education. California school districts may be organized as elementary districts, high school districts, unified school districts combining elementary and high school grades, or community college districts.{{Citation |title=Individual State Descriptions: 2007 |date=November 2012 |url=http://www2.census.gov/govs/cog/isd_book.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009www2.census.gov/govs/cog/isd_book.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live |pages=25–26 |series=2007 Census of Governments |publisher=United States Census Bureau |ref={{harvid|Census|2007}}}}There are about 3,400 special districts in California.BOOK, Mizany, Kimia,www.waterplan.water.ca.gov/docs/cwpu2005/vol4/vol4-background-whatssospecialaboutspecialdistricts.pdf, What’s So Special About Special Districts? A Citizen’s Guide to Special Districts in California, Manatt, April, California Senate Local Government Committee, 3, March 11, 2014, July 4, 2011,www.waterplan.water.ca.gov/docs/cwpu2005/vol4/vol4-background-whatssospecialaboutspecialdistricts.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20110704180433www.waterplan.water.ca.gov/docs/cwpu2005/vol4/vol4-background-whatssospecialaboutspecialdistricts.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20110704180433www.waterplan.water.ca.gov/docs/cwpu2005/vol4/vol4-background-whatssospecialaboutspecialdistricts.pdf, A special district, defined by California Government Code § 16271(d) as “any agency of the state for the local performance of governmental or proprietary functions within limited boundaries”, provides a limited range of services within a defined geographic area. The geographic area of a special district can spread across multiple cities or counties, or could consist of only a portion of one. Most of California’s special districts are single-purpose districts, and provide one service.Federal representation
{{See also|California’s congressional districts}}File:California Congressional Delegation honoring Pete Stark.jpg|thumb|right|Members of the California Congressional Delegation in 2020]]The state of California sends 52 members to the House of Representatives,WEB, Directory of Representatives,www.house.gov/representatives/#state_ca, March 25, 2014, House.gov, the nation’s largest congressional state delegation. Consequently, California also has the largest number of electoral votes in national presidential elections, with 54. The former speaker of the House of Representatives is the representative of California’s 20th district, Kevin McCarthy.WEB, California Senators, Representatives, and Congressional District Maps,www.govtrack.us/congress/members/CA, January 15, 2019, GovTrack.us, California is represented in the United States Senate by Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler.Armed forces
{{See also|California during World War II}}File:USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) and USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) at NAS North Island in June 2015 (cropped).JPG|thumb|left|View of NAS North Island at Naval Base Coronado in San DiegoSan DiegoIn California, {{as of|lc=y|2009}}, the U.S. Department of Defense had a total of 117,806 active duty servicemembers of which 88,370 were Sailors or Marines, 18,339 were Airmen, and 11,097 were Soldiers, with 61,365 Department of Defense civilian employees. Additionally, there were a total of 57,792 Reservists and Guardsman in California.WEB, 2012, Table 508. Military and Civilian Personnel in Installations: 2009,www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0509.pdf,www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0509.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20111017094716www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0509.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20111017094716www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0509.pdf, October 17, 2011, June 15, 2013, United States Census Bureau, United States Department of Commerce, In 2010, Los Angeles County was the largest origin of military recruits in the United States by county, with 1,437 individuals enlisting in the military.WEB, June 30, 2011, Military recruitment 2010,nationalpriorities.org/analysis/2011/military-recruitment-2010/, June 15, 2013, National Priorities Project,
However, {{as of|2002|lc=y}}, Californians were relatively under-represented in the military as a proportion to its population.JOURNAL, Segal, David R., Segal, Mady Wechsler, 2004, America’s Military Population,www.prb.org/Source/ACF1396.pdf,www.prb.org/Source/ACF1396.pdf," title="ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009www.prb.org/Source/ACF1396.pdf,">ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009www.prb.org/Source/ACF1396.pdf, October 9, 2022, live, Population Bulletin, 59, 4, 10, 0032-468X, June 15, 2013,
In 2000, California, had 2,569,340 veterans of United States military service.WEB, California—Armed forces,www.city-data.com/states/California-Armed-forces.html, December 26, 2009, city-data.com, {{as of|2010}}, there were 1,942,775 veterans living in California, of which 1,457,875 served during a period of armed conflict, and just over four thousand served before World War{{spaces}}II (the largest population of this group of any state).WEB, September 30, 2010, Table 7L: VETPOP2011 Living Veterans By State, Period of Service, Gender, 2010–2040,www.va.gov/VETDATA/docs/Demographics/New_Vetpop_Model/7lVetPop11_POS_State.xlsx, June 15, 2013, Veteran Population, Department of Veterans Affairs, California’s military forces consist of the Army and Air National Guard, the naval and state military reserve (militia), and the California Cadet Corps.{{clear}}Ideology
{{see also|Politics of California before 1900|Political party strength in California}}{|class=“wikitable floatright”Twinned regions
California has region twinning arrangements with:- {{flagicon|Catalonia}} Catalonia, autonomous community of {{flagicon|Spain}} SpainWEB, Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 71,soir.senate.ca.gov/scr71, Senate Office of International Relations,
- {{flagicon|Alberta}} Alberta, province of {{flagicon|Canada}} CanadaWEB, California’s Sister State Relationships &124; Senate Office of International Relations,soir.senate.ca.gov/sisterstates, September 30, 2018, Soir.senate.ca.gov, WEB, California-Alberta Relations,economic.alberta.ca/documents/California-AB.pdf?0.8097911507356912,economic.alberta.ca/documents/California-AB.pdf?0.8097911507356912," title="web.archive.org/web/20180929233318economic.alberta.ca/documents/California-AB.pdf?0.8097911507356912,">web.archive.org/web/20180929233318economic.alberta.ca/documents/California-AB.pdf?0.8097911507356912, September 29, 2018, September 29, 2018,
- {{flagicon|Jeju Province}} Jeju Province of {{flagicon|Republic of Korea}} South KoreaWEB, ACR 42 Assembly Concurrent Resolution - CHAPTERED,www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/05-06/bill/asm/ab_0001-0050/acr_42_bill_20050718_chaptered.html, March 2, 2023, www.leginfo.ca.gov,
- {{flagicon|China}} Guangdong, province of {{flagicon|China}} ChinaWEB, State of California and Guangdong Province Sister State Agreement,soir.senate.ca.gov/content/state-california-and-guangdong-province-sister-state-agreement, Senate Office of International Relations, October 27, 2023,
See also
{{Clear}}Notes
{{NoteFoot}}References
Citations
{{Reflist}}Works cited
- BOOK, Cohen, Saul Bernard, {{google books, y, QkMD8HKRlgoC, 115, |title=Geopolitics of the World System |date=2003 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-8476-9907-0}}
- BOOK, Rolle, Andrew,archive.org/details/californiahisto000roll, California: A History, Harlan Davidson, 1998, 0-88295-938-7, 5th, Wheeling, IL, 1963,
- BOOK, Starr, Kevin, California: A History, 2007, Random House Digital, Inc., 978-0-8129-7753-0, Modern Library Chronicles, 23, Kevin Starr,
Further reading
{{See also|Bibliography of California history}}- BOOK, Chartkoff, Joseph L.,archive.org/details/archaeologyofcal00char, The archaeology of California, Chartkoff, Kerry Kona, 1984, Stanford University Press, 978-0-8047-1157-9, Stanford, 11351549,
- BOOK, Fagan, Brian, Before California: An archaeologist looks at our earliest inhabitants, 2003, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 978-0-7425-2794-2, Lanham, MD, 226025645,
- BOOK, Hart, James D., A Companion to California, 1978, Oxford University Press, 978-0-19-502400-5, New York, NY,
- Matthews, Glenna. The Golden State in the Civil War: Thomas Starr King, the Republican Party, and the Birth of Modern California. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
- BOOK, Moratto, Michael J., California archaeology, Fredrickson, David A., 1984, Academic Press, 978-0-12-506182-7, Orlando, 228668979,
- BOOK, Newmark, Harris,archive.org/stream/sixtyyearsinsout00newmrichpage/n7/mode/2up, Sixty Years in Southern California 1853-1913, 1916, The Knickerbacker Press, New York,
External links
{{Sister project links|auto=1|commonscat=yes|wikt=California|s=Portal:California|b=y|v=y}}- State of California
- California State Guide, from the Library of Congress
- {{osmrelation-inline|165475}}
- data.ca.gov: open data portal from California state agencies
- California State Facts from USDA
- www.ers.usda.gov/topics/in-the-news/california-drought-farm-and-food-impacts.aspx" title="web.archive.org/web/20150422235318www.ers.usda.gov/topics/in-the-news/california-drought-farm-and-food-impacts.aspx">California Drought: Farm and Food Impacts from USDA, Economic Research Service
- {{curlie|Regional/North_America/United_States/California}}
- 1973 documentary featuring aerial views of the California coastline from Mt. Shasta to Los Angeles
- Early City Views (Los Angeles) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013171441waterandpower.org/museum/Early_City_Views%20%281800s%29_Page_1.html |date=October 13, 2020 }}
- content above as imported from Wikipedia
- "California" does not exist on GetWiki (yet)
- time: 6:01am EDT - Wed, May 22 2024
- "California" does not exist on GetWiki (yet)
- time: 6:01am EDT - Wed, May 22 2024
[ this remote article is provided by Wikipedia ]
LATEST EDITS [ see all ]
GETWIKI 21 MAY 2024
The Illusion of Choice
Culture
Culture
GETWIKI 09 JUL 2019
Eastern Philosophy
History of Philosophy
History of Philosophy
GETWIKI 09 MAY 2016
GetMeta:About
GetWiki
GetWiki
GETWIKI 18 OCT 2015
M.R.M. Parrott
Biographies
Biographies
GETWIKI 20 AUG 2014
GetMeta:News
GetWiki
GetWiki
CONNECT
© 2024 M.R.M. PARROTT | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED