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Wikipedia

California

California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2 million residents[8] across a total area of approximately 163,696 square miles (423,970 km2),[13] it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the most populated subnational entity in North America and the 34th most populous in the world. The Greater Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second and fifth most populous urban regions respectively, with the former having more than 18.7 million residents and the latter having over 9.6 million.[14] Sacramento is the state's capital, while Los Angeles is the most populous city in the state and the second most populous city in the country. San Francisco is the second most densely populated major city in the country. Los Angeles County is the country's most populous, while San Bernardino County is the largest county by area in the country. California borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, the Mexican state of Baja California to the south; and has a coastline along the Pacific Ocean to the west.

California
State of California
Nickname
The Golden State[1]
Motto
Anthem: "I Love You, California"
Map of the United States with California highlighted
CountryUnited States
Before statehoodMexican Cession unorganized territory
Admitted to the UnionSeptember 9, 1850 (31st)
CapitalSacramento
Largest cityLos Angeles
Largest metro and urban areasGreater Los Angeles
Government
 • GovernorGavin Newsom (D)
 • Lieutenant GovernorEleni Kounalakis (D)
LegislatureState Legislature
 • Upper houseState Senate
 • Lower houseState Assembly
JudiciarySupreme Court of California
U.S. senatorsDianne Feinstein (D)
Alex Padilla (D)
U.S. House delegation
(list)
Area
 • Total163,696 sq mi (423,970 km2)
 • Land155,959 sq mi (403,932 km2)
 • Water7,737 sq mi (20,047 km2)  4.7%
 • Rank3rd
Dimensions
 • Length760 mi (1,220 km)
 • Width250 mi (400 km)
Elevation
2,900 ft (880 m)
Highest elevation14,505 ft (4,421.0 m)
Lowest elevation−279 ft (−85.0 m)
Population
 (2022)
 • Total 39,185,605[8]
 • Rank1st
 • Density251.3/sq mi (97/km2)
  • Rank11th
 • Median household income
$78,700[9]
 • Income rank
5th
DemonymCalifornian
Language
 • Official languageEnglish
 • Spoken language
Time zoneUTC−08:00 (PST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−07:00 (PDT)
USPS abbreviation
CA
ISO 3166 codeUS-CA
Traditional abbreviationCalif., Cal., Cali.
Latitude32°32′ N to 42° N
Longitude114°8′ W to 124°26′ W
Websitewww.ca.gov

The economy of the state of California is the largest in the United States, with a $3.4 trillion gross state product (GSP) as of 2022.[15] It is the largest sub-national economy in the world. If California were a sovereign nation, it would rank as the world's fifth-largest economy as of 2022,[16][17] behind Germany and ahead of India, as well as the 37th most populous.[18] The Greater Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second- and third-largest urban economies ($1.0 trillion and $0.5 trillion respectively as of 2020).[19] The San Francisco Bay Area Combined Statistical Area had the nation's highest gross domestic product per capita ($106,757) among large primary statistical areas in 2018,[20] and is home to five of the world's ten largest companies by market capitalization[21] and four of the world's ten richest people.[22]

Prior to European colonization, California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America and contained the highest Native American population density north of what is now Mexico. European exploration in the 16th and 17th centuries led to the colonization of California by the Spanish Empire. In 1804, it was included in Alta California province within the Viceroyalty of New Spain. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821, following its successful war for independence, but was ceded to the United States in 1848 after the Mexican–American War. The California Gold Rush started in 1848 and led to dramatic social and demographic changes, including large-scale immigration into California, a worldwide economic boom, and the California genocide of indigenous people. The western portion of Alta California was then organized and admitted as the 31st state on September 9, 1850, following the Compromise of 1850.

Notable contributions to popular culture, for example in entertainment and sports, have their origins in California. The state also has made noteworthy contributions in the fields of communication, information, innovation, environmentalism, economics, and politics.[23][24][25] It is the home of Hollywood, the oldest and one of the largest film industries in the world, which has had a profound influence upon global entertainment. It is considered the origin of the hippie counterculture, beach and car culture,[26] and the personal computer,[27] among other innovations.[28][29] The San Francisco Bay Area and the Greater Los Angeles Area are widely seen as the centers of the global technology and film industries, respectively. California's economy is very diverse: 58% of it is based on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific, and technical business services.[30] Although it accounts for only 1.5% of the state's economy,[30] California's agriculture industry has the highest output of any U.S. state.[31][32][33] California's ports and harbors handle about a third of all U.S. imports, most originating in Pacific Rim international trade.

The state's extremely diverse geography ranges from the Pacific Coast and metropolitan areas in the west to the Sierra Nevada mountains in the east, and from the redwood and Douglas fir forests in the northwest to the Mojave Desert in the southeast. The Central Valley, a major agricultural area, dominates the state's center. California is well known for its warm Mediterranean climate and monsoon seasonal weather. The large size of the state results in climates that vary from moist temperate rainforest in the north to arid desert in the interior, as well as snowy alpine in the mountains.

Etymology

 
California & its namesake ruler Queen Calafia, originate in the 1510 epic Las Sergas de Esplandián, written by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo.

The Spaniards gave the name Las Californias to the peninsula of Baja California and to Alta California, the latter region becoming the present-day state of California.

The name 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 Castilian author Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo.[34] This work was the fifth in a popular Spanish chivalric romance series that began with Amadís de Gaula.[35][36][37] 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.[34][38][39] In the fictional paradise, the ruler Queen Calafia fought alongside Muslims and her name may have been chosen to echo the title of a Muslim leader, the Caliph.[34][40]

Know ye that at the right hand of the Indies there is an island called California, very close to that part of the Terrestrial Paradise, which was inhabited by black women without a single man among them, and they lived in the manner of Amazons. They were robust of body with strong passionate hearts and great virtue. The island itself is one of the wildest in the world on account of the bold and craggy rocks.

— Chapter CLVII of The Adventures of Esplandián[41]

Official abbreviations of the state's name include CA, Cal., Calif., and US-CA.

History

 
A map of Indigenous Californian tribes and languages at the time of European contact

First inhabitants

Settled by successive waves of arrivals during at least the last 13,000 years,[42] California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America.[43] Various estimates of the native population have ranged from 100,000 to 300,000.[44] The indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct ethnic groups, inhabiting environments from mountains and deserts to islands and redwood forests.[45] 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 and military alliances fostered social and economic relationships between many groups.

Spanish period

 
Portuguese explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo claiming California for the Spanish Empire in 1542

The first Europeans to explore the coast of California were the members of a Spanish maritime expedition led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez 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.[46] 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.[47] Sebastián Vizcaíno explored and mapped the coast of California in 1602 for New Spain, putting ashore in Monterey.[48] Despite the on-the-ground explorations of California in the 16th century, Rodríguez's idea of California as an island persisted. Such depictions appeared on many European maps well into the 18th century.[49]

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 Junípero 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.

 
Junípero Serra conducting the first mass in Monterey Bay in 1770

After 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 Californian 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 Asís), 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 Joaquín Moraga, would found the pueblo of San Jose in 1777, making it the first civilian-established city in California.

 
The Spanish founded Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1776, the third to be established of the Californian 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.[50][51] 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,[52] though many Californios supported independence from Spain, which many believed had neglected California and limited its development.[53] Spain's trade monopoly on California had limited the trade prospects of Californians. Following Mexican independence, Californian 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

 
The flag used by Californio leader Juan Bautista Alvarado's 1836 Californian independence movement

In 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.[54] 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.[55] During this tumultuous political period Juan Bautista Alvarado was able to secure the governorship during 1836–1842.[56] 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,[57] including Isaac Graham.[58] 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.[57]

 
General Mariano G. Vallejo reviewing his troops in the Sonoma Plaza, 1846

One 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.[59] He invited immigrants to stay on his ranch until they could get settled, and assisted in their obtaining passports.[60]

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. The armies of each met at the Battle of Providencia near Los Angeles. Marsh had been forced against his will to join Micheltorena's army. Ignoring his superiors, during the battle, he signaled the other side for a parley. There were many settlers from the United States fighting on both sides. 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.[61][62][63][64][65]

U.S. Conquest and the California Republic

 

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,[66] 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;[67] the same year marked the outbreak of the Mexican–American War (1846–48).[68]

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.[69] 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.[70]

Early American period

 
The Treaty of Cahuenga, signed in 1847 by Californio Andrés Pico and American John C. Frémont, was a ceasefire agreement that ended the U.S. Conquest of California.

Following 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.[71]

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, 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.[72] Between 1847 and 1870, the population of San Francisco increased from 500 to 150,000.[73]

 
An ad to sail to California, c. 1850
 
San Francisco harbor, c. 1850–51
 
Mining near Sacramento, c. 1852

The seat of government for California under Spanish and later Mexican rule had been located in Monterey from 1777 until 1845.[54] Pio Pico, the last Mexican governor of Alta California, had briefly moved the capital to Los Angeles in 1845. The United States consulate had also been located in Monterey, under consul Thomas O. Larkin.

In 1849, a state Constitutional Convention was first held in Monterey. Among the first tasks of the convention was a decision on a location for the new state capital. The first full legislative sessions were held in San Jose (1850–1851). Subsequent locations included Vallejo (1852–1853), and nearby Benicia (1853–1854); these locations eventually proved to be inadequate as well. The capital has been located in Sacramento since 1854[74] with only a short break in 1862 when legislative sessions were held in San Francisco due to flooding in Sacramento. Once the state's Constitutional Convention had finalized its state constitution, it applied to the U.S. Congress for admission to statehood. On September 9, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850, California became a free state and September 9 a state holiday.

During the American Civil War (1861–1865), California sent gold shipments eastward to Washington in support of the Union.[75] However, due to the existence of a large contingent of pro-South sympathizers within the state, the state was not able to muster any full military regiments to send eastwards to officially serve in the Union war effort. Still, several smaller military units within the Union army were unofficially associated with the state of California, such as the "California 100 Company", due to a majority of their members being from California.

At the time of California's admission into the Union, travel between California and the rest of the continental United States had been a time-consuming and dangerous feat. Nineteen years later, and seven years after it was greenlighted by President Lincoln, the First transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869. California was then reachable from the eastern States in a week's time.

Much of the state was extremely well suited to fruit cultivation and agriculture in general. Vast expanses of wheat, other cereal crops, vegetable crops, cotton, and nut and fruit trees were grown (including oranges in Southern California), and the foundation was laid for the state's prodigious agricultural production in the Central Valley and elsewhere.

In the nineteenth century, a large number of migrants from China traveled to the state as part of the Gold Rush or to seek work.[76] Even though the Chinese proved indispensable in building the transcontinental railroad from California to Utah, perceived job competition with the Chinese led to anti-Chinese riots in the state, and eventually the US ended migration from China partially as a response to pressure from California with the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.[77]

California Genocide

 
Between 1846 and 1873, U.S. government agents waged an extermination campaign against Indigenous Californians, known as the California genocide, resulting in as many as 100,000 deaths.

Under 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.[78] Under its new American administration, California's harsh governmental policies towards its own indigenous people did not improve. As in other American states, many of the native inhabitants were soon forcibly removed from their lands by incoming American settlers such as 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 1853 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians.[79] There were also massacres in which hundreds of indigenous people were killed.

Between 1850 and 1860, the California state government paid around 1.5 million dollars (some 250,000 of which was reimbursed by the federal government)[80] to hire militias whose purpose was to protect settlers from the indigenous populations. In later decades, the native population was placed in reservations and rancherias, which were often small and isolated and without enough natural resources or funding from the government to sustain the populations living on them.[81] As a result, the rise of California was a calamity for the native inhabitants. Several scholars and Native American activists, including Benjamin Madley and Ed Castillo, have described the actions of the California government as a genocide.[81][82]

1900–present

 
View of the destruction from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake

In the twentieth century, thousands of Japanese people migrated to the US and California specifically to attempt to purchase and own land in the state. However, the state in 1913 passed the Alien Land Act, excluding Asian immigrants from owning land.[83] During World War II, Japanese Americans in California were interned in concentration camps such as at Tule Lake and Manzanar.[84] In 2020, California officially apologized for this internment.[85]

Migration to California accelerated during the early 20th century with the completion of major transcontinental highways like the Lincoln Highway and Route 66. In the period from 1900 to 1965, the population grew from fewer than one million to the greatest in the Union. In 1940, the Census Bureau reported California's population as 6.0% Hispanic, 2.4% Asian, and 89.5% non-Hispanic white.[86]

To meet the population's needs, major engineering feats like the California and Los Angeles Aqueducts; the Oroville and Shasta Dams; and the Bay and Golden Gate Bridges were built across the state. The state government also adopted the California Master Plan for Higher Education in 1960 to develop a highly efficient system of public education.

 
In the early 20th century, Hollywood studios, like Paramount Pictures, helped transform Hollywood into the world capital of film and helped solidify Los Angeles as a global economic hub.

Meanwhile, attracted to the mild Mediterranean climate, cheap land, and the state's wide variety of geography, filmmakers established the studio system in Hollywood in the 1920s. California manufactured 8.7 percent of total United States military armaments produced during World War II, ranking third (behind New York and Michigan) among the 48 states.[87] California however easily ranked first in production of military ships during the war (transport, cargo, [merchant ships] such as Liberty ships, Victory ships, and warships) at drydock facilities in San Diego, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area.[88][89][90][91] After World War II, California's economy greatly expanded due to strong aerospace and defense industries,[92] whose size decreased following the end of the Cold War.[92][93] Stanford University and its Dean of Engineering Frederick Terman began encouraging faculty and graduates to stay in California instead of leaving the state, and develop a high-tech region in the area now known as Silicon Valley.[94] As a result of these efforts, California is regarded as a world center of the entertainment and music industries, of technology, engineering, and the aerospace industry, and as the United States center of agricultural production.[95] Just before the Dot Com Bust, California had the fifth-largest economy in the world among nations.[96]

In the mid and late twentieth century, a number of race-related incidents occurred in the state. Tensions between police and African Americans, combined with unemployment and poverty in inner cities, led to violent riots, such as the 1965 Watts riots and 1992 Rodney King riots.[97][98] California was also the hub of the Black Panther Party, a group known for arming African Americans to defend against racial injustice [99] and for organizing free breakfast programs for schoolchildren.[100] Additionally, Mexican, Filipino, and other migrant farm workers rallied in the state around Cesar Chavez for better pay in the 1960s and 1970s.[101]

 
Civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, flanked by Brown Berets, at a 1971 rally during the Chicano movement

During the 20th century, two great disasters happened in California. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and 1928 St. Francis Dam flood remain the deadliest in U.S. history.[102]

Although air pollution problems have been reduced, health problems associated with pollution have continued. The brown haze known as "smog" has been substantially abated after the passage of federal and state restrictions on automobile exhaust.[103][104]

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.[105]

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 they never intended to live in, expecting to make a huge profit in a matter of months, then rolling it over by buying more properties. Mortgage companies were compliant, as everyone assumed the prices would keep rising. The bubble burst in 2007–8 as housing prices began to crash and the boom years ended. Hundreds of billions in property values vanished and foreclosures soared as many financial institutions and investors were badly hurt.[106][107]

 
Apple founder Steve Jobs introducing the iPhone in 2007 in Silicon Valley, the largest tech hub in the world

In the twenty-first century, droughts and frequent wildfires attributed to climate change have occurred in the state.[108][109] From 2011 to 2017, a persistent drought was the worst in its recorded history.[110] The 2018 wildfire season was the state's deadliest and most destructive, most notably Camp Fire.[111]

Although air pollution problems have been reduced, health problems associated with pollution have continued. The brown haze that is known as "smog" has been substantially abated thanks to federal and state restrictions on automobile exhaust.[112][113]

One of the first confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States that occurred in California was first of which was confirmed on January 26, 2020.[114][115] Meaning, all of the early confirmed cases were persons who had recently travelled to China in Asia, as testing was restricted to this group. On this January 29, 2020, as disease containment protocols were still being developed, the U.S. Department of State evacuated 195 persons from Wuhan, China aboard a chartered flight to March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, and in this process, it may have granted and conferred to escalated within the land and the US at cosmic.[116][117] On February 5, 2020, the U.S. evacuated 345 more citizens from Hubei Province to two military bases in California, Travis Air Force Base in Solano County and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, San Diego, where they were quarantined for 14 days.[116][118] A state of emergency was largely declared in this state of the nation on March 4, 2020, and as of February 24, 2021, remains in effect. A mandatory statewide stay-at-home order was issued on March 19, 2020, due to increase, which was ended on January 25, 2021, allowing citizens to return to normal life.[119] On April 6, 2021, the state announced plans to fully reopen the economy by June 15, 2021.[120]

Geography

 
Topographic map of California

Covering an area of 163,696 sq mi (423,970 km2), California is the third-largest state in the United States in area, after Alaska and Texas.[121] 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,[122][123] and Northern California, comprising the 48 northernmost counties.[124][125] 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.

The 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 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 14,505 feet (4,421 m).[3][4][5] 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.

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.[126]

About 45 percent of the state's total surface area is covered by forests,[127] 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.[128][129]

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 −279 feet (−85 m).[7] The horizontal distance from the bottom of Death Valley to the top of Mount Whitney is less than 90 miles (140 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, landslides on steep terrain, and 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, but most are too small to be felt.[130]

Climate

 
Köppen climate types in California

Although most of the state has a Mediterranean climate, due to the state's large size the climate ranges from polar to subtropical. 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 in contrast with nearby areas closer to the ocean.[131][132][133]

 
Californian wildfires affect the state yearly. In the south, the Santa Ana winds often expand fires and spread smoke over hundreds of miles.

Northern 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. 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,[134][135] 134 °F (56.7 °C), was recorded there on July 10, 1913. The lowest temperature in California was −45 °F (−43 °C) on January 20, 1937, in Boca.[136]

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.

Average temperatures and precipitation for selected communities in California[137]
Location August
(°F)
August
(°C)
January
(°F)
January
(°C)
Annual
Precipitation
(mm/in)
Los Angeles 83/64 29/18 66/48 20/8 377/15
LAX/LA Beaches 75/64 23/18 65/49 18/9 326/13
San Diego 76/67 24/19 65/49 18/9 262/10
San Jose 82/58 27/14 58/42 14/5 401/16
San Francisco 67/54 20/12 56/46 14/8 538/21
Fresno 97/66 34/19 55/38 12/3 292/11
Sacramento 91/58 33/14 54/39 12/3 469/18
Oakland 73/58 23/14 58/44 14/7 588/23
Bakersfield 96/69 36/21 56/39 13/3 165/7
Riverside 94/60 35/18 67/39 19/4 260/10
Eureka 62/53 16/11 54/41 12/5 960/38
Death Valley 115/86 46/30 67/40 19/4 60/2
Mammoth Lakes 77/45 25/7 40/15 4/ −9 583/23

The wide range of climates leads to a high demand for water. Over time, droughts and wildfires have been increasing due to climate change and overextraction,[138] becoming less seasonal and more year-round, further straining California's electricity supply[139] and water security[140][141] and having an impact on California business, industry, and agriculture.[142]

Ecology

 
Mount Whitney, in the Sierra Nevada, is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States.

California 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.[143]

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). Many California endemics have become endangered, as urbanization, logging, overgrazing, and the introduction of exotic species have encroached on their habitat.

Flora and fauna

 
Giant Sequoias, native to California, are the largest trees in the world. Shown is the Grizzly Giant in Yosemite.

California boasts several superlatives in its collection of flora: the largest trees, the tallest trees, and the oldest trees. California's native grasses are perennial plants,[144] and there are close to hundred succulent species native to the state.[145] 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.[146]

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.[147]

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.[147]

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.[148]

The 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 10,500 feet (3,200 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.[147][149]

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 December 1997, 85 plant species were listed as threatened or endangered.[147]

In 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.[147][150][151][152]

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.[147][153]

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.[citation needed] Principal mammals found in this region include the Sierra coney, white-tailed jackrabbit, and the bighorn sheep. As of April 2003, 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.[147]

Aquatic 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.[147]

As of April 2003, 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 endangered[154] and two that are threatened are on the federal list.[155][156] Among threatened animals are the coastal California gnatcatcher, Paiute cutthroat trout, southern sea otter, and northern spotted owl. California has a total of 290,821 acres (1,176.91 km2) of National Wildlife Refuges.[147] As of September 2010, 123 California animals were listed as either endangered or threatened on the federal list.[157] Also, as of the same year, 178 species of California plants were listed either as endangered or threatened on this federal list.[157]

Rivers

 
San Francisco Bay (center left) and the Californian 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

 
Map of California's regions
 
Map showing the division between Northern California (top white) and Southern California (bottom red)

California 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

Cities and towns

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)".[158]

Sacramento became California's first incorporated city on February 27, 1850.[159] San Jose, San Diego, and Benicia tied for California's second incorporated city, each receiving incorporation on March 27, 1850.[160][161][162] Jurupa Valley became the state's most recent and 482nd incorporated municipality, on July 1, 2011.[163][164]

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 or towns in California
Source:[165]
Rank Name County Pop. Rank Name County Pop.
 
Los Angeles
 
San Diego
1 Los Angeles Los Angeles 3,898,747 11 Stockton San Joaquin 320,804  
San Jose
 
San Francisco
2 San Diego San Diego 1,386,932 12 Riverside Riverside 314,998
3 San Jose Santa Clara 1,013,240 13 Santa Ana Orange 310,227
4 San Francisco San Francisco 873,965 14 Irvine Orange 307,670
5 Fresno Fresno 542,107 15 Chula Vista San Diego 275,487
6 Sacramento Sacramento 524,943 16 Fremont Alameda 230,504
7 Long Beach Los Angeles 466,742 17 Santa Clarita Los Angeles 228,673
8 Oakland Alameda 440,646 18 San Bernardino San Bernardino 222,101
9 Bakersfield Kern 403,455 19 Modesto Stanislaus 218,464
10 Anaheim Orange 346,824 20 Moreno Valley Riverside 208,634
Largest metropolitan statistical areas in California
CA rank U.S. rank Metropolitan statistical area[166] 2020 census[165] 2010 census[165] Change Counties[166]
1 2 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA MSA 13,200,998 12,828,837 +2.90% Los Angeles, Orange
2 12 San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA MSA 4,749,008 4,335,391 +9.54% Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo
3 13 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA 4,599,839 4,224,851 +8.88% Riverside, San Bernardino
4 17 San Diego-Carlsbad, CA MSA 3,298,634 3,095,313 +6.57% San Diego
5 26 Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, CA MSA 2,397,382 2,149,127 +11.55% El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Yolo
6 35 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA MSA 2,000,468 1,836,911 +8.90% San Benito, Santa Clara
7 56 Fresno, CA MSA 1,008,654 930,450 +8.40% Fresno
8 62 Bakersfield, CA MSA 909,235 839,631 +8.29% Kern
9 70 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA MSA 843,843 823,318 +2.49% Ventura
10 75 Stockton-Lodi, CA MSA 779,233 685,306 +13.71% San Joaquin
Largest combined statistical areas in California
CA rank U.S. rank Combined statistical area[165] 2020 census[165] 2010 census[165] Change Counties[166]
1 2 Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA Combined Statistical Area 18,644,680 17,877,006 +4.29% Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura
2 4 San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area 9,714,023 8,923,942 +8.85% Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Merced, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus
3 23 Sacramento-Roseville, CA Combined Statistical Area 2,680,831 2,414,783 +11.02% El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo, Yuba
4 45 Fresno-Madera, CA Combined Statistical Area 1,317,395 1,234,297 +6.73% Fresno, Kings, Madera
5 125 Redding-Red Bluff, CA Combined Statistical Area 247,984 240,686 +3.03% Shasta, Tehama

Demographics

Population

Historical population
Census Pop.
185092,597
1860379,994310.4%
1870560,24747.4%
1880864,69454.3%
18901,213,39840.3%
19001,485,05322.4%
19102,377,54960.1%
19203,426,86144.1%
19305,677,25165.7%
19406,907,38721.7%
195010,586,22353.3%
196015,717,20448.5%
197019,953,13427.0%
198023,667,90218.6%
199029,760,02125.7%
200033,871,64813.8%
201037,253,95610.0%
202039,538,2236.1%
2022 (est.)39,029,342−1.3%
Sources: 1790–1990, 2000, 2010, 2020, 2022[167][168][169][8]
Chart does not include Indigenous population figures.
Studies indicate that the Native American
population in California in 1850 was close to 150,000
before declining to 15,000 by 1900.[170]

One out of every eight Americans live in California.[171] The United States Census Bureau reported that the population of California was 39,538,223 on April 1, 2020, a 6.13% increase since the 2010 United States census.[169] The estimated population as of 2022 is 39.22 million.[171] For over a century (1900–2020), California experienced an explosion in population growth, adding an average of more than 300,000 people per year.[172] California's rate of growth began to slow by the 1990s, although it continued to experience population growth in the first two decades of the 21st century.[173][174] The state experienced population declines in 2020 and 2021, attributable to declining birth rates, COVID-19 pandemic deaths, and less internal migration from other states to California.[175]

 
California's population density, 2020

The Greater Los Angeles Area is the 2nd-largest metropolitan area in the United States, after the New York metropolitan area, while Los Angeles, with nearly half the population of New York City, is the second-largest city in the United States. Conversely, San Francisco, with nearly one-quarter the population density of Manhattan, is the most densely populated city in California and one of the most densely populated cities in the United States. Also, Los Angeles County has held the title of most populous United States county for decades, and it alone is more populous than 42 U.S. states.[176][177] Including Los Angeles, four of the top 20 most populous cities in the U.S. are in California: Los Angeles (2nd), San Diego (8th), San Jose (10th), and San Francisco (17th). The center of population of California is located four miles west-southwest of the city of Shafter, Kern County.[note 1]

As of 2019, California ranked second among states by life expectancy (after Hawaii), with a life expectancy of 78.4 years.[179]

Starting in the year 2010, for the first time since the California Gold Rush, California-born residents make up the majority of the state's population.[180] Along with the rest of the United States, California's immigration pattern has also shifted over the course of the late 2000s to early 2010s.[181] Immigration from Latin American countries has dropped significantly with most immigrants now coming from Asia.[182] In total for 2011, there were 277,304 immigrants. Fifty-seven percent came from Asian countries versus 22% from Latin American countries.[182] Net immigration from Mexico, previously the most common country of origin for new immigrants, has dropped to zero / less than zero since more Mexican nationals are departing for their home country than immigrating.[181]

The state's population of undocumented immigrants has been shrinking in recent years, due to increased enforcement and decreased job opportunities for lower-skilled workers.[183] The number of migrants arrested attempting to cross the Mexican border in the Southwest decreased from a high of 1.1 million in 2005 to 367,000 in 2011.[184] Despite these recent trends, illegal aliens constituted an estimated 7.3 percent of the state's population, the third highest percentage of any state in the country,[185][note 2] totaling nearly 2.6 million.[186] In particular, illegal immigrants tended to be concentrated in Los Angeles, Monterey, San Benito, Imperial, and Napa Counties—the latter four of which have significant agricultural industries that depend on manual labor.[187] More than half of illegal immigrants originate from Mexico.[186] The state of California and some California cities, including Los Angeles, Oakland and San Francisco,[188] have adopted sanctuary policies.[189]

Race and ethnicity

 
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 Census:
  50% or more
  25-49%
  15-24%
  5-15%
Racial and ethnic composition as of the 2020 census
Race and ethnicity[190] Alone Total
Hispanic or Latino[note 3] 39.4% 39.4
 
White (non-Hispanic) 34.7% 34.7
 
38.3% 38.3
 
Asian (non-Hispanic) 15.1% 15.1
 
17.0% 17
 
African American (non-Hispanic) 5.4% 5.4
 
6.4% 6.4
 
Native American (non-Hispanic) 0.4% 0.4
 
1.3% 1.3
 
Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 0.3% 0.3
 
0.7% 0.7
 
Other (non-Hispanic) 0.6% 0.6
 
1.3% 1.3
 
California historical racial demographics
Racial composition 1970[191] 1990[191] 2000[192] 2010[193]
White 89.0% 69.0% 59.5% 57.6%
Asian 2.8% 9.6% 10.9% 13.0%
Black 7.0% 7.4% 6.7% 6.2%
Native 0.5% 0.8% 1.0% 1.0%
Native Hawaiian and
other Pacific Islander
0.3% 0.4%
Some other race 0.7% 13.2% 16.8% 17.0%
Two or more races 4.8% 4.9%

According to the United States Census Bureau in 2018 the population self-identified as (alone or in combination):[194] 72.1% White (including Hispanic Whites), 36.8% non-Hispanic whites, 15.3% Asian, 6.5% Black or African American, 1.6% Native American and Alaska Native, 0.5% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and 3.9% two or more races.

By ethnicity, in 2018 the population was 60.7% non-Hispanic (of any race) and 39.3% Hispanic or Latino (of any race). Hispanics are the largest single ethnic group in California.[194] Non-Hispanic whites constituted 36.8% of the state's population.[194] Californios are the Hispanic residents native to California, who make up the Spanish-speaking community that has existed in California since 1542, of varying Mexican American/Chicano, Criollo Spaniard, and Mestizo origin.[195]

As of 2011, 75.1% of California's population younger than age 1 were minorities, meaning they had at least one parent who was not non-Hispanic white (white Hispanics are counted as minorities).[196]

In terms of total numbers, California has the largest population of White Americans in the United States, an estimated 22,200,000 residents. The state has the 5th largest population of African Americans in the United States, an estimated 2,250,000 residents. California's Asian American population is estimated at 4.4 million, constituting a third of the nation's total. California's Native American population of 285,000 is the most of any state.[197]

According to estimates from 2011, California has the largest minority population in the United States by numbers, making up 60% of the state population.[198] Over the past 25 years, the population of non-Hispanic whites has declined, while Hispanic and Asian populations have grown. Between 1970 and 2011, non-Hispanic whites declined from 80% of the state's population to 40%, while Hispanics grew from 32% in 2000 to 38% in 2011.[199] It is currently projected that Hispanics will rise to 49% of the population by 2060, primarily due to domestic births rather than immigration.[200] With the decline of immigration from Latin America, Asian Americans now constitute the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in California; this growth is primarily driven by immigration from China, India and the Philippines, respectively.[201]

Languages

Non-English Languages Spoken in California by more than 100,000 persons
Language Population
(as of 2016)[202]
Spanish 10,672,610 speakers
Chinese 1,231,425
Tagalog 796,451
Vietnamese 559,932
Korean 367,523
Persian 203,770
Armenian 192,980
Arabic 191,954
Hindi 189,646
Russian 155,746
Punjabi 140,128
Japanese 139,430
French 123,956

English serves as California's de jure and de facto official language. In 2010, the Modern Language Association of America estimated that 57.02% (19,429,309) of California residents age 5 and older spoke only English at home, while 42.98% spoke another language at home. According to the 2007 American Community Survey, 73% of people who speak a language other than English at home are able to speak English "well" or "very well," while 9.8% of them could not speak English at all.[203] Like most U.S. states (32 out of 50), California law enshrines English as its official language, and has done so since the passage of Proposition 63 by California voters in 1986. Various government agencies do, and are often required to, furnish documents in the various languages needed to reach their intended audiences.[204][205][206]

 
 
The Constitution of California was written in both English and Spanish by both American and Californio delegates.

In total, 16 languages other than English were spoken as primary languages at home by more than 100,000 persons, more than any other state in the nation. New York State, in second place, had nine languages other than English spoken by more than 100,000 persons.[207] The most common language spoken besides English was Spanish, spoken by 28.46% (9,696,638) of the population.[200][181] With Asia contributing most of California's new immigrants, California had the highest concentration nationwide of Vietnamese and Chinese speakers, the second highest concentration of Korean, and the third highest concentration of Tagalog speakers.[203]

California has historically been one of the most linguistically diverse areas in the world, with more than 70 indigenous languages derived from 64 root languages in six language families.[208][209] A survey conducted between 2007 and 2009 identified 23 different indigenous languages among California farmworkers.[210] All of California's indigenous languages are endangered, although there are now efforts toward language revitalization.[note 4]

As a result of the state's increasing diversity and migration from other areas across the country and around the globe, linguists began noticing a noteworthy set of emerging characteristics of spoken American English in California since the late 20th century. This variety, known as California English, has a vowel shift and several other phonological processes that are different from varieties of American English used in other regions of the United States.[211]

Religion

 
The Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo in Monterey, built 1791–94, is the oldest parish in California.
Religion in California (2014)[212]
religion percent
Protestantism
32%
Catholicism
28%
Unaffiliated
27%
Judaism
2%
Buddhism
2%
Hinduism
2%
Islam
1%
Mormonism
1%
Other
5%

The largest religious denominations by number of adherents as a percentage of California's population in 2014 were the Catholic Church with 28 percent, Evangelical Protestants with 20 percent, and Mainline Protestants with 10 percent. Together, all kinds of Protestants accounted for 32 percent. Those unaffiliated with any religion represented 27 percent of the population. The breakdown of other religions is 1% Muslim, 2% Hindu and 2% Buddhist.[212] This is a change from 2008, when the population identified their religion with the Catholic Church with 31 percent; Evangelical Protestants with 18 percent; and Mainline Protestants with 14 percent. In 2008, those unaffiliated with any religion represented 21 percent of the population. The breakdown of other religions in 2008 was 0.5% Muslim, 1% Hindu and 2% Buddhist.[213] The American Jewish Year Book placed the total Jewish population of California at about 1,194,190 in 2006.[214] According to the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) the largest denominations by adherents in 2010 were the Catholic Church with 10,233,334; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 763,818; and the Southern Baptist Convention with 489,953.[215]

The first priests to come to California were Catholic missionaries from Spain. Catholics founded 21 missions along the California coast, as well as the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco. California continues to have a large Catholic population due to the large numbers of Mexicans and Central Americans living within its borders. California has twelve dioceses and two archdioceses, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Archdiocese of San Francisco, the former being the largest archdiocese in the United States.

A Pew Research Center survey revealed that California is somewhat less religious than the rest of the states: 62 percent of Californians say they are "absolutely certain" of their belief in God, while in the nation 71 percent say so. The survey also revealed 48 percent of Californians say religion is "very important", compared to 56 percent nationally.[216]

Culture

The culture of California is a Western culture and most clearly 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, Californian culture has been greatly influenced by several large immigrant populations, especially those from Latin America and Asia.[217][failed verification]

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.

The California Gold Rush of the 1850s is still seen as a symbol of California's economic style, which tends to generate technology, social, entertainment, and economic fads and booms and related busts.

Media and entertainment

 
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.) being based in or around the area.

The four major American television broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC) all have production facilities and offices in the state. All four, plus the two major Spanish-language networks (Telemundo and Univision) each have at least two owned-and-operated TV stations in California, one in Los Angeles and one in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The San Francisco Bay Area is home to several prominent internet media and social media companies, including three of the "Big Five" technology companies (Apple, Facebook, and Google) as well as other services such as Netflix, Pandora Radio, Twitter, Yahoo!, and YouTube.

 
Twitter, headquartered in San Francisco, is one of the largest social media networks in the world.

One of the oldest radio stations in the United States still in existence, KCBS (AM) in the Bay Area, was founded in 1909. Universal Music Group, one of the "Big Four" record labels, is based in Santa Monica. California is also the birthplace of several international music genres, including the Bakersfield sound, Bay Area thrash metal, g-funk, psychedelic rock/acid rock, nu metal, stoner rock, surf music, West Coast hip hop, and West Coast jazz.

Sports

California 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.[218]

California has long had many respected collegiate sports programs. California is home to the oldest college bowl game, the annual Rose Bowl, among others.

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 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.[219] 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.

Team Sport League
Los Angeles Rams American football National Football League (NFL)
Los Angeles Chargers American football National Football League
San Francisco 49ers American football National Football League
Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB)
Los Angeles Angels Baseball Major League Baseball
Oakland Athletics Baseball Major League Baseball
San Diego Padres Baseball Major League Baseball
San Francisco Giants Baseball Major League Baseball
Golden State Warriors Basketball National Basketball Association (NBA)
Los Angeles Clippers Basketball National Basketball Association
Los Angeles Lakers Basketball National Basketball Association
Sacramento Kings Basketball National Basketball Association
Los Angeles Sparks Basketball Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Anaheim Ducks Ice hockey National Hockey League (NHL)
Los Angeles Kings Ice hockey National Hockey League
San Jose Sharks Ice hockey National Hockey League
Los Angeles Galaxy Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Jose Earthquakes Soccer Major League Soccer
Los Angeles Football Club Soccer Major League Soccer
San Diego Legion Rugby union Major League Rugby

Education

 
Santa Barbara High School, one of the oldest high schools in continuous use in Southern California

California 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.[220]

 

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.[221]

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).[222]

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).[223][224][225]

A 2007 study concluded that California's public school system was "broken" in that it suffered from overregulation.[226]

 
Stanford University is one of the top ranked universities in the world.[227]

Higher education

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.[228] 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.[229] 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.[230][231][232] 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.[232][233] 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.[234]) It is the largest network of higher education in the U.S., composed of 112 colleges serving a student population of over 2.6 million.

California is also home to such notable private universities as Stanford University, the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), the University of Southern California, the Claremont Colleges, Santa Clara University, Loyola Marymount University, the University of San Diego, the University of San Francisco, Chapman University, Pepperdine University, Occidental College, and University of the Pacific, among numerous other private colleges and universities, including many religious and special-purpose institutions. California has a particularly high density of arts colleges, including the California College of the Arts, California Institute of the Arts, San Francisco Art Institute, Art Center College of Design, and Academy of Art University, among others.

Economy

 
Silicon Valley is the largest tech hub in the world and home to Big Tech companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, Netflix, Twitter, and more.

California's economy ranks among the largest in the world. As of 2021, the gross state product (GSP) was $3.3 trillion ($85,500 per capita), the largest in the United States.[235] California is responsible for one seventh of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP).[236] As of 2018, California's nominal GDP is larger than all but four countries (the United States, China, Japan, and Germany).[237] In terms of purchasing power parity (PPP),[238] it is larger than all but eight countries (the United States, China, India, Japan, Germany, Russia, Brazil, and Indonesia).[239] California's economy is larger than Africa and Australia and is almost as large as South America.[240] The state recorded total, non-farm employment of 16,677,800[241] as of September 2021 among 966,224 employer establishments[242] (as of 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.[243] California has an unemployment rate of 3.9% as of September 2022.[241]

 
California is the most visited state in the country.[244] Hearst Castle in San Simeon is a major tourist destination.

California's economy is dependent on trade and international related commerce accounts for about one-quarter of the state's economy. In 2008, California exported $144 billion worth of goods, up from $134 billion in 2007 and $127 billion in 2006.[245] Computers and electronic products are California's top export, accounting for 42 percent of all the state's exports in 2008.[245]

Agriculture is an important sector in California's economy. Farming-related sales more than quadrupled over the past three decades, from $7.3 billion in 1974 to nearly $31 billion in 2004.[246] 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.[246] In 2008, California's 81,500 farms and ranches generated $36.2 billion products revenue.[247] In 2011, that number grew to $43.5 billion products revenue.[248] The Agriculture sector accounts for two percent of the state's GDP and employs around three percent of its total workforce.[249] According to the USDA in 2011, the three largest California agricultural products by value were milk and cream, shelled almonds, and grapes.[250]

 
The agricultural industry in California is the largest in the U.S.

Per capita GDP in 2007 was $38,956, ranking eleventh in the nation.[251] 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.[252] Using the supplemental poverty measure, California has a poverty rate of 23.5%, the highest of any state in the country.[253] However, using the official measure the poverty rate was only 13.3% as of 2017.[254] 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.[255] In 2010, California residents were ranked first among the states with the best average credit score of 754.[256]

State finances

State spending increased from $56 billion in 1998 to $127 billion in 2011.[258][259] California has the third highest per capita spending on welfare among the states, as well as the highest spending on welfare at $6.67 billion.[260] In January 2011, California's total debt was at least $265 billion.[261] 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 billion.[262][263]

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.[264]

All real property is taxable annually; the ad valorem tax is based on the property's fair market value at the time of purchase or the value of new construction. Property tax increases are capped at 2% annually or the rate of inflation (whichever is lower), per Proposition 13.

Infrastructure

Energy

 
Moss Landing Power Plant, located on the coast of Monterey Bay

Because it is the most populous state in the United States, California is one of the country's largest users of energy. However, because of its 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.[265] 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.[266]

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.

As a result of the state's strong environmental movement, California has some of the most aggressive renewable energy goals in the United States, with a target for California to obtain a third of its electricity from renewables by 2020.[267] 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.[268] 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.[269]

California is also home to two major nuclear power plants: Diablo Canyon and San Onofre, the latter having been shut down in 2013. More than 1,700 tons of radioactive waste are stored at San Onofre,[270] which sits in an area where there is a record of past tsunamis.[271] Voters banned the approval of new nuclear power plants since the late 1970s because of concerns over radioactive waste disposal.[272][note 5] In addition, several cities such as Oakland, Berkeley and Davis have declared themselves as nuclear-free zones.

Transportation

 
The Golden Gate Bridge in the San Francisco Bay Area, is one of the most famous bridges in the world.

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.[274][275] 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.[276]

 
San Francisco Bay Ferry is a public water taxi system in the Bay Area.

The 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 4,200 feet (1,300 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 76 feet (23 m) wide by 58 feet (18 m) high.[277] The Arroyo Seco Parkway, connecting Los Angeles and Pasadena, opened in 1940 as the first freeway in the Western United States.[278] It was later extended south to the Four Level Interchange in downtown Los Angeles, regarded as the first stack interchange ever built.[279]

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.

California also has several major seaports. The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach in Southern California are the largest and second-largest seaports in the U.S., respectively, by volume of container cargo handled; as of 2018, collectively they handle 31.9% of all TEUs in the United States.[280] 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.[280]

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).[281]

Inter-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.[282] Integrated subway and light rail networks are found in Los Angeles (Metro Rail) and San Francisco (MUNI Metro). Light rail systems are also found in San Jose (VTA), San Diego (San Diego Trolley), Sacramento (RT Light Rail), and Northern San Diego County (Sprinter). Furthermore, commuter rail networks serve the San Francisco Bay Area (ACE, BART, Caltrain, SMART), Greater Los Angeles (Metrolink), and San Diego County (Coaster).

The California High-Speed Rail Authority was created in 1996 by the state to implement an extensive 800-mile (1,300 km) rail system. Construction was approved by the voters during the November 2008 general election,[283] with the first phase of construction estimated to cost $64.2 billion.[284]

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 Motorcoach.

Water

 
Lake Shasta, in the Shasta Cascade region, is California's largest reservoir.

California's interconnected water system is the world's largest, managing over 40,000,000 acre-feet (49 km3) of water per year, centered on six main systems of aqueducts and infrastructure projects.[285] 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.[286] Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said: "We've been in crisis for quite some time because we're now 38 million people and not anymore 18 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."[287]

Government and politics

State government

The capital city of California is Sacramento.[288] The state is organized into three branches of government—the executive branch consisting of the governor[289] and the other independently elected constitutional officers; the legislative branch consisting of the Assembly and Senate;[290] and the judicial branch consisting of the Supreme Court of California and lower courts.[291] The state also allows ballot propositions: direct participation of the electorate by initiative, referendum, recall, and ratification.[292] Before the passage of California Proposition 14 (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,[293] 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.[294] At the primary election, the two candidates with the top votes will advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation.[294] 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.[294]

Judicial branch

 
The Supreme Court of California primarily sits in San Francisco, but also meets in Sacramento and Los Angeles.

California's legal system is explicitly based upon English common law[295] 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.[296] 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).[297][298] California has performed 13 executions since 1976, with the last being in 2006.[299]

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 2020–21, the state judiciary's 2,000 judicial officers and 18,000 judicial branch employees processed approximately 4.4 million cases.[300]

Executive branch

 
The Stanford Mansion is the official reception center for the Californian government and one of the workplaces of the Governor of California.

The 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.[301]

Legislative branch

The California State Legislature consists of a 40-member Senate and 80-member Assembly. 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.

Local government

 
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, especially in unincorporated areas, are handled by special districts

Counties

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.[302][303] In addition, the county serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas. Each county is governed by an elected board of supervisors.[304]

City and town governments

Incorporated cities and towns in California are either charter or general-law municipalities.[158] 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

About 1,102 school districts, independent of cities and counties, handle California's public education.[305] 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.[305]

There are about 3,400 special districts in California.[306] 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

 

The state of California sends 53 members to the House of Representatives,[307] the nation's largest congressional state delegation. Consequently, California also has the largest number of electoral votes in national presidential elections, with 55. The current speaker of the House of Representatives is the representative of California's 12th district, Nancy Pelosi;[308] Kevin McCarthy, representing the state's 23rd district, is the House Minority Leader.[308]

California is represented by U.S. senators Dianne Feinstein, a native and former mayor of San Francisco, and Alex Padilla, a native and former secretary of state of California. Former U.S. senator Kamala Harris, a native, former district attorney from San Francisco, former attorney general of California, resigned on January 18, 2021, to assume her role as the current Vice President of the United States. In the 1992 U.S. Senate election, California became the first state to elect a Senate delegation entirely composed of women, due to the victories of Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.[309] Set to follow the Vice President-Elect, Gov. Newsom appointed Secretary of State Alex Padilla to finish the rest of Harris's term which ends in 2022, Padilla has vowed to run for the full term in that election cycle. Padilla was sworn in on January 20, 2021, the same day as the Inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden as well as Harris.[310][311]

Armed forces

In California, as of 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.[312]

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.[313] However, as of 2002, Californians were relatively under-represented in the military as a proportion to its population.[314]

In 2000, California, had 2,569,340 veterans of United States military service: 504,010 served in World War II, 301,034 in the Korean War, 754,682 during the Vietnam War, and 278,003 during 1990–2000 (including the Persian Gulf War).[315] 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 II (the largest population of this group of any state).[316]

California's military forces consist of the Army and Air National Guard, the naval and state military reserve (militia), and the California Cadet Corps.

On August 5, 1950, a nuclear-capable United States Air Force Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber carrying a nuclear bomb crashed shortly after takeoff from Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base. Brigadier General Robert F. Travis, command pilot of the bomber, was among the dead.[317]

Ideology

California registered voters as of May 23, 2022[318]
Party Number of Voters Percentage  

Party registration by county
(October 2018):

  Democrat >=30%
  Democrat >=40%
  Democrat >=50%
  Republican >=30%
  Republican >=40%
Democratic 10,261,984 46.77%
Republican 5,249,974 23.93%
No Party Preference 4,983,013 22.71%
American Independent 749,556 3.42%
Libertarian 224,931 1.03%
Peace and Freedom 117,314 0.53%
Green 92,570 0.42%
Other 148,686 0.68%
Total 21,941,212 100%

California has an idiosyncratic political culture compared to the rest of the country, and is sometimes regarded as a trendsetter.[319] In socio-cultural mores and national politics, Californians are perceived as more liberal than other Americans, especially those who live in the inland states. In the 2016 United States presidential election, California had the third highest percentage of Democratic votes behind the District of Columbia and Hawaii.[320] In the 2020 United States presidential election, it had the 6th highest behind the District of Columbia, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Hawaii. According to the Cook Political Report, California contains five of the 15 most Democratic congressional districts in the United States.

Among the political idiosyncrasies, California was the second state to recall their state governor (the first state being North Dakota in 1921), the second state to legalize abortion, and the only state to ban marriage for gay couples twice by vote (including Proposition 8 in 2008). Voters also passed Proposition 71 in 2004 to fund stem cell research, making California the second state to legalize stem cell research after New Jersey, and Proposition 14 in 2010 to completely change the state's primary election process. California has also experienced disputes over water rights; and a tax revolt, culminating with the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978, limiting state property taxes. California voters have rejected affirmative action on multiple occasions, most recently in November 2020.

The state's trend towards the Democratic Party and away from the Republican Party can be seen in state elections. From 1899 to 1939, California had Republican governors. Since 1990, California has generally elected Democratic candidates to federal, state and local offices, including current Governor Gavin Newsom; however, the state has elected Republican Governors, though many of its Republican Governors, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, tend to be considered moderate Republicans and more centrist than the national party.

 
Anti-war protesters in Berkeley (2008)

Several political movements have advocated for Californian independence. The California National Party and the California Freedom Coalition both advocate for Californian independence along the lines of progressivism and civic nationalism.[321] The Yes California movement attempted to organize an independence referendum via ballot initiative for 2019, which was then postponed.[322]

The Democrats also now hold a supermajority in both houses of the state legislature. There are 60 Democrats and 20 Republicans in the Assembly; and 29 Democrats and 11 Republicans in the Senate.

The trend towards the Democratic Party is most obvious in presidential elections. From 1952 through 1988, California was a Republican leaning state, with the party carrying the state's electoral votes in nine of ten elections, with 1964 as the exception. Southern California Republicans Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan were both elected twice as the 37th and 40th U.S. Presidents, respectively. However, Democrats have won all of California's electoral votes for the last eight elections, starting in 1992.

In the United States House, the Democrats held a 34–19 edge in the CA delegation of the 110th United States Congress in 2007. As the result of gerrymandering, the districts in California were usually dominated by one or the other party, and few districts were considered competitive. In 2008, Californians passed Proposition 20 to empower a 14-member independent citizen commission to redraw districts for both local politicians and Congress. After the 2012 elections, when the new system took effect, Democrats gained four seats and held a 38–15 majority in the delegation. Following the 2018 midterm House elections, Democrats won 46 out of 53 congressional house seats in California, leaving Republicans with seven.

 
The Occupy Los Angeles movement (2011)

In general, Democratic strength is centered in the populous coastal regions of the Los Angeles metropolitan area and the San Francisco Bay Area. Republican strength is still greatest in eastern parts of the state. Orange County had remained largely Republican until the 2016 and 2018 elections, in which a majority of the county's votes were cast for Democratic candidates.[323][324] One study ranked Berkeley, Oakland, Inglewood and San Francisco in the top 20 most liberal American cities; and Bakersfield, Orange, Escondido, Garden Grove, and Simi Valley in the top 20 most conservative cities.[325]

In February 2021, out of the 25,166,581 people eligible to vote, 22,154,304 people were registered to vote.[326] Of the people registered, the three largest registered groups were Democrats (10,228,144), Republicans (5,347,377), and No Party Preference (5,258,223).[326] Los Angeles County had the largest number of registered Democrats (3,043,535) and Republicans (995,112) of any county in the state.[326]

In a 2020 study, California was ranked as the 10th easiest state for citizens to vote in.[327]

Twinned regions

California has region twinning arrangements with:

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The coordinates of the center of population are at 35°29′28″N 119°20′52″W / 35.491035°N 119.347852°W / 35.491035; -119.347852.[178]
  2. ^ Behind Nevada and Arizona
  3. ^ Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin are not distinguished between total and partial ancestry.
  4. ^ The following are a list of the indigenous languages: Root languages of California: Athabaskan Family: Hupa, Mattole, Lassik, Wailaki, Sinkyone, Cahto, Tolowa, Nongatl, Wiyot, Chilula; Hokan Family: Pomo, Shasta, Karok, Chimiriko; Algonquian Family: Whilkut, Yurok; Yukian Family: Wappo; Penutian Family: Modok, Wintu, Nomlaki, Konkow, Maidu, Patwin, Nisenan, Miwok, Coast Miwok, Lake Miwok, Ohlone, Northern Valley Yokuts, Southern Valley Yokuts, Foothill Yokuts; Hokan Family: Esselen, Salinan, Chumash, Ipai, Tipai, Yuma, Halchichoma, Mohave; Uto-Aztecan Family: Mono Paiute, Monache, Owens Valley Paiute, Tubatulabal, Panamint Shoshone, Kawaisu, Kitanemuk, Tataviam, Gabrielino, Juaneno, Luiseno, Cuipeno, Cahuilla, Serrano, Chemehuevi
  5. ^ Minnesota also has a moratorium on construction of nuclear power plants, which has been in place since 1994.[273]

References

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california, this, article, about, state, other, uses, disambiguation, state, western, united, states, located, along, pacific, coast, with, nearly, million, residents, across, total, area, approximately, square, miles, most, populous, state, largest, area, als. This article is about the U S state For other uses see California disambiguation California is a state in the Western United States located along the Pacific Coast With nearly 39 2 million residents 8 across a total area of approximately 163 696 square miles 423 970 km2 13 it is the most populous U S state and the 3rd largest by area It is also the most populated subnational entity in North America and the 34th most populous in the world The Greater Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation s second and fifth most populous urban regions respectively with the former having more than 18 7 million residents and the latter having over 9 6 million 14 Sacramento is the state s capital while Los Angeles is the most populous city in the state and the second most populous city in the country San Francisco is the second most densely populated major city in the country Los Angeles County is the country s most populous while San Bernardino County is the largest county by area in the country California borders Oregon to the north Nevada and Arizona to the east the Mexican state of Baja California to the south and has a coastline along the Pacific Ocean to the west CaliforniaStateState of CaliforniaFlagSealNickname The Golden State 1 Motto Eureka 2 Anthem I Love You California source source Map of the United States with California highlightedCountryUnited StatesBefore statehoodMexican Cession unorganized territoryAdmitted to the UnionSeptember 9 1850 31st CapitalSacramentoLargest cityLos AngelesLargest metro and urban areasGreater Los AngelesGovernment GovernorGavin Newsom D Lieutenant GovernorEleni Kounalakis D LegislatureState Legislature Upper houseState Senate Lower houseState AssemblyJudiciarySupreme Court of CaliforniaU S senatorsDianne Feinstein D Alex Padilla D U S House delegation41 Democrats 11 Republicans 1 Vacant list Area Total163 696 sq mi 423 970 km2 Land155 959 sq mi 403 932 km2 Water7 737 sq mi 20 047 km2 4 7 Rank3rdDimensions Length760 mi 1 220 km Width250 mi 400 km Elevation2 900 ft 880 m Highest elevation Mount Whitney 3 4 5 6 14 505 ft 4 421 0 m Lowest elevation Badwater Basin 7 279 ft 85 0 m Population 2022 Total39 185 605 8 Rank1st Density251 3 sq mi 97 km2 Rank11th Median household income 78 700 9 Income rank5thDemonymCalifornianLanguage Official languageEnglish Spoken languageEnglish 56 1 Spanish 28 3 Other 15 6 10 Time zoneUTC 08 00 PST Summer DST UTC 07 00 PDT USPS abbreviationCAISO 3166 codeUS CATraditional abbreviationCalif Cal Cali Latitude32 32 N to 42 NLongitude114 8 W to 124 26 WWebsitewww wbr ca wbr govCalifornia state symbolsFlag of CaliforniaLiving insigniaAmphibianCalifornia red legged frogBirdCalifornia quailFishFresh water Golden troutMarine GaribaldiFlowerCalifornia poppyGrassPurple needlegrassInsectCalifornia dogface butterflyMammalLand California grizzly bear state animal 2 Marine Gray whaleReptileDesert tortoiseTreeCoast redwood amp giant sequoia 11 Inanimate insigniaColorsBlue amp gold 12 DanceWest Coast SwingFolk danceSquare danceFossilSabre toothed catGemstoneBenitoiteMineralNative goldRockSerpentineSoilSan JoaquinSportSurfingTartanCalifornia state tartanState route markerState quarterReleased in 2005Lists of United States state symbolsThe economy of the state of California is the largest in the United States with a 3 4 trillion gross state product GSP as of 2022 update 15 It is the largest sub national economy in the world If California were a sovereign nation it would rank as the world s fifth largest economy as of 2022 update 16 17 behind Germany and ahead of India as well as the 37th most populous 18 The Greater Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation s second and third largest urban economies 1 0 trillion and 0 5 trillion respectively as of 2020 update 19 The San Francisco Bay Area Combined Statistical Area had the nation s highest gross domestic product per capita 106 757 among large primary statistical areas in 2018 20 and is home to five of the world s ten largest companies by market capitalization 21 and four of the world s ten richest people 22 Prior to European colonization California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre Columbian North America and contained the highest Native American population density north of what is now Mexico European exploration in the 16th and 17th centuries led to the colonization of California by the Spanish Empire In 1804 it was included in Alta California province within the Viceroyalty of New Spain The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its successful war for independence but was ceded to the United States in 1848 after the Mexican American War The California Gold Rush started in 1848 and led to dramatic social and demographic changes including large scale immigration into California a worldwide economic boom and the California genocide of indigenous people The western portion of Alta California was then organized and admitted as the 31st state on September 9 1850 following the Compromise of 1850 Notable contributions to popular culture for example in entertainment and sports have their origins in California The state also has made noteworthy contributions in the fields of communication information innovation environmentalism economics and politics 23 24 25 It is the home of Hollywood the oldest and one of the largest film industries in the world which has had a profound influence upon global entertainment It is considered the origin of the hippie counterculture beach and car culture 26 and the personal computer 27 among other innovations 28 29 The San Francisco Bay Area and the Greater Los Angeles Area are widely seen as the centers of the global technology and film industries respectively California s economy is very diverse 58 of it is based on finance government real estate services technology and professional scientific and technical business services 30 Although it accounts for only 1 5 of the state s economy 30 California s agriculture industry has the highest output of any U S state 31 32 33 California s ports and harbors handle about a third of all U S imports most originating in Pacific Rim international trade The state s extremely diverse geography ranges from the Pacific Coast and metropolitan areas in the west to the Sierra Nevada mountains in the east and from the redwood and Douglas fir forests in the northwest to the Mojave Desert in the southeast The Central Valley a major agricultural area dominates the state s center California is well known for its warm Mediterranean climate and monsoon seasonal weather The large size of the state results in climates that vary from moist temperate rainforest in the north to arid desert in the interior as well as snowy alpine in the mountains Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 2 1 First inhabitants 2 2 Spanish period 2 3 Mexican period 2 4 U S Conquest and the California Republic 2 5 Early American period 2 5 1 California Genocide 2 6 1900 present 3 Geography 3 1 Climate 3 2 Ecology 3 3 Flora and fauna 3 4 Rivers 3 5 Regions 3 6 Cities and towns 4 Demographics 4 1 Population 4 2 Race and ethnicity 4 3 Languages 4 4 Religion 5 Culture 5 1 Media and entertainment 5 2 Sports 6 Education 6 1 Higher education 7 Economy 7 1 State finances 8 Infrastructure 8 1 Energy 8 2 Transportation 8 3 Water 9 Government and politics 9 1 State government 9 1 1 Judicial branch 9 1 2 Executive branch 9 1 3 Legislative branch 9 2 Local government 9 2 1 Counties 9 2 2 City and town governments 9 2 3 School districts and special districts 9 3 Federal representation 9 4 Armed forces 9 5 Ideology 9 6 Twinned regions 10 See also 11 Notes 12 References 12 1 Citations 12 2 Works cited 13 Further reading 14 External linksEtymology EditMain articles Etymology of California and Island of California California amp its namesake ruler Queen Calafia originate in the 1510 epic Las Sergas de Esplandian written by Garci Rodriguez de Montalvo The Spaniards gave the name Las Californias to the peninsula of Baja California and to Alta California the latter region becoming the present day state of California The name likely derived from the mythical island of California in the fictional story of Queen Calafia as recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandian by Castilian author Garci Rodriguez de Montalvo 34 This work was the fifth in a popular Spanish chivalric romance series that began with Amadis de Gaula 35 36 37 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 34 38 39 In the fictional paradise the ruler Queen Calafia fought alongside Muslims and her name may have been chosen to echo the title of a Muslim leader the Caliph 34 40 Know ye that at the right hand of the Indies there is an island called California very close to that part of the Terrestrial Paradise which was inhabited by black women without a single man among them and they lived in the manner of Amazons They were robust of body with strong passionate hearts and great virtue The island itself is one of the wildest in the world on account of the bold and craggy rocks Chapter CLVII of The Adventures of Esplandian 41 Official abbreviations of the state s name include CA Cal Calif and US CA History EditMain article History of California Further information History of California before 1900 A map of Indigenous Californian tribes and languages at the time of European contact First inhabitants Edit Main article Indigenous peoples of California Settled by successive waves of arrivals during at least the last 13 000 years 42 California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre Columbian North America 43 Various estimates of the native population have ranged from 100 000 to 300 000 44 The indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct ethnic groups inhabiting environments from mountains and deserts to islands and redwood forests 45 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 and military alliances fostered social and economic relationships between many groups Spanish period Edit Main articles Province of Las Californias and Spanish missions in California Portuguese explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo claiming California for the Spanish Empire in 1542 The first Europeans to explore the coast of California were the members of a Spanish maritime expedition led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodriguez 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 46 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 47 Sebastian Vizcaino explored and mapped the coast of California in 1602 for New Spain putting ashore in Monterey 48 Despite the on the ground explorations of California in the 16th century Rodriguez s idea of California as an island persisted Such depictions appeared on many European maps well into the 18th century 49 The Portola 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 Portola who traveled over land from Sonora into California while the religious component was headed by Junipero Serra who came by sea from Baja California In 1769 Portola and Serra established Mission San Diego de Alcala 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 Junipero Serra conducting the first mass in Monterey Bay in 1770 After the Portola 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 Californian coast 16 sites of which having been chosen during the Portola expedition Numerous major cities in California grew out of missions including San Francisco Mission San Francisco de Asis San Diego Mission San Diego de Alcala 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 Jose Joaquin Moraga would found the pueblo of San Jose in 1777 making it the first civilian established city in California The Spanish founded Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1776 the third to be established of the Californian 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 50 51 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 52 though many Californios supported independence from Spain which many believed had neglected California and limited its development 53 Spain s trade monopoly on California had limited the trade prospects of Californians Following Mexican independence Californian ports were freely able to trade with foreign merchants Governor Pablo Vicente de Sola presided over the transition from Spanish colonial rule to independent Mexican rule Mexican period Edit Main articles Alta California and Ranchos of California The flag used by Californio leader Juan Bautista Alvarado s 1836 Californian independence movement In 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 54 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 55 During this tumultuous political period Juan Bautista Alvarado was able to secure the governorship during 1836 1842 56 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 57 including Isaac Graham 58 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 57 General Mariano G Vallejo reviewing his troops in the Sonoma Plaza 1846 One 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 59 He invited immigrants to stay on his ranch until they could get settled and assisted in their obtaining passports 60 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 The armies of each met at the Battle of Providencia near Los Angeles Marsh had been forced against his will to join Micheltorena s army Ignoring his superiors during the battle he signaled the other side for a parley There were many settlers from the United States fighting on both sides 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 61 62 63 64 65 U S Conquest and the California Republic Edit Main articles Conquest of California and Bear Flag Revolt 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 66 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 67 the same year marked the outbreak of the Mexican American War 1846 48 68 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 69 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 Olompali 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 70 Early American period Edit See also California Gold Rush and Interim government of California The Treaty of Cahuenga signed in 1847 by Californio Andres Pico and American John C Fremont was a ceasefire agreement that ended the U S Conquest of California Following 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 71 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 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 72 Between 1847 and 1870 the population of San Francisco increased from 500 to 150 000 73 California Gold Rush An ad to sail to California c 1850 San Francisco harbor c 1850 51 Mining near Sacramento c 1852 The seat of government for California under Spanish and later Mexican rule had been located in Monterey from 1777 until 1845 54 Pio Pico the last Mexican governor of Alta California had briefly moved the capital to Los Angeles in 1845 The United States consulate had also been located in Monterey under consul Thomas O Larkin In 1849 a state Constitutional Convention was first held in Monterey Among the first tasks of the convention was a decision on a location for the new state capital The first full legislative sessions were held in San Jose 1850 1851 Subsequent locations included Vallejo 1852 1853 and nearby Benicia 1853 1854 these locations eventually proved to be inadequate as well The capital has been located in Sacramento since 1854 74 with only a short break in 1862 when legislative sessions were held in San Francisco due to flooding in Sacramento Once the state s Constitutional Convention had finalized its state constitution it applied to the U S Congress for admission to statehood On September 9 1850 as part of the Compromise of 1850 California became a free state and September 9 a state holiday During the American Civil War 1861 1865 California sent gold shipments eastward to Washington in support of the Union 75 However due to the existence of a large contingent of pro South sympathizers within the state the state was not able to muster any full military regiments to send eastwards to officially serve in the Union war effort Still several smaller military units within the Union army were unofficially associated with the state of California such as the California 100 Company due to a majority of their members being from California At the time of California s admission into the Union travel between California and the rest of the continental United States had been a time consuming and dangerous feat Nineteen years later and seven years after it was greenlighted by President Lincoln the First transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869 California was then reachable from the eastern States in a week s time Much of the state was extremely well suited to fruit cultivation and agriculture in general Vast expanses of wheat other cereal crops vegetable crops cotton and nut and fruit trees were grown including oranges in Southern California and the foundation was laid for the state s prodigious agricultural production in the Central Valley and elsewhere In the nineteenth century a large number of migrants from China traveled to the state as part of the Gold Rush or to seek work 76 Even though the Chinese proved indispensable in building the transcontinental railroad from California to Utah perceived job competition with the Chinese led to anti Chinese riots in the state and eventually the US ended migration from China partially as a response to pressure from California with the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act 77 California Genocide Edit Main article California Genocide Between 1846 and 1873 U S government agents waged an extermination campaign against Indigenous Californians known as the California genocide resulting in as many as 100 000 deaths Under 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 78 Under its new American administration California s harsh governmental policies towards its own indigenous people did not improve As in other American states many of the native inhabitants were soon forcibly removed from their lands by incoming American settlers such as 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 1853 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians 79 There were also massacres in which hundreds of indigenous people were killed Between 1850 and 1860 the California state government paid around 1 5 million dollars some 250 000 of which was reimbursed by the federal government 80 to hire militias whose purpose was to protect settlers from the indigenous populations In later decades the native population was placed in reservations and rancherias which were often small and isolated and without enough natural resources or funding from the government to sustain the populations living on them 81 As a result the rise of California was a calamity for the native inhabitants Several scholars and Native American activists including Benjamin Madley and Ed Castillo have described the actions of the California government as a genocide 81 82 1900 present Edit Main article History of California 1900 present View of the destruction from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake In the twentieth century thousands of Japanese people migrated to the US and California specifically to attempt to purchase and own land in the state However the state in 1913 passed the Alien Land Act excluding Asian immigrants from owning land 83 During World War II Japanese Americans in California were interned in concentration camps such as at Tule Lake and Manzanar 84 In 2020 California officially apologized for this internment 85 Migration to California accelerated during the early 20th century with the completion of major transcontinental highways like the Lincoln Highway and Route 66 In the period from 1900 to 1965 the population grew from fewer than one million to the greatest in the Union In 1940 the Census Bureau reported California s population as 6 0 Hispanic 2 4 Asian and 89 5 non Hispanic white 86 To meet the population s needs major engineering feats like the California and Los Angeles Aqueducts the Oroville and Shasta Dams and the Bay and Golden Gate Bridges were built across the state The state government also adopted the California Master Plan for Higher Education in 1960 to develop a highly efficient system of public education In the early 20th century Hollywood studios like Paramount Pictures helped transform Hollywood into the world capital of film and helped solidify Los Angeles as a global economic hub Meanwhile attracted to the mild Mediterranean climate cheap land and the state s wide variety of geography filmmakers established the studio system in Hollywood in the 1920s California manufactured 8 7 percent of total United States military armaments produced during World War II ranking third behind New York and Michigan among the 48 states 87 California however easily ranked first in production of military ships during the war transport cargo merchant ships such as Liberty ships Victory ships and warships at drydock facilities in San Diego Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area 88 89 90 91 After World War II California s economy greatly expanded due to strong aerospace and defense industries 92 whose size decreased following the end of the Cold War 92 93 Stanford University and its Dean of Engineering Frederick Terman began encouraging faculty and graduates to stay in California instead of leaving the state and develop a high tech region in the area now known as Silicon Valley 94 As a result of these efforts California is regarded as a world center of the entertainment and music industries of technology engineering and the aerospace industry and as the United States center of agricultural production 95 Just before the Dot Com Bust California had the fifth largest economy in the world among nations 96 In the mid and late twentieth century a number of race related incidents occurred in the state Tensions between police and African Americans combined with unemployment and poverty in inner cities led to violent riots such as the 1965 Watts riots and 1992 Rodney King riots 97 98 California was also the hub of the Black Panther Party a group known for arming African Americans to defend against racial injustice 99 and for organizing free breakfast programs for schoolchildren 100 Additionally Mexican Filipino and other migrant farm workers rallied in the state around Cesar Chavez for better pay in the 1960s and 1970s 101 Civil rights activist Cesar Chavez flanked by Brown Berets at a 1971 rally during the Chicano movement During the 20th century two great disasters happened in California The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and 1928 St Francis Dam flood remain the deadliest in U S history 102 Although air pollution problems have been reduced health problems associated with pollution have continued The brown haze known as smog has been substantially abated after the passage of federal and state restrictions on automobile exhaust 103 104 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 105 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 they never intended to live in expecting to make a huge profit in a matter of months then rolling it over by buying more properties Mortgage companies were compliant as everyone assumed the prices would keep rising The bubble burst in 2007 8 as housing prices began to crash and the boom years ended Hundreds of billions in property values vanished and foreclosures soared as many financial institutions and investors were badly hurt 106 107 Apple founder Steve Jobs introducing the iPhone in 2007 in Silicon Valley the largest tech hub in the world In the twenty first century droughts and frequent wildfires attributed to climate change have occurred in the state 108 109 From 2011 to 2017 a persistent drought was the worst in its recorded history 110 The 2018 wildfire season was the state s deadliest and most destructive most notably Camp Fire 111 Although air pollution problems have been reduced health problems associated with pollution have continued The brown haze that is known as smog has been substantially abated thanks to federal and state restrictions on automobile exhaust 112 113 One of the first confirmed COVID 19 cases in the United States that occurred in California was first of which was confirmed on January 26 2020 114 115 Meaning all of the early confirmed cases were persons who had recently travelled to China in Asia as testing was restricted to this group On this January 29 2020 as disease containment protocols were still being developed the U S Department of State evacuated 195 persons from Wuhan China aboard a chartered flight to March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County and in this process it may have granted and conferred to escalated within the land and the US at cosmic 116 117 On February 5 2020 the U S evacuated 345 more citizens from Hubei Province to two military bases in California Travis Air Force Base in Solano County and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar San Diego where they were quarantined for 14 days 116 118 A state of emergency was largely declared in this state of the nation on March 4 2020 and as of February 24 2021 remains in effect A mandatory statewide stay at home order was issued on March 19 2020 due to increase which was ended on January 25 2021 allowing citizens to return to normal life 119 On April 6 2021 the state announced plans to fully reopen the economy by June 15 2021 120 Geography EditMain article Geography of California Further information Northern California and Southern California Topographic map of California Covering an area of 163 696 sq mi 423 970 km2 California is the third largest state in the United States in area after Alaska and Texas 121 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 122 123 and Northern California comprising the 48 northernmost counties 124 125 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 Big Sur on the Central Coast Yosemite in the Sierra Nevada The 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 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 14 505 feet 4 421 m 3 4 5 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 Death Valley in the Mojave Desert 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 126 About 45 percent of the state s total surface area is covered by forests 127 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 128 129 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 279 feet 85 m 7 The horizontal distance from the bottom of Death Valley to the top of Mount Whitney is less than 90 miles 140 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 landslides on steep terrain and 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 but most are too small to be felt 130 Climate Edit Main article Climate of California Further information Climate change in California This section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources California news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Koppen climate types in California Although most of the state has a Mediterranean climate due to the state s large size the climate ranges from polar to subtropical 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 in contrast with nearby areas closer to the ocean 131 132 133 Californian wildfires affect the state yearly In the south the Santa Ana winds often expand fires and spread smoke over hundreds of miles Northern 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 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 134 135 134 F 56 7 C was recorded there on July 10 1913 The lowest temperature in California was 45 F 43 C on January 20 1937 in Boca 136 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 Average temperatures and precipitation for selected communities in California 137 Location August F August C January F January C AnnualPrecipitation mm in Los Angeles 83 64 29 18 66 48 20 8 377 15LAX LA Beaches 75 64 23 18 65 49 18 9 326 13San Diego 76 67 24 19 65 49 18 9 262 10San Jose 82 58 27 14 58 42 14 5 401 16San Francisco 67 54 20 12 56 46 14 8 538 21Fresno 97 66 34 19 55 38 12 3 292 11Sacramento 91 58 33 14 54 39 12 3 469 18Oakland 73 58 23 14 58 44 14 7 588 23Bakersfield 96 69 36 21 56 39 13 3 165 7Riverside 94 60 35 18 67 39 19 4 260 10Eureka 62 53 16 11 54 41 12 5 960 38Death Valley 115 86 46 30 67 40 19 4 60 2Mammoth Lakes 77 45 25 7 40 15 4 9 583 23The wide range of climates leads to a high demand for water Over time droughts and wildfires have been increasing due to climate change and overextraction 138 becoming less seasonal and more year round further straining California s electricity supply 139 and water security 140 141 and having an impact on California business industry and agriculture 142 Ecology Edit Main articles Ecology of California and Environment of California Mount Whitney in the Sierra Nevada is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States California 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 143 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 Many California endemics have become endangered as urbanization logging overgrazing and the introduction of exotic species have encroached on their habitat Flora and fauna Edit Main articles Fauna of California and California Floristic Province See also List of California native plants Giant Sequoias native to California are the largest trees in the world Shown is the Grizzly Giant in Yosemite California boasts several superlatives in its collection of flora the largest trees the tallest trees and the oldest trees California s native grasses are perennial plants 144 and there are close to hundred succulent species native to the state 145 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 146 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 147 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 147 A California sea lion in La Jolla 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 148 The 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 10 500 feet 3 200 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 147 149 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 December 1997 update 85 plant species were listed as threatened or endangered 147 A Tule Elk in the San Joaquin Valley In 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 147 150 151 152 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 147 153 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 citation needed Principal mammals found in this region include the Sierra coney white tailed jackrabbit and the bighorn sheep As of April 2003 update 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 147 Methuselah is the oldest tree in the world found in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest of Inyo National Forest Aquatic 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 147 As of April 2003 update 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 endangered 154 and two that are threatened are on the federal list 155 156 Among threatened animals are the coastal California gnatcatcher Paiute cutthroat trout southern sea otter and northern spotted owl California has a total of 290 821 acres 1 176 91 km2 of National Wildlife Refuges 147 As of September 2010 update 123 California animals were listed as either endangered or threatened on the federal list 157 Also as of the same year update 178 species of California plants were listed either as endangered or threatened on this federal list 157 Rivers Edit Main article List of rivers of California San Francisco Bay center left and the Californian 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 Edit Main article List of regions of California See also List of places in California Map of California s regions Map showing the division between Northern California top white and Southern California bottom red California 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 divisionsNorthern California Southern CaliforniaRegionsShasta Cascade Klamath Basin Modoc Plateau North Coast Lost Coast Bay Area North Bay San Francisco Peninsula South Bay Santa Clara Valley East Bay Central Valley Sacramento Valley Greater Sacramento San Joaquin Valley Metropolitan Fresno California Delta Sierra Nevada Gold Country Eastern Sierra Central Coast Monterey Bay Area Big Sur Gaviota Coast South Coast Greater Los Angeles Los Angeles Basin San Fernando Valley San Gabriel Valley Channel Islands Orange Coast Inland Empire San Diego Tijuana California Deserts Mojave Desert Great Basin Desert Colorado Desert Sonoran Desert Calexico Mexicali Cities and towns Edit See also List of cities and towns in California and 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 158 Sacramento became California s first incorporated city on February 27 1850 159 San Jose San Diego and Benicia tied for California s second incorporated city each receiving incorporation on March 27 1850 160 161 162 Jurupa Valley became the state s most recent and 482nd incorporated municipality on July 1 2011 163 164 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 or towns in California Source 165 Rank Name County Pop Rank Name County Pop Los Angeles San Diego 1 Los Angeles Los Angeles 3 898 747 11 Stockton San Joaquin 320 804 San Jose San Francisco2 San Diego San Diego 1 386 932 12 Riverside Riverside 314 9983 San Jose Santa Clara 1 013 240 13 Santa Ana Orange 310 2274 San Francisco San Francisco 873 965 14 Irvine Orange 307 6705 Fresno Fresno 542 107 15 Chula Vista San Diego 275 4876 Sacramento Sacramento 524 943 16 Fremont Alameda 230 5047 Long Beach Los Angeles 466 742 17 Santa Clarita Los Angeles 228 6738 Oakland Alameda 440 646 18 San Bernardino San Bernardino 222 1019 Bakersfield Kern 403 455 19 Modesto Stanislaus 218 46410 Anaheim Orange 346 824 20 Moreno Valley Riverside 208 634 Largest metropolitan statistical areas in California CA rank U S rank Metropolitan statistical area 166 2020 census 165 2010 census 165 Change Counties 166 1 2 Los Angeles Long Beach Anaheim CA MSA 13 200 998 12 828 837 2 90 Los Angeles Orange2 12 San Francisco Oakland Hayward CA MSA 4 749 008 4 335 391 9 54 Alameda Contra Costa Marin San Francisco San Mateo3 13 Riverside San Bernardino Ontario CA MSA 4 599 839 4 224 851 8 88 Riverside San Bernardino4 17 San Diego Carlsbad CA MSA 3 298 634 3 095 313 6 57 San Diego5 26 Sacramento Roseville Arden Arcade CA MSA 2 397 382 2 149 127 11 55 El Dorado Placer Sacramento Yolo6 35 San Jose Sunnyvale Santa Clara CA MSA 2 000 468 1 836 911 8 90 San Benito Santa Clara7 56 Fresno CA MSA 1 008 654 930 450 8 40 Fresno8 62 Bakersfield CA MSA 909 235 839 631 8 29 Kern9 70 Oxnard Thousand Oaks Ventura CA MSA 843 843 823 318 2 49 Ventura10 75 Stockton Lodi CA MSA 779 233 685 306 13 71 San JoaquinLargest combined statistical areas in California CA rank U S rank Combined statistical area 165 2020 census 165 2010 census 165 Change Counties 166 1 2 Los Angeles Long Beach CA Combined Statistical Area 18 644 680 17 877 006 4 29 Los Angeles Orange Riverside San Bernardino Ventura2 4 San Jose San Francisco Oakland CA Combined Statistical Area 9 714 023 8 923 942 8 85 Alameda Contra Costa Marin Merced Napa San Benito San Francisco San Joaquin San Mateo Santa Clara Santa Cruz Solano Sonoma Stanislaus3 23 Sacramento Roseville CA Combined Statistical Area 2 680 831 2 414 783 11 02 El Dorado Nevada Placer Sacramento Sutter Yolo Yuba4 45 Fresno Madera CA Combined Statistical Area 1 317 395 1 234 297 6 73 Fresno Kings Madera5 125 Redding Red Bluff CA Combined Statistical Area 247 984 240 686 3 03 Shasta TehamaDemographics EditMain article Demographics of California Population Edit Historical populationCensus Pop 185092 597 1860379 994310 4 1870560 24747 4 1880864 69454 3 18901 213 39840 3 19001 485 05322 4 19102 377 54960 1 19203 426 86144 1 19305 677 25165 7 19406 907 38721 7 195010 586 22353 3 196015 717 20448 5 197019 953 13427 0 198023 667 90218 6 199029 760 02125 7 200033 871 64813 8 201037 253 95610 0 202039 538 2236 1 2022 est 39 029 342 1 3 Sources 1790 1990 2000 2010 2020 2022 167 168 169 8 Chart does not include Indigenous population figures Studies indicate that the Native Americanpopulation in California in 1850 was close to 150 000before declining to 15 000 by 1900 170 One out of every eight Americans live in California 171 The United States Census Bureau reported that the population of California was 39 538 223 on April 1 2020 a 6 13 increase since the 2010 United States census 169 The estimated population as of 2022 is 39 22 million 171 For over a century 1900 2020 California experienced an explosion in population growth adding an average of more than 300 000 people per year 172 California s rate of growth began to slow by the 1990s although it continued to experience population growth in the first two decades of the 21st century 173 174 The state experienced population declines in 2020 and 2021 attributable to declining birth rates COVID 19 pandemic deaths and less internal migration from other states to California 175 California s population density 2020 The Greater Los Angeles Area is the 2nd largest metropolitan area in the United States after the New York metropolitan area while Los Angeles with nearly half the population of New York City is the second largest city in the United States Conversely San Francisco with nearly one quarter the population density of Manhattan is the most densely populated city in California and one of the most densely populated cities in the United States Also Los Angeles County has held the title of most populous United States county for decades and it alone is more populous than 42 U S states 176 177 Including Los Angeles four of the top 20 most populous cities in the U S are in California Los Angeles 2nd San Diego 8th San Jose 10th and San Francisco 17th The center of population of California is located four miles west southwest of the city of Shafter Kern County note 1 As of 2019 California ranked second among states by life expectancy after Hawaii with a life expectancy of 78 4 years 179 Starting in the year 2010 for the first time since the California Gold Rush California born residents make up the majority of the state s population 180 Along with the rest of the United States California s immigration pattern has also shifted over the course of the late 2000s to early 2010s 181 Immigration from Latin American countries has dropped significantly with most immigrants now coming from Asia 182 In total for 2011 there were 277 304 immigrants Fifty seven percent came from Asian countries versus 22 from Latin American countries 182 Net immigration from Mexico previously the most common country of origin for new immigrants has dropped to zero less than zero since more Mexican nationals are departing for their home country than immigrating 181 The state s population of undocumented immigrants has been shrinking in recent years due to increased enforcement and decreased job opportunities for lower skilled workers 183 The number of migrants arrested attempting to cross the Mexican border in the Southwest decreased from a high of 1 1 million in 2005 to 367 000 in 2011 184 Despite these recent trends illegal aliens constituted an estimated 7 3 percent of the state s population the third highest percentage of any state in the country 185 note 2 totaling nearly 2 6 million 186 In particular illegal immigrants tended to be concentrated in Los Angeles Monterey San Benito Imperial and Napa Counties the latter four of which have significant agricultural industries that depend on manual labor 187 More than half of illegal immigrants originate from Mexico 186 The state of California and some California cities including Los Angeles Oakland and San Francisco 188 have adopted sanctuary policies 189 Race and ethnicity Edit 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 Census 50 or more 25 49 15 24 5 15 Racial and ethnic composition as of the 2020 census Race and ethnicity 190 Alone TotalHispanic or Latino note 3 39 4 39 4 White non Hispanic 34 7 34 7 38 3 38 3 Asian non Hispanic 15 1 15 1 17 0 17 African American non Hispanic 5 4 5 4 6 4 6 4 Native American non Hispanic 0 4 0 4 1 3 1 3 Pacific Islander non Hispanic 0 3 0 3 0 7 0 7 Other non Hispanic 0 6 0 6 1 3 1 3 California historical racial demographics Racial composition 1970 191 1990 191 2000 192 2010 193 White 89 0 69 0 59 5 57 6 Asian 2 8 9 6 10 9 13 0 Black 7 0 7 4 6 7 6 2 Native 0 5 0 8 1 0 1 0 Native Hawaiian andother Pacific Islander 0 3 0 4 Some other race 0 7 13 2 16 8 17 0 Two or more races 4 8 4 9 According to the United States Census Bureau in 2018 the population self identified as alone or in combination 194 72 1 White including Hispanic Whites 36 8 non Hispanic whites 15 3 Asian 6 5 Black or African American 1 6 Native American and Alaska Native 0 5 Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 3 9 two or more races By ethnicity in 2018 the population was 60 7 non Hispanic of any race and 39 3 Hispanic or Latino of any race Hispanics are the largest single ethnic group in California 194 Non Hispanic whites constituted 36 8 of the state s population 194 Californios are the Hispanic residents native to California who make up the Spanish speaking community that has existed in California since 1542 of varying Mexican American Chicano Criollo Spaniard and Mestizo origin 195 As of 2011 update 75 1 of California s population younger than age 1 were minorities meaning they had at least one parent who was not non Hispanic white white Hispanics are counted as minorities 196 In terms of total numbers California has the largest population of White Americans in the United States an estimated 22 200 000 residents The state has the 5th largest population of African Americans in the United States an estimated 2 250 000 residents California s Asian American population is estimated at 4 4 million constituting a third of the nation s total California s Native American population of 285 000 is the most of any state 197 According to estimates from 2011 California has the largest minority population in the United States by numbers making up 60 of the state population 198 Over the past 25 years the population of non Hispanic whites has declined while Hispanic and Asian populations have grown Between 1970 and 2011 non Hispanic whites declined from 80 of the state s population to 40 while Hispanics grew from 32 in 2000 to 38 in 2011 199 It is currently projected that Hispanics will rise to 49 of the population by 2060 primarily due to domestic births rather than immigration 200 With the decline of immigration from Latin America Asian Americans now constitute the fastest growing racial ethnic group in California this growth is primarily driven by immigration from China India and the Philippines respectively 201 Languages Edit Non English Languages Spoken in California by more than 100 000 persons Language Population as of 2016 update 202 Spanish 10 672 610 speakersChinese 1 231 425Tagalog 796 451Vietnamese 559 932Korean 367 523Persian 203 770Armenian 192 980Arabic 191 954Hindi 189 646Russian 155 746Punjabi 140 128Japanese 139 430French 123 956English serves as California s de jure and de facto official language In 2010 the Modern Language Association of America estimated that 57 02 19 429 309 of California residents age 5 and older spoke only English at home while 42 98 spoke another language at home According to the 2007 American Community Survey 73 of people who speak a language other than English at home are able to speak English well or very well while 9 8 of them could not speak English at all 203 Like most U S states 32 out of 50 California law enshrines English as its official language and has done so since the passage of Proposition 63 by California voters in 1986 Various government agencies do and are often required to furnish documents in the various languages needed to reach their intended audiences 204 205 206 The Constitution of California was written in both English and Spanish by both American and Californio delegates In total 16 languages other than English were spoken as primary languages at home by more than 100 000 persons more than any other state in the nation New York State in second place had nine languages other than English spoken by more than 100 000 persons 207 The most common language spoken besides English was Spanish spoken by 28 46 9 696 638 of the population 200 181 With Asia contributing most of California s new immigrants California had the highest concentration nationwide of Vietnamese and Chinese speakers the second highest concentration of Korean and the third highest concentration of Tagalog speakers 203 California has historically been one of the most linguistically diverse areas in the world with more than 70 indigenous languages derived from 64 root languages in six language families 208 209 A survey conducted between 2007 and 2009 identified 23 different indigenous languages among California farmworkers 210 All of California s indigenous languages are endangered although there are now efforts toward language revitalization note 4 As a result of the state s increasing diversity and migration from other areas across the country and around the globe linguists began noticing a noteworthy set of emerging characteristics of spoken American English in California since the late 20th century This variety known as California English has a vowel shift and several other phonological processes that are different from varieties of American English used in other regions of the United States 211 Religion Edit Main article Religion in California The Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo in Monterey built 1791 94 is the oldest parish in California Religion in California 2014 212 religion percentProtestantism 32 Catholicism 28 Unaffiliated 27 Judaism 2 Buddhism 2 Hinduism 2 Islam 1 Mormonism 1 Other 5 The largest religious denominations by number of adherents as a percentage of California s population in 2014 were the Catholic Church with 28 percent Evangelical Protestants with 20 percent and Mainline Protestants with 10 percent Together all kinds of Protestants accounted for 32 percent Those unaffiliated with any religion represented 27 percent of the population The breakdown of other religions is 1 Muslim 2 Hindu and 2 Buddhist 212 This is a change from 2008 when the population identified their religion with the Catholic Church with 31 percent Evangelical Protestants with 18 percent and Mainline Protestants with 14 percent In 2008 those unaffiliated with any religion represented 21 percent of the population The breakdown of other religions in 2008 was 0 5 Muslim 1 Hindu and 2 Buddhist 213 The American Jewish Year Book placed the total Jewish population of California at about 1 194 190 in 2006 214 According to the Association of Religion Data Archives ARDA the largest denominations by adherents in 2010 were the Catholic Church with 10 233 334 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints with 763 818 and the Southern Baptist Convention with 489 953 215 The first priests to come to California were Catholic missionaries from Spain Catholics founded 21 missions along the California coast as well as the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco California continues to have a large Catholic population due to the large numbers of Mexicans and Central Americans living within its borders California has twelve dioceses and two archdioceses the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Archdiocese of San Francisco the former being the largest archdiocese in the United States A Pew Research Center survey revealed that California is somewhat less religious than the rest of the states 62 percent of Californians say they are absolutely certain of their belief in God while in the nation 71 percent say so The survey also revealed 48 percent of Californians say religion is very important compared to 56 percent nationally 216 Culture EditMain article Culture of California The Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles The culture of California is a Western culture and most clearly 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 Californian culture has been greatly influenced by several large immigrant populations especially those from Latin America and Asia 217 failed verification 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 The California Gold Rush of the 1850s is still seen as a symbol of California s economic style which tends to generate technology social entertainment and economic fads and booms and related busts Media and entertainment Edit See also Media in Los Angeles Media in the San Francisco Bay Area and Music in California 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 being based in or around the area The four major American television broadcast networks ABC CBS Fox and NBC all have production facilities and offices in the state All four plus the two major Spanish language networks Telemundo and Univision each have at least two owned and operated TV stations in California one in Los Angeles and one in the San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area is home to several prominent internet media and social media companies including three of the Big Five technology companies Apple Facebook and Google as well as other services such as Netflix Pandora Radio Twitter Yahoo and YouTube Twitter headquartered in San Francisco is one of the largest social media networks in the world One of the oldest radio stations in the United States still in existence KCBS AM in the Bay Area was founded in 1909 Universal Music Group one of the Big Four record labels is based in Santa Monica California is also the birthplace of several international music genres including the Bakersfield sound Bay Area thrash metal g funk psychedelic rock acid rock nu metal stoner rock surf music West Coast hip hop and West Coast jazz Sports Edit Main articles Sports in California and List of professional sports teams in California California 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 218 California has long had many respected collegiate sports programs California is home to the oldest college bowl game the annual Rose Bowl among others 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 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 219 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 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum hosted the 1932 Summer Olympics and 1984 Summer Olympics and will host the 2028 Summer Olympics Team Sport LeagueLos Angeles Rams American football National Football League NFL Los Angeles Chargers American football National Football LeagueSan Francisco 49ers American football National Football LeagueLos Angeles Dodgers Baseball Major League Baseball MLB Los Angeles Angels Baseball Major League BaseballOakland Athletics Baseball Major League BaseballSan Diego Padres Baseball Major League BaseballSan Francisco Giants Baseball Major League BaseballGolden State Warriors Basketball National Basketball Association NBA Los Angeles Clippers Basketball National Basketball AssociationLos Angeles Lakers Basketball National Basketball AssociationSacramento Kings Basketball National Basketball AssociationLos Angeles Sparks Basketball Women s National Basketball Association WNBA Anaheim Ducks Ice hockey National Hockey League NHL Los Angeles Kings Ice hockey National Hockey LeagueSan Jose Sharks Ice hockey National Hockey LeagueLos Angeles Galaxy Soccer Major League Soccer MLS San Jose Earthquakes Soccer Major League SoccerLos Angeles Football Club Soccer Major League SoccerSan Diego Legion Rugby union Major League RugbyEducation EditMain article Education in California See also Spanish bilingual education in California Santa Barbara High School one of the oldest high schools in continuous use in Southern CaliforniaCalifornia 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 220 UC Berkeley is the oldest University of California campus 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 221 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 222 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 39 000 223 224 225 A 2007 study concluded that California s public school system was broken in that it suffered from overregulation 226 Stanford University is one of the top ranked universities in the world 227 Higher education Edit Main article List of colleges and universities in California 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 228 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 229 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 230 231 232 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 232 233 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 234 It is the largest network of higher education in the U S composed of 112 colleges serving a student population of over 2 6 million California is also home to such notable private universities as Stanford University the California Institute of Technology Caltech the University of Southern California the Claremont Colleges Santa Clara University Loyola Marymount University the University of San Diego the University of San Francisco Chapman University Pepperdine University Occidental College and University of the Pacific among numerous other private colleges and universities including many religious and special purpose institutions California has a particularly high density of arts colleges including the California College of the Arts California Institute of the Arts San Francisco Art Institute Art Center College of Design and Academy of Art University among others Economy EditMain article Economy of California See also California locations by per capita income Silicon Valley is the largest tech hub in the world and home to Big Tech companies like Apple Google Facebook Netflix Twitter and more California s economy ranks among the largest in the world As of 2021 update the gross state product GSP was 3 3 trillion 85 500 per capita the largest in the United States 235 California is responsible for one seventh of the nation s gross domestic product GDP 236 As of 2018 update California s nominal GDP is larger than all but four countries the United States China Japan and Germany 237 In terms of purchasing power parity PPP 238 it is larger than all but eight countries the United States China India Japan Germany Russia Brazil and Indonesia 239 California s economy is larger than Africa and Australia and is almost as large as South America 240 The state recorded total non farm employment of 16 677 800 241 as of September 2021 update among 966 224 employer establishments 242 as of 2019 update 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 243 California has an unemployment rate of 3 9 as of September 2022 update 241 California is the most visited state in the country 244 Hearst Castle in San Simeon is a major tourist destination California s economy is dependent on trade and international related commerce accounts for about one quarter of the state s economy In 2008 California exported 144 billion worth of goods up from 134 billion in 2007 and 127 billion in 2006 245 Computers and electronic products are California s top export accounting for 42 percent of all the state s exports in 2008 245 Agriculture is an important sector in California s economy Farming related sales more than quadrupled over the past three decades from 7 3 billion in 1974 to nearly 31 billion in 2004 246 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 246 In 2008 California s 81 500 farms and ranches generated 36 2 billion products revenue 247 In 2011 that number grew to 43 5 billion products revenue 248 The Agriculture sector accounts for two percent of the state s GDP and employs around three percent of its total workforce 249 According to the USDA in 2011 the three largest California agricultural products by value were milk and cream shelled almonds and grapes 250 The agricultural industry in California is the largest in the U S Per capita GDP in 2007 was 38 956 ranking eleventh in the nation 251 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 252 Using the supplemental poverty measure California has a poverty rate of 23 5 the highest of any state in the country 253 However using the official measure the poverty rate was only 13 3 as of 2017 254 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 255 In 2010 California residents were ranked first among the states with the best average credit score of 754 256 Californian exports by proportion in 2020 If California was an independent country its gross domestic product nominal would rank fifth in the world 2021 257 State finances Edit Main articles California state finances and 2008 12 California budget crisis Californian economic regions State spending increased from 56 billion in 1998 to 127 billion in 2011 258 259 California has the third highest per capita spending on welfare among the states as well as the highest spending on welfare at 6 67 billion 260 In January 2011 California s total debt was at least 265 billion 261 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 billion 262 263 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 264 All real property is taxable annually the ad valorem tax is based on the property s fair market value at the time of purchase or the value of new construction Property tax increases are capped at 2 annually or the rate of inflation whichever is lower per Proposition 13 Infrastructure EditEnergy Edit Main article Energy in California Moss Landing Power Plant located on the coast of Monterey Bay Because it is the most populous state in the United States California is one of the country s largest users of energy However because of its 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 265 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 46 266 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 Ivanpah Solar Power Facility located in the Mojave Desert As a result of the state s strong environmental movement California has some of the most aggressive renewable energy goals in the United States with a target for California to obtain a third of its electricity from renewables by 2020 267 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 268 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 269 California is also home to two major nuclear power plants Diablo Canyon and San Onofre the latter having been shut down in 2013 More than 1 700 tons of radioactive waste are stored at San Onofre 270 which sits in an area where there is a record of past tsunamis 271 Voters banned the approval of new nuclear power plants since the late 1970s because of concerns over radioactive waste disposal 272 note 5 In addition several cities such as Oakland Berkeley and Davis have declared themselves as nuclear free zones Transportation Edit Main article Transportation in California The Golden Gate Bridge in the San Francisco Bay Area is one of the most famous bridges in the world 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 274 275 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 276 San Francisco Bay Ferry is a public water taxi system in the Bay Area The 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 4 200 feet 1 300 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 76 feet 23 m wide by 58 feet 18 m high 277 The Arroyo Seco Parkway connecting Los Angeles and Pasadena opened in 1940 as the first freeway in the Western United States 278 It was later extended south to the Four Level Interchange in downtown Los Angeles regarded as the first stack interchange ever built 279 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 Los Angeles Intl Airport LAX is the 4th busiest airport in the world California also has several major seaports The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach in Southern California are the largest and second largest seaports in the U S respectively by volume of container cargo handled as of 2018 collectively they handle 31 9 of all TEUs in the United States 280 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 280 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 281 Amtrak California s Pacific Surfliner in San Clemente on the Orange Coast Inter 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 282 Integrated subway and light rail networks are found in Los Angeles Metro Rail and San Francisco MUNI Metro Light rail systems are also found in San Jose VTA San Diego San Diego Trolley Sacramento RT Light Rail and Northern San Diego County Sprinter Furthermore commuter rail networks serve the San Francisco Bay Area ACE BART Caltrain SMART Greater Los Angeles Metrolink and San Diego County Coaster The California High Speed Rail Authority was created in 1996 by the state to implement an extensive 800 mile 1 300 km rail system Construction was approved by the voters during the November 2008 general election 283 with the first phase of construction estimated to cost 64 2 billion 284 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 Motorcoach Water Edit Main article Water in California Lake Shasta in the Shasta Cascade region is California s largest reservoir California s interconnected water system is the world s largest managing over 40 000 000 acre feet 49 km3 of water per year centered on six main systems of aqueducts and infrastructure projects 285 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 286 Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said We ve been in crisis for quite some time because we re now 38 million people and not anymore 18 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 287 Government and politics Edit The California Capitol in Sacramento seat of the Californian government hosts the California Legislature and the Governor of California State government Edit Main article Government of California The capital city of California is Sacramento 288 The state is organized into three branches of government the executive branch consisting of the governor 289 and the other independently elected constitutional officers the legislative branch consisting of the Assembly and Senate 290 and the judicial branch consisting of the Supreme Court of California and lower courts 291 The state also allows ballot propositions direct participation of the electorate by initiative referendum recall and ratification 292 Before the passage of California Proposition 14 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 293 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 294 At the primary election the two candidates with the top votes will advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation 294 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 294 Judicial branch Edit Main article Judiciary of California The Supreme Court of California primarily sits in San Francisco but also meets in Sacramento and Los Angeles California s legal system is explicitly based upon English common law 295 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 296 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 297 298 California has performed 13 executions since 1976 with the last being in 2006 299 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 21 the state judiciary s 2 000 judicial officers and 18 000 judicial branch employees processed approximately 4 4 million cases 300 Executive branch Edit Main articles California executive branch and Governor of California The Stanford Mansion is the official reception center for the Californian government and one of the workplaces of the Governor of California The 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 301 Legislative branch Edit Main article California Legislature The California State Legislature consists of a 40 member Senate and 80 member Assembly 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 Local government Edit Main article Local government in California 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 especially in unincorporated areas are handled by special districts Counties Edit 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 302 303 In addition the county serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas Each county is governed by an elected board of supervisors 304 City and town governments Edit See also List of municipalities in California Los Angeles City Hall seat of the Government of Los Angeles Incorporated cities and towns in California are either charter or general law municipalities 158 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 Edit See also List of school districts in California 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 305 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 305 There are about 3 400 special districts in California 306 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 Edit Main article United States congressional delegations from California See also California s congressional districts Members of the Californian Congressional Delegation in 2020 The state of California sends 53 members to the House of Representatives 307 the nation s largest congressional state delegation Consequently California also has the largest number of electoral votes in national presidential elections with 55 The current speaker of the House of Representatives is the representative of California s 12th district Nancy Pelosi 308 Kevin McCarthy representing the state s 23rd district is the House Minority Leader 308 California is represented by U S senators Dianne Feinstein a native and former mayor of San Francisco and Alex Padilla a native and former secretary of state of California Former U S senator Kamala Harris a native former district attorney from San Francisco former attorney general of California resigned on January 18 2021 to assume her role as the current Vice President of the United States In the 1992 U S Senate election California became the first state to elect a Senate delegation entirely composed of women due to the victories of Feinstein and Barbara Boxer 309 Set to follow the Vice President Elect Gov Newsom appointed Secretary of State Alex Padilla to finish the rest of Harris s term which ends in 2022 Padilla has vowed to run for the full term in that election cycle Padilla was sworn in on January 20 2021 the same day as the Inauguration of President Elect Joe Biden as well as Harris 310 311 Armed forces Edit See also California during World War II View of NAS North Island at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego In California as of 2009 update 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 312 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 313 However as of 2002 update Californians were relatively under represented in the military as a proportion to its population 314 In 2000 California had 2 569 340 veterans of United States military service 504 010 served in World War II 301 034 in the Korean War 754 682 during the Vietnam War and 278 003 during 1990 2000 including the Persian Gulf War 315 As of 2010 update 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 II the largest population of this group of any state 316 California s military forces consist of the Army and Air National Guard the naval and state military reserve militia and the California Cadet Corps On August 5 1950 a nuclear capable United States Air Force Boeing B 29 Superfortress bomber carrying a nuclear bomb crashed shortly after takeoff from Fairfield Suisun Air Force Base Brigadier General Robert F Travis command pilot of the bomber was among the dead 317 Ideology Edit Main articles Politics of California and Elections in California California registered voters as of May 23 2022 update 318 Party Number of Voters Percentage Party registration by county October 2018 Democrat gt 30 Democrat gt 40 Democrat gt 50 Republican gt 30 Republican gt 40 Democratic 10 261 984 46 77 Republican 5 249 974 23 93 No Party Preference 4 983 013 22 71 American Independent 749 556 3 42 Libertarian 224 931 1 03 Peace and Freedom 117 314 0 53 Green 92 570 0 42 Other 148 686 0 68 Total 21 941 212 100 California has an idiosyncratic political culture compared to the rest of the country and is sometimes regarded as a trendsetter 319 In socio cultural mores and national politics Californians are perceived as more liberal than other Americans especially those who live in the inland states In the 2016 United States presidential election California had the third highest percentage of Democratic votes behind the District of Columbia and Hawaii 320 In the 2020 United States presidential election it had the 6th highest behind the District of Columbia Vermont Massachusetts Maryland and Hawaii According to the Cook Political Report California contains five of the 15 most Democratic congressional districts in the United States Among the political idiosyncrasies California was the second state to recall their state governor the first state being North Dakota in 1921 the second state to legalize abortion and the only state to ban marriage for gay couples twice by vote including Proposition 8 in 2008 Voters also passed Proposition 71 in 2004 to fund stem cell research making California the second state to legalize stem cell research after New Jersey and Proposition 14 in 2010 to completely change the state s primary election process California has also experienced disputes over water rights and a tax revolt culminating with the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978 limiting state property taxes California voters have rejected affirmative action on multiple occasions most recently in November 2020 The state s trend towards the Democratic Party and away from the Republican Party can be seen in state elections From 1899 to 1939 California had Republican governors Since 1990 California has generally elected Democratic candidates to federal state and local offices including current Governor Gavin Newsom however the state has elected Republican Governors though many of its Republican Governors such as Arnold Schwarzenegger tend to be considered moderate Republicans and more centrist than the national party Anti war protesters in Berkeley 2008 Several political movements have advocated for Californian independence The California National Party and the California Freedom Coalition both advocate for Californian independence along the lines of progressivism and civic nationalism 321 The Yes California movement attempted to organize an independence referendum via ballot initiative for 2019 which was then postponed 322 The Democrats also now hold a supermajority in both houses of the state legislature There are 60 Democrats and 20 Republicans in the Assembly and 29 Democrats and 11 Republicans in the Senate The trend towards the Democratic Party is most obvious in presidential elections From 1952 through 1988 California was a Republican leaning state with the party carrying the state s electoral votes in nine of ten elections with 1964 as the exception Southern California Republicans Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan were both elected twice as the 37th and 40th U S Presidents respectively However Democrats have won all of California s electoral votes for the last eight elections starting in 1992 In the United States House the Democrats held a 34 19 edge in the CA delegation of the 110th United States Congress in 2007 As the result of gerrymandering the districts in California were usually dominated by one or the other party and few districts were considered competitive In 2008 Californians passed Proposition 20 to empower a 14 member independent citizen commission to redraw districts for both local politicians and Congress After the 2012 elections when the new system took effect Democrats gained four seats and held a 38 15 majority in the delegation Following the 2018 midterm House elections Democrats won 46 out of 53 congressional house seats in California leaving Republicans with seven The Occupy Los Angeles movement 2011 In general Democratic strength is centered in the populous coastal regions of the Los Angeles metropolitan area and the San Francisco Bay Area Republican strength is still greatest in eastern parts of the state Orange County had remained largely Republican until the 2016 and 2018 elections in which a majority of the county s votes were cast for Democratic candidates 323 324 One study ranked Berkeley Oakland Inglewood and San Francisco in the top 20 most liberal American cities and Bakersfield Orange Escondido Garden Grove and Simi Valley in the top 20 most conservative cities 325 In February 2021 out of the 25 166 581 people eligible to vote 22 154 304 people were registered to vote 326 Of the people registered the three largest registered groups were Democrats 10 228 144 Republicans 5 347 377 and No Party Preference 5 258 223 326 Los Angeles County had the largest number of registered Democrats 3 043 535 and Republicans 995 112 of any county in the state 326 In a 2020 study California was ranked as the 10th easiest state for citizens to vote in 327 Twinned regions Edit California has region twinning arrangements with Catalonia autonomous community of Spain 328 Alberta province of Canada 329 330 See also Edit California portal United States portalIndex of California related articles Outline of CaliforniaNotes Edit The coordinates of the center of population are at 35 29 28 N 119 20 52 W 35 491035 N 119 347852 W 35 491035 119 347852 178 Behind Nevada and Arizona Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin are not distinguished between total and partial ancestry The following are a list of the indigenous languages Root languages of California Athabaskan Family Hupa Mattole Lassik Wailaki Sinkyone Cahto Tolowa Nongatl Wiyot Chilula Hokan Family Pomo Shasta Karok Chimiriko Algonquian Family Whilkut Yurok Yukian Family Wappo Penutian Family Modok Wintu Nomlaki Konkow Maidu Patwin Nisenan Miwok Coast Miwok Lake Miwok Ohlone Northern Valley Yokuts Southern Valley Yokuts Foothill Yokuts Hokan Family Esselen Salinan Chumash Ipai Tipai Yuma Halchichoma Mohave Uto Aztecan Family Mono Paiute Monache Owens Valley Paiute Tubatulabal Panamint Shoshone Kawaisu Kitanemuk Tataviam Gabrielino Juaneno Luiseno Cuipeno Cahuilla Serrano Chemehuevi Minnesota also has a moratorium on construction of nuclear power plants which has 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2013 Frequently Asked Questions Seismo berkeley edu Retrieved April 22 2011 Western Regional Climate Center wrcc dri edu c, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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