California Travel Guide
California is the most populous and third-largest state by area, with the largest sub-national economy in the world, Known for its notable contributions to popular culture, entertainment and sports, communication, information, innovation, environmentalism, economics, and politics and is considered the origin of the hippie counterculture, beach and car culture, and the personal computer, among other innovations.
North California Map
South California Map
Places to See in California
California National Parks
Channel Islands · Death Valley · Joshua Tree NP · Kings Canyon · Lassen Volcanic · Pinnacles · Redwood · Sequoia · Yosemite
Mission Santa Barbara
Elisa Rolle, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
California Spanish Missions
Series of 21 religious outposts or missions established between 1769 and 1833 founded by Catholic priests of the Franciscan order, the surviving mission buildings are the state's oldest structures and its most-visited historic monuments
Pismo Beach, CA
hakkun, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Central California Coast
California region along the central Pacific Ocean coast directly west of Los Angeles and encompases the cities of Malibu, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay
Lake Tahoe
Largest alpine lake in North America, Lake Tahoe is a major tourist attraction and home to winter sports, summer outdoor recreation, and scenery enjoyed throughout the year
Downtown Los Angeles sunset with Mount Baldy in the background
Downtown Los Angeles, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Los Angeles
Largest city in California and the second most populous city in the United States is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, Hollywood entertainment industry, and its sprawling metropolis
Mendocino Area
Community despite its small size, is a scenic location on a headland surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, making it extremely popular as an artist colony and with vacationers
Dantes View in Death Valley NP
Mojave Desert
Desert located primarily in southeastern California and southwestern Nevada, is the site of Death Valley, Joshua Tree National Park, and the Mojave National Preserve
Fisherman's Wharf at Monterey, CA
Amadscientist, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Monterey Bay
Bay of the Pacific Ocean, south of the San Francisco Bay Area and north of Big Sur, and includes the cities of Monterey, Carmel-by-the-Sea and Santa Cruz
Lassen Volcanic NP
Northern California
Northern, less populated area of California featuring the northern coastal region including the Lost Coast and Redwood National and State Parks, and mountainous region that features Lassen Volcanic National Parks and Mount Shasta
Fred Moore from Morro Bay, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Pacific Coast Highwy / Big Sur
Rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of California between Carmel Highlands and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean and is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery
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Torrey Pines State Preserve
San Diego
Second most populous city in California, is known for its mild year-round climate, natural deep-water harbor, extensive beaches and parks, and long association with the United States Navy and Marine Corps
Old Coast Guard Station and Golden Gate Bridge
Will Elder, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco is the cultural, commercial, and financial center in Northern California and a popular tourist destination, known for its cool summers, fog, steep rolling hills, eclectic mix of architecture, and landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge
Three segment panorama of Point Reyes headlands from Chimney Rock Trail
King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
San Francisco Bay Area
Region of California known for its natural beauty, prominent universities, technology companies, and affluence. The Bay Area contains the cities of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, Silicon Valley, and regional, state, and national parks
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Santa Catalina Island
Rocky island off the coast of Southern California in the Gulf of Santa Catalina
Cedar Grove, Kings Canyon NP
RuggyBearLA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Sierra Nevada
Mountain range in the Western United States, with the vast majority of the range lies in California, features include Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks, twenty-six wilderness areas, ten national forests, and two national monuments
Palm Springs, CA
Southeastern California
Southeastern region of California centering aorund the Sonoran Desert, and features the city of Palm Springs, Joshua Tree National Park, and the Salton Sea
Overview
California is the most populous and the third-largest state by area. The Greater Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second and fifth most populous urban regions respectively. 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 (after New York City). Los Angeles County is the country's most populous, while San Bernardino County is the largest county by area in the country. San Francisco, which is both a city and a county, is the second most densely populated major city in the country (after New York City) and the fifth most densely populated county in the country, behind four of New York City's five boroughs.
The economy of California is the largest sub-national economy in the world. If it were a country, it would be the 37th most populous country and the fifth largest economy as of 2020.
What is now California was first settled by various Native Californian tribes before being explored by a number of Europeans during the 16th and 17th centuries. The Spanish Empire then claimed and colonized it. 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 western portion of Alta California was then organized and admitted as the 31st state on September 9, 1850, following the Compromise of 1850. The California Gold Rush started in 1848 and led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale immigration from other parts of the United States and abroad and an accompanying economic boom.
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. It is the home of Hollywood, the oldest and largest film industry in the world, which has had a profound effect on global entertainment. It is considered the origin of the hippie counterculture, beach and car culture, and the personal computer, among other innovations. The San Francisco Bay Area and the Greater Los Angeles Area are widely seen as centers of the global technology and entertainment 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. Although it accounts for only 1.5% of the state's economy, California's agriculture industry has the highest output of any U.S. state. California's ports and harbors handle about a third of all U.S. imports, most originating in Pacific Rim international trade.
California shares a border with Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and the Mexican state of Baja California to the south. The state's 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. Although 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. All these factors lead to an enormous demand for water. Over time, droughts and wildfires have increased in frequency and become less seasonal and more year-round, further straining California's water security.
Geography
California is the third-largest state in the United States in area, after Alaska and Texas. California is often geographically bisected into two regions, Southern California, comprising the ten southernmost counties, and Northern California, comprising the 48 northernmost counties.
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 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). 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.
About 45 percent of the state's total surface area is covered by forests, and California's diversity of pine species is unmatched by any other state. California contains more forestland than any other state except Alaska. 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.
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). The horizontal distance from the bottom of Death Valley to the top of Mount Whitney is less than 90 miles (140 km). 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.
Flora and fauna
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.
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.
Plant life in the dry climate of the lower Sonoran zone contains a diversity of native cactus, mesquite, and paloverde. The Joshua Tree NP is found in the Mojave Desert. Flowering plants include the dwarf desert poppy and a variety of asters. Fremont cottonwood and valley oak thrive in the Central Valley. The upper Sonoran zone includes the chaparral belt, characterized by forests of small shrubs, stunted trees, and herbaceous plants. Nemophila, mint, Phacelia, Viola, and the California poppy (Eschscholzia californica, the state flower) also flourish in this zone, along with the lupine, more species of which occur here than anywhere else in the world.
The transition zone includes most of California's forests with the redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and the "big tree" or giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), among the oldest living things on earth (some are said to have lived at least 4,000 years). Tanbark oak, California laurel, sugar pine, madrona, broad-leaved maple, and Douglas-fir also grow here. Forest floors are covered with swordfern, alumnroot, barrenwort, and trillium, and there are thickets of huckleberry, azalea, elder, and wild currant. Characteristic wild flowers include varieties of mariposa, tulip, and tiger and leopard lilies.
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.
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.
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 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 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
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. California is the only U.S. state to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "California", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0