Complex systems of dams and aqueducts transport water from north to south, but not without the protests of those who regard the export of water from their regions as a bar to future growth or as a threat to environmental balance. The Colorado River Aqueduct at the Arizona border carries water from that river across the southern California desert and mountains to serve the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The California State Water Project, launched in 1960, is the largest water-transfer system ever undertaken. It is designed to deliver water daily from the Feather River (a tributary of the Sacramento River) in north-central California to communities as far south as the Mexican border. The coast is the most populated region in the state, home to approximately 68% of all Californian residents.
Furthermore, commuter rail networks serve the San Francisco Bay Area (Altamont Corridor Express, Bay Area Rapid Transit, Caltrain, Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit), Greater Los Angeles (Metrolink), and San Diego County (Coaster). 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, the building projects during the Great Depression 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.
Non-Hispanic whites decreased from 80 percent of the state’s population in 1970 to 43 percent in 2006.18 The state has the fifth largest population of African Americans and approximately one-third of the nation’s Asian Americans. California’s crude oil output accounts for more than one-tenth of total U.S. production. Drilling operations are concentrated primarily in Kern County and the Los Angeles basin. Although there is also substantial offshore oil and gas production, there is a permanent moratorium on new offshore oil and gas leasing in California waters and a deferral of leasing in federal waters. California’s judiciary is the largest in the United States (with a total of 1,600 judges). 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 populous coastal area around San Francisco Bay gives way to the less-developed northern coast, where lumbering and fishing villages lie beside creeks and rivers flowing from the Coast Ranges. This is the area of coastal redwood forests and Redwood National Park, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1980. California is a state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. The four largest cities are Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose.
Desert Region
Democratic strength is centered in coastal regions of Los Angeles County and the San Francisco Bay Area. The districts in California are usually dominated by one or the other party with very few districts that could be considered competitive. Travel between California and the central and eastern parts of the United States was time-consuming and dangerous. A more direct connection came in 1869 with the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad.
Population
It organized itself and was admitted as the 31st state in 1850 as a free state, following the Compromise of 1850. Telegram allows sending polls and quizzes, that can be voted on by thousands, if not millions of users in chats and channels. Grab a boat to Catalina Island, where you can hop on a bike and pedal for as far as your legs will take you around the jagged coast—we recommend renting an e-bike to help you take on the massive hills. Stop in the city of Avalon for a bite, a drink, or an ice cream, or join an inland tour to see the local herd of American bison. At day’s end, retreat to one of the island’s top hotels, like Hotel Atwater, a beloved gem in Avalon that dates to 1920.
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. 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. 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.
See California’s Theme Park Deals
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 185469 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. On September 9, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850, California became a free state and September 9 a state holiday. 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.
It’s also where you’ll find several scenic hiking trails, including treks through redwood groves in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park or down to the beach at Andrew Molera State Park, among others. Book a stay at the Post Ranch Inn, which provides beautiful ocean views from every window. As the name implies, the seaside community comes with plenty of waterfront appeal. But besides the beach, the city has its fair share of things to see, including The Queen Mary, docked at Queensway Bay; colorful pieces at the Museum of Latin American Art; and more than a few fish swimming at the Aquarium of the Pacific. The above blank map represents the State of California, located in the western (Pacific) region of the United States.
- It’s also worth exploring Salt Creek, which shelters another endemic species—the pupfish, which has evolved to live in the region’s saline waters.
- In total, 39.47 percent of the population spoke languages other than English.19 Over 200 languages are known to be spoken and read in California.
- The distance from the lowest point of Death Valley to the peak of Mount Whitney is less than 200 miles (322 km).
- Squaw Valley Ski Resort (now Palisades Tahoe) in the Lake Tahoe region hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics.
Lake Tahoe, the largest alpine lake in North America, is nestled in Northern Sierra Nevada. Sequoias and Bristlecone Pines are two prominent tree species found in this region, Bristlecone Pines sometimes living to be over 4,000 years old. California leads the United States in electricity generation from nonhydroelectric renewable energy sources, such as wind, geothermal, solar energy, fuel wood, and municipal solid waste/landfill gas resources.
Stay inside the park and camp at Curry Village, home to 14 tented cabins that sit under centuries-old trees. The above outline map represents the State of California, located in the western (Pacific) region of the United States. The world’s tallest trees (Redwoods), Mammoth, Heavenly & 60 ski resorts, plus Palm Desert & Death Valley where “snowbirds” go for the winter, offer limitless vacations in one visit! SeeCalifornia.com journeys through the Golden State, exploring what makes it great and offering attraction tickets and hotel packages you can buy to solidify your trip. California also has the largest Muslim community in the United States, an estimated 3.4 percent of the population, mostly residing in Southern California, which is also home to 40 percent of all Buddhists in America. According to estimates from 2006, California has the largest minority population in the United States, making up 57 percent of the state population.
On September 9, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850, California was admitted to the United States as a free state (one in which slavery was prohibited). The low deserts east of the Southern California mountains experience hot summers and nearly frostless mild winters; the higher-elevation deserts of eastern California see hot summers and cold winters. In Death Valley, the highest temperature in the Western Hemisphere, 134 °F (57 °C), was recorded July 10, 1913. 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.
Early American period
The governor and the other state constitutional officers serve four-year terms and may be re-elected only once. Members of the Assembly are subject to term limits of three terms, and members of the Senate are limited to two terms. The first European to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was the Portuguese João Rodrigues Cabrilho, in 1542, sailing for Spain.
- Droughts and wildfires are an ongoing issue,13 while simultaneously, atmospheric rivers are turning increasingly prevalent and leading to intense flooding events—especially in the winter.
- The two most prominent rivers within California are the Sacramento River and the San Joaquin River, which drain the Central Valley and flow to the Pacific Ocean through San Francisco Bay.
- The influence of the Spanish settlers of the 18th and 19th centuries is evident in California’s architecture and place-names.
- The California Highway Patrol is the largest statewide police agency in the U.S. in employment with more than 10,000 employees.
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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) opposes more drilling, but public opinion is shifting toward approval. Los Angeles is the nation’s second-largest city with a population of 3,849,378 people, and Los Angeles County has held the title of most populous county for decades and is more populous than 42 U.S. states. Due to high electricity demand, california taxes are among the highest in the nation California imports more electricity than any other state, primarily hydroelectric power from states in the Pacific Northwest and coal- and natural gas-fired production from the desert Southwest.
While the entire city of Santa Monica is worth making a trip for, the iconic Santa Monica Pier, which officially marks the end of the famed Route 66, should not be missed. The roughly 1,600-foot pier is home to an amusement park featuring a roller coaster, which takes you high above the beach before the short, belly-flipping drop back down. For a calmer ride experience, try the Ferris wheel, or stroll along pretty palm tree-lined pathways in nearby Palisades Park for a stunning vista of the coastline framed by the Santa Monica Mountains. Stay at the Shore Hotel—or the Sandbourne Santa Monica, which opened in 2024—for more Pacific Ocean views. Here, you can take in views of Yosemite Falls and iconic peaks like El Capitan and Half Dome while hiking to lookout points or cruising down the road with the windows rolled down.
Like San Diego, it’s a great place for a surf lesson, or you could always hang on your board long enough to watch a pod of dolphins swim by. Spend the night at the Surf & Sand Resort and leave the windows open all night to snooze to the sound of the crashing waves. There’s no shortage of things to do in the NorCal city, from browsing vintage boutiques in the famed Haight–Ashbury neighborhood to checking out vibrant murals in the trendy Mission District—not to mention getting a taste of the incredible dining scene.