California, United States

California, United States

Country USA
Capital city Sacramento
Area 424,024 km²
Population 39,185,605 people (2022)
Governor Gavin Newsom
Time zone Pacific: UTC -5/ -4
ZIP code CA
ISO 3166-2 US-CA
Official site www.state.ca.us
California

California (in English: California) is a western state in the United States, whose zip code is CA.

It is located on the West Coast of the United States of the Pacific Ocean. It is the most populous state and the third largest by area. California is also called the “Golden State” (because of the California Gold Rush), which began in 1848.

While Southern California is densely populated, the larger Northern California is less populated. The great majority of Californians live in the coastal zone, at a distance of no more than 80 km from the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

California’s name comes from “Las sergas de Espladián” (“The Adventures of Espladián”), a 16th-century novel by García Ordonez de Montalvo, which tells of an island paradise called California, rich in gold and pearls. It was inhabited by warlike black Amazons, led by Queen Califia.

The motto (motto) of the state is the word ” Eureka ” .

History

In 1542, Juan Rodriguez Cabrio became the first European to explore the coast. He was followed by Francis Drake in 1579. Spanish missionaries began building small settlements on vast tracts of land in the vast territory north of Spanish (Baja) California. After Mexican independence from Spain, the series of missions became the property of the Mexican government and were quickly disbanded and abandoned.

California was the name given to the northwestern part of the Spanish Empire in North America. After the Mexican-American War of 1847, the area was divided between Mexico and the United States. The Mexican part, Baja (Lower) California, was later divided into the states of Baja California and Baja California Sur. The American share, Alta (Upper) California, became a US state under the name California in 1850.

In 1848, the Spanish-speaking population of remote Upper California numbered about 4,000. But after the discovery of gold, the population quickly began to grow as many Americans and not so many Europeans came here caught up in the Gold Rush. The California Republic was created and the Bear Flag was flown, which depicted a golden bear and a star. The end of the republic came suddenly after Commodore John D. Sloat of the US Navy entered San Francisco Bay and declared California a US possession. In 1850, the state was admitted to the Union.

During the American Civil War, one part of the population supported the North and the other part supported the South. Although California officially sided with the North, there were California volunteers in both camps.

In the 1870s, a connection was made between the far Pacific West and the major cities of the East with the construction of the first transcontinental railroad. Natives in the West discovered that California offered extremely favorable conditions in general for fruit growing and agriculture. Citrus and orange trees became very popular and thus laid the foundation for the state’s amazing modern agricultural production.

For the period from 1900 to 1965, the population of California increased many times. The state had the most representatives in the Electoral College, which elects the president. The population has changed completely since 1965 and is one of the most diverse in the world. The state is liberal, technologically and culturally advanced, and is the world center of the film and television industry (Hollywood), US agricultural production (Central California Valley), as well as biotechnology and high technology (Silicon Valley).

Geography

Digital map showing the elevation of California

California is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east and Arizona to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Mexican state of Baja California to the south. The state is home to many natural attractions, including the great Central California Valley, high mountains, hot deserts and hundreds of kilometers of fabulous coastline. California’s Central Valley is located in the middle of the state and is bordered to the west by the Coast Mountains, to the east by the Sierra Nevada – a mountainous area with many lakes, to the north by the Cascades, and to the south by the Tiachapi Mountains. The Central California Valley is the agricultural core of the state, providing a third of the population’s food. Most major cities are located along the Pacific coast – Los Angeles, San Francisco, Long Beach, Santa Ana, San Diego and counties such as Orange. Others are relatively close to the ocean such as Oakland and San Jose. The capitalHowever, Sacramento is located in the Central Valley.

California is a very well watered state with two major rivers and many freshwater lakes. The water which is pumped from the works of the Sacramento river is conducted through a good canal system almost throughout the state. Thus, water is provided both for the 23 million inhabitants and for the farmers.

Death Valley is also located in California. It is the lowest and hottest place in North America. Almost all of Southeastern California is a desert with extremely hot summer temperatures.

California is known for tsunamis that do not pass it by, floods, forest fires, droughts, Santa Ana winds, earthquakes, landslides due to rock cracks. There are also several volcanoes.

Faults

  • San Andreas

National Parks

National Parks in California
Name Created (year)
The Channel Islands 1980
Lasen Vulcanic 1916
Joshua Tree 1994
Canyon of the Kings 1940
Redud 1968
Sequoia 1890
Yosemite 1890
The valley of death 1994

Lakes

  • Tahoe

Deserts

  • Mojave
  • Anza-Borrego

Rivers

The two largest Californian rivers are Sacramento and San Joaquin (also known in Bulgarian as San Joaquin). Both flow through the Central Plains and flow into San Francisco Bay, and their lengths are 719 and 530 km, respectively. Other major rivers in the state are the Klamath in the north (also flowing into the Pacific Ocean) and the Colorado, part of which is a natural border between California and Arizona. After Sacramento, the second longest in the San Francisco Bay (177 km) is the Rashon River (in English: Russian River).

Regions

Some areas in California:

  • Greater Los Angeles
  • The valley of death
  • West Los Angeles
  • East Bay
  • Eastern California
  • East Los Angeles
  • Yosemite
  • Mojave
  • San Francisco Bay Area
  • Russian river
  • Sacramento Valley
  • Sansan
  • San Francisco Peninsula
  • North Bay
  • Northern California
  • California North Coast
  • Silicon Valley
  • Central California Valley
  • California Central Coast
  • South Los Angeles
  • Southern California

Economics

California’s share of US GDP is 14%, or nearly $1.4 trillion. California’s revenue thus exceeds that of any other country in the world except the United States, China, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Russia, Italy, India, Canada, and Australia.

The Hollywood Sign is the most famous symbol of California’s massive entertainment industry

The predominant industry in California, which is more than twice the size of the next largest industry, is agriculture (including fruits, vegetables, dairying, and winemaking). It is followed by space technologies, the entertainment industry and others.

Ports

Major ports are the Port of Long Beach, the Port of Los Angeles, the Port of Oakland, and the Port of San Francisco.

Population

With 33,871,648 people (2000), California is the most populous state in the United States. 12% of the US population is concentrated in California.

According to census data, California does not have a distinct ethnic majority. Caucasians are still the largest group, but they are no longer the majority. Hispanic Californians make up one-third of the state’s population. After whites and Hispanics are Asian Americans, African Americans, and Native Americans. Hispanics are expected to become the majority around 2040 due to the large immigration flow from Mexico as well as the high birth rate among them.

California is the state with the largest number of inhabitants of Bulgarian origin. 7,845 people indicated that they were of Bulgarian origin in the last population census (2000).

Largest metropolises

The largest metropolitan areas by population in California are: Los Angeles – Riverside – Anaheim (Southern California) 17,540,000, San Francisco – Oakland – San Jose (San Francisco Bay Area, Northern California) 7,039,362, San Diego – Carlsbad – San Marcos (Southern California) 2,813,833 (Wikipedia, www.answers.com, 2005)

Largest cities

The largest cities by population in California are: Los Angeles, 3,845,541; San Diego 1,263,756; San Jose 904,522; San Francisco 744,230; Long Beach 476,564; Fresno 457,719; Sacramento 457,719 and Oakland 397,976. (Census Bureau (Census Bureau), forecast. (2004) – US Census).

Cities over 100,000 people

There are 62 cities in California with populations over 100,000. They are:

Anaheim, Antioch, Bakersfield, Burbank, Berkeley, Vallejo, Ventura, Weisalia, Garden Grove, Glendale, Downey, Daly City, El Monte, Elk Grove, Escondido, West Covina, Inglewood, Concord, Corona, Costa Mesa, Fairfield, Fontana, Fresno, Fremont, Fullerton, Hayward, Huntington Beach, Lancaster, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Modesto, Moreno Valley, Norwalk, Oakland, Oxnard, Ontario, Orange, Oceanside, Palmdale, Pasadena, Pomona, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, Richmond, Roseville, Sacramento, Salinas,San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Ana, Santa Clara, Santa Clarita, Santa Rosa, Simi Valley, Stockton, Sunnyvale, Thousand Oaks, Torrance, Chula Vista, and Irvine. (Census Bureau, www.infoplease.com)

Language

Although there is no official language in the US at the federal (national) level, some states have designated an official language for the given state. In California, the official language is English. Official documents must be at least in English, but versions in other languages ​​may also exist. For example, the driver’s license test can be taken in more than 60 different languages.

Education

California’s education system is unique due to the fact that 40% of the state’s revenue is spent on education. Some of the renowned universities are Stanford University and California State University – Berkeley.

Important cities

  • Sacramento
  • Los Angeles
  • San Diego
  • San Francisco
  • San Jose
  • Long Beach
  • Oakland

There are 478 cities in the state of California, most of which are located in metropolitan areas. 68% percent of the population lives in the two largest metropolises – Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Position City Population
within
the city
Area
square miles
Population
density
per square mile
District
1 Los Angeles 3,957,875 469.1 7876.8 Los Angeles
2 San Diego 1,305,736 324.3 3771.9 San Diego
3 San Jose 944 857 174.9 5117.9 Santa Clara
4 San Francisco 799,263 46.7 16,634.4 San Francisco
5 Long Beach 491 564 50.5 9149.8 Los Angeles
6 Fresno 464,727 104.4 4097.7 Fresno
7 Sacramento 452,959 97.2 4189.2 Sacramento
8 Oakland 412 318 56.1 7126.6 Alameda
9 Santa Ana 351,697 27.1 12,451.9 Orange
10 Anaheim 345 317 48.9 6702 Orange
Position District Population
within
the county
Area
square miles
Population
density
per square mile
The biggest city
1 Los Angeles 10,226,506 4061 2344 Los Angeles
2 Orange 3,056,865 789 3606 Santa Ana
3 San Diego 3,051,280 4200 670 San Diego
4 San Bernardino 1,946,202 20,052 85 San Bernardino
5 Riverside 1,877,000 7207 214 Riverside
6 Santa Clara 1,759,585 1291 1304 San Jose
7 Alameda 1,507,500 738 732 Oakland
8 Sacramento 1,369,855 966 1267 Sacramento
9 Contra Costa 1,020,898 720 492 Concord
10 Fresno 883 537 5963 134 Fresno

Note: the table was compiled based on the results of a survey in the state of California by the US National Institute of Statistics 2005 Archived from the original on 2005-10-22 at the Wayback Machine.

Transport and Roads

Some of the components of the California road network are: the Interstate Highway System, the United States Highway System, and the California State Roads.

Some parts of public transportation are BART (subway), CalTrain (train), and MUNI (San Francisco’s network of buses, trolleys, streetcars, cable cars, and ferries) in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The three main airports in the San Francisco Bay Area are Oakland International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, and San Jose International Airport.

Example US license plate from California

No vehicle code is used for the license plates, but above or below the name of the license plate is the name of the state, in this case California.

Politics

The current governor of California is Jerry Brown, who replaced Arnold Schwarzenegger in this post.

The capital of California is Sacramento.

Sports

California’s huge population has helped spawn many professional teams, 15 professional sports teams, far more than any other state. After the relocation of the Los Angeles Raiders and Los Angeles Rams teams in the 1990s under the pretext of a “grand slam” (having a team in each of the four professional leagues – NFL, NHL, MLB and NBA). Teams have been relocated to Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, which are considered metropolitan areas in their own right.

Professional teams

Professional baseball league

  • Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
  • Los Angeles Dodgers
  • Oakland Athletics
  • San Diego Padre
  • San Francisco Giants

National Basketball Association

  • Golden State Warriors
  • Los Angeles Clippers
  • Los Angeles Lakers
  • Sacramento Kings

National Football League

  • Oakland Raiders
  • San Diego Chargers
  • San Francisco Fourteeners

National Hockey League

  • Anaheim Mighty Ducks
  • Los Angeles Kings
  • San Jose Sharks

Other teams

Arena American Football League

  • San Jose Seibats
  • Los Angeles Avengers

Professional Football League

  • Club Deportivo Chivas USA
  • Los Angeles Galaxy
  • San Jose Earthquakes

Women’s National Basketball Association

  • Los Angeles Sparks
  • Sacramento Monarchs

Personalities

Arnold Schwarzenegger – Governor of California

Counties and cities

According to Countryaah, California is divided into 58 counties with 480 cities and towns.

Sacramento

Country USA
State California
District Sacramento
Area 257 km²
Highness height 8 m
Population 485,200 people (2014)
1,888 people/km²
Founding 1848
First mention 1839
ZIP code 94203–94299, 95800–95899, 94203, 94206, 94209, 94213, 94217, 94219, 9424, 94227, 94233, 94235, 94238, 94240 94263, 94264, 94265, 94267, 94270, 94272, 94275, 94278, 94282, 9488, 94292, 94297, 958, 9580, 95806 95826, 95829, 95831, 95833, 95836, 95840, 95845, 95846, 95848, 95851, 95854, 95858, 95859, 95857, 95862, 95865, 95867, 95869, 95871, 95874, 95877, 95880, 95883, 95885, 95888, 95892, 95893, 95895, 95897
Telephone code 916
Official site portal.cityofsacramento.org
Sacramento

Sacramento, 1849

Sacramento (Spanish: Sacramento) is a city and county seat of Sacramento County, as well as the capital of the state of California, United States of America.

It was founded in December 1848 by John Sutter (English: Johann Augustus Sutter; German: Johann Suter, Johann Zuter), an immigrant from Switzerland who bought the Russian base of Fort Ross in 1841 and turned it into the settlement of Nova Helvetia (New Switzerland), and by his son John Sutter Jr. The city has a population of 485,200 (2014), while the Sacramento metropolitan area has a population of 2,149,127. Its total area is 257 km².

Its location, climate and quality of life are just a few things that make the city a wonderful place to live, work or simply visit.

Climate

Sacramento is among the 10 sunniest cities in the US with 78% of the days of the year classified as sunny. Rainfall averages about 58 days for the period from November to March. Foreigners often cite the “good weather” argument as one of the reasons they call Sacramento home.

  • average annual temperature: 16.11 °C
  • average low temperature in January: 3.33 °C
  • average high temperature in July: 33.88 °C
  • average number of days with a temperature above 32.22 °C: 74
  • average number of days with temperature below 0 °C: 17
  • average annual rainfall: 470 mm
  • average annual snowfall: 0.

Economics

The economy of Sacramento and the area is among the strongest in California. Its basis is the public administration sector (for example, more than 73 thousand employees are employed in the California state government alone located in the city), health care, education, electronics and information technology.

The city is home to Sutter Health, Blue Diamond Growers, Aerojet, Teichert and The McClatchy Company. Intel Corporation has significant manufacturing facilities in the vicinity of the city (about 6,000 employees).

Famous people

Born in Sacramento

  • Michael Adams (1930 – 1967), astronaut
  • Adrienne Barbeau (b. 1945), actress
  • Greta Gerwig (b. 1983), actress
  • Sarah Zettel (b. 1966), writer
  • Julie Kagawa (b. 1982), writer
  • Michael Coates (b. 1946), astronaut
  • Brie Larson (b. 1989), actress
  • Tim McCord (b. 1979), musician
  • Chino Moreno (b. 1973), musician
  • Charles Rice (b. 1952), virologist
  • Steven Robinson (b. 1955), astronaut
  • Cornel West (b. 1953), philosopher
  • Colin Hanks (b. 1977), actor
  • Henry Hathaway (1898 – 1985), director
  • Zach Hill (b. 1979), musician
  • Alex Honnold (b. 1985), climber
  • Jessica Chastain (b. 1977), actress

Died in Sacramento

  • Eduard Genov (1946 – 2009), Bulgarian public figure
  • Eve Rutland (1917 – 2012), writer
  • Miklos Udvardi (1919 – 1998), Hungarian biogeographer
  • Thomas Harris (1910 – 1995), psychiatrist

California, United States

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