California is one of the fifty states that, together with Washington D.C., form the United States of America. Its capital is Sacramento, and its most populous city, Los Angeles. It is located in the western region of the country, Pacific division, bordering Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, the Colorado River that separates it from Arizona to the southeast, Baja California (Mexico) to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. With 37,253,956 inhabitants in 2010, it is the most populous state and with 423,970 km², the third largest, behind Alaska and Texas. It was admitted to the Union on September 9, 1850, as the 31st state.
It also has the second and fifth most populated areas in the nation, Greater Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, and eight of the most populated cities in the country: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno, Sacramento, Long Beach, and Oakland.
The area was populated for millennia by Native Americans before the first European expeditions in the 16th century. These settlers were divided into 105 indigenous American villages who spoke the languages of six different linguistic families. The Spanish Crown colonized the coastal areas of the territory in 1769 before it became part of Mexico following the Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821). California was part of Mexican territory until the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848. At the end of the war, as a condition for peace, the Mexican Republic was forced to cede the territory to the United States in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The Gold Rush of 1848-1849 led to the immigration of 90,000 Americans from the rest of the country. California eventually became the thirty-first state of the United States in 1850.
If California were an independent nation, it would be the fifth-largest economy in the world, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of around $2.4 trillion (2014 data), representing 12.4% of the US GDP of $19.3 trillion. The state’s main economic activities are agriculture, entertainment, electric power and tourism. California is home to some of the world’s most important economic cities, including Los Angeles (entertainment, leisure), the Central Valley (agriculture), Silicon Valley (computers and high technology), and Napa Valley (wine).
TOPONYMY
Originally, the word California referred to a larger region, comprising the territory of the present-day state of California plus all or part of Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Wyoming and the Mexican peninsula of California. The most widely supported theory is that the word California derives from the name of the ruler of a fictional paradise ruled by black Amazons, Queen Calafia. The myth of Calafia is recorded in a 1510 work, Las haañas de Esplandián, fifth sequel to Amadís de Gaula, written by the Castilian adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The kingdom of Calafia or Califia is described by Montalvo as a remote land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts and rich in gold:
It is known that on the right hand side of the Indies there is an island called California, very close to that part of the earthly paradise, which is inhabited by black women, without a single man among them, who live in the style of the Amazons. They had robust bodies, with strong and passionate hearts and great virtues. The island itself is one of the wildest in the world because of its rugged and striking rocks. Their weapons are all made of gold. The island is full of gold and precious stones everywhere, to the point that there are no other metals. California is the fifth oldest name of European origin in the United States. It was imposed by the Spanish expedition led by Diego de Becerra and Fortún Jiménez, who named the lower end of the California peninsula the island of California when they landed there in 1533 at the command of Hernán Cortés.
HISTORY
The history of California began with the Native Americans who first arrived in California about 13,000-15,000 years ago. European exploration and settlement along the coasts and inland valleys began in the 16th century with the arrival of the Spanish. California was acquired by the United States under the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 following Mexico’s defeat in the American Intervention in Mexico, causing westward expansion by the United States into Mexico. With the intensification of the California Gold Rush in the 1850s, California joined the Union as a state in 1850. By the late 19th century, California remained largely rural and agricultural, but had a population of about 1.4 million Europeans.
GEOGRAPHY
California is the third-largest U.S. state by area, after Alaska and Texas. California is often divided geographically into two regions, Southern California, comprising the southernmost 10 counties, and Northern California, comprising the northernmost 48 counties. 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 forms part of the California region of North America, along with Baja California Sur).
In the center of the state lies the Central Valley of California, surrounded by the Sierra Nevada to the east, the coastal mountain ranges to the west, the Cascade Range to the north, and the Tehachapi Mountains to the south. The Central Valley is the productive agricultural heart of California.
The Sierra Nevada encompasses Yosemite Valley, famous for its rocks carved by glacial erosion, and Sequoia National Park, home to the giant sequoias, the largest living organisms on Earth, and Lake Tahoe, the largest lake in the state by volume.
The state of California is a very diverse territory roughly divided by the Sierra Nevada mountain range, the coast, and a large central valley. California is home to the highest point (Mount Whitney) and the lowest point (Death Valley) in the 48 contiguous states.
The state is divided between Northern California and Southern California, although the border between the two regions is not well defined. San Francisco is considered a city in Northern California and Los Angeles is considered a city in Southern California, but some areas in between do not share that identity. The United States Geological Survey defines the geographic center of the state at the point near the North Fork.
Geographers often divide the state into eleven geomorphological provinces with clearly defined boundaries. They are, from north to south, the Klamath Mountains, the Cascade Range, the Modoc Plate, the basins and ranges, the Pacific Coastal Chain, the Central Valley, the Sierra Nevada, the Transverse Ranges, the Mojave Desert, the Peninsular Ranges, and the Colorado Desert. For purposes of explanation, it is also useful to recognize the Los Angeles Basin, the Northern Archipelago, and the Pacific Ocean.
CLIMATE
Although most of the state has a Mediterranean climate, due to the state’s large size, the climate ranges from arid to subarctic, depending on latitude, elevation, and proximity to the coast. The cool offshore California Current often creates summer fog near the coast. Farther inland, there are cooler winters and hotter summers. Maritime moderation makes summer temperatures in coastal Los Angeles and San Francisco the mildest of all major metropolitan areas in the United States and especially cool compared to areas at the same latitude inland.
The northern parts of the state receive more rain than the south. California’s mountain ranges also influence the climate: some of the rainiest parts of the state are the west-facing mountain slopes. Northwestern California has a temperate climate, and the Central Valley has a Mediterranean climate but with higher temperatures than the coast. The high mountains, including the Sierra Nevada, have an alpine climate with notable snowfall in winter and mild to moderate heat in summer.
The Golden State
The state’s nickname is The Golden State, a name that some suppose may come from the numerous days the sun shines during the year, or perhaps from the golden color the mountains can take on at certain times of the day (as in many other parts of the world), although the most likely nickname (like that given to the mouth of San Francisco Bay: Golden Gate) refers to the Gold Rush period.
COUNTIES
The state of California, in the United States, is divided into 58 counties. The counties have their own elections, property tax collection, maintenance of records such as property deeds, and local courts within their territory, and are also responsible for law enforcement (through each county sheriff and his deputies) in areas that are not incorporated into cities.
POPULATION
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that California’s population was 38,041,430 as of July 1, 2012, a 2.1 percent increase since the 2010 census. Between 2000 and 2009, there was a natural increase of 3,090,016 (5,058,440 births minus 2,179,958 deaths). During this period, international migration resulted in an increase of 1,816,633 people, while domestic migration resulted in a decrease of 1,509,708, resulting in a net immigration of 306,925 people. California state statistics show a population of 38,292,687 as of January 1, 2009. However, according to the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, since 1990 nearly 3.4 million Californians have moved to other states.
California is the second most populous subnational entity in the Western Hemisphere and the American continent, after the state of São Paulo in Brazil. In addition, Los Angeles County has held the title of most populous county in the United States for decades, being more populous than 42 of the American states. California is home to eight of the 50 most populous cities in the United States: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno, Sacramento, Long Beach, and Oakland. The state’s population center is located in the town of Buttonwillow, Kern County
MAJOR CITIES
Most of California’s population is concentrated in three large metropolitan areas:
Greater Los Angeles: Los Angeles, Long Beach, Santa Ana, Anaheim, Irvine…
San Francisco Bay Area: San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Fremont, Santa Rosa…
San Diego-Tijuana metropolitan area: San Diego, Chula Vista, Oceanside…
Other major cities are Sacramento (state capital), Fresno, Bakersfield, Riverside, Stockton, Modesto.
ECONOMY
California is traditionally a major economic power, a pioneer and leader in numerous industrial segments such as aeronautics, space technology, information technology, electronics, the medical industry, etc. California would therefore be one of the seven world powers in itself. It also has a highly developed agriculture, favoured by its mild climate.
California has extensive citrus groves. In recent decades it has also developed wine production (particularly in the Napa Valley). It has important mining activities such as gold mining.
SPORTS
California hosted the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics, the 1932 and 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, as well as the 1994 World Cup. It is currently preparing for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
California has twenty-one franchises in Major League professional sports, far more than any other state. The San Francisco Bay Area has seven major league teams in three cities, San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose. While the Greater Los Angeles Area is home to eleven professional Major League Baseball franchises. San Diego has two major league teams, and Sacramento also has two. Home to some of the most prominent universities in the United States, California has long-respected college sports programs. In particular, the athletic programs at UC Berkeley, USC, UCLA, Stanford, and Fresno State are often ranked nationally in various college sports. California is also home to the oldest of the college bowl games, the annual Rose Bowl, and the Holiday Bowl, among others.
A number of American racing circuits are located in California. The main ones are the Fontana Oval, the Long Beach Street Circuit, and the Laguna Seca and Sears Point racetracks, as well as the now defunct Riverside and Ontario racetracks. In addition to hosting major American car and motorcycle racing events, the Long Beach Grand Prix was a round for the Formula One World Championship and currently hosts the IndyCar Series and United SportsCar Championship, while Laguna Seca has hosted rounds of the Motorcycle World Championship and the World Superbike Championship.
A number of golf tournaments are held in California, including the Los Angeles Open and San Diego Open. The Pebble Beach and Olympic golf courses have hosted several editions of the U.S. Open.
In tennis, the Indian Wells Masters is part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and WTA Premier, and the Stanford Tournament is part of the WTA Premier. The Los Angeles Tournament and the San Jose Tournament were previously held.
In polo, the 1998 World Polo Championship was held in Santa Barbara and the 12th version of the World Championship will be held in Indian Wells in 2022.
Below is a list of the main teams in the major professional sports leagues in California:
In popular culture
19th century California is portrayed in the Californian Tales (1922) by Adolfo Carrillo (1855-1926).18
Life in 19th century California is reflected in the film «The Mask of Zorro», directed by Martin Campbell and starring Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta Jones and Anthony Hopkins, as well as in its sequel «The Legend of Zorro», whose plot takes place during the incorporation of this territory into the United States.