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California (
pronounced IPA|
United States. Located on the
Pacific coast of
North America, it is bordered by
Oregon,
Nevada,
Arizona and
Mexico. The state's four largest cities are
Los Angeles,
San Diego,
San Jose and
San Francisco. California is known for its pleasant climate and ethnically diverse population. The state has
58 counties.
Inhabited by indigenous people for millennia, California was first colonized by the Spanish in 1769, and after Mexican independence in 1821, continued as part of Mexico. Following a brief period as the independent
California Republic in 1846, California was annexed by the United States that same year, and was admitted to the Union as the thirty-first state on
September 9,
1850.
California's diverse geography ranges from the sandy beaches of the Pacific to the rugged, snow-capped
Sierra Nevada mountains in the east. The central portion of the state is dominated by the
California Central Valley, one of the most vital agricultural areas in the country. The Sierra Nevada contain
Yosemite Valley, famous for its glacially-carved domes, and
Sequoia National Park, home to the largest living things on Earth, the
Giant Sequoia trees, and the highest point in the
contiguous United States,
Mount Whitney. The tallest living things on Earth, ancient
Redwood trees, dot the Northern California
coastline. California is also home to the lowest and hottest place in the Western Hemisphere,
Death Valley.
Bristlecone pines located in California's
White Mountains are the oldest known trees in the world; one has an age of 4,700 years.
The
California Gold Rush, beginning in 1848 dramatically changed California with an influx of population and an economic boom. The early part of the 20th century was marked by California's becoming the center of the entertainment industry, in addition to the beginning of growth of a large tourism sector. The Central Valley is home to California's important large agricultural industry. Other important industries have included the aerospace and oil industries. In recent decades, California has become a global leader in computers and information technology. Indeed, if California were a country, it would rank among the largest 10 economies of the world.
[ There are a variety of ways to measure the size of national and state economies. For further information, see Economy of California.]Name
main|Origin of the name
US state insignia
| Name = California
| Flag = California state flag.png
| Seal = California state seal.png
| Nickname = The Golden State
| Motto =
Eureka! (I've found it!)| Slogan =
Find Yourself Here| Capital =
Sacramento| Animal =
California grizzly bear; marine -
Gray Whale| Bird =
California Quail| Butterfly =
California dogface butterfly| Fish =
Golden Trout; marine -
Garibaldi| Flower =
California Poppy| Grass =
Purple Needlegrass| Insect =
California dogface butterfly| Reptile =
Desert Tortoise| Tree =
California Redwood| Wildflower =
California Poppy| Colors =
Blue &
Gold| Dance =
West Coast Swing; folk -
Square dance| Fossil =
Saber-toothed cat| Gemstone =
Benitoite| Mineral =
Gold| StateRock =
Serpentine| Ships =
The Californian (tall ship)
| Song = "
I Love You, California"
| Soil =
San Joaquin| Tartan =
California State Tartan| Beverage =
Wine| Game = Monopoly
| Mollusk =
Banana Slug (proposed; vetoed by governor; still possible)
| Quarter = California quarter, reverse side, 2005.jpg
| QuarterReleaseDate = 2005
California originally referred to the entire region composed of the current U.S. state of California, plus all or parts of
Nevada,
Utah,
Arizona, and
Wyoming, and the Mexican peninsula now known as
Baja California.
The name
California is most commonly believed derived from a storied paradise peopled by
black Amazons and ruled by
Queen Califia. The myth of Califia is recorded in a 1510 work
The Exploits of Esplandian, written as a sequel to
Amadís de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer
García Ordonez Rodriguez de Montalvo.
[Person-Lynn, Dr. Kwaku. "http://www.globalblacknews.com/Kwaku9.html California Named For Black Woman." Global Black News, February 22, 2004. Retrieved 2006-09-19.] The kingdom of Queen Califia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a remote land inhabited by
griffins and other strange beasts and rich in gold.
Know ye that at the right hand of the Indies there is an island named California, very close to that part of the terrestrial Paradise, which was inhabited by black women, without a single man among them, and that they lived in the manner of Amazons. They were robust of body, with strong and passionate hearts and great virtues. The island itself is one of the wildest in the world on account of the bold and craggy rocks. Their weapons were all made of gold. The island everywhere abounds with gold and precious stones, and upon it no other metal was found.[Person-Lynn, 2004.]
It is thought that the myth of Califia later helped fuel Spanish exploration in the
New World.
[Others suggest the word California may come from the early Spanish explorers who entered California via the hot southern regions and referred to California as being "hot as an oven" or a "lime oven" ("cali > hot", "fornus->forno > oven" + ending "ia" for a place; or with "cal > lime"). It may be derived from caliente fornalia, Spanish for hot furnace, or it may come from calida fornax, Latin for hot ]Geography
main|Geography of
300px|thumb|left|CaliforniaCalifornia borders the
Pacific Ocean,
Oregon,
Nevada,
Arizona, and the
Mexican state of
Baja California. With an area of 160,000 square miles (
411,000 km²) it is the third largest state in the U.S and is larger than Germany in size.
California's geography is rich, complex, and varied. In the middle of the state lies the
California Central Valley, bounded by the
coastal mountain ranges in the
west, the
Sierra Nevada to the
east, the
Cascade Range in the
north and the
Tehachapi Mountains in the
south. The Central Valley is California's agricultural heartland and grows a large portion of the United States's food. The northern half is known as the "Sacramento Valley" (drained by the
Sacramento River), while southern part of the valley, which is part desert, is known as the "San Joaquin Valley" (drained by the
San Joaquin River). With dredging, the Sacramento and the San Joaquin Rivers have remained sufficiently deep that several inland cities are
seaports. The
Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta serves as the water supply hub for much of the state's population. The
Channel Islands are located off the
southern coast.
The Sierra Nevada (meaning "snowy range" in
Spanish) include the highest peak in the contiguous forty-eight states,
Mount Whitney, at 14,494 ft (4418 m), world-famous
Yosemite National Park, and a 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, California's largest freshwater lake by area. The Sierra Nevada reaches arctic temperatures in the winter and has several dozen small glaciers, including the southernmost glacier in the U.S. (Palisade Glacier).
About 35% 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. In the south is a large inland salt lake, the
Salton Sea. Deserts in California make up about 25% of the total surface area. The south-central desert is called the
Mojave; to the northeast of the Mojave lies
Death Valley, which contains the lowest, hottest point in
North America,
Badwater Flat. The lowest point of Death Valley and the peak of Mount Whitney are less than 200 miles apart. Indeed, almost all of southeastern California is arid, hot desert, with routine extreme high temperatures during the summer.
Along the California coast are several major metropolitan areas, including
San Jose-
San Francisco-
Oakland,
Los Angeles-
Long Beach, Santa Ana-Irvine-Anaheim, and
San Diego.
California is famous for
earthquakes due to a number of faults, in particular the
San Andreas Fault. California is also home to several
volcanoes, including
Lassen Peak, which erupted from 1914 and 1921, and
Mount Shasta.
Climate
main|Climate of
California climate varies from
subtropical to
subarctic. Most of the state has a
Mediterranean climate, with cool, rainy
winters and dry
summers. The cool
California Current offshore often creates summer
fog near the coast. Further inland, the climate is colder winters and hotter summers.
Northern parts of the state average higher annual rainfall than the south. California's mountain ranges influence the climate as well: 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 a
mountain climate with
snow in winter and mild to moderate heat in summer.
The east side of California's mountains has a drier
rain shadow. The low deserts east of the southern California mountains have hot summers and nearly frostless mild winters; the higher elevation deserts of
eastern California have hot summers and cold winters. In
Death Valley, the highest temperature in the
Western Hemisphere, 134 °F (56.6 °C), was recorded
July 10,
1913.
Ecology
main|Ecology of
Ecologically, California is one of the richest and most diverse parts of the world and includes some of the most endangered ecological communities. California is part of the
Nearctic ecozone and spans a number of
terrestrial ecoregions.
California's large number of
endemic species includes
relic 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.
California boasts several superlatives in its collection of flora; the
largest trees, the
tallest trees, and the
oldest trees. California's native grasses are
perennials.
[United States Department of Agriculturehttp://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/may04/grass0504.htm article on California's perennial native grasses] 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.
Rivers
The two most important 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. Two other important rivers are the
Klamath River, in the north, and the
Colorado River, on the southeast border. For other rivers, see
List of California riversNational Parks and Monuments
thumb|left|250px|Yosemite Valleymain|List of areas in the National Park System of the United States|List of United States National Parks by state|List of National Monuments of the United
The U.S.
National Park System controls a large and diverse group of California parks. The most prominent is
Yosemite National Park. Half Dome, in Yosemite, figures prominently on the reverse side of the
California state quarter. Other prominent parks are the
Kings Canyon-
Sequoia National Park complex and
Redwood National Park.
History
main|History of California to 1899|History of California 1900 to
Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian
North America; the area was inhabited by more than
70 distinct groups of
Native Americans . Large, settled populations lived on the coast and hunted sea mammals, fished for salmon, and gathered shellfish, while groups in the interior hunted terrestrial game and gathered nuts, acorns, and berries. California groups also were diverse in their political organization with bands, tribes, tribelets, and on the resource-rich coasts, large chiefdoms, such as the
Chumash,
Pomo and
Salinan. Trade, intermarriage, and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups.
The first European to explore the coast as far north as the
Russian River was
João Rodrigues Cabrilho, in 1542, sailing for the Spanish Crown. The English explorer
Francis Drake also explored and claimed the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the
Manila Galleons as early as 1565.
Sebastián Vizcaíno explored and mapped the coast of California in 1602.
Beginning in 1769, Spanish missionaries set up
California Missions along the California coast, with small towns and
presidios. In 1821, the
Mexican War of Independence gave Mexico (including California) independence from
Spain; for the following quarter century, California remained a remote northern province of the nation of Mexico. Cattle ranches, or
ranchos, emerged as the dominant institutions of Mexican California. After Mexican independence from Spain, the
chain of missions became the property of the Mexican government, and were dissolved and abandoned by 1832.
Beginning in the 1820s, trappers and settlers from the United States and Canada began to arrive, harbingers of the great changes that would sweep California. These new arrivals used the
Siskiyou Trail,
California Trail, and
Old Spanish Trail to cross the rugged mountains and harsh deserts surrounding California. In this period,
Imperial Russia explored parts of California, particularly at
Fort Ross.
In 1846, at the outset of the
Mexican-American War (1846-1848), the
California Republic was founded and the
Bear Flag was flown, which featured a grizzly bear and a star. The Republic came to a sudden end, however, when Commodore John D. Sloat of the United States Navy sailed into San Francisco Bay and claimed California for the United States. Following the war, the region was divided between Mexico and the United States. The Mexican portion, Baja (lower) California was later divided into the states of Baja California and Baja California Sur. The western part of the U.S. portion,
Alta (upper) California, was to become the U.S. state of California.
In 1848, the Spanish-speaking population of upper California numbered around 4,000. But after gold was discovered, the population burgeoned with U.S. citizens, Europeans, and other immigrants during the great
California Gold Rush. In 1850, California was admitted to the
United States as a free state (one in which slavery was prohibited).
At first, 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. After this rail link was established, hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens came west, where new Californians were discovering that land in the state, if irrigated during the dry summer months, was extremely well-suited to fruit cultivation and agriculture in general. Citrus was widely grown (especially oranges), and the foundation was laid for the state's prodigious agricultural production.
During the early 20th century, migration to California accelerated 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 become the most populous state in the Union. From 1965 to the present, the population changed radically and became one of the most diverse in the world. The state is regarded a world center of engineering businesses, the entertainment and music industries, and of U.S. agricultural production.
Demographics
Population
histpop
|1850|92,597|
|1860|379,994|310.4%
|1870|560,247|47.4%
|1880|864,694|54.3%
|1890|1,213,398|40.3%
|1900|1,485,053|22.4%
|1910|2,377,549|60.1%
|1920|3,426,861|44.1%
|1930|5,677,251|65.7%
|1940|6,907,387|21.7%
|1950|10,586,223|53.3%
|1960|15,717,204|48.5%
|1970|19,953,134|27.0%
|1980|23,667,902|18.6%
|1990|29,760,021|25.7%
|
2000|33,871,648|13.8%
|2006 est.|37,172,015|9.7%
thumb|left|California Population Density MapAs of 2006, California has an estimated population of 37,172,015. California is the 13th fastest-growing state. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 1,557,112 people (that is 2,781,539 births minus 1,224,427 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 751,419 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 1,415,879 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 564,100 people, and a decrease of 21,669.
More than 12 percent of U.S. citizens live in California and its population is larger than all but 33 countries.
California has eight of the top 50 US cities in terms of population. Los Angeles is the nation's second largest city with a population of 3,845,541 people, followed by San Diego (8th), San Jose (10th), San Francisco (14th), Long Beach (34th), Fresno (37th), Sacramento (38th) and Oakland (44th).
The
center of population of California is located in
Kern County, in the town of
Buttonwillow http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cenpop/statecenters.txt.
Racial and ancestral makeup
California lacks a majority
ethnic group, and is one of four "
majority-minority states." The 2000 census reported that less than half of Californians were non-Hispanic
White (49%). 27% of the population is
Hispanic or
Latino (9.9 million people); followed by 12 percent
Asian American and
Pacific Islander; 7 percent
African American or
black; 5 percent
Native American (only 1 percent
full-blooded); and 5 percent
biracial or
multiracial. Only
New Mexico and
Texas have higher percentages of Latinos, but California has the highest number of any U.S. state, and
Hawaii has a higher Asian American percentage than California.
The largest named ancestries in California are
Mexican (25%),
German (9%),
Irish (7.7%),
English (7.4%) and
Filipino (6%), but includes 65 other ethnicities from Albanian to Somali. Both Los Angeles and San Francisco have large numbers of
French,
Italian,
Portuguese,
Russian and
Scandinavian ancestry. Southern California has fewer whites than in Northern California; the
Central Valley developed a Latino majority in the 1980s and 1990s.
Spanish,
German and
Scottish ancestries are dominant in the eastern
Sierra Nevada, the far north, and the North Coast.
Mexican Americans and
Chicanos predominate in
Southern California, the
Central Valley and parts of the
San Francisco Bay Area like
Alameda and
Santa Clara counties. Many of the state's Latinos are of
Mexican origin, but includes those of
Caribbean,
Central American and
South American origins. Latinos are the largest ethnic group in
Los Angeles County, California, but they compose a sizable community in San Francisco, San Diego and
Santa Ana where they compose 75 percent of the population.
Chinese Americans are numerous in
San Francisco,
East Bay,
South Bay, and the
San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County. The San Francisco Bay Area has a greater concentration of Cantonese-speaking Chinese. Southern California has perhaps the largest
Taiwanese American community in the United States particularly in
San Gabriel Valley, and in
Cerritos,
Irvine (in Orange County), and some in the
South Bay, Los Angeles Area.
Filipino Americans are particularly numerous in Los Angeles,
San Mateo and
Solano counties, and in communities such as
Artesia,
Baldwin Park,
Cerritos,
Covina,
West Covina, and the community of
Eagle Rock in Los Angeles. There are large
Korean American communities in
Koreatown of Los Angeles, the eastern
San Gabriel Valley, Cerritos,
South Bay, Los Angeles, and in northern Orange County.
South Bay, Los Angeles and
Little Tokyo has a large
Japanese American community.
Long Beach has one of the largest
Cambodian American communities in the United States. The neighboring cities of
Westminster and
Garden Grove have the largest
Vietnamese American community outside of Vietnam and is often dubbed "
Little Saigon". The Los Angeles-area cities of
Artesia and
Cerritos, as well as the Bay Area city of
Fremont have a large Asian
Indian American/
South Asian American community. There are also 10,000 Indian Americans in the rural
Imperial Valley.
In 2000, California also had the largest number of
Bulgarian Americans than any other U.S. state and also the most
Hungarian Americans of any U.S. state. California also has one of the largest numbers of
Armenian Americans at 600,000. There are an estimated 500,000
Persian Americans in
Southern California including 20% of
Beverly Hills.
[cite web | url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5459468 | title=Living in Tehrangeles: L.A.'s Iranian Community | first=Renee | last=Montagne|publisher=National Public Radio | ]. The state also has over 500,000
Arab Americans, with large communities in Alameda, Orange and
Stanislaus counties. A great percentage of came from
Egypt,
Iraq,
Jordan,
Lebanon and
Syria, but in the mid-20th century a pattern of agricultural migrant labor of Middle Eastern background appeared in the
Coachella Valley. citation
California has the largest population of
African Americans in the western U.S., an estimated 1.5 million residents. Large African American communities are in
Compton,
Los Angeles,
Long Beach,
Oakland,
Sacramento, and
San Bernardino. San Diego and San Francisco also have sizeable black populations. African Americans are approximately 7 percent of the state population with many of them living in suburban communities, especially in the
Inland Empire, the High Desert north of Los Angeles, and the Bakersfield and Fresno areas of the
San Joaquin Valley. citation .
California's Native American population of 350,000 is the most of any state. It also has the most Native American tribes (indigenous to the state or not). The
Cherokee Nation is the largest tribe in the state and they are often descendants of
Dust Bowl refugees who migrated to the state's farming counties and urban areas for jobs. In the inland southern areas, local tribal nations own and operate successful gaming and casino enterprises which promote tribal economic self-sufficiency and provide entertainment for the communities they serve. citation
Languages
As of 2000, 60.5% of California residents age 5 and older speak
English at home and 25.8% speak
Spanish.
Mandarin Chinese is the third most spoken language at 2.6%, followed by
Tagalog at 2.0% and
Vietnamese at 1.3%.
[Web cite|title=Detailed List of Languages Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over by State: 2000|url=http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t20/tab05.pdf|format=PDF|year=2003|work=2000 United States Census |publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=April ] Over 200 languages are known to be spoken and read in California, with Spanish used as the state's "alternative" language.
The
indigenous languages of California number more than one hundred and show great diversity making California one of the most linguistically diverse areas in the world. All of California's indigenous languages are
endangered, although there are now efforts toward
language revitalization.
Since 1986, the
California Constitution has specified that English is the common and official language of the state. The politics of language is a major political issue in the state, especially in regard to
language policy controlling the teaching and official use of immigrant languages. In actual practice, California's official-English law is not strictly enforced; many state, city, and local government agencies continue to print official public documents in other languages.
[cite news | url=http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/14627728.htm | title=English already is "official" in California|first=Dana |last=Hull|publisher=San Jose Mercury News | date=2006-05-20 | ] Religion
The state has the most Roman Catholics, a large
American Jewish community and rapid-growing Islamic population. There's a thriving number of
new age,
cult movements, and
eastern religions that symbolize California as a progressive place for theological innovation since the 1960s.
The religious affiliations of the people of
*
Christian – 77%
**
Protestant – 40%
***
Baptist – 8%
***
Presbyterian – 3%
***
Methodist – 2%
***
Lutheran – 2%
***
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – 1%
***other Protestant or general Protestant – 23%
**
Roman Catholic – 34%
**other Christian – 3%
*
Muslim – 2%
*
Jewish – 2%
*other Religions – 3%
*non-Religious – 19%
The majority of California's
Roman Catholic membership are of
Filipino,
Irish,
Italian, and
Hispanic ancestry. The population of
Roman Catholic Californians is rapidly growing due to the influx of
Latin American immigrants.
As with many other western states, the percentage of California's population identifying themselves as "non-religious" is comparatively high in relation to the rest of the U.S.
Economy
main|Economy of
further|
California locations by per capita
thumb|right|250px|The [Hollywood Sign is the best-known symbol of California's huge entertainment industry.]
thumb|left|250px|[Silicon Valley is the center of California's computer industry, just south of San Francisco.]
right|thumb|250px|status symbols and sources of fine wine">[Vineyards are popular in California as both
status symbols and sources of fine wine]
As of 2005, California's GDP is larger than all but seven countries in the world and all but eight countries (by
Purchasing Power Parity). California is responsible for 13% of the United States
gross domestic product (GDP). As of 2005, The
gross state product (GSP) is about $1.62
trillion, the largest in the
country.
California is also the home of several significant economic regions such as
Hollywood (entertainment), the
California Central Valley (agriculture),
Silicon Valley (
computers and
high tech), and
wine producing regions such as Santa Barbara and Northern California's
Wine Country.
The predominant industry, more than twice as large as the next, is
agriculture, (including
fruit,
vegetables,
dairy, and
wine). This is followed by
aerospace;
entertainment, primarily
television by dollar volume, although many
movies are still made in California; light manufacturing, including
computer hardware and
software; and the
mining of
borax.
Per capita personal income was $48,460 as of 2005, ranking 13
th in the nation. 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. Recently, the San Joaquin Valley was characterized
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/links/CRS%20San%20Joaquin%20Valley%20Report.pdf as one of the most economically depressed regions in the U.S., on par with the region of
Appalachia.
Many coastal cities include some of the wealthiest per-capita areas in the U.S. The high-technology sectors in Northern California, specifically
Silicon Valley, in
Santa Clara and
San Mateo counties, are currently emerging from economic downturn caused by the
dot.com bust, which caused the loss of over 250,000 jobs in Northern California alone. Recent (Spring 2005)
http://uclaforecast.com economic data indicate that economic growth has resumed in California at 4.3%.
California levies a 9.3% maximum variable rate
income tax, with 6
tax brackets. It collects about $40 billion in income taxes. California's combined state, county and local sales tax rate is from
http://www.boe.ca.gov/cgi-bin/rates.cgi 7.25 to 8.75%. The rate varies throughout the state at the local level. In all, it collects about $28 billion in sales taxes. All
real property are taxable and are assessed at fair market value at the time of purchase, limiting property tax income. California collects $33 billion in property taxes.
see also|California unemployment
Transportation
thumb|left|300px|California's most famous bridge, the [Golden Gate Bridge]
main|Transportation of
California's vast terrain is connected by an extensive system of
freeways,
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 (
Caltrans as it is commonly known).
[www.dot.ca.gov] thumb|right|300px|interchanges with soaring ramps that offer stunning views.">[Caltrans builds tall "stack"
interchanges with soaring ramps that offer stunning views.] The state's most famous highway bridge is the
Golden Gate Bridge.
Los Angeles International Airport and
San Francisco International Airport 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 important
seaports. The giant seaport complex formed by the
Port of Los Angeles and the
Port of Long Beach in Southern California is the largest in the country and responsible for handling about a fourth of all container cargo traffic in the United States. The
Port of Oakland handles most of the ocean containers passing through Northern California.
Intercity rail travel is provided by
Amtrak. Los Angeles and San Francisco both have
subway networks, in addition to
light rail.
Metrolink commuter rail serves much of Southern California, and
Caltrain commuter rail connects Bay Area suburbs to San Francisco. San Jose and Sacramento have light rail, and
San Diego has
Trolley light rail and
Coaster commuter rail services. Nearly all counties operate
bus lines, and many cities operate their own bus lines as well. Intercity bus travel is provided by
Greyhound and Amtrak bus services.
The rapidly growing population of the state is straining all of its transportation networks. A regularly recurring issue in California politics is whether the state should continue to aggressively expand its freeway network or concentrate on improving mass transit networks in urban areas.
The
California High Speed Rail Authority was created in 1996 by the state to implement an extensive 700 mile (1127 km) rail system. Construction is pending approval of the voters during the November 2008 general election, in which a $9 billion state bond would have to be approved.
State politics and government
main|Government of
thumb|right|250px|The State Capitol in Sacramento, which is the home of the California State Legislaturethumb|right|250px|The Earl Warren Building and Courthouse in San Francisco, which is the home of the Supreme Court of CaliforniaCalifornia is governed as a
republic, with three
branches of government: the
executive branch consisting of the
Governor of California and the other independently elected constitutional officers; the
legislative branch consisting of the
Assembly and
Senate; and the
judicial branch consisting of the
Supreme Court of California and lower courts. The state also allows direct participation of the electorate by
initiative,
referendum,
recall, and
ratification. California follows a
closed primary system.
The
Governor of California and the other state constitutional officers serve four-year terms and may be re-elected only once. The
California State Legislature consists of a 40 member
Senate and 80 member
Assembly. Senators serve four year terms and Assembly members two. The terms of the Senators are staggered so that half the membership is elected every two years. The Senators representing the odd-numbered districts are elected in years evenly divisible by four, which corresponds to presidential election years. The Senators from the even-numbered districts are elected in the intervening even-numbered years, in the gubernatorial election cycle. California's legislature is organized in such that the party caucus leaders wield great power and can usually speak on behalf of their caucuses. Many important legislative decisions are thus not made on the floor of the legislature but in back-room deals by the "
Big Five," which comprises the governor and the Democratic and Republican leaders of each chamber. Members of the Assembly are subject to
term limits of 3 terms, and members of the Senate are subject to term limits of 2 terms.
For the 2005–2006 session, there are 48
Democrats and 32
Republicans in the Assembly. In the Senate, there are 25 Democrats and 15 Republicans. The current governor is
Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose current term lasts through January 2007. Most government elected offices are not considered competitive due to extensive gerrymandering. Schwarzenegger was only the second governor in the history of the United States to be put into office by a
recall of a sitting governor (the first was the 1921 recall of
North Dakota Governor
Lynn J. Frazier). Schwarzenegger replaced Governor
Gray Davis (1999–2003), who was removed from office by the October
2003 California recall election.
The state's capital is
Sacramento. During California's early history under European control, the capital was successively located in
Monterey (1775–1849),
San Jose (1849–1851),
Vallejo (1852–1853),
Benicia (1853–1854), and
San Francisco (1862). The capital moved to Sacramento temporarily in 1852 when construction on a State House could not be completed in time in Vallejo. The capital's final move to Sacramento was on
February 25,
1854 where it has been located since, except for a four-month temporary move in 1862 to San Francisco, which was due to severe flooding in Sacramento.
California's
judiciary is the largest in the United States (with a total of 1,600 judges, while the state's federal system has only about 840). It is supervised by the seven Justices of the
Supreme Court of California. 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. Judges of the trial courts, the Superior Courts in each county, may be appointed by the Governor or elected directly by the voters, depending on when the vacancy occurs. Superior Court judges serve six-year terms, after which they may run for re-election. Unlike the retention elections for Supreme Court and Court of Appeal justices, Superior Court judges run for re-election in open races, in which other qualified candidates may run as challengers.
Political culture
{| align="right" border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
|+
Presidential elections results|- bgcolor=lightgrey
! Year
!
Republican!
Democratic|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|
2004|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|44.36% 5,509,826
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|
54.31% 6,745,485
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|
2000|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|41.65% 4,567,429
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|
53.45% 5,861,203
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|
1996|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|38.21% 3,828,380
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|
51.10% 5,119,835
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|
1992|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|32.61% 3,630,574
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|
46.01% 5,121,325
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|
1988|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|
51.13% 5,054,917
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|47.56% 4,702,233
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|
1984|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|
57.51% 5,467,009
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|41.27% 3,922,519
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|
1980|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|
52.69% 4,524,858
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|35.91% 3,083,661
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|
1976|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|
49.35% 3,882,244
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|47.57% 3,742,284
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|
1972|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|
55.00% 4,602,096
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|41.54% 3,475,847
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|
1968|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|
47.82% 3,467,664
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|44.74% 3,244,318
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|
1964|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|40.79% 2,879,108
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|
59.11% 4,171,877
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|
1960|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|
50.10% 3,259,722
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|49.55% 3,224,099
|}
California has an idiosyncratic political culture brought on by the diversity of its electorate. Having been the second state to legalize abortion in the 1960s and one of the first states to legalize
domestic partnerships for gay couples, California also was the first state where voters said that only marriage between a man and a woman would be recognized. Its voters was the first to eliminate
affirmative action through Proposition 209 but rejected Proposition 54, an initiative that would ban the state from collecting racial data in all but select circumstances. Voters approved
California Proposition 187 (1994) to prevent illegal immigrants from receiving public services in the state (later overturned by a federal court) yet it provides them with in-state tuition for public universities. Illegal immigration remains a divisive issue with most liberals and a majority of Democrats want to expand legal rights for illegal immigrants, but widely opposed by many conservatives and a large percentage of Republicans.
The state's African American vote remains mostly loyal to the Democrats; Latinos mobilized by the campaign around Proposition 187 formed a large and growing bulwark of the Democratic Party. Caucasians in the suburbs and rural areas are reliable for Republican candidates. Partisan loyalties have shifted in past twenty years with the once-Republican inner suburban strongholds in Los Angeles County and the Bay Area moving to the Democrats. Republicans count on the votes in fast growing Inland Empire and Central Valley to make up the difference. The most pronounced trend in partisan affiliation is the increase in voters who "decline to state", or not register with any political party. In 1994, only 10% declined to register with a party, that number is now 19%.
[http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/ror/15day_06gen/hist_reg_stats.pdf]California is currently considered a reliably
Democratic state. Once very conservative, having elected conservatives such as
Ronald Reagan as governor and
William Knowland as senator, California has flipped sides in recent decades (beginning in the 1990's) and became a Democrat-voting state, having elected statewide liberals such as
Dianne Feinstein and
Barbara Boxer to the Senate. The latter is known for being one of the most
liberal members of the U.S. Senate and has been active in left-leaning operations and progressive campaigns. Just as recently as 2003, Democrats controlled all but one elected statewide office and the legislature while Republican-appointed judges held all but one seat in the state supreme court. Since then, California has been moving back towards centrism re-electing its Republican governor and another Republican to a statewide office. Voters continue to vote down tax increases and expansion of government programs.
Ballot qualified political parties
*
American Independent Party:
http://www.aipca.org link*
Democratic Party:
http://www.cadem.org/ link*
Green Party:
http://www.cagreens.org link*
Libertarian Party:
http://www.ca.lp.org link*
Peace and Freedom Party:
http://www.peaceandfreedom.org link*
Republican Party:
http://www.cagop.org linksee also|List of California Governors|U.S. Congressional Delegations from California|List of California ballot
California state law
California's legal system, like all other states (except Louisiana), is explicitly based on English
common law but carries a few features from Spanish
civil law, such as
community property.
Capital punishment is a legal form of punishment and the state has the largest "
Death Row" population in the country (though
Texas is far more active in carrying out executions).
Cities, towns and counties
:
For lists of cities, towns, and counties in California, see List of cities in California (by population), List of cities in California, List of urbanized areas in California (by population), List of counties in California, and California locations by per capita income.
Image:Sacramento from Riverwalk.jpg|Sacramento
Image:DowntownLosAngeles.jpg|Los Angeles
Image:Sandiego_1_bg_071302.jpg|San Diego
Image:Lightmatter sanfrancisco.jpg|San Francisco
Image:SanJoseDowntownIMG016elf wb.jpg|San Jose
Image:Long Beach, CA at night.jpg|Long Beach
Image:Oakland_California_skyline.jpg|Oakland
Image:Waltdisneystatue-disneyland.jpg|Anaheim
The state of California has 478 incorporated cities and towns, of which 456 are cities and 22 are towns. The majority of these cities and towns are within one of four
metropolitan areas. Sixty-eight percent of California's population lives in its two largest metropolitan areas,
Greater Los Angeles and the
San Francisco Bay Area.
The state recognizes two kinds of cities--
charter and general law. General law cities owe their existence to state law and consequentially governed by it; charter cities are governed by their own city charters.
[http://www.ilsg.org/index.jsp?zone=ilsg&previewStory=5529] Cities incorporated in the 19th century tend to be charter cities. All of the state's ten most populous cities are charter cities.
{|
|-
|valign=top|
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right; margin-left:60px"
|-
! Rank !! align=center |City !! Population
within
city limits !! Land Area
sq. miles !! Population
Density
per sq mi !! County
|-
| 1 ||align=left |
Los Angeles ||
4,097,340 || 469.1 || 7,876.8 ||
Los Angeles|-
| 2 ||align=left |
San Diego ||
1,311,162 || 324.3 || 3,771.9 ||
San Diego|-
| 3 ||align=left |
San Jose ||
953,679 || 174.9 || 5,117.9 ||
Santa Clara|-
| 4 ||align=left |
San Francisco ||
798,680 || 46.7 || 16,634.4 ||
San Francisco|-
| 5 ||align=left |
Long Beach ||
490,166 || 50.5 || 9,149.8 ||
Los Angeles|-
| 6 ||align=left |
Fresno ||
471,479 || 104.4 || 4,097.7 ||
Fresno|-
| 7 ||align=left |
Sacramento ||
457,514 || 97.2 || 4,189.2 ||
Sacramento|-
| 8 ||align=left |
Oakland ||
411,755 || 56.1 || 7,126.6 ||
Alameda|-
| 9 ||align=left |
Santa Ana ||
351,322 || 27.1 || 12,451.9 ||
Orange|-
|10 ||align=left |
Anaheim ||
342,410 || 48.9 || 6,702.0 ||
Orange|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right; margin-left:60px"
|-
! Rank !! align=center |County !! Population
within
county limits !! Land Area
sq. miles !! Population
Density
per sq mi !! Largest city
|-
| 1 ||align=left |
Los Angeles ||
10,245,572 || 4,061 || 2,344 ||
Los Angeles|-
| 2 ||align=left |
Orange ||
3,072,336 || 789 || 3,606 ||
Santa Ana|-
| 3 ||align=left |
San Diego ||
3,066,820 || 4,200 || 670 ||
San Diego|-
| 4 ||align=left |
San Bernardino ||
1,991,829 || 20,052 || 85 ||
San Bernardino|-
| 5 ||align=left |
Riverside ||
1,953,330 || 7,207 || 214 ||
Riverside|-
| 6 ||align=left |
Santa Clara ||
1,773,258 || 1,291 || 1,304 ||
San Jose|-
| 7 ||align=left |
Alameda ||
1,510,303 || 738 || 1,957 ||
Oakland|-
| 8 ||align=left |
Sacramento ||
1,385,607 || 966 || 1,267 ||
Sacramento|-
| 9 ||align=left |
Contra Costa ||
1,029,377 || 720 || 492 ||
Concord|-
|10 ||align=left |
Fresno ||
899,514 || 5,963 || 134 ||
Fresno|}
Note: table was compiled using California State estimates from http://www.dof.ca.gov/HTML/DEMOGRAP/ReportsPapers/Estimates/E1/documents/e-1press.pdf 2006 for population with the exception of the City of Los Angeles (cite web | url = http://lapdonline.org/assets/pdf/cityprof.pdf | title = Citywide Profile | publisher = Los Angeles Police ). Area and density were compiled from Census 2000.Education
main|Education in California|List of colleges and universities in
Image:Berkeley glade afternoon.jpg|UC Berkeley
Image:RHall.JPG|UCLA
Image:USC Bovard Auditorium enh.jpg|USC
Image:Stanford University campus from above.jpg|Stanford
California offers a unique three-tier system of public postsecondary education:
:The preeminent research university system in the state is the
University of California (UC), which employs more
Nobel Prize laureates than any other institution in the world, and is considered one of the world's finest public university systems. There are nine general UC campuses, and a number of specialized campuses in the UC system.
:The
California State University (CSU) system has over 400,000 students, making it the largest university system in the United States. It is intended to accept the top one-third (1/3) of high school students. The CSU schools are primarily intended for undergraduate education.
:The
California Community Colleges system provides lower division courses. It is composed of 109 colleges, serving a student population of over 2.9 million.
California is also home to such notable private universities as
Stanford University, the
University of Southern California (USC), and the
California Institute of Technology (Caltech). California has hundreds of other private colleges and universities, including many religious and special-purpose institutions.
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 40% of state revenues to be spent on education.
Sports
main|Sports in California|List of professional sports teams in
California hosted the
1960 Winter Olympics at
Squaw Valley, the
1932 and
1984 Summer Olympics in
Los Angeles, as well as the
1994 FIFA World Cup. Los Angeles is currently competing to host the
2016 Summer Olympics.
California has some fifteen
major professional sports league franchises, far more than any other state. The
San Francisco Bay Area has six major league teams spread in three cities,
San Francisco,
Oakland and
San Jose. While also home to six major league franchises, the
Greater Los Angeles Area is the largest metropolitan area not to have any teams from the
National Football League.
San Diego has two major league teams, and
Sacramento has one.
Home to some of most prominent universities in the United States, California has long had many respected collegiate sports programs. In particular, the athletic programs of the
University of Southern California,
University of California, Berkeley,
UCLA and
Stanford University are often nationally-ranked in the various collegiate sports. California is also home to the oldest college bowl game, the annual
Rose Bowl, and the
Pacific Life Holiday Bowl, among others.
Each year, the
California State Games take place here. In addition, many high school teams are often nationally-ranked.
See also
*
List of California-related topics*
California English*
Culture of California*
Cuisine of California*
List of California counties*
List of California politicians*
List of California state highways*
List of California state prisons*
List of cities in California*
List of cities in California (by population)*
List of professional sports teams in California*
List of songs about California*
Lists of school districts in California by county*
Music of California*
Northern California*
Origin of the name California*
Protected areas of California*
Scouting in California*
USS CaliforniaReferences
*cite book | last = Chartkoff | first = Joseph L. | coauthors = Chartkoff, Kerry Kona | date = 1984 | title = The archaeology of California | location = Stanford | publisher = Stanford University Press
*cite book | last = Fagan | first = Brian | date = 2003 | title = Before California: An archaeologist looks at our earliest inhabitants | location = Lanham, MD | publisher = Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
*cite book | last = Moratto | first = Michael J. | coauthors = Fredrickson, David A. | date = 1984 | title = California archaeology | location = Orlando | publisher = Academic Press
External links
*
http://www.ca.gov/ State of California Official Web site*
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06000.html U.S. Census Bureau*
http://www.californiaprehistory.com/tribmap.html Native Tribes, Groups, Language Families and Dialects of California*
http://countingcalifornia.cdlib.org/ Counting California*
http://www.dmv.ca.gov California Department of Motor Vehicles*
http://www.californiahistoricalsociety.org/programs/ccd.html California Historical Society cultural sites index*
http://www.ers.usda.gov/statefacts/ca.htm Economic Research Service, USDA - California State*
http://www.library.ca.gov/history/cahinsig.cfm List of official California State Insignia (symbols) from the
California State Library *
http://www.usgs.gov/state/state.asp?State=CA USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of California*
http://www.calfish.org/uploads/PAD_DataSources.pdf Map of California watersheds.*
http://www.californiaimage.com/california.htm California: History, Geography, Climate, Major Cities*
http://digital-vector-maps.com/blank-state-maps/US-1055-United-States.htm California Blank Outline MapUnited
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