California Wikipedia

It is also the cultural, and economic hub of the larger Sacramento Metropolitan Area. Situated in Southern California is Los Angeles – the largest and the most populous city in California. The city of Los Angeles has been designated as a global city and is considered to be a leader in the technology, science, entertainment, and medicine industry. Incorporated cities and towns in California are either charter or general-law municipalities.161 General-law municipalities owe their existence to state law and are consequently governed by it; charter municipalities are governed by their own city or town charters. Municipalities incorporated in the 19th century tend to be charter municipalities.

List of The Largest Cities in California by population

• Following the 2018 midterm House elections, Democrats won 46 out of 53 congressional house seats in California, leaving Republicans with seven.
• Sea lions, seals, otters, humpback whales, and blue whales are a few of this region’s notable species.
• California is the only U.S. state to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics.

The Anza expedition selected numerous sites for missions, presidios, and pueblos, which subsequently would be established by settlers. Gabriel Moraga, a member of the expedition, would also christen many of California’s prominent rivers with their names in 1775–1776, such as the Sacramento River and the San Joaquin River. After the expedition, Gabriel’s son, José Joaquín Moraga, would found the pueblo of San Jose in 1777, making it the first civilian-established city in California.

Mexican period

Yosemite National Park, located in the Sierra Nevada, offers iconic landscapes and outdoor recreational activities. The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco remains a prominent architectural marvel. Coastal destinations like Malibu and Santa Monica attract visitors with their beaches and pier attractions. You may download, print or use the above map for educational, personal and non-commercial purposes. For any website, blog, scientific research or e-book, you must place a hyperlink (to this page) with an attribution next to the image used.

The geographic area of a special district can spread across multiple cities or counties, or could consist of only a portion of one. Most of California’s special districts are single-purpose districts, and provide one service. The high-technology sectors in Northern California, specifically Silicon Valley, in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, have emerged from the economic downturn caused by the dot-com bust. A majority of California’s cities are located in either the San Francisco Bay Area or the Sacramento metropolitan area in Northern California; or the Los Angeles area, the Inland Empire, or the San Diego metropolitan area in Southern California. The Los Angeles Area, the Bay Area, and the San Diego metropolitan area are among several major metropolitan areas along the California coast. Juan Bautista de Anza led a similarly important expedition throughout California in 1775–76, which would extend deeper into the interior and north of California.

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Major rivers like the Sacramento and San Joaquin run through the Central Valley, providing essential water resources. These varied landscapes contribute to California’s unique climate zones, from Mediterranean along the coast to alpine in the Sierra Nevada, supporting its rich biodiversity and varied ecosystems. The roughly 1,100-mile- (1,800-km-) long coastline of California is mountainous, most dramatically so in the Santa Lucia Range south of San Francisco, where towering cliffs rise about 800 feet (240 meters) above the ocean. Hills of lesser elevation flank entrances to the coast’s three major natural harbors, at San Diego, San Francisco, and Eureka. Coastal mountains, made up of many indistinct chains, are from about 20 to 40 miles (30 to 65 km) in width and from 2,000 to 8,000 feet (600 to 2,400 meters) in elevation.

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California (/ˌkælɪˈfɔːrniə/) is a state in the Western United States that lies on the Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the south. With almost 40 million residents across an area of 163,696 square miles (423,970 km2), it is the largest state by population and third-largest by area. Key geographical regions include the Coastal Range, home to iconic locations such as Big Sur and the Redwood National Park.

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• It has become an essential logistic hub, given its strategic location between major Californian cities.
• School districts, which are independent of cities and counties, handle public education.
• In 1812, the Russian-American Company established a trading post and small fortification at Fort Ross on the North Coast.4647 Fort Ross was primarily used to supply Russia’s Alaskan colonies with food supplies.
• To meet the population’s needs, engineering feats like the California and Los Angeles Aqueducts; the Oroville and Shasta Dams; and the Bay and Golden Gate Bridges were built.
• These huge ranchos or cattle ranches emerged as the dominant institutions of Mexican California.
• 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.

Like most states, California is divided into counties, of which there are 58 (including San Francisco) covering the entire state. School districts, which are independent of cities and counties, handle public education. Many other functions, such as fire protection and water supply, especially in unincorporated areas, are handled by special districts. California is traditionally separated into Northern California and Southern California, divided by a straight border which runs across the state, separating the northern 48 counties from the southern 10 counties. 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.

With its expansive coastline, towering mountains, sprawling cities, and vast deserts, each region has its distinct flavor and story. Here’s a brief breakdown of the various regions of California, celebrating their uniqueness. California’s coastline runs for approximately 840 miles, featuring numerous bays, beaches, and cliffs.

Los Angeles County, with over 10 million residents, ranks as the most populous, while Alpine County, with fewer than 1,200 residents, remains the least populous. Geographically, San Bernardino County spans more than 20,000 square miles, making it the largest, whereas San Francisco encompasses just 47 square miles as both a city and county. California, also known as the Golden State, offers a diverse tapestry of landscapes, cultures, and communities.

The Portolá expedition of 1769–70 was a pivotal event in the Spanish colonization of California, resulting in the establishment of numerous missions, presidios, and pueblos. The military and civil contingent of the expedition was led by Gaspar de Portolá, who traveled over land from Sonora into California, while the religious component was headed by Junípero Serra, who came by sea from Baja California. In 1769, Portolá and Serra established Mission San Diego de Alcalá and the Presidio of San Diego, the first religious and military settlements founded by the Spanish california tax brackets 2023 in California. By the end of the expedition in 1770, they would establish the Presidio of Monterey and Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo on Monterey Bay. Known for its iconic Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco is the crown jewel of the Bay Area.

More than 4,000 square miles (10,500 square km) of the desert lie below sea level, including the 300-square-mile (800-square-km) Salton Sea, a lake with no outlet that was created in 1905–07 when the nearby Colorado River broke out of its channel. In the southeast lies the Mojave Desert, which, at more than 25,000 square miles (65,000 square km), occupies one-sixth of the land area of California. Its landmarks are broad basins and eroded mountains, fault blocks, and alluvial surfaces, most of which are more than 2,000 feet (600 meters) above sea level. Vegetation includes the evergreen creosote bush, yucca, saltbush, burroweed, encelia, cottonwood, and mesquite.

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Nestled between Los Angeles and the desert to its east, the Inland Empire is an urban region known for its rapidly growing industries and communities. It has become an essential logistic hub, given its strategic location between major Californian cities. With an area of 163,696 mi², California is the 3rd largest and the most populous state in the USA. Located in the north-central part of the state in the Sacramento Valley is Sacramento – the capital and the 6th largest city of California. It serves as the administrative, political, financial, educational, health-care, and tourism center of the state.