Welcome to TheseUnitedStates - California

California, our 31st state, was admitted to the Union September 9, 1850.   The 2000 census has California's population at 33,871,648, ranking first in the US.  With a total area of  163,696 square miles, the state ranks 3rd  in size.  California's capital is Sacramento; its largest city is Los Angeles.

Useful Internet Links for California:

Official Website of California  

http://www.state.ca.us

Travel and Tourism Department  

http://www.gocalif.ca.gov

Call toll free  1-800-GOCALIF

Congress.org - California Elected Officials

California Weather from Weather.com

National Park Service Sites in California

California News from USA Today

California fun facts:

California State Bird:  California valley quail

California State Flower: Golden poppy

California State Motto:  Eureka (I Have Found It)

California State Song:  I Love You, California

California State Tree:  California redwood

Nickname:  The Golden State

The geographic center of California is located 38 miles east of Madera near Millerton Lake.  At 14,494 feet, Mount Whitney, located in the Sierra Nevada range, is the highest point in California and in the lower 48 states.  California also claims the lowest point in the United States: Death Valley, at 282 feet below sea level.  The name California was bestowed by Spanish Conquistadors, possibly by Cortez.  It was the name of an imaginary island paradise in Las Serges de Esplandian, a Spanish romance written by Montalvo in 1510.  

Brief History: Early inhabitants included more than 100 different Native American tribes.  The Spanish explorer Cabrillo explored the California coast in the 1540's; Sir Francis Drake followed in 1579.  The first European settlement was the Spanish Alta California mission  at San Diego, 1769,  the first in a string founded by Franciscan Father Junipero Serra.  The area later became part of Mexico, but was ceded to the US at the end of the Mexican War.  That same year,1848, gold was discovered in California.  The Gold Rush swelled the state's population from 15,000 to 250,000 in four years.  

Among California's many attractions are eight National Parks:  Channel Islands, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Kings Canyon, Lassen Volcanic, Redwood, Sequoia and Yosemite; and five National Monuments:  Cabrillo, Devil's Postpile, Lava Beds, Muir Woods, and Pinnacles.  Other destinations include:  Disneyland; Universal Studios; Hollywood; Lake Tahoe; San Francisco Bay; Napa Valley; Monterey Peninsula and Aquarium; The Queen Mary at Long beach; San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park; Sea World San Diego; and Legoland.

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