Portal:California

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Introduction

California is a state in the Pacific Region of the United States. With 39.6 million residents, California is the most populous U.S. state and the third-largest by area. The state capital is Sacramento. The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, with 18.7 million and 8.8 million residents respectively. Los Angeles is California's most populous city, and the country's second-most populous, after New York City. California also has the nation's most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The City and County of San Francisco is both the country's second-most densely populated major city and the fifth-most densely populated county.

California's $2.9 trillion economy is larger than that of any other state, larger than those of Texas and Florida combined, and the largest sub-national economy in the world. If it were a country, California would be the 5th largest economy in the world (larger than the United Kingdom, France, or India), and the 36th most populous . The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second- and third-largest urban economies ($1.253 trillion and $878 billion respectively ), after the New York City metropolitan area. The San Francisco Bay Area PSA had the nation's highest GDP per capita in 2017 (~$99,000), and is home to three of the world's ten largest companies by market capitalization and four of the world's ten richest people.

California is considered a global trendsetter in popular culture, innovation, environmentalism and politics. It is considered the origin of the American film industry, the hippie counterculture, fast food, the Internet, and the personal computer, among others. The San Francisco Bay Area and the Greater Los Angeles Area are widely seen as the centers of the global technology and entertainment industries, respectively. California has a very diverse economy: 58% of the state's economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5% of the state's economy, California's agriculture industry has the highest output of any U.S. state.

California is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and the Mexican state of Baja California to the south (with the coast being on the west). The state's diverse geography ranges from the Pacific Coast in the west to the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the east, and from the redwood–Douglas fir forests in the northwest to the Mojave Desert in the southeast. The Central Valley, a major agricultural area, dominates the state's center. Although California is well-known for its warm Mediterranean climate, the large size of the state results in climates that vary from moist temperate rainforest in the north to arid desert in the interior, as well as snowy alpine in the mountains. Over time, drought and wildfires have become more pervasive features.

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Yosemite National Park is a national park largely in Mariposa County, and Tuolumne County, California, United States. The park covers an area of 1,189 mi² (3,081 km²) and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain. Yosemite is visited by over 3.5 million visitors each year, with most only seeing the seven square miles of Yosemite Valley. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity. About 89% of the park is designated Wilderness. It was also the first park set aside by the U.S. federal government. Although not the first designated national park, Yosemite was a focal point in the development of the national park idea, largely owing to the work of people like John Muir. Yosemite is one of the largest and least fragmented habitat blocks in the Sierra Nevada, and the park supports a diversity of plants and animals.

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Group of California indigenous people.
Democrats Jerry Brown and Eric Garcetti, serving as Governor of California and Mayor of Los Angeles
Moss Landing Power Plant, the state's largest power production source (presently shut down)
Mission San Diego de Alcalá drawn as it was in 1848. Established in 1769, it was the first of the California Missions.
Treemap of the popular vote by county, 2016 presidential election.
The original of Todd's Bear Flag, photographed in 1890
Had California been an independent country in 2018 its gross domestic product would have been ranked fifth in the world.
The "Birthplace of Silicon Valley" garage, where Stanford University graduates William Hewlett and David Packard developed their first product in the 1930s
California per capita personal income by county in 2016.
The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, one of California's most famous landmarks
Hollywood film studios, 1922
Party registration by county (October 2018):
  Democrat >= 30%
  Democrat >= 40%
  Democrat >= 50%
  Republican >= 30%
  Republican >= 40%
Caltrans builds tall "stack" interchanges with soaring ramps that offer impressive views
Torrance High School is one of the oldest high schools in continuous use in California and a popular location for television and motion picture production.
The coat of arms granted to The Californias by Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza.
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum hosted the Olympic Games in 1932 and 1984
Part of the 354 MW SEGS solar complex in northern San Bernardino County, California
A map of California tribal groups and languages at the time of European contact.
Economic regions of California
California GDP by sector in 2017.
The Russian Empire established their largest settlement in California at Fort Ross in 1812
The Hollywood Sign, a symbol of the American film industry
A tree map depicting the distribution of occupations across the state of California
Sunset at Venice Beach
The California State Capitol; in Sacramento, which has served as California's capital since 1854.
Mission San Diego de Alcalá, one of the first Spanish missions in California.
Los Angeles is the second-most populous city in the U.S., after New York City.
The population density of California
An aerial view of the Delta–Mendota Canal (left) and the California Aqueduct (right), at the Interstate 205 crossing west of Tracy, conveying water from Northern to Southern California

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California has become the first American state where there is no majority race, and we're doing just fine. If you look around the room, you can see a microcosm of what we can do in the world [...] You should be hopeful on balance about the future. But it's like any future since the beginning of time – you're going to have to make it.

— Bill Clinton

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Did you know?

...that Josiah Belden was a member of the first party to use the California Trail, and the first mayor of San Jose, California?
...that the California Pacific Conference has school members that range from members of the California State University system to religious and liberal arts colleges?
... that Isaac Newton Van Nuys of New York founded Van Nuys, California, United States in 1911?

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Selected biography

Linus Carl Pauling (February 28, 1901 – August 19, 1994) was an American scientist, peace activist, author and educator. He is considered one of the most influential chemists of the 20th century and ranks among the most important scientists in history. Pauling was one of the first scientists to work in the fields of quantum chemistry, molecular biology and orthomolecular medicine. He is also a member of a small group of individuals who have been awarded more than one Nobel Prize, one of only two people to receive them in different fields (the other was Marie Curie) and the only person in that group to have been awarded each of his prizes without having to share it with another recipient.

Pauling was born and raised in Oregon. He attended Oregon Agricultural College and graduated in 1922 with a degree in chemical engineering. Pauling then went to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where he received his Ph. D in physical chemistry and mathematical physics in 1925. Two years later, he accepted a position at Caltech as an assistant professor in theoretical chemistry. In 1932, Pauling published a landmark paper, detailing his theory of orbital hybridization and analyzed the tetravalency of carbon. That year, he also established the concept of electronegativity and developed a scale that would help predict the nature of chemical bonding.

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State facts

Nicknames: The Golden State
Capital: Sacramento
Governor: Jerry Brown (D)
Lieutenant Governor: Gavin Newsom (D)
Secretary of State: Alex Padilla (D)
Attorney General: Xavier Becerra (D)

Senators: Dianne Feinstein (D), Kamala Harris (D)
Representatives: Doug LaMalfa (R), Jared Huffman (D), John Garamendi (D), Tom McClintock (R), Mike Thompson (D), Doris Matsui (D), Ami Bera (D), Paul Cook (R), Jerry McNerney (D), Jeff Denham (R), Mark DeSaulnier (D), Nancy Pelosi (D), Barbara Lee (D), Jackie Speier (D), Eric Swalwell (D), Jim Costa (D), Ro Khanna (D), Anna Eshoo (D), Zoe Lofgren (D), Jimmy Panetta (D), David Valadao (R), Devin Nunes (R), Kevin McCarthy (R), Salud Carbajal (D), Steve Knight (R), Julia Brownley (D), Judy Chu (D), Adam Schiff (D), Tony Cardenas (D), Brad Sherman (D), Pete Aguilar (D), Grace Napolitano (D), Ted Lieu (D), Jimmy Gomez (D), Norma Torres (D), Raul Ruiz (D), Karen Bass (D), Linda Sanchez (D), Ed Royce (R), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D), Mark Takano (D), Ken Calvert (R), Maxine Waters (D), Nanette Barragán (D), Mimi Walters (R), Lou Correa (D), Alan Lowenthal (D), Dana Rohrabacher (R), Darrell Issa (R), Duncan Hunter (R). Juan Vargas (D), Scott Peters (D), Susan Davis (D)

Total area: 163,696 mi²
- Land: 156,002 mi²
- Water: 7,694 mi²
Highest elevation: 14,505 ft (Mount Whitney)

Population 39,250,017 (2016 est)
Admission to the Union: September 9, 1850 (31^st)

State symbols:

Insect: California Dogface Butterfly
Bird: California Valley Quail
Fossil: Saber-toothed cat
Dance: West Coast Swing
Colors: Blue & Gold
Animal: California Grizzly Bear
Flower: California Poppy
Gem: Benitoite
Rock: Serpentine
Fish: California Golden Trout
Songs: I Love You, California
Tree: California Redwood
Mineral: Gold

Related WikiProjects

Main Project

California

Sub-projects

Southern California • Los Angeles • San Francisco Bay Area • Santa Barbara County • California State Highways • California County Routes • University of California • California State University

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Selected panorama

Credit: Gh5046

Lake Berryessa is the largest lake in Napa County, California. This reservoir is formed by the Monticello Dam, which provides water and hydroelectricity to the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Prior to its inundation, the Beryessa Valley was an agricultural region, whose soils were considered among the finest in the country.

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