California is located in southwest United States. Northern and central California is bounded by two mountain ranges: the Sierra Nevada (Spanish for "snowy range") in the east and the Coast Ranges running down the Pacific Coast. Between them lies the Central Valley, California’s rich agricultural heartland, made up of the Sacramento Valley in the north and the San Joaquin Valley in the south. Water is diverted from the rivers here through an extensive network of canals to provide drinking water and irrigation for much of the rest of the state. Almost all of southeastern California is arid or semi-arid. The central part of this region is called the Mojave Desert. Northeast of it lies Death Valley, both the lowest and hottest location in North America. In the far south is the Salton Sea, a salt lake.

Name

The name "California" originally referred to the entire region that included the Baja California (lower California) peninsula of Mexico, as well as the American Southwest (Alta California, or upper California). Spanish explorers named California after "Califia", a mythical island paradise described in the story Las Serges de Esplandian, written by Garcia Ordonez de Montalvo in about 1510.

Climate

Much of California has a Mediterranean climate, with hot summers and mild winters, although there is great variety in different parts. The cool California Current often creates summer fog near the Pacific coast. Farther away from the ocean, the summers are hotter and the winters colder. Northern areas have a more temperate climate, cooler and wetter than the south. The Sierra Nevada has a mountain climate with snow in winter and moderately warm temperatures in summer.

California has dry, windy and often hot weather in summer, which can lead to drought and sometimes devastating wildfires. These wildfires are often fanned by Diablo winds in northern California or Santa Ana Winds in the south. The Camp Fire of 2018, the worst wildfire in the state's history caused by human activity (in this case, probably sparks from overhead power lines), devastated an area of 62,053 hectares (almost 240 square miles).

Economy

Although only a small part of the state's economy, California's agriculture has the highest output of any US state. Its most valuable products are milk and cream, almonds, oranges and grapes. California is the leading producer of other fruits and vegetables, including carrots, lettuce, onions, broccoli, tomatoes and strawberries. The state also produces most of the US’s wine. Fishing is another important industry.

Water shortages

California has an ever-growing need for water, particularly in times of drought, which has become more or less continuous since 2000 (as part of the southwestern North American "megadrought"). Groundwater, snow on mountaintops feeding rivers and reservoirs such as Lake Mead (on the border between Nevada and Arizona) are all sources of water for the state, but these have been shrinking in recent decades.

​​​​​​​In the arid Imperial Valley, south of the Salton Sea, irrigation is controlled by the All-American Canal, which draws water from the Colorado River and makes the area lush with cultivated fields.

San Francisco

San Francisco was founded in 1776, when colonists from Spain established a presidio (fort) and later a mission at the tip of what is now the San Francisco Peninsula. They named both after St Francis of Assisi. The area became part of Mexico after independence from Spain in 1821, although American settlers from the east began to arrive in the newly established town on the site, then known as Yerba Buena, in the 1830s and 40s. The town, renamed San Francisco, along with the surrounding territory, was handed over to the United States after Mexico's defeat in the Mexican–American War in 1848.

After three-quarters of the city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt. A number of reservoirs, along with tunnels and bridges, including the San Francisco Bay and Golden Gate bridges, were constructed in the following decades. The rise of the "hippie" counter-culture and opposition to the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War in the 1960s made San Francisco a centre for liberal activism and gay rights. Already a major financial centre, the city’s economy was further boosted by the emergence of hi-tech industries in the 90s and 2000s. 

​​​​​​​A popular tourist destination, San Francisco is known for its steep hills, summer fogs, the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, cable cars, Fisherman's Wharf and its Chinatown district. The city is also the headquarters of many well known companies such as Levi Strauss, Reddit, Airbnb, Weebly, Pinterest, Twitter, Uber, Mozilla and the Wikimedia Foundation.

Silicon Valley

The southern part of San Francisco Bay Area, centred on the Santa Clara Valley between Palo Alto and San Jose, is home to many of the largest technology companies in the world. It was nicknamed “Silicon Valley” after the many companies producing semiconductors: computer and electronic components made from the chemical element silicon. It was in Silicon Valley that the microprocessor and microcomputer were first developed. The Valley is also a focus of software development and other hi-tech industries, and is now the home to many of the world's largest hi-tech corporations, including the headquarters of Apple, eBay, Facebook, Google, Intel, Hewlett Packard, Netflix, Tesla Motors—and thousands of start-up companies.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles (Spanish for "The Angels”), often known just by its initials, L.A., is the second most populous city in the United States after New York City. The city was founded on a coastal plain surrounded by mountains in 1781 by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve. The settlement was named: El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula (“The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of Porciúncula”). Los Angeles became a part of Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence, before being ceded to the United States along with the surrounding territory in 1848 following Mexico's defeat in the Mexican–American War.

Hollywood, a small residential area, was already home to 10 movie companies by the time it merged with nearby Los Angeles in 1910. In the early 1900s, most motion picture patents were held by Thomas Edison's company in New Jersey, so filmmakers had moved west to avoid their productions being stopped. Ideal weather and quick access to varied scenery (mountains, city streets, deserts etc.) suited them well. Ten years later more than 80% of the world's movie industry was concentrated there. Today, one in every six residents of Los Angeles works in a creative industry.

During World War II, Los Angeles was a major centre of military manufacturing, such as shipbuilding and aircraft. After the war, Los Angeles sprawled into the San Fernando Valley, suburban growth fuelled by the expansion of roads and car ownership. L.A.’s roads are designed to move large volumes of traffic through the city, but the city still suffers major congestion. Because of its geography, low rainfall and heavy reliance on road traffic, Los Angeles also suffers from air pollution in the form of smog.

​​​​​​​Los Angeles hosted the 1932 and 1984 Olympics and will host them for a third time in 2028. Serious race riots involving African Americans broke out in 1965 and again in 1992, resulting in multiple deaths and widespread damage.

San Diego

San Diego is today part of the San Diego–Tijuana conurbation, an urban area that straddles the border between the US and Mexico with a population of around 5 million people. It was the first site on the west coast visited by Europeans: Spanish explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo claimed the area for Spain when he landed in San Diego Bay—then part of an area inhabited by the Kumeyaay Native American people—in 1542. The Presidio (fort) and Mission San Diego de Alcalá, founded in 1769, was the first European settlement in what is now California.

​​​​​​​Today, San Diego's natural deep-water harbour is a busy commercial port and a hub of US naval operations. Other leading industries are electronics, aerospace, medical research and biotechnology. The city's climate and beaches attract tourism.

Facts about California

Area 155,959 sq miles (403,934 sq km)

Highest point Mount Whitney 14,505 ft (4421 m)

Population 38,965,193

Capital Sacramento

Largest cities Los Angeles, 3,820,914; San Diego, 1,388,320; San Jose, 969,655; San Francisco, 808,988; Fresno, 545,716; Sacramento, 526,384; Long Beach, 466,742

Nickname Golden State

State bird California quail

State flower Golden poppy

State tree Coast redwood and giant sequoia