Welcome to the Portal:California. Such a lovely place.
California
State of California
Map of the United States with California highlighted
California ( KAL -ih-FORN -yə, -FOR -nee-ə ) is a state in the Western United States , lying on the American Pacific Coast . It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and the Mexican state of Baja California to the south. With over 38.9 million residents across a total area of approximately 163,696 square miles (423,970 km2 ), it is the most populous U.S. state, the third-largest U.S. state by area, and the most populated subnational entity in North America .
The Greater Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas in California are the nation's second- and fifth-most populous urban regions respectively. Greater Los Angeles has over 18.7 million residents and the San Francisco Bay Area has over 9.6 million residents. Los Angeles is the state's most populous city and the nation's second-most populous city , after New York City . San Francisco is the second-most densely populated major city in the country, after New York City. Los Angeles County is the country's most populous county , and San Bernardino County is the nation's largest county by area . Sacramento is the state's capital city .
Prior to European colonization , California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America , and the indigenous peoples of California constituted the highest Native American population density north of what is now Mexico . European exploration in the 16th and 17th centuries led to the colonization of California by the Spanish Empire . In 1804, it was included in Alta California province within the Viceroyalty of New Spain . The area became a part of Mexico in 1821, following its successful war for independence , but was ceded to the United States in 1848 after the Mexican–American War . The California Gold Rush started in 1848 and led to dramatic social and demographic changes, including the depopulation of indigenous peoples in the California genocide . The western portion of Alta California was then organized and admitted as the 31st state on September 9, 1850 , as a free state , following the Compromise of 1850 . (Full article... )
Disneyland is a theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California . It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney , and opened on July 17, 1955.
Disney initially envisioned building a tourist attraction adjacent to his studios in Burbank to entertain fans who wished to visit; however, he soon realized that the proposed site was too small for the ideas that he had. After hiring the Stanford Research Institute to perform a feasibility study determining an appropriate site for his project, Disney bought a 160-acre (65 ha) site near Anaheim in 1953. The park was designed by a creative team hand-picked by Walt from internal and outside talent. They founded WED Enterprises, the precursor to today's Walt Disney Imagineering . Construction began in 1954 and the park was unveiled during a special televised press event on the ABC Television Network on July 17, 1955. Since its opening, Disneyland has undergone expansions and major renovations, including the addition of New Orleans Square in 1966, Bear Country in 1972, Mickey's Toontown in 1993, and Star Wars : Galaxy's Edge in 2019. Additionally, Disney California Adventure Park opened in 2001 on the site of Disneyland's original parking lot.
Disneyland has a larger cumulative attendance than any other theme park in the world, with 757 million visits since it opened (as of December 2021). In 2022, the park had approximately 16.9 million visits, making it the second most visited amusement park in the world that year, behind only Magic Kingdom , the very park it inspired. According to a 2005 Disney report, 65,700 jobs are supported by the Disneyland Resort, including about 20,000 direct Disney employees and 3,800 third-party employees (independent contractors or their employees). Disney announced "Project Stardust" in 2019, which included major structural renovations to the park to account for higher attendance numbers. (Full article... )
The following are images from various California-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 4 California was often depicted as an island , due to the
Baja California peninsula , from the 16th to the 18th centuries, such as in this 1650 map by cartographer
Johannes Vingboons . (from
History of California )
Image 6 Depiction of the revolt of the
Mission Indians against padre
Luis Jayme at
Mission San Diego de Alcalá in 1775. (from
History of California )
Image 7 Portrait of a
Californio in traditional
vaquero clothing. Californios benefitted immensely by the establishment of the
ranchos of California , following the
Mexican secularization act of 1833 . (from
History of California )
Image 10 Map of the
Butterfield Overland Mail routes through California, c. 1858. (from
History of California )
Image 11 Between 1846 and 1873, U.S. government agents waged an extermination campaign against
Indigenous Californians , known as the
California genocide , resulting in as many as 100,000 deaths. (from
History of California )
Image 12 Angustias de la Guerra played a crucial role in defending
women's property rights during the drafting of the Constitution of California. (from
History of California )
Image 13 A Southern Pacific Train at
Arcade Depot , Los Angeles, 1891 (from
History of California )
Image 15 General
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo reviewing his troops in
Sonoma in 1846. (from
History of California )
Image 16 The 1562 map of the Americas, created by Spanish cartographer
Diego Gutiérrez , which applied
the name California for the first time. (from
History of California )
Image 18 The Spanish founded
Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1776, the third to be established of the
Californian missions . (from
History of California )
Image 19 Depiction of the
Donner Party heading west on the
California Trail . (from
History of California )
Image 21 The
University of California, Berkeley is the flagship school of the University of California system. (from
Culture of California )
Image 22 Map of Spain's
Manila galleon trade routes, showing routes between the
Spanish East Indies and
Acapulco passing along the
coast of California . (from
History of California )
Image 24 The 1835
Manifiesto a la República Mejicana , by
José Figueroa , was the first book published in California (from
Culture of California )
Image 26 Advertisement for sailing to California, c. 1850. (from
History of California )
Image 27 The
Treaty of Cahuenga , signed at the
Campo de Cahuenga in 1847 by Californio general
Andrés Pico and American general
John C. Frémont , proclaimed a ceasefire under an American victory. The
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo , signed a year later in 1848, officially ended the
Mexican–American War and formally ceded
Alta California to the United States. (from
History of California )
Image 28 Forces raising the U.S. flag over the
Monterey Customhouse following their victory at the
Battle of Monterey (from
History of California )
Image 29 The railway station in
Sacramento in 1874. (from
History of California )
Image 31 Francis Drake 's 1579 landing in "
New Albion " (modern-day
Point Reyes ); engraving by
Theodor De Bry , 1590. (from
History of California )
Image 34 Joaquín Murrieta , called the "
Robin Hood of California", was a notorious
outlaw during the
California Gold Rush . He served as inspiration for
Zorro , the famed Californian bandit-hero character. (from
History of California )
Image 37 San Francisco harbor,
c. 1850 –51. (from
History of California )
Image 39 Founded by
Vicente Francisco de Sarría in 1817,
Mission San Rafael Arcángel , was the last mission founded during the Spanish period. (from
History of California )
Image 40 California's first State Capitol building in
San Jose , which served as the capital of California 1850–51. (from
History of California )
Image 41 Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo , established in 1770, was the headquarters of the
Californian mission system from 1797 until 1833. (from
History of California )
Image 43 Portrait of an "
assimilated "
Maidu man in
Sacramento , 1867. (from
History of California )
Image 44 Mission Santa Barbara , founded in 1786, was the first mission to be established by
Fermín de Lasuén . (from
History of California )
Image 45 Mission San Francisco Solano , founded in 1823 by order of Governor
Luis Antonio Argüello , was the last Californian mission established. (from
History of California )
Image 48 Mission San Gabriel Arcángel , founded in 1771 by padres Pedro Benito Cambón and Ángel de la Somera. (from
History of California )
Image 51 In-N-Out burgers (from
Culture of California )
Image 52 Map of the route taken by the
Anza Expedition of 1775–76, from the
Presidio of Tubac to
San Francisco Bay . (from
History of California )
Image 53 Junípero Serra conducting the first
mass in
Monterey Bay in 1770. (from
History of California )
Image 54 The American capture of
San Diego by the
USS Cyane in 1846 (from
History of California )
Image 56 "Independent Gold Hunter on His Way to California", c. 1850 (from
History of California )
The California crunch really is the result of not enough power-generating plants and then not enough power to power the power of generating plants.
Image 1 Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal (
JIL -ən-hawl,
Swedish: [ˈjʏ̂lːɛnˌhɑːl] ; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor. Born into the
Gyllenhaal family , he is the son of director
Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter
Naomi Foner , and the younger brother of actress
Maggie Gyllenhaal . He began acting as a child, making his acting debut in
City Slickers (1991), followed by roles in his father's films
A Dangerous Woman (1993) and
Homegrown (1998). His breakthrough roles were as
Homer Hickam in
October Sky (1999) and as a psychologically troubled teenager in
Donnie Darko (2001).
Gyllenhaal starred in the 2004 science fiction disaster film
The Day After Tomorrow . He played
Jack Twist in
Ang Lee 's 2005 romantic drama
Brokeback Mountain , for which Gyllenhaal won a
BAFTA Award and was nominated for an
Academy Award . His career progressed with starring roles in the thriller
Zodiac (2007), the romantic comedy
Love & Other Drugs (2010), and the science fiction film
Source Code (2011). Further acclaim came with his roles in
Denis Villeneuve 's thrillers
Prisoners (2013) and
Enemy (2013), and he received nominations for the
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performances as a manipulative journalist in
Nightcrawler (2014) and a troubled writer in
Nocturnal Animals (2016). His highest-grossing release came with the
Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), in which he portrayed
Quentin Beck / Mysterio . He has since starred in
Wildlife (2018),
Velvet Buzzsaw (2019),
The Guilty (2021), and
Ambulance (2022). (
Full article... )
Image 2 Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five
Primetime Emmy Awards and two
Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of the title character on the
CBS sitcom
Murphy Brown (1988–1998, 2018). She is also known for her role as
Shirley Schmidt on the
ABC drama
Boston Legal (2005–2008). In films, Bergen was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for
Starting Over (1979) and for the
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for
Gandhi (1982).
Bergen began her career as a fashion model and appeared on the cover of
Vogue before she made her screen debut in the film
The Group (1966). She starred in
The Sand Pebbles (1966),
Soldier Blue (1970),
Carnal Knowledge (1971), and
The Wind and the Lion (1975). She made her
Broadway debut in the 1984 play
Hurlyburly and starred in the revivals of
The Best Man (2012) and
Love Letters (2014). From 2002 to 2004, she appeared in three episodes of the
HBO series
Sex and the City . Her other film roles include
Miss Congeniality (2000),
Sweet Home Alabama (2002),
The Women (2008),
Bride Wars (2009),
Book Club (2018) and
Let Them All Talk (2020). (
Full article... )
Image 3 Orenthal James Simpson (July 9, 1947 – April 10, 2024) was an American
football player and actor who played in the
National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the
Buffalo Bills . Regarded as one of the greatest
running backs of all time, his professional success was overshadowed by
his trial and controversial acquittal for the murders of his former wife
Nicole Brown and her friend
Ron Goldman in 1994.
Simpson played
college football for the
USC Trojans , where he won the
Heisman Trophy as a senior, and was selected
first overall by the Bills in the
1969 NFL/AFL draft . During his nine seasons with the Bills, he received five consecutive
Pro Bowl and first-team
All-Pro selections from 1972 to 1976. He also led the league in
rushing yards four times, in rushing
touchdowns twice, and in points scored in 1975. He became the first NFL player to rush for more than
2,000 yards in a season, earning him
NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP), and is the only NFL player to do so in a 14-game
regular season . He holds the record for the single-season yards-per-game average at 143.1. (
Full article... )
Image 4 Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the
Western TV series
Rawhide , Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "
Man with No Name " in
Sergio Leone 's
Dollars Trilogy of
spaghetti Westerns during the mid-1960s and as
antihero cop
Harry Callahan in the five
Dirty Harry films throughout the 1970s and 1980s. These roles, among others, have made Eastwood an enduring
cultural icon of
masculinity . Elected in 1986, Eastwood served for two years as the mayor of
Carmel-by-the-Sea, California .
Eastwood's greatest commercial successes are the adventure comedy
Every Which Way but Loose (1978) and its action comedy sequel
Any Which Way You Can (1980). Other popular Eastwood films include the Westerns
Hang 'Em High (1968),
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) and
Pale Rider (1985), the action-war film
Where Eagles Dare (1968), the prison film
Escape from Alcatraz (1979), the war film
Heartbreak Ridge (1986), the action film
In the Line of Fire (1993), and the romantic drama
The Bridges of Madison County (1995). More recent works include
Gran Torino (2008),
The Mule (2018), and
Cry Macho (2021). Since 1967, Eastwood's company
Malpaso Productions has produced all but four of his American films. (
Full article... )
Image 5 Stefani performing with
No Doubt in 2015
Gwen Renée Stefani (
stə-FAH -nee ; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer and songwriter. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band
No Doubt , whose singles include "
Just a Girl ", "
Spiderwebs ", and "
Don't Speak ", from their 1995 breakthrough studio album
Tragic Kingdom , as well as "
Hey Baby " and "
It's My Life " from later albums.
During the band's hiatus, Stefani embarked on a solo
pop career in 2004 by releasing her debut studio album
Love. Angel. Music. Baby. Inspired by pop music from the 1980s, the album was a critical and commercial success. It spawned six singles, including "
What You Waiting For? ", "
Rich Girl ", "
Hollaback Girl ", and "
Cool ". "Hollaback Girl" reached number one on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart while also becoming the first US download to sell one million copies. In 2006, Stefani released her second studio album,
The Sweet Escape . Among the singles were "
Wind It Up " and "
The Sweet Escape ", the latter of which was number three on the
Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart of 2007. Her third solo album,
This Is What the Truth Feels Like (2016), was her first solo album to reach number one on the
Billboard 200 chart. Her fourth solo album and first full-length
Christmas album,
You Make It Feel Like Christmas , was released in 2017 and charted 19 tracks on
Billboard ' s
Holiday Digital Song Sales component chart in the United States. Stefani has released several singles with husband
Blake Shelton , including "
Nobody but You " (2020), which reached number 18 in the US. (
Full article... )
Image 6 Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th
president of the United States , serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the
Republican Party , he previously served as a
representative and
senator from
California and as the 36th
vice president from 1953 to 1961 under President
Dwight D. Eisenhower .
His presidency saw the reduction of U.S. involvement in the
Vietnam War ,
détente with the
Soviet Union and
China , the
Apollo 11 Moon landing, and the establishment of the
Environmental Protection Agency and
Occupational Safety and Health Administration . Nixon's second term ended early when he became the only U.S. president to
resign from office, as a result of the
Watergate scandal .
Nixon was born into a poor family of
Quakers in a small town in
Southern California . He graduated from
Duke Law School in 1937, practiced law in California, and then moved with his wife
Pat to
Washington, D.C. , in 1942 to work for the
federal government . After serving active duty in the
Naval Reserve during
World War II , he was elected to the
House of Representatives in
1946 . His work on the
Alger Hiss case established his reputation as a leading
anti-communist , which elevated him to national prominence. In
1950 , he was elected to the
Senate . Nixon was the running mate of Eisenhower, the Republican Party's presidential nominee in the
1952 election , and served for eight years as vice president. He narrowly lost the
1960 presidential election to the
Democratic Party nominee
John F. Kennedy ; after his loss in the
1962 race for governor of California, he announced his retirement from political life. However, in
1968 , he made another run for the presidency and defeated the Democratic incumbent vice president
Hubert Humphrey . (
Full article... )
Image 7 J. Robert Oppenheimer (born
Julius Robert Oppenheimer ;
OP -ən-hy-mər; April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American
theoretical physicist . He was director of the
Manhattan Project 's
Los Alamos Laboratory during
World War II and is often called the "father of the
atomic bomb ".
Born in New York City, Oppenheimer earned a
bachelor of arts degree in chemistry from
Harvard University in 1925 and a
doctorate in physics from the
University of Göttingen in Germany in 1927, where he studied under
Max Born . After research at other institutions, he joined the physics department at the
University of California, Berkeley , where he became a full professor in 1936. He made significant contributions to theoretical physics, including achievements in
quantum mechanics and
nuclear physics such as the
Born–Oppenheimer approximation for molecular
wave functions , work on the theory of
electrons and
positrons , the
Oppenheimer–Phillips process in
nuclear fusion , and early work on
quantum tunneling . With his students, he also made contributions to the theory of
neutron stars and
black holes ,
quantum field theory , and the interactions of
cosmic rays . (
Full article... )
Image 8 Francis Ford Coppola (
KOH -pəl-ə,
Italian: [ˈkɔppola] ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the leading figures of the
New Hollywood film movement of the 1960s and 1970s and is widely considered one of the greatest directors of all time. He is the
recipient of five
Academy Awards , six
Golden Globe Awards , two
Palmes d'Or , and a
British Academy Film Award (BAFTA) .
After directing
The Rain People in 1969, Coppola co-wrote
Patton (1970), which earned him the
Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay along with
Edmund H. North . Coppola's reputation as a filmmaker was cemented with the release of
The Godfather (1972), which revolutionized the
gangster genre of filmmaking, receiving strong commercial and critical reception.
The Godfather won three Academy Awards:
Best Picture ,
Best Actor and
Best Adapted Screenplay (shared with
Mario Puzo ).
The Godfather Part II (1974) became the first sequel to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Highly regarded by critics, the film earned Coppola two more Academy Awards, for Best Adapted Screenplay and
Best Director , making him the second director (after
Billy Wilder ) to win these three awards for the same film. (
Full article... )
Image 9 Linus Carl Pauling FRS (
PAW -ling; February 28, 1901 – August 19, 1994) was an American
chemist ,
biochemist ,
chemical engineer ,
peace activist , author, and educator. He published more than 1,200 papers and books, of which about 850 dealt with scientific topics.
New Scientist called him one of the 20 greatest scientists of all time. For his scientific work, Pauling was awarded the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1954. For his peace activism, he was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1962. He is one of five people to have
won more than one Nobel Prize (the others being
Marie Curie ,
John Bardeen ,
Frederick Sanger , and
Karl Barry Sharpless ). Of these, he is the only person to have been awarded two unshared Nobel Prizes, and one of two people to be awarded Nobel Prizes in different fields, the other being
Marie Curie .
Pauling was one of the founders of the fields of
quantum chemistry and
molecular biology . His contributions to the theory of the chemical bond include the concept of
orbital hybridisation and the first accurate scale of
electronegativities of the elements. Pauling also worked on the structures of biological molecules, and showed the importance of the
alpha helix and
beta sheet in
protein secondary structure . Pauling's approach combined methods and results from
X-ray crystallography ,
molecular model building, and quantum chemistry. His discoveries inspired the work of
Rosalind Franklin ,
James Watson ,
Francis Crick , and
Maurice Wilkins on the structure of DNA, which in turn made it possible for geneticists to crack the DNA code of all organisms. (
Full article... )
Image 11 Sharon Marie Tate Polanski (January 24, 1943 – August 9, 1969) was an American actress and model. During the 1960s, she appeared in advertisements and small television roles before appearing in films as well as working as a model. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic and dramatic acting performances, Tate was hailed as one of Hollywood's most promising newcomers, being compared favorably with the late Marilyn Monroe.
She made her film debut in 1961 as an extra in
Barabbas with
Anthony Quinn . She next appeared in the British mystery horror film
Eye of the Devil (1966). Her first major role was as Jennifer North in the 1967 American drama film
Valley of the Dolls , which earned her a
Golden Globe Award nomination. The role would help her to become a rising
sex symbol of Hollywood, appearing in a
Playboy photoshoot where she would be shot by filmmaker
Roman Polanski , Tate's future husband. That year, she also performed in the comedy horror film
The Fearless Vampire Killers , directed by Roman Polanski. Tate's last completed film,
12+1 , was released posthumously in 1969. (
Full article... )
Image 13 Hartman in character as Chick Hazard, Private Eye, circa 1978.
Philip Edward Hartman (
né Hartmann ; September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-born American comedian, actor, screenwriter, and graphic designer. Hartman was born in
Brantford, Ontario , Canada, and his family moved to the United States when he was ten years old. After graduating from
California State University, Northridge with a degree in graphic arts, he designed album covers for bands including
Poco and
America . In 1975, Hartman joined the comedy group
the Groundlings , where he helped
Paul Reubens develop his character
Pee-wee Herman . Hartman co-wrote the film
Pee-wee's Big Adventure and made recurring appearances as Captain Carl on Reubens' show
Pee-wee's Playhouse .
In 1986, Hartman joined the
NBC sketch comedy show
Saturday Night Live (
SNL ) as a
cast member , and stayed for eight seasons until 1994. Nicknamed "Glue" for his ability to hold the show together and help other cast members, he won a
Primetime Emmy Award for his
SNL work in 1989. He also starred as Bill McNeal in the sitcom
NewsRadio , voiced
Lionel Hutz and
Troy McClure on
The Simpsons , and appeared in supporting roles in the films
Houseguest ,
Sgt. Bilko ,
Jingle All the Way , and
Small Soldiers . (
Full article... )
Image 15 Ruth E. Norman (born
Ruth Nields ; August 18, 1900 – July 12, 1993), also known as
Uriel , was an American religious leader who co-founded the
Unarius Academy of Science , based in
Southern California . Raised in California, Norman received little education and worked from an early age in a variety of jobs. In the 1940s, she developed an interest in
psychic phenomena and
past-life regression . These pursuits led to her introduction to
Ernest Norman , a self-described psychic, in 1954. He engaged in
channeling , past-life regression, and attempts at
communication with extraterrestrials . She married Ernest, her fourth husband, in the mid-1950s. Together they published several books about his revelations and formed Unarius, an organization which later became known as the Unarius Academy of Science, to popularize his teachings. The couple discussed numerous details about their alleged past lives and spiritual visits to other planets, forming a
mythology from these accounts.
After Ernest died in 1971, Ruth succeeded him as their group's leader and primary channeler. She subsequently began publishing accounts of her experiences and
revelations . In early 1974, she predicted that a space fleet of benevolent extraterrestrials, the Space Brothers, would land on Earth later that year, which led the Unarius Academy to purchase a property to serve as the landing site. After the extraterrestrials failed to appear, Norman said that trauma she had suffered in a past life had caused her to make an inaccurate prediction. Undaunted, she rented a building for Unarius' meetings and sought publicity for the movement, claiming to have united the Earth with an interplanetary confederation. She revised the Space Brothers' expected landing date several times, before finally settling on 2001. Her health declined in the late 1980s, prompting her students to try to heal her with rituals of past-life regression. Despite predicting that she would live to see the extraterrestrials land, Norman died in 1993. Unarius has continued to operate after her death, and formed a board of directors. Since the 2000s, leaders have concentrated on individual transformation leading to spiritual change in humankind. (
Full article... )
... that David Burbank , a dentist, founded Burbank, California ?
... that the San Gregorio Fault comes ashore in only two places in northern California, one of which is between Pillar Point Bluff and Moss Beach?
... that a Chinatown in the logging community of Sugar Pine was intentionally burned down by the Madera Sugar Pine Company in 1922?
... that aircraft helping to fight the Poe Fire in northern California in September 2001 were grounded by the FAA following the September 11 attacks?
... that the wooden-hulled Mallard II (pictured) , built in 1936, is "probably the oldest operating dredge in California"?
... that the idea for Fatima's Grill in Downey, California , came from prison?
... that when a state highway between Beegum and Peanut was vetoed, a newspaper accused their residents of lacking imagination?
... that government-funded non-profits are not subject to a special motion to strike , and so are exempt from California 's anti-SLAPP law?
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis ). Image taken in Monterey, California The
Western Gull (
Larus occidentalis ) is a large white-headed
gull that lives on the western coast of
North America . It is a large gull, around 60 cm long with a white head and body, and gray wings. It has a yellow bill with a red subterminal spot (this is the small spot near the end of the bill that chicks peck in order to stimulate feeding).
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Nicknames: The Golden State
Capital: Sacramento
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 (31st )
State symbols:
Things you can do