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California is the most populous state of the United States. Located on the Pacific coast of North America, it is bordered by Oregon, Nevada and Arizona in the United States, and Baja California in Mexico. The state's four largest cities are Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose and San Francisco. California is known for its Mediterranean climate and ethnically diverse population. The state has 58 counties.
Inhabited by indigenous people for millennia, Alta California was first colonized by the Spanish Empire in 1769, and after Mexican independence in 1821, continued as part of Mexico. Following one brief week as the independent California Republic in 1846, and the conclusion of the Mexican-American war in 1848, California was annexed by the United States and was admitted to the Union as the thirty-first state on September 9, 1850.
California's diverse geography ranges from the sandy beaches of the Pacific coast to the rugged, snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains in the northeast. The central portion of the state is dominated by the Central Valley, one of the most vital agricultural areas in the country. The Sierra Nevada contains Yosemite Valley, famous for its glacially-carved domes, and Sequoia National Park, home to the largest living organisms on Earth, the giant sequoia trees, and the highest point in the contiguous United States, Mount Whitney. The tallest living things on Earth, the ancient redwood trees, paste the coastline, mainly north of San Francisco. California is also home to the lowest and hottest place in the Western Hemisphere, Death Valley. Bristlecone pines located in the White Mountains are the oldest known trees in the world; one has an age of 4,700 years.
Hearst Castle was built on a 40,000 acre (160 km²) ranch that William Randolph Hearst's father, George Hearst, originally purchased in 1865. The younger Hearst grew fond of this site over many childhood family camping trips. He inherited the ranch, which had grown to 250,000 acres (1000 km²), from his mother, Phoebe Apperson Hearst, upon her death in 1919. Construction began that same year and continued through 1947, when he stopped living at the estate due to ill health. San Francisco architect Julia Morgan designed most of the buildings. Hearst was an inveterate tinkerer, and would tear down structures and rebuild them at a whim, so the estate was never completed in his lifetime.
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay onto the Pacific Ocean. As part of both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1, it connects the city of San Francisco on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula to Marin County.
Dr. Dre began his career in music as a member of the World Class Wreckin' Cru and he later found fame with the influential gangsta rap group N.W.A with Eazy-E and Ice Cube which popularized the use of explicit lyrics in rap to detail the violence of street life. His 1992 solo debut, The Chronic, released under Death Row Records, led him to become one of the best-selling American performing artists of 1993 and to win a Grammy Award for the single "Let Me Ride." In 1996, he left Death Row to found his own label, Aftermath Entertainment, producing a compilation album, Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath, in 1996, and releasing a solo album titled 2001, in 1999, for which he won the Grammy producer's award the next year.
California
Southern California • Los Angeles • San Francisco Bay Area • Santa Barbara County • California State Highways • California County Routes • University of California • California State University
The Crystal Range is a small group of mountains located within the Desolation Wilderness in the U.S. state of California. It is a subrange of the Sierra Nevada. The highest and most southerly peak is Pyramid Peak at 9987 ft; Mount Agassiz is next north at 9967 ft, with Mount Price (9975 ft) rounding out the southern group of peaks. Tells Peak is the northernmost named peak in the range.
Amanita ocreata • Angelina Jolie • California Condor • California Gold Rush • Cougar Emperor Norton • Foo Fighters discography • Geology of the Death Valley area • Geology of the Lassen volcanic area • Gwen Stefani • History of the Yosemite area • Hurricane Nora (1997) • Island Fox • Jack Warner • Joseph W. Tkach • List of California birds • List of California hurricanes • List of Governors of California • List of tallest buildings in Los Angeles • List of tallest buildings in San Francisco • Madman Muntz • Manzanar • Nancy Reagan • Pat Nixon • Redwood National and State Parks • Ridge Route • Ronald Reagan • San Francisco, California • Sandy Koufax • Sharon Tate • Tool (band) • University of California, Riverside • Winfield Scott Hancock • Yosemite National Park
1939 California tropical storm • 2005 USC Trojans football team • Aliso Creek (Orange County) • Architecture of the California missions • Azusa Street Revival • Bay Area Rapid Transit • California Southern Railroad • California State Route 133 • California State Route 16 • California State Route 160 • California State Route 174 • California State Route 190 • California State Route 20 California State Route 3 • California State Route 47 • Castle Lake (California) • Chris Young (pitcher) • County Route S18 (California) • Dan Dworsky • Dr. Dre • Fairfield Osborn Preserve • Gavin Newsom • Google • Hickman's potentilla • Hurricane Linda (1997) • Intel Corporation • Jack Kemp • Janet Jackson • Leo J. Ryan Memorial Park Leo Ryan • Los Angeles, California • Milton Friedman • Mussel Slough Tragedy • No Doubt • Northern Red-legged Frog • Oakland Raiders • Ohlone • Pasadena Freeway • Pentachaeta bellidiflora • Presidio of Santa Barbara • Rail transport in California • Rancho Camulos • Rancho San Francisco • Richard Nixon • Ronald Reagan Presidential Library • San Francisco International Airport • San Juan Creek • Serranus Clinton Hastings • Spring Creek Debris Dam • Solar power plants in the Mojave Desert • U.S. Route 50 in California • Union Station (San Diego) • University of California, Santa Cruz • Walter O'Malley • Winfield Scott (ship) • Ygnacio del Valle • Zodiac Killer
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