| California was the 31st state in the USA; it was admitted on September 9, 1850.
State Abbreviation - CA
State Capital - Sacramento
Other Notable Cities - Los Angeles, San Diego, San
Francisco
Area - 163,707 square miles
[California is the 3rd biggest state in the
USA - only Alaska and Texas are
bigger] Population - 33,871,648 (as of 2000) [California is
the most populous state in the USA]
Name for
Residents - Californians
Major
Industries - agriculture (many, many products), oil, mining,
electronics, movie making/entertainment, and tourism
Presidential Birthplace - Richard Milhous Nixon
was born in Yorba Linda on January 9, 1913 (he was the 37th US President,
serving from 1969 to 1974).
Main
Rivers - Sacramento River, Colorado River, San Joaquin
River
Highest Point - Mt. Whitney, 14,495
feet (4,418 m) above sea level
Lowest Point
- Death Valley, 282 feet (86 m) below sea level [this is the lowest point in the
Western Hemisphere]
Bordering States - Oregon, Nevada,
Arizona
Bordering
Country - Mexico
Bordering Body of Water - Pacific Ocean
 Origin of the Name California - The
name California comes from a mythical Spanish island ruled by a queen called
Califia that was featured in a Spanish romance ("Las Sergas de Esplandian")
written by Garcia Ordonez de Montalvo in 1510. The Spanish explorers originally
thought that California was an island.
State
Nickname - The Golden State
State
Motto - Eureka (I have found it)
State
Song - "I Love You, California"
California State Symbols and Emblems:
| State Flag
 The official state flag of California, called the
Bear Flag, was first used on June 14, 1846, but was not officially adopted until
1911. It was designed by William Todd. The flag pictures a grizzly bear
and a star. The first Californian flag was quickly made by a group of American
settlers who had just captured the town of Sonoma (from Mexico) and needed a
flag to replace the Mexican banner.
|
Animal Symbols:
Plant Symbols:
| State Flower
California Poppy
(Eschscholzia californica)
|
State Tree
Redwood - Coast redwood (Sequoia
sempervirens) and Giant redwood (S. gigantea)
The redwood is the
tallest tree, growing up to 370 feet (113 m) tall and living for over a thousand
years. One redwood in California is 2,200 years old. The roots of this giant
conifer are shallow, but spread sideways up to 250 feet (75 meters) from the
trunk. The bark is deeply-furrowed, fibrous, thick [up to about 1 foot (30.5 cm)
thick] and lacks resin. There are many species of redwood. |
State Grass
Purple Needlegrass (Nassella pulchra)
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Earth Symbols:
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