Arcadia	Avalon
Beverly Hills	Concord
Costa Mesa	Fresno
Huntington Beach	Irvine
Long Beach	Los Angeles
Monterey	Orange
Oxnard	Redlands
Redondo Beach	Sacramento
San Bruno	San Carlos
San Diego	San Francisco
San Jose	San Luis Obispo
San Pedro	Santa Barbara
Santa Clara	Santa Cruz
Vacaville	Ventura
Visalia

Understand

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History

The state of California was home to thirty different tribal groups prior to the arrival of European explorers in the 1500's. The Spanish were the first European power to build a settlement in California, establishing twenty-one missions in the state by the late 1700's. Many of these missions survive today, with examples including the mission in Santa Barbara.

After the Mexican War for Independence in 1821 California became a part of Mexico, and remained a part of that country until it was annexed by the United States in 1847 following the Mexican-American War. In 1848 the discovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada mountains kicked off the California Gold Rush, and the state's non-native population surged from 15,000 to over 300,000 within two years, resulting in statehood for California in 1850.

During the 1900's the state population increased steadily, and today California is the most populous state in the United States with over 33 millions residents.

Landscape

With over 160,000 square miles (411,000 km²) the landscape of California is vast and varied. The state contains extremes in elevation, with Mount Whitney at 14,505 feet being the tallest mountain in the lower-48 states, while less than 200 miles away Death Valley, at 282 feet below sea level, is North America's lowest point.

The state's border to the west is made up of a rugged coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The coastal mountains rise up from the ocean and are home to redwood trees in the state's northern half. The Central Valley bisects the state from north-to-south before giving way to the Sierra Nevada mountains, home of Yosemite National Park, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and other natural wonders. The southeastern part of the state is dominated by desert, which covers 25% of California's total area. The Mojave is a high desert, with elevations ranging from 3,000 to 6,000 feet above sea level. This area receives less than six inches of rain each year.

Climate

The state's climate varies from temperate at the coast to the brutal winters of the mountains, to one of the world's hottest regions in the desert. Rainfall is more common in the northern part of the state than in the south, and snow is rare except in the mountains.

The hottest temperature ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere, 134°F (56.6°C) was at Death Valley in 1913, and temperatures regularly exceed 120°F (49°C) during the summer. In contrast, winter temperatures in the mountains can drop below 0°F.

Eat

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Almost anything you can imagine can be found somewhere in California. From Mexican, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indian and Ethiopian to burger shacks to vegetarian, organic and even completely vegan restaurants, the Californian love for food has left it with one of the most diverse restaurant scenes in the States. The large cities have the most variety, while things get simpler and more meat-heavy as you get more rural.

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