If you are writing a school report, and you would like some more information about California, here is where you can get more information.
CA Office of Tourism (student pack on CA history)
801 K Street, Suite 1600
Sacramento, CA 95814 www.gocalif.ca.gov
800/862-2543
916/322-2881
916/322-3402 Fax
Click on the green text links to see pictures and more info
Origin of name: From a book, Las Sergas de Esplandián, by Garcia Ordóñez de Montalvo, c. 1500. The book was about an island of women ruled by Queen Califa. Education levels: as of 2002: 77 percent of California’s adult population age 25 and older had completed high school (or the equivalent), 27 percent of the population had earned a Bachelor’s degree, and 10 percent had earned a graduate or professional degree. Racial Makeup as of 2000: White-47%, People of color-53% (6% black, 32% latino, 11% asian, 3% mixed race, .5% native american) State Population as of 2003: 35,484,453 (largest in size) Geographical area: 156,297 square miles (3rd in size) Coastline milage: 840 miles, tidal shoreline (including small bays and inlets) is 3,427 miles Geographic Center: 35 miles NE of Madera. N/S crossing point marked in center median on the 99 freeway by a fir tree and a palm tree planted right next to one another.
State Symbols
Click on the green links. They point to a picture and more information that you can print out and use for your report.
To learn more information about the state insignia, go to the California State Library.
To learn more about California's weather and geography go to the 50 States website.
California's Capital:
Between 1850 and 1854, San Jose, Vallejo, and San Francisco (Benecia) served as the temporary capital cities. In 1854, the capital city was permanently moved to Sacramento. The dome on the capitol rises 247 feet above the ground. The original capital of California was Monterey.
The State Seal was adopted a year before California was admitted to the union. It was designed by Major R. S. Garnett of the United States Army and the design was approved in 1849. The grizzly bear on the seal is the symbol of determination and fierceness. The bear stands near Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom. The miner in the background represents the state's mining industry. There is also a gold mining cradle and shovel near the miner. The ships in the harbor symbolize commercial greatness. The peaks in the background are the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The thirty-one stars show that California was the thirty first state. The significance of the presence of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, is that she sprang full grown from the forehead of her father, Jupiter. This represents the fact that California was admitted to the Union directly as a state, without having first been a territory. The motto, Eureka, meaning "I found it" probably comes from Archimedes, the great mathematician, when he is said to have exclaimed "Eureka!" when he discovered a method for determining the purity of gold.
State Facts:
California is the 3rd largest state in area and the largest state in population.
California has the largest population of Native Americans, more than any other state.
Prior to the Gold Rush, California had more Native Americans than all the other states combined.
California has one of the largest Chinese communities outside Asia in the entire world (San Francisco).
The Los Angeles area has more people of Mexican ancestry than any other urban area in the world, outside of Mexico.
California has the largest Armenian population outside Armenia (Glendale).
California is the largest producer of goods of all the states and the largest agricultural state in the Union.
The California redwood is a prehistoric tree. All trees are descended from the redwood. The coastal climate protected them from the great ice sheets during previous ice ages.
