the state. California even has more
residents than about half of the world’s
countries. The state’s name is believed to
have come from a Spanish novel of the
1500s that described a fabled place called
California. The nickname of the Golden
State comes from the golden poppies
that grow in California and from the
gold that was found there in the mid-
1800s. Sacramento is the capital.
Geography
California is one of the country’s largest
states in area; only Alaska and Texas are
bigger. It borders Nevada and Arizona
on the east, Oregon on the north,
Mexico on the south, and the
Pacific Ocean on the west.
California’s landscape is varied, with
mountains, valleys, forests, seacoasts,
and deserts. The Klamath Mountains
are in the state’s northwest corner. To
their east is the southern part of the
Cascade Range. The Sierra Nevada is a
wall of mountains in the east-central
part of the state. The Central Valley
runs north to south between the Sierra
Nevada on the east and the highlands
of the Pacific Coast Ranges. Most of
eastern California is desert. The largest
desert in the state, the Mojave, is in the
southeast.
California’s climate differs by location.
The climate along the Pacific coast is
generally mild. The Central Valley has
hot summers and mild to cool winters.
The mountains have short summers and
cold winters. The southeastern desert is
very hot and dry.
People
The majority of California’s people are
of European descent, but the state’s
minority groups are large. More than
one fourth of California’s residents were
born outside the United States. Mexicans
are the largest foreign-born group
by far. People from the Philippines,
China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan),
Vietnam, and El Salvador are
other large groups. Mexicans and other
Hispanics make up about one third of
California’s population. African Ameri-
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA California 11
cans make up more than 6 percent.
California’s Native American population,
numbering more than 330,000, is
the largest in the country.
The largest clusters of people are in the
south, around Los Angeles and San
Diego, and in the San Francisco Bay
Area. Los Angeles is the largest city in
the state and the second largest city in
the country. Bay Area cities include San
Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose.
Economy
California’s economic production ranks
first among the 50 states. If California
were a country, it would have one of
the world’s largest economies. Services
account for about three fourths of the
state’s economy. Service-related jobs
include workers such as actors, social
workers, government employees,
schoolteachers, doctors and nurses,
lawyers, and restaurant and hotel staff.
Tourism is an important service
industry. Each year it contributes about
75 billion dollars to the state’s
economy.
The Golden Gate Bridge connects San Francisco
to Marin County. It is between San
Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean.
The scenic coastline of Big Sur stretches for 100 miles (160 kilometers) along the Pacific
Ocean in California.
12 California BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
California manufactures automobiles,
aircraft, ships, military supplies, electrical
equipment, and chemicals. California
also has many food-processing plants
and publishing and printing industries.
A region known as Silicon Valley, in the
San Francisco Bay Area, is home to
much of the country’s computer industry.
The motion picture industry is centered
in the Los Angeles area.
California’s farms are the most productive
in the country. The dozens of crops
grown include grapes for eating and
winemaking, citrus fruits, and nuts.
Dairy farms produce milk, cheese, and
other products.
History
Native Americans of the Shasta, Pomo,
Miwok, and Chumash tribes lived along
the Pacific coast of what is now California
long before Europeans arrived. The
Mojave lived in the southeast and the
Yokut in the Central Valley.
Spaniards were the first Europeans in
California. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo
claimed the land for Spain in 1542. In
1602 Sebastian Vizcaino explored the
coast and gave many places their present
names. In 1769 two Spanish priests
founded a mission called San Diego de
Alcala. During the next 50 years 20
more missions were established along
the coast. Towns and large ranches grew
around the missions.
Between the 1820s and the 1840s
Mexico and the United States competed
for California. Mexico owned the territory
and refused to sell it to the United
States. In 1846 Californians around
Sonoma, near San Francisco, rebelled
against Mexican rule and joined the
United States in fighting the Mexican
War. The peace treaty that ended the
war in 1848 gave California and other
Mexican land to the United States.
Early in 1848, before the treaty was
signed, gold had been discovered near
Coloma, in northern California. This
find started a gold rush. The arrival of
tens of thousands of gold hunters called
forty-niners (because many of them
arrived in 1849) changed California.
The population surge helped lead to
statehood for California in 1850.
Many more people came to California
after railroad service from the eastern
United States began in 1869. During
