Welcome to the Portal:California. Such a lovely place.
California
State of California
Map of the United States with California highlighted
California is a state in the Western United States , lying on the American Pacific Coast . It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and a international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the south. With 39 million residents across an area of 163,696 square miles (423,970 km2 ), it is the most populous U.S. state, the third-largest by area, and most populated subnational entity in North America . The Greater Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas are the nation's second- and fifth-most populous urban regions , with 19 million and 10 million residents respectively. Los Angeles is the state's most populous city and the nation's second-most , after New York . California's capital , Sacramento , is located in the Central Valley .
Prior to European colonization , California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America . European exploration in the 16th and 17th centuries led to the colonization by the Spanish Empire . The area became a part of Mexico in 1821, following its successful war for independence , but was ceded to the United States in 1848 after the Mexican–American War . The California Gold Rush started in 1848 and led to social and demographic changes, including depopulation of indigenous peoples in the California genocide . The western portion of Alta California was then organized and admitted as the 31st state in 1850 , as a free state , following the Compromise of 1850 .
California's economy is the largest of any US state, with a $3.6 trillion gross state product . It is the largest sub-national economy in the world. California's agricultural industry has the highest output of any U.S. state, and is led by its dairy , almonds , and grapes . With the busiest port in the country (Los Angeles ), California plays a pivotal role in the global supply chain, hauling in about 40% of goods imported to the US. 84% of residents 25 or older hold a high school degree , the lowest high school education rate of all 50 states . Despite a continuing exodus of businesses from Downtown San Francisco and Downtown Los Angeles , California retains one of the largest number of Fortune 500 companies. (Full article... )
Dodger Stadium in 2015
Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles , California. It is the ballpark for Major League Baseball 's Los Angeles Dodgers . Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of US$ 23 million (US$232 million in 2023). It is the oldest ballpark in MLB west of the Mississippi River , and third-oldest overall, after Fenway Park in Boston (1912) and Wrigley Field in Chicago (1914), and is the largest baseball stadium in the world by seat capacity. Often referred to as a "pitcher's ballpark", the stadium has seen 13 no-hitters , 2 of which were perfect games .
The stadium hosted the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in 1980 and 2022 , as well as the World Series ten times (1963 , 1965 , 1966 , 1974 , 1977 , 1978 , 1981 , 1988 , 2017 and 2018 ). It also hosted the semifinals and finals of the 2009 and 2017 World Baseball Classics , as well as exhibition baseball during the 1984 Summer Olympics . The stadium hosted a soccer tournament on August 3, 2013, featuring four clubs: the hometown team Los Angeles Galaxy , and Europe's Real Madrid , Everton , and Juventus . The Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks played a regular season game in 2014 as part of the NHL Stadium Series . (Full article... )
The following are images from various California-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 The
Treaty of Cahuenga , signed at the
Campo de Cahuenga in 1847 by Californio general
Andrés Pico and American general
John C. Frémont , proclaimed a ceasefire under an American victory. The
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo , signed a year later in 1848, officially ended the
Mexican–American War and formally ceded
Alta California to the United States. (from
History of California )
Image 3 Advertisement for sailing to California, c. 1850. (from
History of California )
Image 6 In-N-Out burgers (from
Culture of California )
Image 7 Map of Spain's
Manila galleon trade routes, showing routes between the
Spanish East Indies and
Acapulco passing along the
coast of California . (from
History of California )
Image 9 The railway station in
Sacramento in 1874. (from
History of California )
Image 13 Francis Drake 's 1579 landing in "
New Albion " (modern-day
Point Reyes ); engraving by
Theodor De Bry , 1590. (from
History of California )
Image 15 California was often depicted as an island , due to the
Baja California peninsula , from the 16th to the 18th centuries, such as in this 1650 map by cartographer
Johannes Vingboons . (from
History of California )
Image 16 Joaquín Murrieta , called the "
Robin Hood of California", was a notorious
outlaw during the
California Gold Rush . He served as inspiration for
Zorro , the famed Californian bandit-hero. (from
History of California )
Image 19 Founded by
Vicente Francisco de Sarría in 1817,
Mission San Rafael Arcángel , was the last mission founded during the Spanish period. (from
History of California )
Image 20 Between 1846 and 1873, U.S. government agents waged an extermination campaign against
Indigenous Californians , known as the
California genocide , resulting in as many as 100,000 deaths. (from
History of California )
Image 22 Forces raising the U.S. flag over the
Monterey Customhouse following their victory at the
Battle of Monterey (from
History of California )
Image 23 Bilingual English-Spanish sign in the
Colorado Desert of
Southern California . (from
Culture of California )
Image 24 Portrait of a
Californio in traditional
vaquero clothing. Californios benefitted immensely by the establishment of the
ranchos of California , following the
Mexican secularization act of 1833 . (from
History of California )
Image 25 California's first State Capitol building in
San Jose , which served as the capital of California 1850–51. (from
History of California )
Image 27 San Francisco harbor,
c. 1850 –51. (from
History of California )
Image 28 General
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo reviewing his troops in
Sonoma in 1846. (from
History of California )
Image 29 "Independent Gold Hunter on His Way to California", c. 1850 (from
History of California )
Image 32 Portrait of an "
assimilated "
Maidu man in
Sacramento , 1867. (from
History of California )
Image 33 Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo , established in 1770, was the headquarters of the
Californian mission system from 1797 until 1833. (from
History of California )
Image 34 Mission Santa Barbara , founded in 1786, was the first mission to be established by
Fermín de Lasuén . (from
History of California )
Image 35 Mission San Gabriel Arcángel , founded in 1771 by padres Pedro Benito Cambón and Ángel de la Somera. (from
History of California )
Image 36 The American capture of
San Diego by the
USS Cyane in 1846 (from
History of California )
Image 38 Mission San Francisco Solano , founded in 1823 by order of Governor
Luis Antonio Argüello , was the last Californian mission established. (from
History of California )
Image 39 The 1562 map of the Americas, created by Spanish cartographer
Diego Gutiérrez , which applied
the name California for the first time. (from
History of California )
Image 41 Depiction of the
Donner Party heading west on the
California Trail . (from
History of California )
Image 42 Junípero Serra conducting the first
mass in
Monterey Bay in 1770. (from
History of California )
Image 43 The Spanish founded
Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1776, the third to be established of the
Californian missions . (from
History of California )
Image 47 A Southern Pacific Train at
Arcade Depot , Los Angeles, 1891 (from
History of California )
Image 50 The 1835
Manifiesto a la República Mejicana , by
José Figueroa , was the first book published in California (from
Culture of California )
Image 52 Map of the route taken by the
Anza Expedition of 1775–76, from the
Presidio of Tubac to
San Francisco Bay . (from
History of California )
Image 53 Map of the
Butterfield Overland Mail routes through California, c. 1858. (from
History of California )
Image 57 Depiction of the revolt of the
Mission Indians against padre
Luis Jayme at
Mission San Diego de Alcalá in 1775. (from
History of California )
Image 58 The
University of California, Berkeley is the flagship school of the University of California system. (from
Culture of California )
Image 59 Angustias de la Guerra played a crucial role in defending
women's property rights during the drafting of the Constitution of California. (from
History of California )
I've seen firsthand coming here with empty pockets but full of dreams, full of desire, full of will to succeed, but with the opportunities that I had, I could make it. This is why we have to get back and bring California back to where it once was.
Image 2 Paul Norton "
Pete "
McCloskey Jr. (September 29, 1927 – May 8, 2024) was an American politician who represented
San Mateo County, California , as a
Republican in the
U.S. House of Representatives from 1967 to 1983.
Born in
Loma Linda, California , McCloskey pursued a legal career in
Palo Alto, California , after graduating from
Stanford Law School . He served in the
Korean War as a member of the
United States Marine Corps . For his service, he was awarded the
Navy Cross and the
Silver Star . He won election to the House of Representatives in 1967, defeating
Shirley Temple in the Republican primary. He co-authored the 1973
Endangered Species Act . He unsuccessfully challenged President
Richard Nixon in the
1972 Republican primaries on an anti-
Vietnam War platform and was the first member of Congress to publicly call for President Nixon's resignation after the
Saturday Night Massacre . (
Full article... )
Image 3 Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a
cheerleader for the
Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographer for the
Laker Girls , where she was discovered by
the Jacksons . After choreographing music videos for
Janet Jackson , Abdul became a choreographer at the height of the music video era and soon thereafter she was signed to
Virgin Records . Her debut studio album
Forever Your Girl (1988) became one of the most successful debut albums at that time, selling seven million copies in the United States and setting a record for the most number-one singles from a debut album on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart: "
Straight Up ", "
Forever Your Girl ", "
Cold Hearted ", and "
Opposites Attract ". Her second album
Spellbound (1991) scored her two more chart-toppers – "
Rush Rush " and "
The Promise of a New Day ". With six number-one singles on Hot 100, Abdul tied
Diana Ross for the third-most chart-toppers among female solo artists at the time.
Abdul was one of the original judges on the television series
American Idol from 2002 to 2009, and has since appeared as a judge on
The X Factor ,
Live to Dance ,
So You Think You Can Dance , and
The Masked Dancer . She received choreography credits in numerous films, including
Can't Buy Me Love (1987),
The Running Man (1987),
Coming to America (1988),
Action Jackson (1988),
The Doors (1991),
Jerry Maguire (1996), and
American Beauty (1999). She received 17
MTV Video Music Award nominations, winning five, as well as receiving the
Grammy Award for Best Music Video for "Opposites Attract" in 1991. She received the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography twice for her work on
The Tracey Ullman Show , and her own performance at the
American Music Awards in 1990. Abdul was honored with her own star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame , and is the first entertainer to be honored with the
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards ' Hall of Fame Award. (
Full article... )
Image 6 Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American lawyer, politician, and jurist who served as the 30th
governor of California from 1943 to 1953 and as the 14th
Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The
Warren Court presided over a major shift in American
constitutional jurisprudence , which has been recognized by many as a "
Constitutional Revolution " in the
liberal direction, with Warren writing the majority opinions in landmark cases such as
Brown v. Board of Education (1954),
Reynolds v. Sims (1964),
Miranda v. Arizona (1966), and
Loving v. Virginia (1967). Warren also led the
Warren Commission , a
presidential commission that investigated the 1963
assassination of President John F. Kennedy . He served as
Governor of California from 1943 to 1953, and is the last chief justice to have served in an elected office before nomination to the Supreme Court. Warren is generally considered to be one of the most influential Supreme Court justices and political leaders in the
history of the United States .
Warren was born in 1891 in
Los Angeles and was raised in
Bakersfield, California . After graduating from the
University of California, Berkeley, School of Law , he began a legal career in
Oakland . He was hired as a deputy district attorney for
Alameda County in 1920 and was appointed district attorney in 1925. He emerged as a leader of the state
Republican Party and won election as the
Attorney General of California in 1938. In that position he supported, and was a firm proponent of the
forced removal and internment of over 100,000
Japanese Americans during
World War II . In the
1942 California gubernatorial election , Warren defeated incumbent
Democratic governor
Culbert Olson . As the 30th Governor of California, Warren presided over a period of major growth—for the state as well as the nation. Serving from 1943 to 1953, Warren is the only governor of California to be elected for three consecutive terms. (
Full article... )
Image 8 Wally Bill Hedrick (1928 – December 17, 2003) was a seminal American
artist in the 1950s California counterculture, gallerist, and educator who came to prominence in the early 1960s. Hedrick's contributions to art include pioneering artworks in psychedelic light art, mechanical kinetic sculpture, junk/assemblage sculpture, Pop Art, and (California) Funk Art. Later in his life, he was a recognized forerunner in Happenings, Conceptual Art,
Bad Painting , Neo-Expressionism, and image appropriation. Hedrick was also a key figure in the first important public manifestation of the
Beat Generation when he helped to organize the
Six Gallery Reading , and created the first artistic denunciation of American foreign policy in Vietnam. Wally Hedrick was known as an “idea artist” long before the label “conceptual art” entered the art world, and experimented with innovative use of language in art, at times resorting to puns. (
Full article... )
Image 9 Ronald Wilson Reagan (
RAY -gən; February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th
president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. A member of the
Republican Party ,
his presidency constituted the
Reagan era , and he is considered one of the most prominent
conservative figures in American history.
Raised in the small towns of northern
Illinois , Reagan graduated from
Eureka College in 1932 and worked as a
sports broadcaster on several regional radio stations. He moved to
California in 1937 and became a well-known film actor there. Reagan twice served as the president of the
Screen Actors Guild from 1947 to 1952 and from 1959 to 1960. During the 1950s, he worked in television and spoke for
General Electric . Reagan's "
A Time for Choosing " speech during the
1964 presidential campaign elevated him as a new conservative figure. He was elected
governor of California in
1966 . During
his governorship , he raised
taxes , turned the state budget deficit into a surplus, and implemented harsh crack downs on the
Free Speech Movement . After challenging and losing to incumbent president
Gerald Ford in the
1976 Republican presidential primaries , Reagan
won the Republican nomination and then a
landslide victory over incumbent
Democratic president
Jimmy Carter in the
1980 presidential election . (
Full article... )
Image 10 Hartman in character as Chick Hazard, Private Eye, circa 1978.
Philip Edward Hartman (
né Hartmann ; September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-born American comedian, actor, screenwriter, and graphic designer. Hartman was born in
Brantford, Ontario , Canada, and his family moved to the United States when he was ten years old. After graduating from
California State University, Northridge , with a degree in graphic arts, he designed album covers for bands including
Poco and
America . In 1975, Hartman joined the comedy group
the Groundlings , where he helped
Paul Reubens develop his character
Pee-wee Herman . Hartman co-wrote the film
Pee-wee's Big Adventure and made recurring appearances as Captain Carl on Reubens' show
Pee-wee's Playhouse .
In 1986, Hartman joined the
NBC sketch comedy show
Saturday Night Live (
SNL ) as a
cast member , and stayed for eight seasons until 1994. Nicknamed "Glue" for his ability to hold the show together and help other cast members, he won a
Primetime Emmy Award for his
SNL work in 1989. He also starred as Bill McNeal in the sitcom
NewsRadio , voiced
Lionel Hutz and
Troy McClure on
The Simpsons , and appeared in supporting roles in the films
Houseguest ,
Sgt. Bilko ,
Jingle All the Way , and
Small Soldiers . (
Full article... )
Image 11 Roy Edward Disney KCSG (January 10, 1930 – December 16, 2009) was an American businessman. He was the longtime senior executive for
the Walt Disney Company , which was founded by his uncle,
Walt Disney , and his father,
Roy O. Disney . At the time of his death, he held more than 16 million shares (about 1% of the company), and served as a consultant for the company, as well as director emeritus for the board of directors. During his tenure, he organized ousting of the company's top two executives:
Ron W. Miller in 1984 and
Michael Eisner in 2005.
As the last member of the
Disney family to be actively involved in the company, Disney was often compared to his uncle and to his father. In 2006,
Forbes magazine estimated his personal fortune at $1.2 billion. (
Full article... )
Image 12 Picture of Stafford from the New York Sunday News , September 21, 1947
Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917 – July 16, 2008) was an American
traditional pop singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classical training to become an
opera singer before following a career in popular music, and by 1955 had achieved more worldwide record sales than any other female artist. Her 1952 song "
You Belong to Me " topped the charts in the United States and United Kingdom, becoming the second single to top the
UK Singles Chart , and the first by a female artist to do so.
Born in remote oil-rich
Coalinga, California , near Fresno in the
San Joaquin Valley , Stafford made her first musical appearance at age 12. While still at high school, she joined her two older sisters to form a vocal trio named the Stafford Sisters, who found moderate success on radio and in film. In 1938, while the sisters were part of the cast of
Twentieth Century Fox 's production of
Alexander's Ragtime Band , Stafford met the future members of
the Pied Pipers and became the group's lead singer. Bandleader
Tommy Dorsey hired them in 1939 to perform vocals with his orchestra. From 1940 to 1942, the group often performed with Dorsey's new male singer, Frank Sinatra. (
Full article... )
Image 14 Andre Romell Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as
Dr. Dre , is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and
CEO of
Aftermath Entertainment and
Beats Electronics , and co-founded and was the president of
Death Row Records . Dre began his career as a member of the
World Class Wreckin' Cru in 1984, and later found fame with the
gangsta rap group
N.W.A . The group popularized explicit lyrics in
hip hop to detail the violence of street life. During the early 1990s, Dre was credited as a key figure in the crafting and popularization of
West Coast G-funk , a subgenre of hip hop characterized by a
synthesizer foundation and slow, heavy production.
Released as Death Row's first major project, Dr. Dre's solo debut studio album,
The Chronic (1992) made him one of the best-selling American music artists of 1993. It earned him a
Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance with the single "
Let Me Ride ", as well as several accolades for the single "
Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang " (featuring Snoop Dogg). That year, he produced Death Row labelmate
Snoop Doggy Dogg 's debut album
Doggystyle , and mentored producers such as his stepbrother
Warren G (leading to the multi-platinum debut
Regulate... G Funk Era in 1994) and Snoop Dogg's cousin
Daz Dillinger (leading to the double-platinum debut
Dogg Food by
Tha Dogg Pound in 1995), as he would mentor other producers including
Mel-Man and
Scott Storch . In 1996, Dre left Death Row Records to establish his own label, Aftermath Entertainment; his compilation album,
Dr. Dre Presents: The Aftermath (1996) and second studio album,
2001 (1999) followed thereafter. (
Full article... )
Image 15 Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers (born October 1, 1989), known professionally as
Brie Larson , is an American actress. Known for her supporting roles in comedies as a teenager, she has since expanded to leading roles in
independent films and
blockbusters . She has received
various accolades , including an
Academy Award , a
Golden Globe Award , and a
Primetime Emmy Award .
Time magazine named her one of the
100 most influential people in the world in 2019.
At age six, Larson was the youngest student admitted to a training program at the
American Conservatory Theater , and she began her acting career in 1998 with a
comedy sketch on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno . She appeared as a regular in the 2001 sitcom
Raising Dad and briefly dabbled with a music career, releasing the album
Finally Out of P.E. in 2005. She subsequently had supporting roles in the comedy films
Hoot (2006),
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), and
21 Jump Street (2012), and appeared as a sardonic teenager in the television series
United States of Tara (2009–2011). (
Full article... )
... that when a state highway between Beegum and Peanut was vetoed, a newspaper accused their residents of lacking imagination?
... That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd that once led to the Jergins Trust Building in Long Beach, California ?
... that prior to his career in the CIA, Dick Linthicum played basketball at UCLA and became the university's first All-American in any sport?
... that California rancher Frank O'Connor could grow Lipstick and Halloween in a greenhouse?
... that American football linebacker Segun Olubi grew up in New Jersey, Minnesota, Arizona, England, and California, and attended four different colleges in Idaho, California, and Arkansas?
... that Bull Island was farmed by the Money family for over 100 years before being turned into a wildlife preserve?
... that the California State Assembly held a moment of silence over the death of fictional character Mrs. Landingham while in the midst of an energy crisis ?
... that an attempt by six employees of a California TV station to remain on the air by working unpaid lasted just three days?
Shasta Dam under construction
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File:Victor Adam after Louis Choris - Vue du Presidio san Francisco, 1822.jpg
File:Vineyards of Napa Valley panorama.jpg
File:Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA, CA, jjron 22.03.2012.jpg
File:Waxman during Hyatt III sketch.jpg
File:World War II woman aircraft worker, Vega Aircraft Corporation, Burbank, California 1942.jpg
Nicknames: The Golden State
Capital: Sacramento
Total area: 163,696 mi2
Land: 156,002 mi2
Water: 7,694 mi2
Highest elevation: 14,505 ft (Mount Whitney )
Population 39,250,017 (2016 est)
Admission to the Union: September 9, 1850 (31st )
State symbols:
Things you can do