| About California
- California is a state located on the west coast of
the United States. It is the most populous state in
the U.S., as well as physically the most diverse, with
the highest and the lowest points in the lower 48 states
located within 150 miles of each other. If California
were an independent nation, it would have the fifth
largest economy in the world (see economy of California).
The state's official nickname is "The Golden State"
in reference to California's 1849 Gold Rush. [1] California's
U.S. postal abbreviation is CA, and its Associated Press
abbreviation is Calif.
As one of the most demographically diverse states in
the nation, California is a dominant force in American
culture as well as the nation's economy. In addition
to paying somewhat more to the federal system than it
receives in benefits, it has some of the nation's largest
cities, including Los Angeles,
San Diego, San
Jose, and San Francisco.
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The entire region originally known as California was composed
of the Mexican peninsula now known as Baja California
and much of the land in the current states of California,
Nevada, Utah, Arizona and Wyoming, known as Alta
California. In these early times, the boundaries
of the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific coast were only partially
explored and California was shown on early maps as an
island. The name comes from Las sergas de Esplandián
(Adventures of Splandian), a 16th century novel, by Garci
Rodríguez de Montalvo, where there is an island
paradise called California. (For further discussion, see:
Origin of the name California.)
Living in California
People of California - As of 2004
California had a population of 35,893,799. The state
had 9,400,000 foreign-born residents (26.5% of the population),
of which an estimated 2,209,000 were illegal aliens
(illegal aliens accounted for nearly one-fourth of the
foreign-born population and 6.2% of the total state
population).
California is the most populous state—more than
12 percent of Americans live in the state. California's
population is larger than all but 33 countries; more
populated than Canada and Australia.
California lacks a majority ethnic group. It is the
third minority-majority state, after Hawaii and New
Mexico. Non-Hispanic Whites are still the largest group,
but are no longer a majority of the population due to
high levels of immigration in recent years. Hispanics
make up over one-third of the population; in order,
other groups are Asians, Blacks, and Native Americans.
Because of high levels of immigration from Latin America,
especially Mexico, and higher birth rates among the
Hispanic population, Hispanics are predicted to become
a majority in the state around 2040. California has
the second-largest Asian population (percentage-wise)
of any state, Hawaii having the largest.
The largest ancestries in California are Mexican (25%),
German, Irish, and Asian. Mexicans and Chicanos predominate
in Southern California, the Central Valley, Salinas,
and parts of the San Francisco Bay area. Irish and German
ancestries are dominant in the eastern Sierra Nevada,
the far north, and the North Coast. San Francisco has
the greatest concentration of Asians in the continental
United States, with Chinese numerous in San Francisco,
Alameda, and Santa Clara counties and Filipinos particularly
numerous in San Mateo county.
 Moving
to California? More info about California area's:
State of California
Los Angeles
| San Francisco
| Anderson | Arcata
| Bakersfield | Camarillo
| Chico | Chula
Vista | Citrus Heights
| Clovis | Crescent
City | El Cajon | Escondido
| Eureka | Fontana
| Fresno | Goleta
| Hanford | Hemet
| Hesperia | Indio
| La Mesa | Lancaster
| Lodi | Lompoc
| Los Banos | Madera
| Merced | Modesto
| Monterey | Moreno
Valley | Oceanside | Oroville
| Oxnard | Palm
Desert | Palm Springs
| Palmdale | Porterville
| Red Bluff | Redding
| Rialto | Ridgecrest
| Riverside | Roseville
| Sacramento | Salinas
| San Bernardino | San
Diego | San Jose | San
Luis Obispo | Santa Barbara
| Santa Clara | Santa
Cruz | Santa Maria |
Santa Rosa | Seaside
| Sebastopol | Simi
Valley | Sonoma | South
Lake Tahoe | Spring Valley
| Stockton | Susanville
| Tracy | Truckee
| Tulare | Turlock
| Vacaville | Valley
Springs | Ventura | Victorville
| Visalia | Vista
| Watsonville | Yuba
City |
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