Los Angeles County, with over 10 million residents, ranks as the most populous, while Alpine County, with fewer than 1,200 residents, remains the least populous. Geographically, San Bernardino County spans more than 20,000 square miles, making it the largest, whereas San Francisco encompasses just 47 square miles as both a city and county. California, also known as the Golden State, offers a diverse tapestry of landscapes, cultures, and communities.

Local government

Major cities include Los Angeles, a global hub for entertainment and culture; San Francisco, known for its finance and technology sectors; San Diego, notable for its maritime and military presence; and San Jose, the heart of Silicon Valley and a center for innovation. The 800-mile (1,300-km) San Andreas Fault is a major fault line running through most of California. Tectonic movement along the fault has caused massive earthquakes, including the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Separate fault systems in the Sierra Nevada and the Klamath Mountains are tectonically active as well.

Inter-city rail travel is provided by Amtrak California; the three routes, the Capitol Corridor, Pacific Surfliner, and San Joaquin, are funded by Caltrans. These services are the busiest intercity rail lines in the United States outside the Northeast Corridor and ridership is continuing to set records. The routes are becoming increasingly popular over flying, especially on the LAX-SFO route.321 Integrated subway and light rail networks are found in Los Angeles (Los Angeles Metro Rail) and San Francisco (Muni Metro). Light rail systems are also found in San Jose (VTA light rail), california tax brackets 2023 San Diego (San Diego Trolley), Sacramento (SacRT light rail), and Northern San Diego County (Sprinter). Furthermore, commuter rail networks serve the San Francisco Bay Area (Altamont Corridor Express, Bay Area Rapid Transit, Caltrain, Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit), Greater Los Angeles (Metrolink), and San Diego County (Coaster).

• The Mojave River is the primary watercourse in the Mojave Desert, and the Santa Ana River drains much of the Transverse Ranges as it bisects Southern California.
• The Government of San Francisco is the only consolidated city-county in California, where both the city and county governments have been merged into one unified jurisdiction.
• With almost 40 million residents across an area of 163,696 square miles (423,970 km2), it is the largest state by population and third-largest by area.
• Explore theme parks, beaches, mountains, and other family-friendly California activities.
• In the far north the terrain is rugged and heavily forested, becoming wetter on the coastal side and drier and barren in the higher northeast.

In the early 20th century, fueled by the efforts of state, the building projects during the Great Depression and local boosters, many Americans saw the Golden State as an ideal resort destination, sunny and dry all year round with easy access to the ocean and mountains. In the 1960s, popular music groups such as the Beach Boys promoted the image of Californians as laid-back, tanned beach-goers. During this same period, sailors from the Russian Empire explored along the northern coast of California.

Mountain Ranges

Both the highest and lowest points in the 48 conterminous states are in the state of California—Mount Whitney and Death Valley, respectively. The former is the culminating summit of the Sierra Nevada, one of the major mountain ranges of North America. It encompasses approximately 163,696 square miles, making it the third-largest state by area. The state stretches from the Pacific Ocean to the Sierra Nevada mountain range, and from the southern Mojave Desert to the dense forests of the northern Coast Ranges. Southern California’s dense settlement lies along a coastal plateau and in valleys ranging from about 10 to 60 miles (16 to 100 km) inland.

Yosemite National Park, located in the Sierra Nevada, offers iconic landscapes and outdoor recreational activities. The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco remains a prominent architectural marvel. Coastal destinations like Malibu and Santa Monica attract visitors with their beaches and pier attractions. You may download, print or use the above map for educational, personal and non-commercial purposes. For any website, blog, scientific research or e-book, you must place a hyperlink (to this page) with an attribution next to the image used.

Main Cities: Riverside, San Bernardino, Ontario

This tech-driven region houses Silicon Valley, the global hub for innovation and home to tech giants like Google, Apple, and Facebook. The Bay Area also serves as a melting pot of cultures, fostering diverse communities, and a rich arts scene. The world’s tallest trees (Redwoods), Mammoth, Heavenly & 60 ski resorts, plus Palm Desert & Death Valley where « snowbirds » go for the winter, offer limitless vacations in one visit! SeeCalifornia.com journeys through the Golden State, exploring what makes it great and offering attraction tickets and hotel packages you can buy to solidify your trip.

Major rivers like the Sacramento and San Joaquin run through the Central Valley, providing essential water resources. These varied landscapes contribute to California’s unique climate zones, from Mediterranean along the coast to alpine in the Sierra Nevada, supporting its rich biodiversity and varied ecosystems. The roughly 1,100-mile- (1,800-km-) long coastline of California is mountainous, most dramatically so in the Santa Lucia Range south of San Francisco, where towering cliffs rise about 800 feet (240 meters) above the ocean. Hills of lesser elevation flank entrances to the coast’s three major natural harbors, at San Diego, San Francisco, and Eureka. Coastal mountains, made up of many indistinct chains, are from about 20 to 40 miles (30 to 65 km) in width and from 2,000 to 8,000 feet (600 to 2,400 meters) in elevation.

Must-Try Waterfall Hikes in Los Angeles

This includes the relatively cool summers of the Humboldt Bay region around Eureka, the extreme heat of Death Valley, and the mountain climate of Mammoth in the Sierra Nevada. The Channel Islands are located off the Southern coast, while the Farallon Islands lie west of San Francisco. The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is a critical water supply hub for the state. Water is diverted from the delta and through an extensive network of pumps and canals that traverse nearly the length of the state, to the Central Valley and the State Water Projects and other needs.

Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara: California Luxury Minute Resorts

California is a land of breathtaking beauty and diverse landscapes, stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Sierra Nevada mountains. Come experience the warmth of the Golden State spirit — where all dreams are welcome. It was admitted as the 31st state of the union on September 9, 1850, and by the early 1960s it was the most populous U.S. state. The influence of the Spanish settlers of the 18th and 19th centuries is evident in California’s architecture and place-names. In the United States House, the Democrats held a 34–19 edge in the California delegation of the 110th United States Congress in 2007.

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 tribes. It organized itself and was admitted as the 31st state in as a free state, following the Compromise of 1850.

Sacramento

The Central Valley, a major agricultural hub, lies between the Sierra Nevada and the Coast Ranges. The Sierra Nevada mountains, which include Mount Whitney—the highest peak in the contiguous United States—extend along the eastern edge of the state. The state also contains significant desert regions, such as Death Valley, which holds the record for the highest temperature on Earth.

Sacramento is the state capital, situated in the northern part of the Central Valley. With a population of approximately 39 million people, California is the most populous state in the country. The capital of California, Sacramento, is situated in the northern part of the state, while Los Angeles, California’s most populated city, sprawls along the southern Pacific coast.

• For any website, blog, scientific research or e-book, you must place a hyperlink (to this page) with an attribution next to the image used.
• In 2008, Californians passed Proposition 20 to empower a 14-member independent citizen commission to redraw districts for both local politicians and Congress.
• The roughly 1,100-mile- (1,800-km-) long coastline of California is mountainous, most dramatically so in the Santa Lucia Range south of San Francisco, where towering cliffs rise about 800 feet (240 meters) above the ocean.
• Known for its iconic Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco is the crown jewel of the Bay Area.
• Renowned attractions include Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, drawing millions annually.

The fluid nature of the state’s social, economic, and political life—shaped so largely by the influx of people from other states and countries—has for centuries made California a laboratory for testing new modes of living. California’s population, concentrated mostly along the coast, is the most urban in the United States, with more than three-fourths of the state’s people living in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego metropolitan areas. Despite its urbanization and the loss of land to industry, California still leads the country in agricultural production. National parks located throughout the state are devoted to the preservation of nature and natural resources.

Just south of the Mojave Desert is the lower Colorado Desert, an extension of the Sonoran Desert, which begins in the Coachella Valley. The Colorado Desert descends to the Imperial Valley adjacent to the Mexican border. The valley is a heavily irrigated agricultural area known for its winter crops.