California (pronounced /kælɨˈfɔrnjə/ ( listen)) is the most populous This is a list of U.S. states by population as of July 1, 2008, according to the 2008 estimates of the United States Census Bureau. The total population of the United States was 281,421,906 at the 2000 Census. As of July 1, 2008, the estimated population of the 50 states and District of Columbia was 304,059,724. The top nine states in population^[4] state A U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government . Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. However, state citizenship is very flexible, and no government approval is required to move in the United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas The Americas, or America, are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, comprising the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. America may be ambiguous in English, as it is more commonly used to refer to the United States of America. The Americas cover 8.3% of the Earth's total surface area, behind only São Paulo, Brazil São Paulo (Portuguese pronunciation: [sɐ̃ʊ̯̃ ˈpaʊ̯lʊ] ) is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. It is named after Saint Paul. São Paulo has the largest population, industrial park and economic production of the country. It is the most populous subnational entity in the Western. It is located on the West Coast The "West Coast", "Western Seaboard", or "Pacific Coast" are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean and can also be of the United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the, and is bordered by Oregon Oregon (pronounced /ˈɒɹɨɡən/ ORR-i-gən) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern boundaries to the north, Nevada Nevada (pronounced /nəˈvædə/ ) is a state located in the western region of the United States. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas. The state's nickname is Silver State, due to the large number of silver deposits that were discovered and mined there. In 1864, Nevada became the 36th state to enter the union, and the to the northeast, Arizona The State of Arizona ( /ærɪˈzoʊnə/ ) is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix. The second largest city is Tucson, followed in size by the four Phoenix metropolitan area cities of Mesa, Glendale, Chandler, and Scottsdale to the southeast, the Mexican The United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos ), commonly known as Mexico (English: /ˈmɛksɪkoʊ/) (Spanish: México (help·info) [ˈmexiko]), is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, state of Baja California Baja California is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North Territory of Baja California. It has an area of 71,576 km2 (27,636 sq mi), or 3.57% of the land mass of Mexico and comprises the northern half of the Baja California peninsula, north of the 28th parallel. The to the south, and the Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the to the west. Its four largest cities A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement, particularly a large urban settlement. Although there is no agreement on technical definitions distinguishing a city from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law. For example, an article of are Los Angeles Los Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over 498.3 square miles (1,290.6 km2) in Southern California. Additionally, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area is home to, San Diego San Diego , named after Saint Didacus (Spanish: Diego de Alcalá), is the second-largest city in California and the ninth largest city in the United States, located along the Pacific Ocean on the west coast of the United States. The US Census Bureau estimates the city's population at 1,279,329 as of 2008. This coastal city is also the county seat, San Jose San Jose (meaning St. Joseph in Spanish) or San José is the third-largest city in California and the tenth-largest in the United States. The county seat of Santa Clara County, it is located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region commonly referred to as Silicon Valley. Once a small farming city, San Jose became a magnet for, and San Francisco San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the 12th most populous city in the United States, with a 2008 estimated population of 808,976. It is one of the most densely populated cities in the United States and is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the larger San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.4 million.^[5] The state is home to the nation's second The Greater Los Angeles Area, or the Southland, is the agglomeration of urbanized area around the county of Los Angeles, California, United States. Greater Los Angeles includes the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area as well as the Riverside–San Bernardino–Ontario Metropolitan Area, and the Oxnard–Thousand Oaks–Ventura Metro Area. San Diego and and sixth The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, or the Bay, is a metropolitan region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses large cities such as San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas. Overall, the Bay Area consists of nine counties, largest metropolitan areas The following table of the 717 primary census statistical areas of the United States of America compares the single-core and multi-core metropolitan areas of the United States. A primary census statistical area is a census defined metropolitan area that is not a component of a more extensive census defined metropolitan area.[original research?] as well as eight of the nation's fifty largest cities The following is a list of the most populous incorporated places in the United States. As defined by the United States Census Bureau, an incorporated place includes a variety of designations, including a city, town, village, borough, and municipality.[a] Some census-designated places may also be included in the Census Bureau's listing of. It is known for its varied climate Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and numerous other meteorological elements in a given region over long periods of time. Climate can be contrasted to weather, which is the present condition of these same elements over periods up to two weeks and geography Geography is the study of the Earth and its lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes (276-194 B.C.). Four historical traditions in geographical research are the spatial analysis of natural and, as well as its diverse Multiculturalism is the acceptance of multiple ethnic cultures, for practical reasons and/or for the sake of diversity and applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g. schools, businesses, neighborhoods, cities or nations. In this context, multiculturalists advocate extending equitable status to population.

California is the third-largest U.S. state by land area This is a complete list of the states of the United States and its major territories ordered by total area, land area, and water area. The water area figures include inland, coastal, Great Lakes, and territorial waters. Glaciers and intermittent water features are counted as land area, after Alaska Alaska ( /əˈlæskə/ ) is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait. Approximately half of Alaska's 683,4 and Texas Texas ( /ˈtɛksəs/ ) is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States. The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies". Located in the South Central United States, Texas is bordered by Mexico to the south, New Mexico to the west,. Its geography ranges from the Pacific coast to the Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada is a mountain range located in the U.S. state of California. In a few places, it overlaps into neighboring Nevada. The range is also known informally as "the Sierra," "the High Sierra," and "the Sierras." mountain range A mountain range is a chain of mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by passes or valleys. Individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geology, though they often do; they may be a mix of different orogeny, for example volcanoes, uplifted mountains or fold mountains and may, in the east, to Mojave desert The Mojave Desert , (Hayikwiir Mat'aar in Mojave), locally referred to as the High Desert, occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States. Named after the Mohave tribe of Native Americans, it occupies well over 22,00 areas in the southeast and the Redwood Sequoia sempervirens is the sole living species of the genus Sequoia in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include Coast Redwood and California Redwood (it is one of three species of trees known as redwoods, but "redwood" per se normally refers to this species). It is an evergreen, long-lived,–Douglas fir Douglas-fir is the English name applied in common to evergreen coniferous trees of the genus Pseudotsuga in the family Pinaceae. There are five species, two in western North America, one in Mexico, and two in eastern Asia. 19th Century botanists had problems in classifying Douglas-firs due to the species' similarity to various other conifers forests A forest is an area with a high density of trees. There are many definitions of a forest, based on the various criteria. These plant communities presently cover approximately 9.4% of the Earth's surface in many different regions and function as habitats for organisms, hydrologic flow modulators, and soil conservers, constituting one of the most of the northwest. The center of the state is dominated by the Central Valley The Central Valley is a large, flat valley that dominates the central portion of the U.S. state of California. It is home to many of California's most productive agricultural efforts. The valley stretches approximately 400 miles from north to south. Its northern half is referred to as the Sacramento Valley, and its southern half as the San Joaquin, one of the most productive agricultural Agriculture encompasses a wide variety of specialties and techniques, including ways to expand the lands suitable for plant raising, by digging water-channels and other forms of irrigation. Cultivation of crops on arable land and the pastoral herding of livestock on rangeland remain at the foundation of agriculture. In the past century there has areas in the world World is a highly common name for the planet Earth, but it was originally used to mean the sum of human civilization living on it, specifically human experience, history, or the 'human condition' in general. California is the most geographically diverse state in the nation, and contains the highest (Mount Whitney) and lowest (Death Valley) points in the contiguous United States The term contiguous United States refers to the 48 U.S. states located on the North American continent south of the border with Canada, plus the District of Columbia. The term excludes the states of Alaska and Hawaii and all off-shore U.S. territories and possessions.

Beginning in the late 18th century, the area known as Alta California Alta California was formed when Spain separated the Dominican Missions from the Franciscan Missions in approximately 1769 with the founding of the first Alta California mission in San Diego. Separate administrations were created in 1804 when the Province of the Californias, then a part of the Commandancy General of the Provincias Internas in the was colonized In politics and in history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception. The metropolitan state is the state that owns by the Spanish Empire Territories of the Portuguese empire during the Iberian Union . Territories lost before or due to the Treaties of Utrecht-Baden (1713–1714). Territories lost before or during the Hispanic American wars of independence (1811–1828). Territories lost following the Spanish-American War (1898–1899). Territories granted independence during the. In 1821, Mexico The United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos ), commonly known as Mexico (English: /ˈmɛksɪkoʊ/) (Spanish: México (help·info) [ˈmexiko]), is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize,, including Alta California, became an independent Independence is the self-government of a nation, country, or state by its residents and population, or some portion thereof, generally exercising sovereignty republic A republic is a form of government in which the head of state is not a monarch and the people have an impact on its government. The word 'republic' is derived from the Latin phrase res publica which can be translated as "a public affair". In 1846 a group of American settlers in Sonoma Sonoma is a historically significant city in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA, surrounding its historic town plaza, a remnant of the town's Spanish colonial past. Sonoma today is a center of wine industry for the Sonoma Valley AVA Appellation, as well as the home of the nationally recognized Sonoma Valley Film Festival. Sonoma's declared the independence of a California Republic. As a result of the Mexican-American War The Mexican–American War was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S. annexation of Texas. Mexico claimed ownership of Texas as a breakaway province and refused to recognize the secession and subsequent military victory by Texas in 1836, Mexico ceded Cession, or to cede, is the assignment of property to another entity. In international law it commonly refers to land transferred by treaty. Ballentine's Law Dictionary defines cession as "a surrender; a yielding; a giving up." In contrast with annexation, where property is forcibly given up, cession is voluntary or at least apparently California to the United States. It became the 31st state This is a list of U.S. states by date of statehood, that is, the date when each U.S. state joined the Union. Although the first 13 states can be considered to have been members of the United States from the date of the Declaration of Independence – July 4, 1776 – they are presented here as being "admitted" on the date each ratified admitted to the union on September 9, 1850.

In the 19th century, the California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was discovered by James Wilson Marshall at Sutter's Mill, in Coloma, California. News of the discovery soon spread, resulting in some 300,000 men, women, and children coming to California from the rest of the United States and abroad. Of the 300,000, approximately 150,000 arrived by sea brought about dramatic changes, with a large influx of people and an economic boom that caused San Francisco to grow from a hamlet of tents to a world-renowned boomtown A boomtown is a community that experiences sudden and rapid population and economic growth. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although the term can also be applied to communities growing very rapidly for different reasons, such as a proximity to a major metropolitan area,. Key developments in the early 20th century included the emergence of Los Angeles as center of the American entertainment industry, and the growth of a large, state-wide tourism sector. In addition to California's prosperous agricultural industry, other important contributors to the economy include aerospace, petroleum, and information technology. If California were a country, it would rank among the ten largest economies in the world, with a GDP similar to that of Italy. It would be the 35th most populous country.

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