photo by: Heidi Clifford (prospector photographer)
California's Mount Whitney
measures as the highest peak in the lower 48 states. Its most famous
climb is Mount Whitney Trail to the 14,495 feet summit. Wilderness
permits are required.
In 1925 a giant sequoia located in California's Kings
Canyon National Park was named the nation's national Christmas tree.
The tree is over 300 feet in height.
More turkeys are raised in California than in any other state in the United States.
Pacific Park, on the venerable Santa Monica Pier,
re-creates the amusement parks once dotting the ocean areas along the
Pacific Coast. Featured are 11 amusement rides including the
1910-vintage hand-carved merry-go-round appearing in the movie "The
Sting."
Alpine County is the eighth smallest of California's 58
counties. It has no high school, ATMs, dentists, banks, or traffic
lights.
Fallbrook is known as the Avocado Capital of the World
and hosts an annual Avocado Festival. More avocados are grown in the
region than any other county in the nation.
In the late 1850s, Kennedy Mine, located in Jackson,
served as one of the richest gold mines in the world and the deepest
mine in North America.
An animal called the riparian brush rabbit calls Caswell
Memorial State Park (near Manteca) its home. Endemic only to the
state's park system, the critter lives in approximately 255 acres
stretching along the area's once-vast hardwood forest.
In Pacific Grove there is a law on the books establishing a $500 fine for molesting butterflies.
The largest three-day rodeo in the United States is held on the Tehama County Fairgrounds in Red Bluff.
Demonstrations on making toothpaste from orange
by-products were popular attractions at the Los Angeles County fair in
1922. The fair is held in Pomona.
Located in Sacramento, the California State Railroad Museum is the largest museum of its kind in North America.
Several celebrities are buried at Hillside Cemetery in
Culver City. Included gravesites are those of Al Jolson, George Jessel,
Eddie Canter, Jack Benny, and Percy Faith.
California Caverns claims the distinction of being the
most extensive system of caverns and passageways in the Mother Lode
region of the state.
Totaling nearly three million acres, San Bernardino County is the largest county in the country.
On Catalina Island in 1926, American author Zane Grey
built a pueblo-style home on the hillside overlooking Avalon Bay. He
spent much of his later life in Avalon. The home is now a hotel.
Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge contains the largest winter population of bald eagles in the continental United States.
Author Richard Dana (1851-1882) wrote the novel "Two
Years Before the Mast." He inspired the name for the beach community of
Dana Point.
In Atwater the Castle Air Museum has the largest display of military aircraft in the state.
The Country Store in Baker has sold more winning California State Lottery tickets than any outlet in the state.
Reputed to be the most corrupt politician in Fresno County history, Vice-leader Joseph Spinney was mayor for only ten minutes.
The Iron Door Saloon in Groveland claims to be the oldest drinking establishment in the state. It was constructed in 1852.
The Hollywood Bowl is the world's largest outdoor amphitheater.
The first person to personally receive a star on the Walk
of Fame in Hollywood was actress Joanne Woodward. She received it in
1960.
Death Valley is recognized as the hottest, driest place in the United States.
It isn't uncommon for the summer temperatures to reach more than 115 degrees.
The first motion picture theater opened in Los Angeles on April 2, 1902.
Inyo National Forest is home to the bristle cone pine,
the oldest living species. Some of the gnarled trees are thought to be
over 4,600 years old.
San Francisco Bay is considered the world's largest landlocked harbor.
Sequoia National Park contains the largest living tree. Its trunk is 102 feet in circumference.
Yorba Linda is home to the Richard Nixon Library.
The Coachella Valley is nicknamed The Date Capital of the world and The
Playground of Presidents.
One out of every eight United States residents lives in California.
California is the first state to ever reach a trillion dollar economy in gross state product.
California has the largest economy in the states of the union.
If California's economic size were measured by itself to other countries, it would rank the 7th largest economy in the world.
Los Angeles is ranked the fourth largest economy in the United States compared to other states.
Simi Valley is the home of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.
It is estimated there are approximately 500,000 detectable seismic tremors in California annually.
During his engagement at the Fillmore West in San
Francisco, Otis Redding stayed on a houseboat in Sausalito. While there
he wrote his last song and greatest hit: "The Dock of the Bay."
The state motto is Eureka!, a Greek word translated "I
have found it!" The motto was adopted in 1849 and alludes to the
discovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada.
California is known variously as The Land of Milk and Honey, The El Dorado State, The Golden State, and The Grape State.
There are more than 300,000 tons of grapes grown in California annually.
California produces more than 17 million gallons of wine each year.
The redwood is the official state tree. Some of the giant redwoods in Sequoia National Park are more than 2,000 years old.
The California poppy is the official state flower. The
California grizzly bear (Ursus californicus) is the official state
animal.
California holds two of the top ten most populous cities: Los Angeles and San Diego.
Fresno proclaims itself the Raisin Capital of the World.
The highest and lowest points in the continental United
States are within 100 miles of one another. Mount Whitney measures
14,495 feet and Bad Water in Death Valley is 282 feet below sea level.
Castroville is known as the Artichoke Capital of the
World. In 1947 a young woman named Norma Jean was crowned Castroville's
first Artichoke Queen. She went on to become actress Marilyn Monroe.
The Port of Long Beach is one
of the world's busiest seaports, a leading gateway for trade between
the United States and Asia. It supports millions of jobs nationally and
provides consumers and businesses with billions of dollars in goods
each year.