CALIFORNIA BY: ALLY CELUS

FACTS ABOUT CALIFORNIA Admitted as 31st state on September 9, 1850. Named by the Spanish after Califia, a mythical paradise in a Spanish romance, written by Montalvo in 1510. Its nickname is “Golden State”, referring to the gold that was once taken from the land in almost a rush. More than 45% of California is forestland.

POPULATION 38,332,521 people live in California Ranked 1 out of 50 for most populated state.

NATURAL RESOURCES OIL California’s production ranks 4th in the nation. Today, the state has 47,000 working oil wells. TIMBER California’s production of forest products trails only Oregon and Washington. FISHING Tuna, halibut, and herring are the most important fish taken from California’s coastal waters.

STATE SYMBOLS STATE ANIMAL STATE MOTTO “EUREKA!” has appeared on the state seal since 1849 and means “I have found it”. STATE ANIMAL California grizzly bear held its ground as civilizations grew. The last California grizzly was hunted and killed in August 1922. STATE BIRD California quail, also known as the valley quail, is a common and prized game bird.

STATE FLAG The grizzly bear is a symbol of great strength. The red star is a reference to the lone Star of Texas. This flag was adopted as the State Flag by the State Legislature in 1911.

MAJOR ATTRACTIONS Hollywood is a district within the city of Los Angeles, it is still considered the world’s motion picture industry. Disneyland in Anaheim, is the first theme park designed by Walt Disney. Columbia in the Sierra hills, offers one of the state’s best representations of a gold rush town.

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA Capital city SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA California leaders disagreed over the location of their capital city, moving it from San Jose, to Vallejo, to Benicia, and, finally, to Sacramento.

BRIEF GEOGRAPHY Highest point: Mt. Whitney, elevation at the summit is 14,494 ft The state’s Pacific coastline runs 840 miles, the longest sea coast of any state except Alaska and Florida. Lowest point: Badwater Basin in Death Valley, is the lowest point in the U.S. at 282 ft below sea level

GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA EDMUND G. BROWN, JR. Elected the governor of California in 2011 Born on April 7, 1938 in San Francisco, California (current age: 78 years old) Married to Anne Gust Parents: Bernice Layne Brown and Pat Brown.

LICENSE PLATE Name of state that issued the license plate Year of renewal sticker Month sticker shows the month when the vehicle’s registration needs renewed. Vehicle’s License Plate Number identifies each individual vehicle with its own unique number. California added their DMV website to remind people of their website.

CALIFORNIA QUARTER Shows: John Muir, “Father of Our National Park System”, helped form a club to protect Yosemite National Park in 1890. the Yosemite Valley, a main attraction of Yosemite National Park. the California condor a once nearly extinct bird that was successfully re-populated.

Walter Elias (Walt) Disney FAMOUS PEOPLE Walter Elias (Walt) Disney Invented and produced cartoon films Created Mickey Mouse in 1928 Produced first full-color film in 1932 Created Disneyland amusement park in California and Disneyworld in Florida

FAMOUS PEOPLE Marilyn Monroe Born, Norma Jean Baker or Norma Jean Mortenson, in Los Angeles World-famous actress who starred in more than 30 films

FAMOUS PEOPLE Levi Strauss Clothing manufacturer Opened a wholesale business in San Francisco in 1853 In 1874, he began producing the famous blue denim jeans reinforced with rivets

BIBLIOGRAPHY America the Beautiful, California, by R. Conrad Stein, 1988. “The United States Mint” http://www.usmint.gov/ “License Plates of the World” http://www.worldlicenseplates.com/ “50states.com – States and Capitals” http://www.50states.com/ “CA.GOV” www.ca.gov