10 California Geography Facts

California  is a state located in the western United States. It is the largest state in the union based on its population of over 35 million and it is the third-largest state (behind Alaska and Texas) by land area. California is bordered to the north by Oregon, to the east by Nevada, to the southeast by Arizona, to the south by Mexico and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Californias nickname is the Golden State. The state of California is most well known for its large cities, varied topography, favorable climate, and large economy. As such, Californias population has grown quickly over the past decades and it continues to grow today via both immigration from foreign countries and movement from other states. Basic Facts Capital: SacramentoPopulation: 38,292,687 (January 2009 estimate)Largest Cities: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Long Beach, Fresno, Sacramento, and OaklandArea: 155,959 square miles (403,934 sq km)Highest Point: Mount Whitney at 14,494 feet (4,418 m)Lowest Point: Death Valley at -282 feet (-86 m) Geographic Facts About California The following is a list of ten geographic facts to know about the state of California: California was one of the most diverse regions for Native Americans in the United States with around 70 independent tribes prior to the arrival of persons from other areas in the 1500s. The first explorer of the California coast was the Portuguese explorer Joà £o Rodrigues Cabrilho in 1542.Throughout the rest of the 1500s, the Spanish explored Californias coast and eventually established 21 missions in what was known as Alta California. In 1821, The Mexican War of Independence allowed Mexico and California to become independent of Spain. Following this independence, Alta California remained as a northern province of Mexico.In 1846, the Mexican-American War broke out and following the end of the war, Alta California became a U.S. territory. By the 1850s, California had a large population as a result of the Gold Rush and on September 9, 1850, California was admitted into the United States.Today, California is the most populous state in the U.S. For reference, Californias population is over 39 million people, making it roughly the same as the entire country of Canada. Illegal immigration is also a problem in California and in 2010, around 7.3% of the population was made up of illegal immigrants.Most of Californias population is clustered within one of three major metropolitan areas. These include the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area, Southern California extending from Los Angeles to San Diego and Central Valley cities stretching from Sacramento to Stockton and Modesto.California has varied topography that includes mountain ranges like the Sierra Nevada that run south to north along the eastern border of the state and the Tehachapi Mountains in Southern California. The state also has famous valleys like the agriculturally productive Central Valley and the wine-growing Napa Valley.Central California is divided into two regions by its major river systems. The Sacramento River, which begins flowing near Mount Shasta in northern California, provides water to both the no rthern part of the state and the Sacramento Valley. The San Joaquin River forms the watershed for the San Joaquin Valley, another agriculturally productive region of the state. The two rivers then join to form the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta system which is a major water supplier for the state, a water transit hub, and an incredibly biodiverse region.Most of Californias climate is considered Mediterranean with warm to hot dry summers and mild wet winters. Cities located close to the Pacific coast feature a maritime climate with cool foggy summers, while the Central Valley and other inland locations can become very hot in the summer. For example, San Franciscos average July high temperature is 68 °F (20 °C) while Sacramentos is 94 °F (34 °C). California also has desert regions like Death Valley and very cold climates in the higher mountain areas.California is highly active geologically as it is located within the Pacific Ring of Fire. Many large faults such as the San Andreas run throughout the state making a large portion of it, including the Los Angeles and San Francisco metropolitan areas, prone to earthquakes. A portion of the volcanic Cascade Mountain Range also extends into northern California and Mount Shasta and Mount Lassen are active volcanoes in the area. Drought, wildfire, landslides, and flooding are other natural disasters common in California.Californias economy is responsible for about 13% of the gross domestic product for the entire United States. Computers and electronic products are Californias largest export, while tourism, agriculture and other manufacturing industries make up a large part of the states economy.

The Louisiana Purchase Unconstitutional or Not Essay

It seems that since the beginning of history the actions of the government have always been criticized, especially in the sense of public spending. In the case of the Louisiana Purchase many political figures at the time it was created, as well as historians argue whether or not it was in fact a violation of the Constitution or not. This debate is still ongoing, but in order to analyze whether the Louisiana Purchase was unconstitutional or not, one must analyze the sequence of events leading to the acquisition of the territory by the United States. The Louisiana Purchase appeared to be the only solution to the United States anxiety over whether the French would try to control part of the land that many of the colonists were attempting to†¦show more content†¦While the Constitution can be interpreted in many different ways depending on who is analyzing its contents, the Constitution is in fact fairly black and white in terms of its purpose and decrees. Although President Jeff erson and most of Congress believed that the purchase would be beneficial and prevent an unnecessary war for the United States, Jefferson soon began to have doubts about if the purchase using government money could be justified by the Constitution. On the flip side, however, although the Constitution does not specially empower the federal government or the acting President to acquire new territory by treaty, the practical benefits of the Louisiana Purchase outweighed if it was in fact a violation of the Constitution. Although many believe in a strict interpretation of the Constitution, the Louisiana Purchase was in fact constitutional. First, the tenth amendment grants to the states and the people all rights not specifically denied in the Constitution. (â€Å"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the United States, are reserved to the States, respectively, or to the people†) In other words, the 10th Amendment is applicable to the Louisiana Purchase because the colonists wanted to expand into the west and it was in their best interest to do so. Secondly, in Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution it also states that the President is theShow MoreRelatedThe Louisiana Purchase Essays940 Words   |  4 PagesThe Louisiana Purchase was done in the year 1803. In this purchase the United States of America paid fifteen million dollars to get all the land west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains. This transaction was done between Thomas Jefferson and the great Napoleon. The benefits that the United States of America experienced from this purchase were numerous. 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The ordeal started in October of 1802, where Joseph Harris of smithsonianmag.com states that the Spanish administrator, Juan Ventura Morales, who was administering New Orleans until the French administrator Laussat arrived, said that the terms of 1795 treaty had expired and the Americans had lost their right to store American merchandise in warehouses located in New Orleans. Another rig htRead MoreMadison And Jeffersons Federalist Ideas Essay968 Words   |  4 Pagesas strict constructionists, who were opposed to the broad constructionism of the Federalists, both Jefferson and Madisons presidencies highlighted Federalist ideals in many of their decisions. This included Jeffersons unconstitutional decision in purchasing the vast Louisiana territory and MadisonsÂ… The standard Democratic-Republican had many beliefs in which followed the Constitution whole heartily. Jefferson writes, The true theory of our Constitution is surely the wisest and best thatRead MoreHow the Louisana Purchase Was Aganist the Constitution Essay examples638 Words   |  3 PagesThrough the Louisiana Purchase a lot of problems with how Thomas Jefferson dealt with the Constitution can be found. Jefferson was the third president of the United States and the leader of the Democratic-Republican Party. Even though he believes in a strict interpretation of the Constitution his actions during the Louisiana Purchase violates this avowed Constitutional principle of his and it also went against his principal of low government spending. Jefferson believed in a strict interpretationRead MoreEssay about The Formative Years of The Louisiana Purchase960 Words   |  4 Pages To buy or not to buy, that is the question. Although it was the greatest â€Å"real estate† deal, the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 was perhaps one of the most controversial events in American History. President Thomas Jefferson, although he was a Founding Father and the primary writer of the Declaration of Independence, faced major opposition with his decision to purchase the Louisiana Territory from the French. Most of the opposition he faced, however, was domestic. Jefferson was the founder of theRead MoreThomas Jefferson s Dilemma On The Louisiana Purchase1065 Words   |  5 PagesGabriel Quarcoo Mr. D Nesmith History 1301.06 October 24th, 2014 Thomas Jefferson’s Dilemma on the Louisiana Purchase In our day, we consider the boarders of the United States impenetrable and inevitable. We tend to forget that the nation started off as a little country which consisted of 13 states, occupying the Atlantic Seaboard, which is only is small portion of what it is now. The county before the 1803 depended on its resources for agriculture, mining and logging. The need for more land forRead MoreThe Louisiana Purchase By Thomas Jefferson1129 Words   |  5 Pagesthroughout the endeavor of the Louisiana Purchase. The Louisiana Purchase is highly regarded as the greatest achievement of American expansion since the establishment of the country. This transaction between France and America gave the necessary requirements to recover and even advance the weak U.S. economy. America paid France $15 million for an estimated 800,000 acres of land; making this the largest land deal in history. Despite the many advantages that the Louisiana Purchase had to offer, Thomas JeffersonRead MoreThe Louisiana P urchase Shaping America1213 Words   |  5 Pages The Louisiana Purchase shaping America Christopher Richeson East Forsyth High School Mrs. Callendar American History 4th Period December 15, 2015 Abstract The Louisiana Purchase was a major event in the growth of the United States of America. Purchased from France for 15 million by Thomas Jefferson in 1803, it gave America twice the available land, adding 827,000 square miles. Some may argue the Louisiana Purchase is unconstitutional, but Jefferson found a way around that. TheRead MoreUs History Essential Questions on Thomas Jefferson Essay785 Words   |  4 PagesDescribe the short and long-term ramifications to the decision. The case of Marbury vs. Madison established judicial review of acts of Congress to determine if they are unconstitutional. It was so epochal because had it not established judicial review, Congress would be free to pass laws that are completely unconstitutional and a violation of the rights set in place by the first ten amendments. It brought order out of the chaos that occurred when Adams appointed the Midnight Judges. Over the long

Know Rhymesâ€Know Reasons Free Essays

My parents are nerds.   I don’t mean they were nerds as kids and grew out of it; I mean my parents were nerds from the moment each was born, though their adolescence, and right into adulthood.   Today, my parents remain true to their heritage: they are full-fledged, adult nerds. We will write a custom essay sample on Know Rhymes—Know Reasons or any similar topic only for you Order Now As most people are aware, nerd hood requires a few supplies and traits: along with the requisite pocket protectors, the over-exuberance for all things academic, and thick glasses, both of my parents are bookworms.   Luckily, certain genetic traits skip a generation, and I can honestly say that I am not a nerd; however, I am a bookworm, and I am not ashamed to admit it because much of my life has been influenced by the things I have read. I grew up with Dr. Seuss.   My father used to spend time every week reading the latest Dr. Seuss book with me.   He’d tuck me into bed, and then I read to him aloud as the story unfolded one rhyme and one intriguing illustration at a time.   My goal was not so much to get to the end, but to learn new words, and each new word I learned was marked by my father with a bright, yellow highlighter. In this way, the progress I made became more tangible, and for all I know, that habit of my father’s allowed me the freedom to read all of my books with a dictionary and a highlighter by my side and never to feel as if doing so was a waste of time or a burden: new word were an adventure, and I loved learning them.   I don’t recall developing a particular favorite Dr. Seuss book as a child, but as I got older, I began to get the urge to unpack the box of my highlighted books and relive a little of my youth. The box of Dr. Seuss books had been stored in the family shed, and the years had taken their toll.   The change in temperature had caused the books to warp and mold, but they had not gone completely to waste: at least one family of rodents had nested in the box, shredding the pages of my early education for their own progeny’s needs.   One lone book remained untouched: Horton Hears a Who, and as I opened this last book of my childhood and began to read, I was struck by the power of the story.   Hidden in the text was one of the most important lessons I’ve ever learned: a single voice of the tiniest girl was strong enough to make a difference.   As hokey as it may sound, I leaned the degree to which an individual can impact the world that day as I read that book.   Perhaps I am a nerd. I won’t waste time by detailing the degree to which I read during grade school, junior high school, and high school; I will only clarify that while I admit to being bookish, I was also an athlete, participated in student body, and had a social life.   I was, however, not done with Dr. Seuss. I hit a wall with Shakespeare, and I felt the burden of reading for the first time in my life.   While many students had grown accustomed to that wall, I had never dealt with it, so by the time it happened to me, the stakes were high: I was in college, and I wasn’t getting it.   I had never skipped a reading—never worried about my English or literature courses. Suddenly, I was ready for a slug of the stuff Romeo had taken.   I did the only thing I could think of: looking for commiseration, I complained to my parents about how stupid Shakespeare was, pointed out that no one could really be sure he’d written his plays, and wondered out loud why anyone needed to read stuff that’s written like that anyway. My father would have none of it, but he suggested to me that anyone who had grown up on Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein had no business complaining about or being confused by Shakespeare.   Like many messages delivered when one isn’t ready to receive them, the point my father had tried to make was lost on me for awhile—buried by the frustration of not having been appeased.   Several days later, I tried to give in to the notion that there might be something familiar in the rhythm and rhyme of Shakespeare if only I’d do what my father had suggested: read it out loud and listen—really listen. I struggled at first trying to work through the colloquial terms.   I fought to remember that the ends of a line of text didn’t necessarily equal the end of a sentence.   I battled with Shakespeare’s sentence structure trying to remember that it was rarely subject-verb-object.   It was like running through sand that was waist deep.   Until it wasn’t.   Suddenly, everything fell into place: it was like I had learned a foreign language.   The words made sense; the story began to unfold around me; I got it; I liked it.   The only thing I can compare it to is sitting in a theater watching a sub-titled movie: there is a point at which the reading becomes so automatic that it is no longer a conscious effort but automatic.   It was just like that. Later, I met the wall that was Henry James.   I was reading Portrait of a Lady, and I had spent far too much time trying to decipher the first scene of the text.   When I realized that James had spent over a page beating around the bush to say that three men were at tea, I wanted to scream.   I wanted to ask the guy why he’d wasted so much ink and so many words simply to point out to the audience that it was tea time, but instead of there being women there, there were men—but I had a book to wade through, and Mr. James was long dead, so I moved on. Having figured out the context of the opening if the book, I went back and started anew, and I realized that I wanted to sit and talk to the man who had chosen such wonderfully descriptive words—a man who had taken such great care to spend the time to so completely describe the fact that three men were at tea.   I remember thinking to myself that if he were a painter, and he painted the way he wrote, that I would love his work like I loved Claude Monet’s Impression Sunrise.   Years later, when I began to read everything I could by and about Henry James, I had a private laugh over his affinity for painters—Monet in particular. Having cracked Shakespeare and James, I was never again afraid of a book’s language or  length.   I picked up Middlemarch and Tom Jones and Vanity Fair and loved each of them for  different reasons, but one day, I picked up Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio, and like  Horton Hears a Who, I found a story that changed the way I viewed the world.   â€Å"The Book of the  Grotesque† made me think about truth, and the way in which each individual forms his or her  own truth and twists it to suite personal needs.   It made me consider that each person’s  quest for and claiming of truth can send ripples into the world, and these ideas changed me. Recently, I have discovered Flannery O’Connor, and while I struggle with the racial issues that threaten to ruin her works for me, I feel the now-familiar tingle beginning that I have grown to recognize as the discovery and excitement that only a well-written book can bring me.   I may have to break down and buy a pocket protector just to use as a book mark. What about writing?   Well, if one day all of the things I have jotted down in hopes of emulating the people previously mentioned ever manages to make its way to a publisher, I will blame that on the books I have read and the people who wrote them.   I will speak of the fact that when I walk into a bookstore, I marvel at all of the people who have managed to get published and allow myself an instant to believe it might someday happen for me as well. As I pick my words and paint my own pictures, I wonder if I have it in me to write the thing that for the right person will make a difference—the thing that might one day be highlighted in bright yellow—the page marked with a sticky note.   Maybe this year I’ll try my hand at NaNoWriMo.    How to cite Know Rhymes—Know Reasons, Essay examples