31st State
September 9, 1850
Capital: Sacramento Text and photos courtesy of Michelle Mock, Corona CA I love you, California!
Mountain Region If you like cooler climates, you might prefer the crisp air of our mountains, where the temperatures are generally lower. You can go from the heat of the desert floor to the much cooler mountain on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. You will notice a temperature drop of approximately 20 degrees Fahrenheit! Sometimes you will even go from a hot spring day in the desert to find snow under the shadows of the trees on the mountain! In Northern California you can visit the beautiful Yosemite National Park and our highest and largest mountains: the Sierra Nevadas. Mt. Whitney is our highest peak at approximately 14,500 feet. Desert Region If you like dry heat, you can choose the desert. The lower deserts in the south of California are the place to go if you don't mind the heat in the summer and enjoy sunny days in the winter. The high deserts can get very hot in the summer but they also get very cold in the winter. It snows in the high desert. Did you know that the hottest, driest place in California is a place in the high desert called Death Valley? People who come from Europe, especially from Germany and the Netherlands, love to vacation in Death Valley. It is not called Death Valley for nothing! This desert can be quite inhospitable. The temperature can reach 130 degrees Fahrenheit in the heat of the summer! That is REALLY hot! However, many very nice resorts have sprung up there and if you have a nice swimming pool and air conditioning to retreat to, Death Valley can be a very nice place to vacation... even in the heat of the summer. Death Valley has the lowest elevation in California, about 86 meters below sea level. Coastal Region
Central Valley Region The Central Coast is known for its wineries and family farms but the Central Valley produces most of the crops in California. The sheltered location, gives it ideal weather for producing everything from apples to watermelons and artichokes to tomatoes! You can find all your recommended dietary servings of fruits and vegetables here! When you drive through the farmlands of Central California, you can experience many wonderful smells. My favorite is the smell of garlic in Gilroy! It makes me hungry! No Place is Perfect California is a wonderful place for people to live but it also has problems. We don't get hurricanes like our friends in Florida, but we do have earthquakes. There are earthquakes in California every day but usually we don't even feel them because they are so far below the surface. On the other hand, we have been known to have some pretty big ones and we frequently experience smaller quakes that shake us up a bit. We also create problems. There is a LOT of traffic as people sometimes commute long distances to get to their jobs. Most Californians are dependent upon their cars (and expensive gasoline) because we do not have good public transportation. It is very difficult to get around if you don't own or rent a car. With so many people driving, it makes for very big traffic jams. Another problem is pollution. As with any place in the world, human beings have to be very careful to keep their environment clean. The litter you leave on the street in the city, can find its way to the ocean. Wind and rain will help it along. There are times when our beaches get restricted because of pollution coming from storm drains and other sources. Another problem is people crowding out the animals who call California home. Some birds and animals, such as the Least Bell's Vireo, California Condor, Kangaroo rats, desert tortoise and Coho salmon are threatened or endangered. California bears and mountain lions routinely come into housing tracts when their habitat gets take over by the two-legged Californians. Words to Ponder Scottish immigrant and naturalist John Muir once said: "When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe." People, in California and around the world, need to remember that everything we do causes an impact on everything else. Read more about it! The history of California is another story. I will write about that another day. Take a virtual trip through California by visiting our Postcard Exchange http://imagiverse.org/activities/postcards/usa/united_states_postcards_alpha.htm You can discover all sorts of interesting things about California and other states by looking in encyclopedias and books at your school or local library. There are also many wonderful sites on the Internet. Here are some of our favorites: |
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There are many great things about California. Probably
the greatest is the weather. California has four main regions:
Mountains, Desert, Coastal and Central Valley. Pretty much anywhere
in California the weather is sunny and nice during most of the year. One
of the reasons we are called the "Golden State" is because
of our golden sunshine. We get lots of sun!
California also has a beautiful coastline
with miles and miles of public beaches. Did you know that many
of our beaches actually face south, not west, as you might expect? Look
at the map of California and you will see what I mean! The beaches
in California are very different from one location to another. One
of my favorite beaches is