Table of contents

Argument
Chapter 1: General Description of California
Chapter 2: History of California
2.1: Pre-Columbian Period
2.2: European Exploration (1542 1821
2.3: The road to California State (1846 1850
2.4: California Gold Rush (1848-1855
2.5: The 1906 San Francisco earthquake
Chapter 3: Geography and Infrastructure
3.1: Geography
3.2: Transportation
Chapter 4: Culture
4.1: Music Industry
4.2: Film Industry
4.3 Surfing
Chapter 5: Education and Silicon Valley
5.1: Universities and the education system
5.2: Silicon Valley
Chapter 6: Major Cities and notable people of California
6.1: Important cities
6.2: People from California
Conclusion
Bibliography








Argument



I chose California as the main theme, because it holds important and well-kno
wn cities as Los Angeles and San Francisco, having a substantial impact in the m
ovies, video games and music industries. The Hollywood and the motion picture pr
oduction represent the centre of the movie creations at worldwide scale, most of
the famous movies being made in the Hollywood studios. Silicon Valley is the ho
me of the headquarters of the most prestigious technology and electronics compan
ies, the innovations and the technology progress being more than welcomed.
Also, I would enjoy living there, being given the consolidated economy and th
e variety of business domains, as well as the mild climate (I dont like hot weath
er). The California state has a beautiful geography, with extraordinary landscap
es, reaching easily from the mountains to the sunny beach of the ocean.
Here I will present the general facts regarding the state of California, the
factors that brings it up among the nations and what I personally found to be in
teresting and quite significant.


Chapter 1: General Description of California
California or The Golden State is a state located on the West Coast of the Un
ited States of America and it is the most populous state, with 38 million people
, the most populated cities being Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisc
o, Fresno and the capital, Sacramento. It is home to the largest minority popula
tion in the U.S., estimated at 60% of the total population, where 38% represents
Hispanic people.
Californias efforts for expansion and the development in the important domai
ns, placed its name at global level, because it is considered the world center o
f the entertainment and music industries, of engineering, technology and aerospa
ce industries, and is the leader of the agricultural production in the U.S.A., b
eing the top producer of vegetables and cultivating half of the fresh fruits pro
duced in the country.
As a country, Californias economy would rank between 8th and 11th in the wor
ld.
California is the only state in U.S. that hosted both the Summer Olympics (
1932, 1984) and the Winter Olympics (1960).
Nicknames of California
> El Dorado State (because of the Spanish explorers)
> The Golden State / Golden West (because of the California Gold Rush)
> The Land of Sunshine and Opportunity / Land of Milk and Honey (because of the
wealth and prosperity)
> Where Stars Are Born (because of the important celebrities such as singers and
actors)
> The Cereal Bowl of the Nation / Grape State (because of the massive production
in agriculture)
> The Bear State (because of its flag)




Chapter 2: History of California

The name of California was given by the Spanish explorers in the 16th century
to the land they claimed and it represents a mythical land described in a ficti
onal novel of that period called Las Sergas de Esplandin, written in 1510.

2.1: Pre-Columbian Period
The tribes of Native Americans lived in the area where California is situat
ed nowadays for more than 10.000 years. When the Europeans arrived on these land
s, the indigenous inhabitants of California were estimated between 100.000 and 3
00.000. These numbers represented one third of the entire Native American popula
tion in the area of the United States.

2.2: European Exploration (1542 1821)
The first European to explore the California coast was Portuguese explorer
and adventurer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who sailed into what is now San Diego, C
alifornia. On November 23, 1542, his fleet anchored near the Santa Catalina Isla
nd to overwinter and make repairs. The Indians they found there were living in p
oor conditions, with no consolidated shelters, no tools or pottery, they did not
have any developed agriculture and the only domesticated animals were the dogs.
Their clothing consisted of animal skins and grass weaves during winter and it
was minimal during summer.



2.3: The road to California State (1846 1850)
In 1821, Mexico gained its independence from Spain and Alta California beca
me a province of the Mexican Empire.
In 1846, the U.S. declared war to Mexico, over territorial conflicts. The U
nited States Navy sailed into Monterey Bay and occupied the Northern California
and in 1847, California was entirely under American control. As a consequence of
the treaty that ended the war, California was split into the U.S. state of Cali
fornia and the Mexican territory, the Baja Peninsula.
The statistics in 1846 concluded that the non-native population in Californ
ia was approximately 8.000 and the Native Americans were said to be 100.000, fro
m 300.000, estimated when the Spanish arrived.

2.4: California Gold Rush (1848-1855)
When the gold was discovered on the California territory, the population gr
ew drastically, because of the 300.000 immigrants from the United States and the
continents all around the world who wanted to exploit the most valuable resourc
e in that period.
The official port of California State was designated to be San Francisco Ba
y. During this gold rush, San Franciscos population exploded, from 200 residents
in 1946 to 36.000 in 1952. The railroad was constructed in order to link Califor
nia with East America. The city developed rapidly, the necessary institutions we
re built and the urban area expanded. The population of San Francisco reached 15
0.000 by 1970.

2.5: The 1906 San Francisco earthquake
Earthquakes are common in California, because of the tectonic plates under
the state that make the area very unstable and causes over 30.000 per year. In 1
906, an earthquake with the magnitude of 7.8 on Richter scale hit San Francisco
and many devastating fires broke out in the city. Due to the initial quake and t
he fires which came after, at least 3.000 people died and over 80% of San Franci
sco was destroyed, with more than 25.000 collapsed buildings. Approximately 75%
of the 400.000 people of the city remained without homes and were forced to live
in tents.

Chapter 3: Geography and Infrastructure
3.1: Geography
California is the third largest state by area, after Alaska and Texas.
Basically, in the middle is the Central Valley, surrounded by mountains, th
e Cascade Ranges in the north, in the west are the Coast Ranges, in the east is
the Sierra Nevada and in the south-west corner of the state lies the Mojave Dese
rt. The Central Valley is the heart of Californias agriculture, it has a very fer
tile soil and the surface is most appropriate for cultivating fruits and vegetab
les.
Because of the diverse landscapes, in California are the highest and the lo
west points in all the United States (Mt. Whitney: 4.421m / Death Valley: -86m).
45% of the surface area lies in forest and holds some rare species of trees, li
ke the massive giant Sequoias or some of the oldest trees in the world, the Bris
tlecone pine (5.000 years).
California is located along the Pacific Ring of Fire and encounters many na
tural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, droughts, wildfires, strong winds, l
andslides and has several volcanoes.

3.2: Transportation
Even though California owns a complex and elaborated land transportation sy
stem, unfortunately, it is considered to have the third worst roads in the U.S.
This fact is the result of the massive number of vehicles running on those roads
, being the state with the largest Department of Motor Vehicles. Along with the
growth of population, California registered over 26 million driving licenses and
more than 32 million vehicles, causing numerous traffic congestions.
The Bay Bridge is a complex of bridges which connects San Francisco to Oakl
and. The main bridge was built in 1936 and the second bridge was finished in 201
3, making it the worlds widest bridge. The daily traffic on the Bay Bridge comple
x is about 500.000 vehicles.
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Air
port (SFO), the 6th and the 21st busiest airports in the world, are the primary
airports in California and the major gateways to Europe and Asia.
The Los Angeles port is the largest and the busiest container port in the U
.S.

Chapter 4: Culture
4.1: Music Industry
In California, numerous world-famous musicians have their origins or create
d well-known music there. Heavy metal, Hip-hop and Hardcore Punk have all flouri
shed in California. Heavy metal and alternative rock were represented by
bands like Korn, Metallica, System of a Down, Linkin Park and Red Hot Chili Pepp
ers.
Hip-hop and gangsta rap evolved substantially on the west coast, thanks to
some of the legends of this kind of music.

4.2: Film Industry
Hollywood, Los Angeles, represents the heart of the motion picture industry
in the United States. The first motion picture was shot in 1911 and right there
were established the most important studios, which still lead the film industry
.
In the 1970s, successful blockbusters like The Godfather, Taxi Driver and St
ar Wars were created in the studios of Hollywood. Later on, in the same studios
were produced Titanic (1997) and Avatar (2009).
The most important studios that produce movies famous at worldwide scale ar
e: Warner Bros, Walt Disney, Columbia, 20th Century Fox and Paramount. All of th
ese have their headquarters in California and annually, their movies reach profi
ts up to $6-7 billion.

With the technology and the movie ideas, the film industry is relying on br
illiant minds and breath-taking visual effects. Movies will never stop developin
g and this is because all the people around the world, they will always want to
watch some extraordinary masterpieces and this industry will grow constantly.

4.3 Surfing
Surfing is an outstanding popular sport on the California beaches, along th
e endless coastline. Some of the worlds famous surf companies and surfing magazin
es are headquartered in California. Surfing was substantially promoted in this s
tate beginning with the 1960s and it became a lifestyle for the teenagers. The su
rf culture had its core in Malibu, Los Angeles County, being the perfect locatio
n for this world-class sport.


Chapter 5: Education and Silicon Valley
5.1: Universities and the education system
California offers a complex and efficient educational system, which is repr
esented by some of the most prestigious colleges in the U.S.
The University of California is considered one of the worlds finest public u
niversity systems and employs more Nobel Prize laureates than any other institut
ion in the world.
The University Of Southern California is Californias oldest private college
and its primary leadership is in sports, where the athletes have achieved so man
y awards, that as a country, USC would rank 12th in most Olympic gold medals.

5.2: Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is located in the Santa Clara Valley, including San Jose
and other towns and is globally known as the home of the worlds largest technolog
y corporations. Here were created the microprocessor, the computer mouse, the wo
rld's first global radio communication system and had an important influence in
the development of the computer operating systems, software, internet and other
popular electronics and high-tech hardware.
Other important companies headquartered in the state of California: Twitter, Moz
illa Corporation, YouTube, Activision and Blizzard Entertainment
Chapter 6: Major Cities and notable people of
California
6.1: Important cities
Los Angeles or The City of Angels is one of the most important cities in the
world, because it includes the Hollywood studios and it is dominating in film pr
oduction, video games and recorded music. Is the second most populous city in th
e U.S., after NYC and the Los Angeles metropolitan area is the third largest in
the world, behind Greater Tokyo and New York. Also, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseu
m is the only stadium in the world which held the Olympic Games twice: in 1932 a
nd 1984.
San Francisco is the second most densely populated major city after NYC and
it has a substantial importance for its port. San Francisco is a known touristi
c location because of its cool summers, famous fog, steep hills and the Golden G
ate Bridge.
San Diego is the southernmost major city in California, close to the Mexica
n border and is known for being the birthplace of California. Its main economica
l domains are in healthcare and biotechnology
San Jose is the capital of Silicon Valley, in the San Francisco Bay area. The
technology development impact had an influence in urbanizing the lands and in r
aising the cost of living.

6.2: People from California
The most famous stars born in California are mainly actors like Bruce Lee,
Jessica Alba, Paul Walker, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Costner, Cameron Diaz, Leonar
do DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Dwayne Johnson, Angelina Jolie etc. Othe
r notable people are the singers Adam Levine, Will.i.Am and Katy Perry, the golf
er Tiger Woods, the movie producers Michael Bay and George Lucas and certainly,
one of the most important brilliant minds that improved the modern technology, S
teve Jobs. Important people of history: the author Jack London, the actress Mari
lyn Monroe and the president Richard Nixon.


Conclusion
In order to conclude, I consider that California is leading in some domains
and surprises in many aspects, in music, is the primary producer of movies, is
the world center in technology and is also a pioneer of the United States of Ame
rica, most of the impact being economically. California made its name heard arou
nd the world and throughout history with its initiative on the entertainment sid
e and the constant progress in technology, which helped revolution the world.
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