Hawaii & California

Hawaii is a great place to visit and why not to live. Hawaii is related to California because they both share the Pacific Ocean. Even though there are many differences between these two states. California as well as in Hawaii there are many mountains. In Hawaii the mountains are volcanic eruptions from the ocean. Hawaii is composed by 5 islands, while California is all together and actually is not separate from the United States Land.

In Hawaii there are many places to visit, and it is one of the most touristic states. California has many places to visit and to explore, but the place are different. For example in Hawaii, tourist can see active volcanoes while in California people don't see that but see many other wonderful attractions.

Hawaii is a great place, and comparing to California both places are great to live great experiences and explore wonderful things.

VISIT CALIFORNIA AND HAWAII TOO!!!!!!

BEST CHAPTER EVER !!!! WE LOVE YOU CALIFORNIA

California is the best state to live on in the United States. Here are some interesting facts about California that make me love it:

1. In California you can go to the highest and lowest elevation points in the continental US. You can go to Death Valley an be 282 ft below see level, or you can go to Mt. Whitney and be 14,494 ft above sea level.

2. In California you can find the oldest, and tallest living things. The bristle cone pines of the Sierras, and the redwood in Sequoia National park.

3. California has the largest economy in the United States,

4. In California, specially in LA you can go to the beach and have an ocean swim, and in the winter you head up to the mountains (Big Bear) to have some winter fun.

5. In California, you can find one of the most beautiful cities in the world: San Francisco. This city in the Bay area offers magnificent scenery and in it you can find many things to do. One of those go to the Golden Gate bridge. This bridge is incredible. This bridge is an expression of great engineering and art.

6. California has the best basketball team in the nation: Los Angeles Lakers.

7. California is where Disney first build one of its park (it is the original)

These are just a few things that make California great.

Our Southwest Border Area

California is one of the main state in the Southwest Border Area. California is border by Mexico. Due to the fact that California is surrounded by Mexico, and that California is a great place to live, and is a place of opportunities, many people immigrate from different parts of Latin America especially from Mexico and Central America.

California is big in Agriculture, so many people who immigrate work in the field doing an excellent job in keeping the crops the best way possible, so the economy of California flows.

Also in Southern California the Port San Pedro is one of the most important Ports of the United States from the Port of San Pedro there are many products been exporter every day from the United States.

The Southwest border influence is well seen in California. The people had bring their food and their customs making California a mix of great cultures.

Even though there are many other things that are bad regarding the southwest border, I wanted to refresh our memories in how great is to share the border with other countries especially with a Latin American Country.

Carrizo Plain National Monument

As you all know the book in chapter 12 covers plains and prairies, well I found a plain here in California!. It is called "Carrizo Plain". This plain is located in San Luis Obispo County. It is approximately 50 miles long and 15 miles wide. Within this plain we can find Carrizo Plain National Monument.

One of the most notable points of interests in the park is that visitors can have a great look at the San Andreas fault. It is considered the best place to study the San Andreas fault beacuse it is the oldest part of the fault, therefore, the easy viewing of the fault and how it divides the land. Park rangers say that the best times to look at the fault is early morning and evening light, because shadows enhnace the topography of the region.

Another interesting point of interest in the plain is Soda Lake. The lake is located in the center of the plain and it is a swallow alkali lake. Visitors can observe how when the water retreats in the lake, it leaves a salt crust.

Another interestin point of interest is "Painted Rock" this is a rock that has the form of a horse shoe. The interesting thing about the rock is that it is adorned with many drawings created by Native American tribes over thousands of years.

I would really suggest these National monument, and you do not need to make it your next vacation. You could visit the park on a weekend. It is a 2 hour drive away from Los Angeles.

The Southern Costland V. Western Costland

The Southeastern Coast of the United States is very different to the Western Coast. The main ocean in the East Coast is the Atlantic while in California and the West Coast is the Pacific Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean is known to be more clear and warm and the Pacific Ocean is cold and brownish.

The East Coast is influence by the Caribbean, so the food and the people is different from the
West Coast.

In California and in many places of the West Coast we can find many people who like surfing because the Pacific Ocean is characterized for big wave all year round.

The diversity of the marine life in the Atlantic Ocean is beautiful, people can see most of the animals very clearly and swim without any trouble because the Atlantic Ocean has mild waves.

Either the East Coast and the West Cost have unique characteristics to be great places. People who live in the East Coast likes the West Coast and same the other way but both are great places to live and visit.

The South V. California

The South are the states of The Gulf Coast of the United States. There are many differences between this state and California.

In the south most of the people who were farmers and work in the agriculture were African Americans, and In California were natives. Since California became part of The United States after the African American slavery, then the Mexicans who were the owners of California at that time, they treated as slaves their native people.

In the south the industrialization came after the agriculture and in later decades, as in California the industrialization started in the 1950s and became very stable in the past decades.

In California the discrimination existed and actually still exist, however is not as remarkable with African Americans as in the south region. The discrimination in California is mostly with Hispanic immigrants.

The industry of chickens in the south is a remarkable as the livestock in California, where animals (meat) is one of the most successful industries. The agriculture in the south is predominated by the cotton industries and in California are vegetables and fruits.

The south and California have many differences culturally and physically, but the all the states in the south and as well California are main keys for the economic success of the United States.

The Sierras In California ( Mountains, Mountains and more Mountains)

The Sierra Nevada is a mountain rage located for the most part in California. The Sierra Nevada is located more towards the central east of the state. In the Sierra Nevada, we can find many of great wild fife and vegetation that is not easily to find anywhere else. The especial trees, picks and animals surrounding the Sierra Nevada make the California a wonderful place to explore.

One of the most wonderful places to be in the Sierra Nevada is in the Sequoia National Park. The Sequoias are gigantic trees that have been growing for decades and are one of the tallest trees around the world. The sequoias trees are only found in this place and is in California.:)

Another great place to visit is the Yosemite National Park where is home of water falls, animals like foxes, and many lakes like mono lake. Also is home of the tallest mountain in California which is Mount Whitney (14,505 feet).

Lake Tahoe is another remarkable places in The Sierra Nevada. Lake Tahoe is located between California and Nevada states and offers many sites and great opportunities of vacationing and camping, well the entire Sierra Nevada offers the same camping and wild life explore atmosphere.

The Sierra Nevada in California is home of many gorgeous natural sites and geographical processes that we cannot find anywhere else.

California's Farming, Agriculture, Fishing, etc...

As I mention of my blog from manufacturing, California has many resources not only in manufacturing but also in the agriculture.

California is one of the most productive state in the Unite States. California is rich to cultivate grapes, melons, vegetables, lemons, oranges( not as much as Florida), and also has a large farming industry in dairy products.

As we know in California we can find a great wine industry all around the state, but most likely in central and norther California, like for example Napa Valley, Santa Barbara county, among many others. The livestock plays an important role on California's agriculture due to the high production and conservation of them. The soils are good for the animals health, so ranchers in California have better changes to succeed. According to the University of California "A major employer and revenue generator in the state, agriculture accounts for 1.1million jobs and more than $60 billion in personal income"http://www.ucop.edu/ucal/economy/agriculture.html

Another important revenue maker for California is fishing. California counts with countless fresh and salt waters available for fishing. in California, many people especially the one living along the cost have been fishing because the pacific ocean is rich on many species of eatable fish. As well, people living near the lakes in California tend to be in the fishing industry because also it is easy to find eatable and fresh fish on fresh waters.

In California, especially in the bay or port areas we can find many restaurants that offer fresh and inexpensive fish. The accessibility of the fish within the bay and the ports is incredible, so that why it is easy to be in the industry.

California has a very wide variety of anything we could imaging, from fish to vegetables and livestock, California is one of the most accessible state in the United States.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CBtMWWM4g4

Manufacturing in California

California is a big an diverse state within the industrial businesses. The manufacturing in California is broad and most likely is based on information technologies.

In California the industries are dedicated to manufacture electrical and electronic systems that help to the technological development. The biggest electronic industrial business focus on the manufacturing of radios, television, telephones among many others.

The area of Silicon Valley is where most of the electronic and computer business and companies are located. One of the most greatest examples is google headquarters.

The transportation industry takes a huge place on California's manufacturing. There are many aeronautic companies and plants which manufacture parts of air planes as well as space shuttles. Also, among the transportation there are automobile companies that have their assembly lines in California.

Megalopolis and Their Relationship with California

As we could explore, the megalopolis area is located at the cities of North east cost of the United States, so California is not part of what is called megalopolis. On the other hand, California has many cities that have the same characteristics as the Megalopolis. One of these cities are: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento and some others.

In Los Angeles there are numerous of houses and building that make the city a urbanized and populated area. The population of Los Angeles is approximately 3,833,995, so Los Angeles is the second most populated city in the United States. Downtown Los Angeles is the only place of LA that have huge buildings (more then 3 stories) because as we all know California is a high risk zone for earthquakes. Los Angeles does not have anything to envy to New York. In Los Angeles there are many different cultures and wonderful places that make the city as unique as New York.

San Francisco is also another populated area. In San Francisco there are a lot of urbanized and great places. It is located in Northern California by the bay, so even though is not a port there is a lot of fishing going on in the area. The buildings are conglomerated together as the ones in NY, but this pattern is most likely to be at the Downtown area once again because of the earthquakes in California. The population of San Francisco is approximately 808,976, so it its a very populated city as well.

In California, as I mention above, there are many city that although there are not part of the megalopolis cities, they are megalopolis themselves. Here in California the cities are urbanized, populated, trendy and also why not some of the same problems as any megalopolis city.

California's Population Today

By 2008 the California's total population was estimated around 36,756,666 comparing the United states which was 304,059,724. California is one of the most populous states in the United States.
California is populated by many types of people from all over the world.
There are many types of ethnic groups who established themselves in California especially in certain parts of the cities throughout the state. For example in Los Angeles there are many little towns where it is possible to found people from a specific country like Chinatown or koreatown. Also example of San Francisco where there is a famous Chinatown and also a little Italy town.
California has big counties where big and urbanized cities are located. In California there are many develop cities that play an important role on the places where people prefer to live. However, in California, now days the less urbanized cities and towns are starting to get more occupied as the big cities get crowded and crowded. Now days people are willing to commute more to go to work because they want to get a better, quite and spacious living area.

Foundations of Human Activity

The first people who came to California were Asian. They traveled through the Bering Strait more than 10,000 years ago. However they did not only traveled to California but they established themselves throughout North America.
Some of the main tribes who were established in California were the Hupa, the Maidu, the Modic, and the Mohavie.
At the time of the Spanish colonization, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo discovered what is now the San Diego bay area (1572), then the Spanish people were coming to California expanding throughout the state.
The Spanish people started founding missions among the state, so they could introduce Christianity to the native americans, also the Spanish introduce the military, and some spiritual and commercial ways of living, along with some farming skills.
After the independence from Spain, California became a Mexican territory (1822). California was govern by Mexican rules, but 1841 many American immigrant started to come to California. In 1847, after the war between Mexico and the United States, California was declared officially a United States territory as part of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

California's Geology and Natural Resources

California is surrounded by a great mountain range and diverse rich minerals.
The soils in California are great to produce any kind of product because here in California, we have great climates and variety of type of soils.
California is located at the pacific mountains and valleys.
The climate in California is normally dry, but it can vary depending of the zone. In southern California (San Diego) the weather could be sunny and mild all year round with some variation between seasons. On the other hand, in northern California (San Francisco) the weather is cold and mild throughout the year, with some foggy summers and wet winters, this effect due to the cold pacific ocean currents.
California is a non fuel mineral state, however it posses other types of precious rocks like the serpentine (California state rock), gold (California state mineral), Benoite (California state gem), among others.

About Me

Hi, my name is Angela Gonzalez and I'm from Colombia. I'm 25 years old, and I came to the United States when I was 17. I went to Valencia High School to get my HS diploma. Also, I went to COC (College of the Canyons) where I got my Associates degree and the courses required to get into CSUN. I'm currently in my senior year and I'm graduating this semester (May 2010). I'm a full time student at CSUN and I'm working to get my Bachelor in Business Law.
I decided to create my homepage about California because I think California is one of the best states in the US. The United States, especially California among other states has a lot of interesting places to discover and to explore.
I hope we all have fun taking this course that will help us to discover more about the country we live in.