The State of California is the most populous state of the United States of America. Located on the Pacific coast of North America, it is bordered by Oregon, Nevada and Arizona in the United States, and Baja California in Mexico. The state's four largest cities are Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose and San Francisco. California is known for its diverse climate and ethnically diverse population. The state has 58 counties.
California is the third largest state in the U.S., and if it were a country, it would be the 59th largest in the world, ahead of Germany, Italy, Japan and New Zealand. The state's size gives it a diverse geography, which ranges from sandy and rocky beaches of the Pacific coast, to the rugged snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains in the east, to desert areas in the southeast and the forests of the northwest. The central portion of the state is dominated by the Central Valley, one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world. The Sierra Nevada contains Yosemite Valley, famous for its glacially-carved domes, and Sequoia National Park, home to the largest living organisms on Earth, the giant sequoia trees, and the highest point in the contiguous United States, Mount Whitney. The tallest living things on Earth, the ancient redwood trees, dot the coastline, mainly north of San Francisco. California is also home to the second lowest and hottest place in the Western Hemisphere, Death Valley. Bristlecone pines located in the White Mountains are the oldest known trees in the world; one has an age of 4,700 years.
California offers a unique three-tier system of public postsecondary education:
The preeminent research university system in the state is the University of California (UC) which employs more Nobel Prize laureates than any other institution in the world, and is considered one of the world's finest public university systems. There are ten general UC campuses, and a number of specialized campuses in the UC system.
The California State University (CSU) system has over 400,000 students, making it the largest university system in the United States. It is intended to accept the top one-third (1/3) of high school students. The CSU schools are primarily intended for undergraduate education.
The California Community Colleges system provides lower division courses. It is composed of 109 colleges, serving a student population of over 2.9 million.
California is also home to such notable private universities as Stanford University, the University of Southern California (USC), the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), and the Claremont Colleges. California has hundreds of other private colleges and universities, including many religious and special-purpose institutions.
California is also home to some prominent public institutions such as UC Berkeley, UCLA, San Jose State University, San Diego State University, among others.
Professional Sports Teams:
San Francisco 49ers - National Football League
Oakland Raiders - National Football League
San Diego Chargers - National Football League
Los Angeles Dodgers - Major League Baseball
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - Major League Baseball
San Francisco Giants - Major League Baseball
San Diego Padres - Major League Baseball
Oakland Athletics - Major League Baseball
Los Angeles Lakers - National Basketball Association
Los Angeles Clippers - National Basketball Association
Sacramento Kings - National Basketball Association
Golden State Warriors - National Basketball Association
Anaheim Ducks - National Hockey League
Los Angeles Kings - National Hockey League
San Jose Sharks - National Hockey League
Los Angeles Avengers - Arena Football League
San Jose SaberCats - Arena Football League
Chivas USA - Major League Soccer
Los Angeles Galaxy - Major League Soccer
Los Angeles Sparks - Women's National Basketball Association
Sacramento Monarchs - Women's National Basketball Association
Los Angeles Riptide - Major League Lacrosse
San Francisco Dragons - Major League Lacrosse
California Cougars - Major Indoor Soccer League
San Jose Stealth - National Lacrosse League
The U.S. National Park System controls a large and diverse group of California parks. The best known is Yosemite National Park. Half Dome, in Yosemite, figures prominently on the reverse side of the California state quarter. Other prominent parks are the Kings Canyon-Sequoia National Park complex, Redwood National Park, Joshua Tree National Park and the largest, Death Valley National Park.
The California Department of Parks and Recreation maintains over 270 protected areas, which include almost one-third of California's scenic coastline, including coastal wetlands, estuaries, beaches, and dune systems. The state parks system covers 1.3 million acres (5,300 km²), with over 280 miles (450 km) of coastline, 625 miles (1,006 km) of lake and river frontage, nearly 18,000 campsites; and 3,000 miles (5,000 km) of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails.
The state's proximity to the ocean influences many aspects of California culture and daily life. Surfing is an extremely big sport in California, where the famed spots of Trestles, Rincon, Mavericks, Malibu are. Huntington Beach is "Surf City USA".
Skateboarding was started in California with the Z-Boys in Venice Beach, and it remains one of California's biggest sports. Legendary pro skater Tony Hawk resides here.
Snowboarding is also big in California, and resorts in Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Mountain are very well known for their snowboarding.
Windsurfing was invented by Hoyle Schweitzer in the late 1960's in Southern California. Today, windsurf enthusiasts still frequent spots up and down the California coastline, as well as inland lakes and rivers.
Disclaimer:
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