California

THE MOST POPULOUS state in the UNITED STATES, California also has the richest and most urbanized citizenry. It is the third largest state, famous for its climate, unique industries, agriculture, geographic variety, and lifestyles. California covers 158,706 square mi (411,049 square km), is 252 mi (406 km) at its widest point, and is 824 mi (1,326 km) in length. Its western border is the PACIFIC OCEAN, and the state has 1,931 km (1,200 mi) of shoreline. On the east, most of California borders NEVADA, and in the southeast, the Colorado River separates the state from ARIZONA. OREGON shares the northern boundary, and to the south, California’s border is international; the Mexican state of Baja California lies across it. The state capital is at Sacramento, an inland city on the Sacramento River, near the spot where gold was discovered in 1848. Nicknamed “The Golden State,” the official motto is “Eureka!” meaning “I found it!”

California’s climate

With so much geographic variation, generalizations about California’s climate are difficult to make. In most cities of California, though, especially along the coast, winters are much milder that in other areas of similar latitude in the United States. In January, southern metropolitan areas average temperatures of 49 to 65 degrees F (9.5 to 18.3 degrees C), while Bishop, a city east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the Great Basin, sees a range of 22 to 54 degrees F (-5.5 to 12.2 degrees C).

In Eureka, a coastal city in the north, the temperature is 41 to 55 degrees F (5 to 12.8 degrees C). Normal high temperatures in July range from 96 to 99 degrees F (35.5 to 37.2 degrees C) in some Central Val-130 California

California’s Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco are one of the gateways on the West Coast of the United States. ley and desert cities, to 63 degrees F (17.2 degrees C) in Eureka. July highs in Los Angeles average 84 degrees F (29 degrees C), and in San Francisco, 68 degrees F (20

degrees C). 

Extreme temperatures occur in Death Valley and the high Sierras. The summer heat in Death Valley averages over 100 degrees F (37.8 degrees C), and the area usually gets less than 2 in (5 cm) of rain per year. Higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada get between 70 and 80 in (178 and 203 cm) of precipitation per year, most of it as snow, while desert regions might receive no more than 3 or 4 in (7.6 to 10.2 cm). Along the coast, more rain falls in the north than the south; San Diego, near the border with Mexico, receives less than 11 in (28 cm) per year, while San Francisco gets over 22 in (56 cm).