About California

The State of California covers the southern portion of the United States’ west coast. With a population of 37 million and an area of 158,402 square miles, California is the largest U.S. state in population and the third largest in area.

California borders the Pacific Ocean to the west, Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and the Mexican state of Baja California to the south. The state has incredible geographic diversity. It has both the highest and lowest elevations in the Continental US (within 100 miles of each other), an expansive central valley, tall mountains, arid deserts, and hundreds of miles of coastline. Most major cities are at or near the Pacific coastline, notably Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Santa Ana/Orange County, Riverside/Moreno Valley, San Bernardino and San Diego. However, the capital, Sacramento, is in the Central Valley, and there are other significant cities on the interior.

European explorers first began contacting the region in the 16th century; the area was inhabited by a variety of Native American tribes. The coastal areas of the state were colonized by Spain beginning in 1769, but became a part of the Mexico in 1821 because of the Mexican War of Independence. It was part of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico, and then was ceded to the United States in the Mexican-American War, which ended in 1848. The California Gold Rush of 1848-1849 brought about 90,000 additional U.S. migrants to the state, and California became the 31st state of the Union in 1850.

The state’s major predominant industries include agriculture, entertainment, light manufacturing, and tourism. California is also the home of several significant economic regions such as Hollywood (entertainment), the California Central Valley (agriculture), Silicon Valley (computers and high tech), and the Wine Country (wine). California’s economy is the largest in the United States, and at $1.55 trillion, is larger than all but 7 countries. Per capita personal income was $33,403 as of 2003, ranking it 12th in the nation.

Most of the state has a Mediterranean climate, with rainy winters and dry summers. The climate along the coast is mild; cooler along the central and northern coast. Southeastern California is arid desert. Along the cost, the rainy season runs from October to April in the north and from November to March or April in the south. Record temperatures of a high 134 °F (56.6 °C at Death Valley on July 10, 1913 and a record low of -45° at Boca on January 20, 1937. Average yearly precipitation ranges from under 5 inches in south-east to 120+ in parts of the north-west.

California levies a 9.3% maximum variable rate income tax, with 6 tax brackets and a 7.25% sales tax.