Geography and Landforms:

California has a diverse landscape made up of many unique geographic areas including the rocky Coastal Ranges, the Central Valley, the Klamath Mountains, the Transverse Range, the Cascades, the Sierra Nevada, and the Great Basin.

The state’s coastal area consists of a series of low mountains that extend for 1200 miles along the Pacific Ocean. Beautiful valleys separate the individual ranges. They include the Napa Valley to the north and the Salinas Valley to the south. This region is also home to California’s famous redwood trees. The San Andreas Fault is an important feature of this coastal area. The fault enters northern California from the Pacific Ocean and extends into southern California. Movements of the earth’s crust along this fault line have caused many earthquakes.

California’s Central Valley is a broad, fertile area that extends 500 miles from the northwest to the southeast. Much of California’s farmland is located in this region. The valley also contains the state’s two largest river systems – the San Joaquin and the Sacramento.

To the east of the Central Valley is the Sierra Nevada region, a 400-mile long area of massive granite rock. The highest point in the continental United States, Mt. Whitney, with an elevation of 14,495 feet, is located here. Mt. Shasta and Mt. Lassen, two volcanic peaks, lie to the north of the Sierra Nevada. They are part of the Cascade Mountains.

The Klamath Mountains are located in the northwestern portion of the state. They consist of several small, forested ridges that are higher and steeper than the coastal ranges farther south. These ridges are separated by deep canyons and valleys.

While most mountain ranges run north to south, the Transverse Range runs east to west, creating a geographic boundary between northern and southern California. The Peninsular Ranges located to the south cover the southwestern tip of the state.

The Great Basin Region is part of a larger area that extends into Nevada and Oregon. In northern California, it is a lava plateau. To the south, it is an area of wastelands that include the Mojave Desert and the Colorado Desert. North America’s lowest point, Death Valley, 282 feet below sea level, is located in the Great Basin.

History:

Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo was the first European to see the coast of what is now California. He was a Portuguese explorer hired by the Spanish to lead an expedition in search of a passage connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Instead, he discovered San Diego Bay in 1542.

In 1579, Sir Francis Drake, an English sea captain, sailed along the coast of California and stopped just north of San Francisco Bay to repair his ship. Drake called the land “New Albion” and claimed it for England.

Over the next century, the Spanish continued to explore the area. A Franciscan missionary, Junipero Serra, founded a mission in southern California in 1769. It was the first of a chain of 21 Spanish missions near the site of present-day San Diego. These missions played an important role in the Spanish colonization of California. While their function was to bring Christianity to the Native tribes of the area and teach them skills such as weaving and farming, they also provided a foundation for military, spiritual, and commercial control of the region.

Several “presidios” or military forts were built near San Diego (1769), Monterey (1770) and San Francisco (1776). Gradually, Spanish settlers established villages or “pueblos” along the coast. Unfortunately, the presence of these European colonists also resulted in new difficulties for the Native Americans of California. Exposure to unfamiliar diseases, forced manual labor, and the reality of warfare with the white man caused the slow but steady decline of the Native American population in California.

Spain was not the only country interested in the colonization of California. The Russians were hoping to expand their fur trade south along the Pacific Coast. In 1812 they established Fort Ross in northern California. But the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 effectively closed North and South America to further European colonization. By 1840, Russia had left the California region.

The United States was also interested in California for trading purposes. The first American ship reached the coast of California from the East in 1796. In 1826, Jedediah Strong Smith, a trapper, became the first American to reach the area by land. John Sutter, a Swiss-born immigrant, also made the long journey over land after receiving a large land grant in the Sacramento Valley. By 1841, large numbers of American immigrants were heading west to California including the tragic Donner Party, which became stranded during a heavy snowstorm while crossing the Sierra Nevada.

California became a province of Mexico in 1822, just one year after Mexico declared independence from Spain. Under Mexican control, the mission lands became part of huge cattle ranches and estates.

The years that followed were turbulent. California fell under the rule of a series of governors appointed by Mexico but these outsiders were resented by many Californians. The last Mexican governor was driven out in 1845 and the war between the United States and Mexico began in 1846. Later that year, U.S. Navy Commodore John D. Sloat claimed California for the United States. Mexico officially ceded the California territory to the United States in 1848 as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

Just days before the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, gold was discovered at the site of John Sutter’s sawmill and the famous California Gold Rush began. Thousands of gold miners, or “forty-niners,” from all over the world began rushing to California hoping to find easy riches. The population of this territory increased from 26,000 in 1848 to nearly 400,000 in 1860.

The cities of San Francisco and Sacramento grew and flourished. But problems also emerged. The mining camps and booming cities also gave rise to crime, violence, and the need for a strong civil government. Forty-eight delegates came forward when General Bennett Riley, California’s military governor, called for a constitutional convention. The convention met in September of 1849 and by October 13, a constitution was created. Despite heated debates over the issues of sectionalism and slavery, Congress admitted California as a state on September 9, 1850. Sacramento was established as the state’s capital in 1854.

By May of 1869, the transcontinental railroad had connected California with the rest of the nation. Until then, all communication and transportation with California was dependent upon ships, telegraph, the Pony Express, and the stagecoach.

First Inhabitants:

California’s earliest inhabitants were Asians who traveled the Bering Strait into North America using a now-vanished land bridge. More than 10,000 years ago, they settled throughout the region’s diverse geographic areas and climates. Deserts and high mountains helped to separate these groups, and they lived peacefully in relative isolation from one another. Over many years, distinctive differences in lifestyle and culture developed among these groups, which included the Hupa, the Maidu, the Pomo, the Modic, and the Mohave tribes. More than 135 language dialects emerged.

Due to a rather dry growing season, these tribes did not develop agricultural societies. Instead, they became very skillful gatherers of native roots, nuts and berries. They also fished in the plentiful lakes and streams. Because of an absence of warfare, a favorable climate, and a plentiful food supply, these cultures flourished.

When Europeans entered the California region in the 16th century, they encountered a population of more than 300,000 Native Americans.