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Portal:California

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Introduction

Welcome to the Portal:California. Such a lovely place.
Welcome to the Portal:California. Such a lovely place.
California
State of California
Map of the United States with California highlighted
Map of the United States with California highlighted

California (/ˌkælɪˈfɔːrniə/) is a state in the Western United States that lies on the Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, and Nevada and Arizona to the east; it also shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the south. With over 39 million residents across an area of 163,696 square miles (423,970 km2), it is the largest U.S. state by population and third-largest by area.

Prior to European colonization, California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America. European exploration in the 16th and 17th centuries led to the colonization by the Spanish Empire. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821, as a result of its successful war for independence. Following the U.S. conquest of California, part of the Mexican-American War, California was ceded to the United States in 1848. The California gold rush started in 1848 and led to social and demographic changes, including the California genocide. It organized itself and was admitted as the 31st state in 1850 as a free state, following the Compromise of 1850.

The economy of California is the largest of any U.S. state, with an estimated 2025 gross state product of $4.296 trillion as of Q3 2025. It is also the world's largest sub-national economy and, if it were an independent country, would be the fourth-largest economy in the world (behind Germany and ahead of Japan) by nominal GDP as of 2025. The state's agricultural industry leads the nation in output, fueled by its production of dairy, almonds, and grapes. Despite heavy reliance on seaborne foreign crude oil, California also refines some of its own oil, primarily drilled from Kern County. With the busiest port in the country (Los Angeles), California plays a pivotal role in the global supply chain, hauling in about 40% of goods imported to the US. Notable contributions to popular culture, ranging from entertainment, sports, music, and fashion, have their origins in California. Despite an exodus of filmmaking from California, Hollywood continues to be an important center of the U.S. film industry, one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world; profoundly influencing global entertainment since the 1920s. The San Francisco Bay Area's Silicon Valley is the center of the global technology industry. (Full article...)

A map of where the earthquake occurred
A map of where the earthquake occurred
The Coalinga earthquake occurred on May 2, 1983, at exactly 23:42 UTC in Coalinga, California. The earthquake recorded 6.5 on the Richter scale. The earthquake was occasioned by creep along the San Andreas Fault. The Coalinga earthquake was felt from the Los Angeles area north to Susanville (Lassen County) and from the coast east to western Nevada. Through July 31, more than 5,000 aftershocks were recorded, of which 894 had a magnitude of 2.5 or larger. Most of the larger magnitude shocks were felt in Coalinga.

The Coalinga earthquake was caused by an 0.5-meter uplift of the anticline ridge northeast of Coalinga, but surface faulting was not observed. Ground and aerial searches immediately after the earthquake revealed ground cracks and fissures within about 10 kilometers of the instrumental epicenter, none of which appeared to represent movement on deeply rooted fault structures. About five weeks later, on June 11, however, an aftershock caused surface faulting about 12 kilometers northwest of Coalinga. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various California-related articles on Wikipedia.

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William McKinley, 25th President of the United States
We need Hawaii just as much and a good deal more than we did California. It is Manifest Destiny.

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The ghost town of Bodie, California
The ghost town of Bodie, California
Bodie, California is a ghost town east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Mono County, California, United States, about 75 miles (120 km) southeast of Lake Tahoe and approximately 12 miles east of Bridgeport. The ghost town has been administered by California State Parks since becoming a state historic park in 1962.

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The northern area of Lake Irvine
The northern area of Lake Irvine
Credit: Toksave

Lake Irvine (known in Orange County as Irvine Lake) is a reservoir in Orange County, California. The lake is located northeast of the city of Irvine close to Irvine Regional Park. The lake is formed by the Santiago Dam at its north end, which was built between 1929 and 1931, and the lake was originally called the Santiago Reservoir.

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Topics

List of California state agencies   •   Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments   •   California Attorney General   •   California State Board of Education   •   CDF Aviation Management Program   •   CalPERS   •   California Air Resources Board   •   California Commission for Economic Development   •   California Department of Boating and Waterways   •   California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection   •   California Department of Insurance   •   California Insurance Commissioner election, 2006   •   California Legislative Analyst's Office   •   California Military Department   •   California Public Utilities Commission   •   California Speaks   •   California State Lands Commission   •   California State Lottery   •   California executive branch   •   CaliforniaVolunteers   •   California State Capitol   •   List of California District Attorneys   •   Districts in California   •   State of California enterprise IT systems   •   Department of Fair Employment and Housing   •   California Geological Survey   •   Governor of California   •   11-99 Foundation   •   California Institute for Regenerative Medicine   •   California Insurance Commissioner   •   Joint Powers Authority   •   Local Agency Formation Commission   •   Secretary of State of California   •   List of law enforcement agencies in California   •   California State Controller   •   California State Police   •   California Department of Transportation   •   California State Treasurer   •   Westlands Water District

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State facts

  • Nicknames: The Golden State
  • Capital: Sacramento
  • Total area: 163,696 mi2
    • Land: 156,002 mi2
    • Water: 7,694 mi2
  • Highest elevation: 14,505 ft (Mount Whitney)
  • Population 39,250,017 (2016 est)
  • Admission to the Union: September 9, 1850 (31st)

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