California
No single description fits a state that stretches 840 miles from the Oregon border to Mexico, holds 39.4 million people, and would rank as the fifth-largest economy in the world if it were an independent country. The Gold Rush of 1849 transformed San Francisco from a village into a city almost overnight. Oil discoveries in the early 1900s built Los Angeles. Aerospace and defense spending during World War II and the Cold War filled the suburbs of Southern California with workers. Silicon Valley, centered on Santa Clara County, became the global headquarters of the technology industry from the 1970s onward.
Los Angeles County alone has more residents than 40 of the 50 states. The entertainment industry, headquartered in Hollywood since the 1910s, generates tens of billions in annual revenue. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach together handle more container traffic than any other port complex in the Western Hemisphere. Agriculture in the Central Valley produces more than half of the fruits, vegetables, and nuts grown in the United States, despite persistent water shortages that pit farmers against cities and environmental groups.
San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, San Jose, Oakland, and Fresno each function as distinct metropolitan economies. The University of California system, with ten campuses, and the California State University system, with 23 campuses, form the largest public higher education network in the country. Stanford University and Caltech, both private, rank among the top research institutions worldwide.
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No single description fits a state that stretches 840 miles from the Oregon border to Mexico, holds 39.4 million people, and would rank as the fifth-largest economy in the world if it were an independent country. The Gold Rush of 1849 transformed San Francisco from a village into a city almost overnight. Oil discoveries in the early 1900s built Los Angeles. Aerospace and defense spending during World War II and the Cold War filled the suburbs of Southern California with workers. Silicon Valley, centered on Santa Clara County, became the global headquarters of the technology industry from the 1970s onward.
Los Angeles County alone has more residents than 40 of the 50 states. The entertainment industry, headquartered in Hollywood since the 1910s, generates tens of billions in annual revenue. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach together handle more container traffic than any other port complex in the Western Hemisphere. Agriculture in the Central Valley produces more than half of the fruits, vegetables, and nuts grown in the United States, despite persistent water shortages that pit farmers against cities and environmental groups.
San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, San Jose, Oakland, and Fresno each function as distinct metropolitan economies. The University of California system, with ten campuses, and the California State University system, with 23 campuses, form the largest public higher education network in the country. Stanford University and Caltech, both private, rank among the top research institutions worldwide.
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