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California
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This talk is about the United States state California.
California is a state located on the west coast of the United States.
It ´s borders are the Pacific Ocean, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona and the Mexican State Baja California.
History
The californien coast was discovered in 1542 from portuguese Cabrilho. Since 1846 California is an independent state.1850 it was included in the Union as the 31. state.
The name California
The name of California had a mystical origin. It came from a novel of the Spaniard Montavelo in 1550.
Cities
The capital of California is Sacramento. Another important cities are San Diego, San Jose, Oakland, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Santa Ana, Newport Beach and San Bernardino.
Geography
California is by two earth plates. Because of that, it gives sometimes earthquakes. The state is famous for fertile valley and the climate is perfect for fruit and vegetables. The highest mountain is the Mount Whitney with 4,418 meters. 170 kilometers further there is the Death Vally, a desert. There is the lowest point on the west hemisphere with minus 86 meters. There are also some National Parks. The most famous is the Yosemite National park. In the Sequia National Park you can find the largest living tree. It is General Sherman and he is 86 meters tall. In the Inyo National Park you can find the oldest living pine. It`s over 4.600 years old. California is the third largest state in the U.S., with an area of 411,000 square kilometres. The state is 402,5 km wide and 1,240 km long. Two of the longest rivers in California are the Sacramento and the San Joaquin River. The biggest lakes are Lake Tahoe, Clear Lake and Mono Lake.
Earthquakes
In the area California, there are many earthquakes. Every day you have up to 14 little earthquakes, but most of them are so slight that they aren\'t even noticed. Since the beginning of this century, there have been 3600 quakes which have registered over 4.0 on the Richter scale. In 1906, there was an earthquake measuring 8.3 near San Francisco. Because of the terrible destruction it caused, new laws were passed for building construction. This was useful in 1989, when a quake measuring 7.1 arose in San Francisco.
Population
California is the most populous state in the U.S with 35.4 million inhabitants, though it is only the 3. biggest state in the U.S. In the past ten years, California grew by 17 percent; in the last 50 years, more than tripled.
California gets more and more inhabitants and so it really get problems with schools and traffic.
Nationality
The population consists of 74% whites 13% blacks 10% hispanics and 3% other ethnical groups, for example Indians.
On a square kilometre are living approximately 70 inhabitants.
Climate
The climate in California is subtropical (It lies between the 32. and the 42. degree of latitude). Favoured by maritime influences, the Pacific coast has mild winters and comparatively cool summers.
The Sierra Nevada gets dryer and dryer.
In the year 1913, the third-highest temperature on earth was measured with 56.7°C in the Death Valley.
In the North the Lake Tahoe was measured with (-42.8°C 1937) the lowest temperature in California.
Politics
Since 2003 Arnold Schwarzenegger is the Governor of California. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer are the senators.
Sights
Three of the most famous sights are Disneyland, Hollywood and Palm Springs.
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