 
Route 66 in California:
Route 66 in California followed the path now served by
interstates 40 (from the Colorado River to Barstow),
15 (Barstow to San Bernardino), and 10 (San Bernadino to
Santa Monica). The eastern portion of 66's course
through California is arid and sparsely populated (Mojave
Desert). Portions of Route 66 followed the earlier
course of the National Old Trails Highway. The California
Route 66 Museum is in Victorville.
California's Mount Whitney measures as the highest peak in
the lower 48 states. Its most famous climb is Mount Whitney
Trail to the 14,495 feet summit. Wilderness permits are
required.
In 1925 a giant sequoia located in California's Kings Canyon
National Park was named the nation's national Christmas
tree. The tree is over 300 feet in height.
More turkeys are raised in California than in any other
state in the United States.
Pacific Park, on the venerable Santa Monica Pier, re-creates
the amusement parks once dotting the ocean areas along the
Pacific Coast. Featured are 11 amusement rides including the
1910-vintage hand-carved merry-go-round appearing in the
movie "The Sting."
Alpine County is the eighth smallest of California's 58
counties. It has no high school, ATMs, dentists, banks, or
traffic lights.
Fallbrook is known as the Avocado Capital of the World and
hosts an annual Avocado Festival. More avocados are grown in
the region than any other county in the nation.
In the late 1850s, Kennedy Mine, located in Jackson, served
as one of the richest gold mines in the world and the
deepest mine in North America.
An animal called the riparian brush rabbit calls Caswell
Memorial State Park (near Manteca) its home. Endemic only to
the state's park system, the critter lives in approximately
255 acres stretching along the area's once-vast hardwood
forest.
In Pacific Grove there is a law on the books establishing a
$500 fine for harming butterflies.
The largest three-day rodeo in the United States is held on
the Tehama County Fairgrounds in Red Bluff.
Demonstrations on making toothpaste from orange by-products
were popular attractions at the Los Angeles County fair in
1922. The fair is held in Pomona.
Located in Sacramento, the California State Railroad Museum
is the largest museum of its kind in North America.
Several celebrities are buried at Hillside Cemetery in
Culver City, including those of Al Jolson,
George Jessel, Eddie Canter, Jack Benny, and Percy Faith.
California Caverns claims the distinction of being the most
extensive system of caverns and passageways in the Mother
Lode region of the state.
Totaling nearly three million acres, San Bernardino County
is the largest county in the country.
On Catalina Island in 1926, American author Zane Grey built
a pueblo-style home on the hillside overlooking Avalon Bay.
He spent much of his later life in Avalon. The home is now a
hotel.
Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge contains the largest
winter population of bald eagles in the continental United
States.
Author Richard Dana (1851-1882) wrote the novel "Two Years
Before the Mast." He inspired the name for the beach
community of Dana Point.
In Atwater the Castle Air Museum has the largest display of
military aircraft in the state.
The Country Store in Baker has sold more winning
California State Lottery tickets than any outlet in the state.
Reputed to be the most corrupt politician in Fresno County
history, Vice-leader Joseph Spinney was mayor for only ten
minutes.
The Iron Door Saloon in Groveland claims to be the oldest
drinking establishment in the state. It was constructed in
1852.
The Hollywood Bowl is the world's largest outdoor
amphitheater.
The first person to personally receive a star on the Walk of
Fame in Hollywood was actress Joanne Woodward. She received
it in 1960.
Death Valley is recognized as the hottest, driest place in
the United States. It isn't uncommon for the summer
temperatures to reach more than 115 degrees.
The first motion picture theater opened in Los Angeles on
April 2, 1902.
Inyo National Forest is home to the bristle cone pine, the
oldest living species. Some of the gnarled trees are thought
to be over 4,600 years old.
San Francisco Bay is considered the world's largest
landlocked harbor.
Sequoia National Park contains the largest living tree. Its
trunk is 102 feet in circumference.
Yorba Linda is home to the Richard Nixon Library.
The Coachella Valley is nicknamed The Date Capital of the
world and The Playground of Presidents.
One out of every eight United States residents lives in
California.
California is the first state to ever reach a trillion
dollar economy in gross state product.
California has the largest economy in the states of the
union.
If California's economic size were measured by itself to
other countries, it would rank the 7th largest economy in
the world.
Los Angeles is ranked the fourth largest economy in the
United States compared to other states.
Simi Valley is home to the Ronald Reagan Presidential
Library and Museum.
It is estimated there are approximately 500,000 detectable
seismic tremors in California annually.
During his engagement at the Fillmore West in San Francisco,
Otis Redding stayed on a houseboat in Sausalito. While there
he wrote his last song and greatest hit: "The Dock of the
Bay."
The state motto is Eureka!, a Greek word translated "I have
found it!" The motto was adopted in 1849 and alludes to the
discovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada.
California is known variously as The Land of Milk and Honey,
The El Dorado State, The Golden State, and The Grape State.
There are more than 300,000 tons of grapes grown in
California annually.
California produces more than 17 million gallons of wine
each year.
The redwood is the official state tree. Some of the giant
redwoods in Sequoia National Park are more than 2,000 years
old.
The California poppy is the official state flower. The
California grizzly bear (Ursus californicus) is the official
state animal.
California has two of the top ten most populous cities:
Los Angeles and San Diego.
Fresno proclaims itself the Raisin Capital of the World.
The highest and lowest points in the continental United
States are within 100 miles of one another. Mount Whitney
measures 14,495 feet and Bad Water in Death Valley is 282
feet below sea level.
Castroville is known as the Artichoke Capital of the World.
In 1947 a young woman named Norma Jean was crowned
Castroville's first Artichoke Queen. She went on to become
actress Marilyn Monroe.
 
31st state in the USA; it became a state on September
9, 1850.
State Abbreviation
- CA
State Capital - Sacramento
Other Notable Cities - Los Angeles, San Diego, San
Francisco
Area - 163,707 square miles [California is the 3rd
biggest state in the USA - only Alaska and Texas are bigger]
Population - 33,871,648 (as of 2000) [California
is the most populous state in the USA]
Name for Residents - Californians
Major Industries - agriculture (many, many products),
oil, mining, electronics, movie making/entertainment, and
tourism.
Presidential Birthplace - Richard Milhous Nixon was
born in Yorba Linda on January 9, 1913 (he was the 37th
US President, serving from 1969 to 1974).
Major Rivers - Sacramento River, Colorado River, San
Joaquin River
Highest Point - Mt. Whitney, 14,495 feet (4,418 m)
above sea level.
Lowest Point - Death Valley, 282 feet (86 m) below
sea level [this is the lowest point in the Western
Hemisphere]
Bordering States - Oregon, Nevada, Arizona.
Bordering Country - Mexico
Bordering Body of Water - Pacific Ocean
Origin of the Name California - The name California
comes from a mythical Spanish island ruled by a queen called
Califia that was featured in a Spanish romance ("Las
Sergas de Esplandian") written by Garcia Ordonez de
Montalvo in 1510. The Spanish explorers originally thought
that California was an island.
State Nickname - The Golden State
State Motto - Eureka (I have found it)
State Song - "I Love You, California"
State Flag:
The official state flag of California, called the Bear Flag,
was first used on June 14, 1846, but was not officially
adopted until 1911. It was designed by William Todd. The
flag pictures a grizzly bear and a star. The first
Californian flag was quickly made by a group of American
settlers who had just captured the town of Sonoma (from
Mexico) and needed a flag to replace the Mexican banner.
State Bird:
California valley quail (Lophortyx californica)
State Mammal:
Grizzly Bear
State Marine Mammal:
Gray Whale
State Reptile: Desert Tortoise
State Insect:
California dog-face butterfly
State Fish:
Golden trout
State Marine Fish:
Garibaldi
State Flower:
California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)
State Tree:
Redwood - Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and
Giant redwood (S. gigantea). The redwood is the
tallest tree, growing up to 370 feet (113 m) tall and living
for over a thousand years. One redwood in California is
2,200 years old. The roots of this giant conifer are
shallow, but spread sideways up to 250 feet (75 meters) from
the trunk. The bark is deeply-furrowed, fibrous, thick [up
to about 1 foot (30.5 cm) thick] and lacks resin. There are
many species of redwood.
State Grass:
Purple Needlegrass (Nassella pulchra)
State Fossil:
Smilodon fatalis (sabertooth tiger)
State Rock:
Serpentinite
State Mineral:
Gold
State Gem:
Benitoite
 
Information From 50states.com and EnchantedLearning.com
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