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THE WEST OF THE USA: CALIFORNIA
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CALIFORNIA
Jordi Ginesta Juárez
Joan Barba Vila
José González Martínez
Group C6
THE WEST OF THE USA: California
1. Introduction
This research project is based on the west of the United States of America. We have
chosen the USA because we thought it would be very easy to find information as it is a
well known country. We know many things both on the coast and the inland.
2.Geography and Population
2.1. Climate
The Western climate is semiarid (rainy or snowy, and other parts are desert). It’s also a
Pacific climate. It’s a cool climathology with not very much wind.
2.2. Demography
According to the 2000 Census, the West population was mainly 68.5% white people,
24.3% latin or hispanic, 12.1% come from some other races. Also, there are 13 states in
the Western USA . These states had a population of 71,945,553 in 2010.
2.3. Languages
In the West, people mainly speak English, Spanish (mainly in California and Texas),
Chinese, French and German, Korean and other languages are spoken.
2.4. Religions
People are mostly Christian (divided in
to Protestant, Roman Catholic and other
Christian) Also, people are muslim and
hindu. 16.1% hasn’t got any religion.
3.History
The West has been shaped by a big variety of ethnic groups. Hawai is the only state
A graph of the main religions in the United States.
where there are more asiatian Americans than white Americans. The border states like
California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas have got a lot of Spanish population.
The west also has a big number of Native American (people who started living in the USA,
also named indians), mainly in the desert zones cities like Los Ángeles, Denver, San
Francisco and Las Vegas where there are a lot of black Americans. The history is based
on two periods:
3.1. Period I: The beginning of the West.
The American old West was based on the geography, history, folklore and cultural
expression of life. The term “West” is known as boundary, because of the frontier located
near the Mississipi River in the 19th century. The expansion of colonies of old West was
formed in the 18th and 19th centuries. A lot of films have represented the history of the Old
West and how life was there (for example, Unforgiven by Clint Eastwood). Also, they
represented the battles of the cowherds against the Indians.
3.2. Period II: After the American revolution
The 20th century was a change of the life in the West. It was the beginning of the union of
the current 50 states. Nowadays, more and more people come to the west of the USA to
live, and Los Ángeles is considered the city with the most Mexican population in the USA.
4. Economy
The economy of the United States of America is the
largest national economy in the world. Its nominal GDP
(Gross Domestic Product), estimated at more than $15
billion in 2012.
Currently, most of the economy is based on service
sector, the industry also dominates, specially in high
technology. The labor market in the U.S.A. has brought
many immigrants from around the world like Spain and
other European countries.
5. Government and PoliticsThe region's distance from historical centers of power in the East, and the celebrated
"frontier spirit" of its settlers offer two cliches for explaining the region's independent,
The 37th United States president, Richard Nixon
heterogeneous politics. Historically, the West was the first region to see widespread
women's suffrage. California birthed both the property rights and conservation movements,
and spawned such phenomena as the Taxpayer Revolt and the Berkeley Free Speech
Movement. It also produced three presidents: Herbert Hoover, Richard Nixon and Ronald.
6.Education
The education system of the United States is based on primary school (4-10 years),
secondary school (10-17 school, divided in middle school and high school) and the
university (18 to 21 years).
7.Culture
7.1. Architecture
The architecture in the United States has a relatively recent history as Amerindians didn’t
have buildings as spectacular as those of Mexico or Peru. That is why American
architecture is marked by modernity in the twentieth century by skyscrapers as symbols of
this modernity. The highest towers are the Aon tower (262 m.) and the U.S. Bank tower
(310 m.).
7.2. Folklore
There are a lot of parties and folklore in the United States, and we’ve chosen a little
number of parties:
- 4th July is the Independence day.
- 18th January the Martin Luther King’s day is celebrated.
- 31st May is the Fallen’s day.
- 15th February is the president’s day (the birthday of George Washington).
- 6th September is the work day.
7.3. Gastronomy
The American gastronomy is varied and comes
from other national cuisines. This is because it is a
country created mainly of immigrants from different
countries.
In the USA, fast-food is a very typical food
(McDonalds, Burger King and KFC were created
there). Also, most of the national cuisines are A KFC in Los Angeles
based on Mexican gastonomy, like tacos or nachos.
7.4. Arts
The state of California has got a lot of museums. We have selected some of the most
important museums.
- Grammy Museum: The Grammy Museum explores and celebrates all forms of music; the
creative process; it shows the art and technology of the recording process; and the history
of the GRAMMY Awards, the premier awards of the current music.
- CAFAM: The Craft & Folk Art Museum hosts dynamic exhibitions of traditional folk art and
contemporary craft with the aim of educating the public on the global connections shared
across all cultures and nationalities.
- Long Beach Museum of Art: it is located on an overlooking site at Long Beach Harbor.
7.5. Literature
The beginning of the United States literature is created by forms and European styles. For
example: Wieland and other novels written by Carles Brockden Brown. Maybe the first
American writer with a new understanding of fiction and poetry was Edgar Allan Poe. In
1835, Poe began writing short histories. The instropection that Poe did in his characters
had crossed borders into mystery fiction, horror and fantasy.
7.6. Performing Arts
The USA music has got a lot of music history, like the blues and jazz. Now we are going to
show you some important singers like:
- Frank Sinatra was one of the most important singers of the USA in the 20th Century. He
has written songs like New York New York.
- Snoop Dogg was born at Long Beach. He is a famous rapper, song-writer and actor. His
most famous songs are Smoke Weed Everyday and Sweat.
- Jimi Hendrix was born in Seattle and he is considered
one of the best electric guitarists in the history of music.
Are you experienced? is one of his most famous songs.
- Bob Dylan was born in Minnesota and has been one of
the main influentian figures in popular music and culture
for over five decades. Like a rolling stone has been
A singer called William
listened to a lot of times.
- Red Hot Chili Peppers: it’s a band founded in Los Angeles. This group plays mainly rock
music with an emphasis on funk. Snow (Hey Oh) and The adventures of the raindance
Maggie are their most famous songs.
- Green Day: this band was founded in Oakland, but the drummer Tré Cool is from
Germany. His music is based on punk rock music. 21 guns, Holiday and Basket Case are
their most listened songs.
- Will.I.Am is a house singer and he was the singer of Black Eyed Peas and now has done
his single career with songs like This is Love.
8. Sport
The most viewed sports are mainly baseball (Major League Baseball), rugby (National
Football League), basketball (National Basketball Association) and hockey (National
Hockey League). Golf and NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) are
also followed.
There are a lot of good sportsmen in the USA, like Michael Phelps, the best swimmer in
the history of the Olympic Games. Basketball players like Carmelo Anthony and ex-
players like Michael Jordan, who has bought the Charlotte Bobcats NBA team, are very
popular in the USA and in the rest of the world. Lance Armstrong, the famous cyclist, is
also from California.
9. National Symbols
- The Golden Gate is a suspension bridge located in
California, United States, linking the San Francisco
Peninsula in the north to southern Marin.
- The bald eagle is protected by the United States as
one of its symbols being in the flag. For others the
bald eagle is a symbol that means freedom. But it is
still endangered.
- The flag of the USA is based on red and white stripes and white stars on a blue
background related to the history of the country, with its will for love of freedom. The stars
The Golden Gate
represent the number of states that are in the USA (50 states). The flag is as old as the
nation itself, June 14, 1777. The California State flag has got a bear that means it is the
land of bears.
Flag of the United States
- The Star-Spangled Banner is the national anthem of the United States and it is
recognized worldwide. It was born on September 14, 1814, after a 25 hour bombing of Fort
McHenry, a military post at the entrance of the port of Baltimore, on the Atlantic coast.
- Uncle Sam is a bearded man with long legs,
wearing the colors and format of the national
flag and wearing a hat. It can be seen in
headlines of the press worldwide. Uncle Sam
is the personification of the United States.
Upon receiving a supply of meat with the
initials U.S. (United States), the soldiers made
a pun with those initials and the meat supplier
Uncle Samuel Wilson (Uncle Sam) of Troy
(New York).
-The origins of the word "Yankee" and "Yankee Doodle" as national symbols are lost in the
history. Some authorities believe that the word "yankee" may have originated from the
Dutch word "Yankee" meaning "Juanito", while others say that American Indians
mispronounced the French word "anglais" which means "English."
-The Great Seal of the United States is the national stamp. On the front, there is the main
design, a bald eagle holding an olive branch in its claw. It symbolizes peace. In the other
Uncle Sam
class it holds a bundle of 13 arrows, one for each of the original states.
10. Conclusion
In our opinion, our group has done the work very good and we've known a lot of
things about the west part of the USA and the people who live there.
11. Bibliographyhttp://www.wikipedia.org/
http://www.tyhturismo.com/
http://espndeportes.espn.go.com/
http://www.usa.world-guides.com/
http://www.usatourist.com/espanol/destinations/california/losangeles/los-angeles-
main.html
http://www.lacity.org/RecreationTourism/index.htm
http://www.pricetravel.com.mx/los-angeles/comida
http://www.ehow.com/about_6544693_meaning-behind-california-flag_.html
http://www.iicana.org/sistema-educ-usa.html
ANNEX
1.GLOSSARY
-Settlers:Pobladors.
-Widespread:Estès.
-Shaped:Format.
-Compulsory:Obligatori.
-Skyscraper:Gratacel.
-Jewish: Judaisme.
-Boundary:Fondària.
-Border: Frontera.
-Endangered: En perill d'extinció.
-Worldwide:Mundial.