California

Size and population

California is the third largest state in the United States. It has a population of about 30 million people- the largest state population in the U.S. In fact, 12% of all Americans live in California. The capital is Sacramento.

Geography

California has the tallest tress in the world – the redwoods. The largest are over 2,000 years old. The General Sherman tree in Sequoia National Park is the largest

living thing on earth. It weighs 1,400 tons – the same as nine blue whales or 360 elephants!

History

In 1848, a man called James Marshall found gold in a river. This started the California gold rush. One man who was successful in California was Levi Strauss. Instead of digging for gold he started making clothes for the gold diggers. That was the start of blue jeans.

Cities

San Francisco has 40 hills and is famous for the cable cars that climb them. The most famous building is the Golden Gate Bridge, which opened in 1937. In 1907 there was a very big earthquake in San Francisco in which three-

quarters of the town was burnt down. In fact, the earthquake was so strong that it was felt all the way to Los Angeles, 400 miles away!

In 1939, two young engineers, Bill Hewlett and David Packard, arrived in Santa Clara and started to work on an electronics project. Hewlett-Packard is now a very big computer company and Santa Clara is the computer center of the USA.

The movie industry

In Los Angeles, the sunny weather and the scenery (lots of beaches, mountains and desert not far away) are perfect for making movies. Filmmakers started arriving there in 1910 and Hollywood is not what it was and you do not see film stars walking up and down the streets any more. But Los Angeles still has a lot of money and glamour. People like to look at the mansions and exclusive shops of Beverly Hills.

Complete the following key facts:

California has ……………. habitants.

The capital is………………

The tallest trees in the world are……..

California is a famous state because…..

Other famous cities in California are ………

Hollywood is perfect for the film industry because…