Book 4

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General Information, Facts & Symbols

The United States of America accepted California as the 31st state to enter the union on September 9, 1850.

Abbreviation:
CA

Capital of California State:
Sacramento

Primary Agriculture:
California grows more food than any other state in the country. among these crops are almonds, artichokes, dates, figs, kiwi, raisins, strawberries, walnuts and wine.

Primary Industry:
California industries include manufacturing (transportation equipment, machinery, and electronic equipment), agriculture, biotechnology and tourism. Principal natural resources include timber, petroleum, cement and natural gas.

California State Nickname:
The Golden State

California State Tree:
California Redwood (Legislation of 1937)

California State Flower:
California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)
(Legislation of 1903)
California State Bird:
California Quail (Callipepla californica)
(Legislation of 1931)

The California Quail (Callipepla californica, is a small ground-dwelling bird in the quail family that breeds in shrubby areas and open woodlands in western North America.

The California Quail have a curving crest that droops forward (black in males and brown for females), their flanks are brown with white streaks. Males of the species have a dark brown cap, a black face with a brown back, a grey-blue chest and light brown belly. Females of the species and immature birds are mainly grey-brown with a light colored belly.

California State Fish:
Golden Trout (Legislation of 1947)

California State Insect:
California Dogface Butterfly (Legislation of 1972)

California State Gemstone:
Benitoite (Legislation of 1985)

Official State Seal:
Depicted is the state seal of California. The seal of the state of California is a symbol of the authority and sovereignty of the state and is a valuable asset of its people. It is the intent of the state government to ensure that appropriate uses are made of the state seal and to assist the secretary of state in the performance of the secretary’s constitutional duty as custodian of the seal.

The Official California State Flag

Depicted to the left is the state flag of California. The flag of the state of California is a symbol of the authority and sovereignty of the state and is a valuable asset of its people. The California flag is flown over all state buildings just below the country flag of the United States of America.

State Commemorative Quarter:
From the 1999-2008 United States Mint

The first quarter released in 2005 honors California, and is the 31st in the United States Mint’s 50 State Quarters® Program. California was admitted into the Union on September 9, 1850, becoming our Nation’s 31st State. Nicknamed the “Golden State,” California’s quarter depicts naturalist and conservationist John Muir admiring Yosemite Valley’s monolithic granite headwall known as “Half Dome” and also contains a soaring California condor. The coin bears the inscriptions “California,” “John Muir,” “Yosemite Valley” and “1850″.In 1849, the year before California gained statehood, the family of 11-year-old John Muir emigrated from Scotland to the United States, settling in Wisconsin. In 1868, at the age of 30, Muir sailed up the West Coast and landed in San Francisco. He made his home in the Yosemite Valley, describing the Sierra Nevada Mountains as “the Range of Light” the most divinely beautiful of all the mountain chains I have seen.” He devoted the rest of his life to the conservation of natural beauty, publishing more than 300 articles and 10 books that expanded his naturalist philosophy.In 1890, Congress established Yosemite National Park, and in 1892 John Muir helped form the Sierra Club to protect it, serving as that organization’s President until his death in 1914.

Important Historical Figures of California

John Sutter
1803-80: In the 1840′s, businessman Sutter ran a trading empire from a fort he built (with Native american help) in what is now mid-town Sacramento. He also was owner of Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, where gold was first discovered in 1848 by James Marshall.

Jedediah Smith
1798-1831: This early 19-th century trapper and explorer is believed to have been the first non-Native american to cross the Sierra Nevada mountains. He was also among the first white men to explore the state’s far northern coast. A beautiful redwood state park and the scenic Smith River are named after him.

John Muir
1838-1914: an explorer, naturalist, and writer, Muir helped preserve many of California’s greatest scenic wonders, such as Yosemite Valley and Kings Canyon, now both national parks. He also founded the Sierra Club, a well-known San Francisco-based conservation group. Muir Woods National Monument, a redwood grove north of San Francisco, is named for him.

Leland Stanford
1824-93: This tycoon helped map out a route for the first transcontinental railroad, which linked California to the East Coast in 1869. He also started Stanford University in Palo alto.

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