~Fun Facts~

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT CALIFORNIA?

Q: When did California become a state?

A. California became the 31st state on September 9, 1850.

Q: What was the population of California in July, 1999?

A: 34.01 million.

Q: What is the capital city?

A: Sacramento.

Q: What are the three largest cities in California?

A: Los Angeles with 3,823,000, San Diego with 1,277,200, and San Jose with 923,600.

Q: What are the state colors?

A: Blue and gold.

Q: What is the state animal?

A: The California Grizzly Bear.

Q: What is the state bird?

A: The California Quail.

Q: What is the state fish?

A: The golden trout.

Q: What is the state tree?

A: The California giant redwood. The California redwood is a prehistoric tree. All trees are descended from the redwood. The coastal climate protected them from the great ice sheets during previous ice ages.

Q: What is the state flower?

A: The golden poppy.

Q: What is the state motto?

A: Eureka! which means "I found it (meaning gold)." The motto probably comes from Archimedes, the great mathematician, when he is said to have exclaimed "Eureka!" when he discovered a method for determining the purity of gold

Q: What is the state nickname?

A: The golden state.

Q: What is the state song?

A: No, it's not "I left my heart in San Francisco" or "California Here I Come." It's "I love you California," written by F.B. Silverwood, a Los Angeles merchant.

STATE FLAG The state flag is based on the original banner of the Bear Flag Revolt designed by William C. Todd, and first raised at Sonoma on June 14, 1846. The modern official flag, approved by the legislature (1911), depicts, on a white background, a single red star in the upper left field, a brown grizzly bear moving toward the star across green earth, the words "California Republic" in black below it, and, across the base, a broad red stripe.

MEANING OF THE STATE SEAL The State Seal was adopted a year before California was admitted to the union. It was designed by Major R. S. Garnett of the United States Army and the design was approved in 1849. The grizzly bear on the seal is the symbol of determination and fierceness. The bear stands near Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom. The miner in the background represents the state's mining industry. There is also a gold mining cradle and shovel near the miner. The ships in the harbor symbolize commercial greatness. The peaks in the background are the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The thirty-one stars show that California was the thirty first state. The significance of the presence of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, is that she sprang full grown from the forehead of her father, Jupiter. This represents the fact that California was admitted to the Union directly as a state, without having first been a territory.

~More Fun Facts about California~

• State Folk Dance: Square Dancing

• State Dance: West Coast Swing
• State Rock: Serpentine
• State Marine Mammal? California Gray Whale (Migrates from Alaska to Mexico)
• State Marine Fish: Garibaldi
• State Insect: Dog Face Butterfly
• State Mineral: Gold
• State Reptile: Desert Tortoise
• State Poet Laureate: Charles B. Garrigus has been Poet Laureate of California since March 23, 1966
• Prehistoric Artifact: The chipped stone bear. California was the first state to designate an official artifact.
• State Gem: Benitoite
• Highest Mountain: Mt. Whitney (14,494 ft. above sea level).
• Lowest Elevation: Death Valley (282 ft. below sea level); Ribbon Falls: 1,612 feet; Donner Pass Deaths: 41
• Largest City: Los Angeles, which is the 2nd largest city in the U.S.
• First Govenor: Peter H. Burnett.

Did you know???

• California has the largest population of Native Americans, more than any other state. Prior to the Gold Rush, California had more Native Americans than all the other states combined.
• California has one of the largest Chinese communities outside Asia in the entire world (San Francisco).
• The Los Angeles area has more people of Mexican ancestry than any other urban area in the world, outside of Mexico.
• California has the largest Armenian population outside Armenia (Glendale).
• California is the largest producer of goods of all the states and the largest agricultural state in the Union.

Click ~here~ to see more California state symbols!!!