Route 66

            I have read some new infotmation about Route 66. This route served as a major path for those who migra ted west, especially during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, and it supported the economies of the communities through which the road passed. People doing business along the route became prosperous due to the growing popularity of the highway, and those same people later fought to keep the highway alive in the face of the growing threat of being bypassed by the new Interstate Highway System.

Route 66 in California

I have read that Route 66 was the way most people got to California. After its creation in 1926, it was the way west for migrants escaping the Dust Bowl, hoping to find work in California's fields and factories. After World War II and the beginning of America's new car culture, it carried vacationers who wanted to tour The West, visit a new-fangled attraction called Disneyland or see the Pacific Ocean.

In California, Route 66 ran from the Arizona border near Needles, through Barstow, across San Bernardino County, into Pasadena and south into Los Angeles, a distance of about 270 miles. Today, drivers making the same journey travel on I-40, I-15 and I-10.

Read more information here :

http://gocalifornia.about.com/od/topcalifornia/ss/route-66.htm

http://www.route66ca.org/California_Historic_Route_66_Association/Home.html

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/66-california.html

California

Geography of California

 Ranking third among the U.S. states in area, California has a diverse topography and climate. A series of low mountains known as the Coast Ranges extends along the 1,200-mi (1,930-km) coast. The region from Point Arena, N of San Francisco, to the southern part of the state is subject to tremors and sometimes to severe earthquakes caused by tectonic stress along the San Andreas fault. The Coast Ranges receive heavy rainfall in the north, where the giant cathedrallike redwood forests prevail, but the climate of these mountains is considerably drier in S California, and S of the Golden Gate no major rivers reach the ocean. Behind the coastal ranges in central California lies the great Central Valley, a long alluvial valley drained by the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. In the southeast lie vast wastelands, notably the Mojave Desert, site of Joshua Tree National Park.

Rising as an almost impenetrable granite barrier E of the Central Valley is the Sierra Nevada range, which includes Mt. Whitney, Kings Canyon National Park, Sequoia National Park, and Yosemite National Park. The Cascade Range, the northern continuation of the Sierra Nevada, includes Lassen Volcanic National Park. Lying E of the S Sierra Nevada is Death Valley National Park. The drier portions of the state especially are subject periodically to large, wind-driven fires; in certain hilly areas sometimes devastating mudslides occur, particularly in the rainy season after large fires.

Read more: 

http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/us/california-geography.html#ixzz2O7DYBMMs

http://www.kidport.com/reflib/usageography/facts/California.htm

http://geography.about.com/od/unitedstatesofamerica/a/californiageography.htm

History

 The history of California can be divided into: the Native American period; European exploration period from 1542 to 1769; the Spanish colonial period, 1769 to 1821; the Mexican period, 1821 to 1848; and United States statehood, which continues to the present day.

The early history of California is characterized by being surrounded by barriers nearly isolating the state: the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Sierra Nevada mountains backed by the nearly barren Great Basin in the east, the Mojave Desert and Sonora Desert areas in the southern interior and Redwood–Douglas fir forests on the rugged mountainous North Coast.

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After initial explorations, the Spaniards left Alta California alone for over 200 years. Relative isolation continued even after Spanish Missions, the Presidio and pueblo settlements began to be developed in 1769. The only easy communication with the rest of New Spain (Mexico) was by ship, as the Quechan (Yuma) Indians shut down the Anza Trail in 1781. Colorado River crossing (Yuma Crossing), was the only "easy" way by land from Mexico to California Essentially the only communication from Mexico to California was via a 30-50 day sailing ship voyage against the south bound California Current and the often opposing winds. The sailing ship trip from California to Mexico was much easier, but first the traveler had to get to California.

The California Gold Rush beginning in January 1848, increased California's non Indian, non-Hispanic population to over 100,000 by 1850. This increased population and prosperity eventually led to the Congressional Compromise of 1850 which admitted California in 1850 as a free state—the 31st.

You can find more infotmation about history of California on this sites:

http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/us/california-history.html

http://www.debbiesthemes.com/calhistory/

http://www.history.com/topics/california

http://www.ca.gov/about/history.html

The capital of California

Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. Sacramento became a city through the efforts of the Swiss immigrant John Sutter, Sr., his son John Sutter, Jr., and James W. Marshall. Sacramento grew quickly thanks to the protection of Sutter's Fort, which was established by Sutter in 1839. During theCalifornia Gold Rush, Sacramento was a major distribution point, a commercial and agricultural center, and a terminus for wagon trains, stagecoaches, riverboats, the telegraph, the Pony Express, and the First Transcontinental Railroad.

And here is some more information about Sacramento: 

http://www.saccounty.net/default.htm
http://www.cityofsacramento.org/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g32999-Sacramento_California-Vacations.html

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger - is an Austrian and American former professional bodybuilder, actor, producer, director, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served two terms as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011. As a Republican, he was first elected on October 7, 2003, in a special recall election to replace then-Governor Gray Davis. Schwarzenegger was sworn in on November 17, 2003, to serve the remainder of Davis's term. Schwarzenegger was then re-elected on November 7, 2006, in California's 2006 gubernatorial election, to serve a full term as governor, defeating Democrat Phil Angelides, who was California State Treasurer at the time. Schwarzenegger was sworn in for his second term on January 5, 2007. In 2011, Schwarzenegger completed his second term as governor, and it was announced that he had separated from Maria Shriver, his wife for the last 25 years, and a member of the influential Kennedy family, as a niece of the late Democrat US President John F. Kennedy.

You can read about this person here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/8504760/Top-10-facts-about-Arnold-Schwarzenegger.html
http://www.biography.com/people/arnold-schwarzenegger-9476355
http://www.bodybuildingology.com/arnoldfacts.shtml
http://www.buzzfeed.com/totalrecall/16-facts-you-probably-didnt-know-about-arnold-sch-7etv