CALIFORNIA%20(CHAPTER%2015:%20PART%201)

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CALIFORNIA(CHAPTER 15 PART 1)
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INTRODUCTION

• Tremendous diversity in our perceptions of
  California.
• a modern, outdoor-oriented, ideal American
  lifestyle
• a region of problem plagued social chaos
• California is home to one in nine Americans and
  is a central element in the American cultural
  fabric.
• Regional Criteria
• political unity
• national image as a single place
• growing role in influencing American lifestyles
• The region is mapped on page 337 of the text.

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HOLLYWOOD
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YOSEMITE
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YOSEMITE
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SAN DIEGO
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GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE
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PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

• Topography - The coast of California is lined by
  a series of long, linear mountain ranges-oriented
  NWgtSE
• Coast Ranges are from 3,000-5,000 ft - heavily
  folded and faulted as a result of pressure from
  plate contact
• Plate Tectonics - refer to the geologic theory
  that the bending (folding) and breaking
  (faulting) of the solid surface of the earth
  results from the slow movement of large sections
  (plates) of the surface.
• Ring of Fire - a name given by geologists to a
  belt of intense earthquake and volcanic activity
  that encircles much of the Pacific Ocean.

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General location of the San Andreas fault and
other major faults in California
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PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

• Earthquakes
• Common throughout large sections of the region,
  especially from L.A. southeast through the
  Imperial Valley, and from San Francisco Bay to
  Bakersfield.
• Devastating earthquakes occurred in 1906, 1989,
  1992.
• Map on page 338 - principal earthquake fault
  zones.
• Earthquake Laws
• Local laws which limited the building heights
• Many of the laws have been recently repealed,
  thanks to technological innovations
• Impact of the laws is evident on the cultural
  landscape.

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15 Largest Earthquakes in the Contiguous US
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PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

• The Central Valley
• Extends 400 miles from north to south
• Nearly 95 miles wide in places.
• Extremely flat, and blessed with fertile soil and
  favorable climate
• Perhaps the most productive agricultural region
  in the world
• The Sierra Nevada
• Rise to the east of the Great Valley.
• These fault-block mountains have historically
  been a major barrier to movement.

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PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

• Climate
• A significant pull factor
• Enables the region's tremendous agricultural
  output
• Poses several environmental challenges
• From San Francisco Bay north along the coast, the
  region experiences a "Marine West Coast Climate
• Mild temperatures with little seasonal variation
• Plentiful year around precipitation and overcast
  skies

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PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

• Climate (CONT)
• From San Diego north along the coast to San
  Francisco Bay, and in the Northern Central Valley
  and the Western Southern Valley, North America's
  only Mediterranean climate prevails.
• Moderate precipitation occurs throughout the mild
  winter
• Hot dry summers are the norm.

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PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

• Climate Patterns
• Northern California has far more precipitation
  and far fewer people than the southern half of
  the state.
• More rainfall occurs in winter than in summer,
  with the pattern being most pronounced in
  Southern California.
• Forest fire hazards occur almost yearly, during
  the late summer and early fall months, especially
  in Southern California, where a lack of seasonal
  precipitation and high winds create extremely dry
  conditions.

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CLIMATE PATTERNS
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SETTLEMENT HISTORY

• Most of California was explored by the Spanish
  during the mid 1500s.
• Spanish missions were established along the coast
  and were generally linked by pueblos (towns) and
  presidios (forts).
• A gold strike occurred in the foothills of the
  Central Sierra Nevadas in 1848, attracting
  thousands of fortune-seekers from all over the
  country.
• The tremendous influx of people enabled
  California to rapidly transition from a newly
  acquired territory in 1846 to a state in 1850.

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SETTLEMENT HISTORY

• Gold rush gtgtgrowth of the San Francisco Bay Area
• More than 40,000 people arrived through the port
  within the first years of the strike.
• San Francisco remained the largest city on the
  west coast until WWI.
• Los Angeles boomed after the completion of the
  Southern Pacific Railroad in 1881, and later,
  after the construction of the Atchison, Topeka,
  and Santa Fe Railroad.
• The Southern California land boom from 1881-1887
  further increased L.A.'s population from 10,000
  to 70,000.

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VENICE BEACH
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CALIFORNIA(CHAPTER 15 PART 1)