The Highest Temperature Ever Recorded in the United States, 134
degrees F. (57 degrees C), was measured in Death Valley on July 10, 1913.
In addition, the lowest elevation in the Western Hemisphere is located near Badwater in
Death Valley. It lies 282 feet (86 meters) below sea level.
The World's Tallest Known Tree rises 368 feet (112 meters) in the Tall Trees Grove in
Redwood National Park.
The First Cable Car Street Railway System was installed in San Francisco in 1873.
The General Sherman Tree, in Sequoia National Park, is one of the world's largest living
things.
It has a circumference of 103 feet (31.4 meters) at the base and rises 275 feet (83.8
meters).
The tree is estimated to be about 2,500 years old.
The First Synchronized Sound Cartoon was Walt Disney's Steamboat Willie, produced in
Hollywood in 1928. It featured Mickey Mouse.
IMPORTANT DATES IN CALIFORNIA
1542....... Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo explored San Diego Bay.
1579....... Francis Drake sailed along the coast and claimed California for England.
1602....... Sebastian Vizcaino urged that Spain colonize California.
1769....... Gaspar de Portola led a land expedition up the California coast. Junipero
Serra established the first Franciscan
mission in California, in what is now the city of San Diego.
1776..... Spanish settlers from New Spain (Mexico) reached the site of what is now San
Francisco.
1812..... Russian fur traders built Fort Ross.
1822..... California became part of Mexico, which had just won its independence from
Spain in
1821-1841.... The Bidwell-Bartleson party became the first organized group of American
settlers to travel to California
by land.
1846....... American rebels raised the "Bear Flag" of the California Republic
over Sonoma. U.S. forces conquered
California during the Mexican War (1846- 1848).
1848.... James W. Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill. Mexico gave California to
the United States by
the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
1849....The gold rush began.1850....... California became the 31st state on September
9.
1887... Rapid population growth caused a land boom in southern California.
1906... An earthquake and fire destroyed much of San Francisco.
1915... Expositions were begun at San Diego and San Francisco to mark the opening of
the
Panama Canal.
1945....... The United Nations Charter was adopted at the San Francisco Conference.
1963....... California became the state with the largest population in the United States.
1978....... California voters approved a $7-billion cutback in state property taxes.
1989....... A strong earthquake struck the San Francisco-Oakland- San Jose area.
1994....... A strong earthquake struck Los Angeles.