| California has got it all, from expansive valleys to tall mountains to arid deserts to hundreds of miles of scenic coastline. California is the third largest state in the U.S. and is larger than Germany in size.
Most of California’s major cities are at or near the Pacific coastline and include: Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Long Beach, Oakland, Santa Ana/Orange County, Riverside/Moreno Valley, San Bernardino and San Diego. Sacramento is in the Central Valley and the geographic center of the state is located in North Fork.
A number of faults running through California have made this state famous for earthquakes. The most famous fault is the San Andreas Fault. California is also home to several volcanoes such as the active Mammoth Mountain. Other California volcanoes include Lassen Peak and Mount Shasta.
California is home to some of the oldest and most popular national parks in the U.S. The most well-known is Yosemite National Park (which protects Yosemite Valley), followed closely by the Kings Canyon-Sequoia National Park (which protects the most massive trees in the world) and Redwood National Park (which protects the tallest trees in the world).
California is also referred to as “wine country.” California has five major wine growing regions, including the following:
- North Coast (includes: Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake County)
- Central Coast (includes Monterey, Paso Robles, Santa Cruz Mountains, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, Livermore)
- Sierra Foothills (includes Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Mariposa, Nevada, Tuolumne Placer, Yuba)
- South Coast (includes San Diego, Temecula, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside)
- Central Valley (includes Lodi, Woodbridge)
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