California

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The state bird is the California valley quail.

The golden poppy is the state flower of California.

Discover the contrasting landscapes of California from Mount Whitney to Death Valley

For Students

California summary

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Queen Elizabeth II addresses at opening of Parliament. (Date unknown on photo, but may be 1958, the first time the opening of Parliament was filmed.)

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In 1958, Mildred Loving, a black woman, and her white husband, Richard Loving, went to Washington to get married. After they returned to Central Point, police raided their home and arrested them

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Close-up of ostriches (Struthio camelus) necks and heads; location unknown.

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Four year old boy with grandfather and father lighting Hanukkah menorah. Photo taken on: December 21st, 2009

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A mug shot taken by the regional Colombia control agency in Medellin

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California

state, United States

Also known as: Golden State

Written by Neil Morgan, Gregory Lewis McNamee•All

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Dec 24, 2024 • Article History

News •

California residents on edge as high surf and flooding threats persist on Christmas Eve • Dec. 24, 2024, 11:31 AM ET (AP)

Major storm pounds California's central coast, blamed for man's death and partially collapsing pier • Dec. 24, 2024, 12:42 AM ET (AP)

California declared an emergency over bird flu. How serious is the situation? • Dec. 21, 2024, 9:18 AM ET (AP)

Chinese national charged with acting as Beijing's agent in local California election • Dec. 20, 2024, 10:18 AM ET (AP)

Democratic governors hammered Trump before the election. Now they're hoping to work with him • Dec. 20, 2024, 12:04 AM ET (AP)

California, constituent state of the United States of America. It was admitted as the 31st state of the union on September 9, 1850, and by the early 1960s it was the most populous U.S. state. No version of the origin of California’s name has been fully accepted, but there is wide support for the contention that it derived from an early 16th-century Spanish novel, Las sergas de Esplandián (“The Adventures of Esplandián”), that described a paradisiacal island full of gold and precious stones called California. The influence of the Spanish settlers of the 18th and 19th centuries is evident in ...(100 of 10147 words)

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