Landscapes of Metaphor, Meaning, Image and Dream
California Facts:The state reaches for 163,695.5 sqare miles.
37 million people live here.
The Pacific coastline stretches for 840 miles.
California has 58 counties.
There were 117 distinct California Indian languages; almost all, like their speakers, are extinct.
Mono Lake is 700,000 years old.
During the last ice age, the Channel Islands off California formed a large island now called Santarosae.
The grizzly bear that appears on our state flag, Ursus californicus, has been extinct since the 1920s.
State Motto: Eureka--"I have found it!"
Arnold Schwarzenegger is not the only actor to capture the governorship. Ronald Reagan was governor of California before he became President. His accomplishments included sending the baton-swinging National Guard into Berkeley, claiming that smog came from dead trees, and destroying one of the most progressive mental health systems in the nation.
State Bird: the California Quail (Lophortyx californica).
State Flower: the California Golden Poppy (Eschsholtzia californica).
State Tree: the coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), heavily sawed; some would include the giant sequoia (Sequoia gigantea).
State Reptile: the desert tortoise (gopherus agassizi).
State Marine Fish: the garibaldi (Hypsypops rubicundus), a brilliant orange fish.
State Colors: blue and gold.
State Marine Animal: the California gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus).
State Insect: the California dogface butterfly (Zerene eurydice).
State Mineral: gold, of course.
State Rock: serpentine, for some reason.
State Soil: San Joaquin soil.
State Gemstone: benitoite (barium titanium silicate), blue and hexagonal.
State Prehistoric Artifact: a chipped stone bear.
State Fossil: the sabre-tooth cat (Smilodon californicus).
State Fish: the golden trout (Salmo agua-bonita).
State Dance: West Coast swing dancing.
State Capital: Sacramento.
State Song: "I Love You, California," by F.B. Silverwood.