Geography of California

Chapter 1Character of the Golden State

California Data

• 158,693 square miles (3rd largest)• About 250 x 770 miles• Elevation range 14,505 –Mt. Whitney

to -282 feet –Badwater, Death Valley• Mean elevation 2,900 feet• Borders: Pacific (W), Oregon (N), Nevada

and Arizona (E), and Mexico (S)

Site and Situation

• California’s siteCalifornia’s site, its structure as a place, is what we will be studying– for example, its: Terrain Size Geology Climate

• California’s situationCalifornia’s situation is on the west coast of North America, and the northeastern edge of the Pacific Rim.

Relative Size

• California is larger than: Great Britain Japan Norway Italy

• But smaller than: Spain Sweden Iraq Thailand

Orientation

• Southern 2/3 of state lies southeast of northern portion Los Angeles is east of Reno, NV San Diego is east of Spokane, WA El Centro is east of Boise, ID Needles is east of Las Vegas, NV

Boundaries

• Natural boundaries• Cultural boundaries

Boundaries

• California as an island

Alta California and Baja California

17th Century

Northern Border

• Treaty with Spain 1819 (ratified Feb. 22, 1821) established 42° N as the northern limit of Spanish Mexico.

• Continued after Mexican independence from Spain (Treaty of Córdoba, Aug. 24, 1821).

• Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Feb. 2, 1848, ended Mexican-American War and ceded most of Southwest to United States.

Southern Border

• Defined by Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.• From confluence of Colorado and Gila

Rivers to point 1 marine league (3.45 mi.) south of southern tip of San Diego Bay

Eastern Border

• Defined after much debate at state Constitutional Convention in fall of 1849, Colton Hall, Monterey.

• Admitted to Union as 31st state Sept. 9, 1850.

Eastern Border

• From 42°N, due south along 120°W meridian to 39°N. Middle of Lake Bigler (Tahoe), probably not

known by convention.• Diagonal line connecting 39°N, 120°W to

the point where the Colorado River crosses the 35°N parallel.

• South along the Colorado River to its confluence with the Gila River.

Problems on Nevada Border

• Difficult to survey in rough mountainous and desert terrain. Errors of several miles were not unusual.

• Colorado river alters course.• Town of Aurora was county seat of Mono

County, CA and Esmeralda County, NV until an 1863 survey determined it was three miles inside Nevada.

• Final determination of California-Nevada boundary came in 1980 by decision of US Supreme Court.

Other Boundary Proposals

Proposed state of Jefferson

Many proposals over the years to divide CA between north and south

Regions of California

Klamath Mountains

Trinity Alps near Granite Lake, July 2005.

Cascade Mountains

Kings Creek and Mount Lassen.

Modoc Plateau

Pit River on Modoc Plateau.

Sierra Nevada

Bear Creek Spire from Little Lakes Valley

Basin and Range

Panamint Valley from South Pass

Mojave Desert

Joshua Tree National Park

Colorado Desert

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

Peninsular Ranges

San Mateo Wilderness, Santa Ana Mountains

Transverse Ranges

Mt. San Antonio (Old Baldy)

Southern Coast Ranges

Santa Cruz Mountains, Skyline Blvd.

Southern Coast Ranges

McWay Falls, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Big Sur. (Instructor couldn’t resist a picture of a favorite falls!)

Northern Coast Ranges

Redwood National Park

Central Valley

From 20,000 feet near Tracy and Manteca.