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California Geography and Economy

Area 423,970 km²
Residents 39.250.017
Residents per km² 92.6
Capital Sacramento
Postal Code CA
ISO-3166-2 code US CA
FIPS code 06

Abbreviated as CA by AbbreviationFinder, California is the third largest in area and by far the most populous state in the United States of America. It is located in the west of the country and borders the Pacific Ocean, the states of Oregon, Nevada and Arizona as well as the Mexican state of Baja California on the peninsula of the same name. The official nickname of California is Golden State (Golden State).

The origin of the name California is controversial. According to a well-known hypothesis, the name existed before it was discovered by the European conquerors. In 1510, the Spaniard Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo published a novel that featured an island full of gold called California, inhabited by beautiful Amazons ruled by Queen Califia. When Hernán Cortés ‘ soldiers came to Baja California in 1535, they believed it was an island and named it after Montalvo’s book.

According to a less poetic explanation, the name derives from the name calida forna – “hot oven”.

The Germanized name California is the only one that has survived to this day. Other Germanized names of American places, such as New York, Virginia or Pennsylvania, have become uncommon today, but were used until the 1960s.

Grizzly bear - the symbol of California

Economy

With 2.6 trillion US dollars (as of 2016) California contributes 14% of the gross domestic product of the USA. As a separate state from the USA, California would be the fifth largest economic power in the world after the USA itself, China, Japan and Germany.

The gross domestic product per capita GDP was 66,310 US dollars in 2016 (national average of the 50 US states: 57,118 US dollars; national ranking: 7th).

The state’s unemployment rate was 4.6% in November 2017 (national average: 4.1%).

However, due to the high cost of living and inequality, a large number of Californians lived in poverty. In 2016, just under 15% of the population was living below the poverty line, which was one of the highest rates in the United States.

Last but not least, the south, favored by the weather for industrial agriculture, and the catchment area of ​​cheap Mexican agricultural workers there, help California to achieve this prosperity.

However, the water supply requires great efforts. Huge reservoirs on the rivers in the neighboring state of Arizona, the canal construction (with lengths as between Hamburg and Munich) from north to south and the aqueducts of the lakes east of the Sierra Nevada and meltwater provide the mountain snow glaciers are of great importance here. Since the neighboring states (Arizona, Nevada) also want to draw from the natural resources to which they are entitled, agriculture is coming under increasing pressure. Conservation requirements increase this further. Nevertheless, there is intensive agriculture in California with the cultivation of cotton, barley, wheat, corn, rice, oats, beans and sugar beets. The cultivation of tropical fruit and vegetables in California’s long valley with the help of artificial irrigation, as well as cattle and poultry farming and fishing are also of importance. Viticulture in California is also significant. About 90% of all US wine production comes from California.

California has rich deposits of natural resources (including oil, natural gas, boron salts, mercury, magnesite, gold) and has a highly developed industry: aerospace, electronics and computer industries (Silicon Valley), vehicle construction, food industry, steel mills and others. The headquarters of the American film industry (Hollywood) is located in California. Many of the largest and most famous companies in the world were founded in California and are based there.

Majority-minority States in the United States

A majority minority state in the United States is a state in which racial and / or ethnic minorities, such as people of Latin American descent, better known as Hispanics or Latinos, or African Americans, make up the majority of the population.

The term is often used in the Suffrage Act to denote electoral districts that have been amended under the Suffrage Act to “allow ethnic or linguistic minorities to vote”.

In this context, w urde the term for the first time in 1977 by the Supreme Court used. The Court had the term been used previously in cases of discrimination in employment and labor relations.

The data is derived from self-identification questions from the US Census and estimates from the US Census Bureau.

  • In 2016, five US states were considered the majority-minority state: Hawaii (the only state that has never had a white majority), New Mexico, California, Texas, and Nevada.
  • In the District of Columbia, African Americans featured in the final stages of the Great Migration d ie majority of the population. Although the District is still a majority minority, African Americans now make up only 47.1% of the population. But there was strong growth among Asians and Hispanics.
  • Maryland, in 2018 with only 50.9% of non-Hispanic white Americans is about as before, of being next majority minority.
  • In Georgia, Florida, Arizona, New York, New Jersey, Mississippi, and Louisiana, the proportion of non-Hispanic whites has also fallen below 60%.
  • All populated outlying areas of the United States (Puerto Rico, Guam, US Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa ) are majority-minority areas. They never had a non-Hispanic white majority.
  • In 2012 there were 50 metropolitan areas in the US with a majority minority.
  • In 2015, 12% of all US counties were majority-minority.

Depending on the immigration scenario, it is forecast that the entire United States of America will form a majority minority between 2041 and 2046 if the current trends continue. Ethnic minority children will be the majority of all children in the entire United States by 2019.

Also known as Golden State, California is short for CA with a population of 33,871,648. According to Countryaah, the capital city of California is Sacramento and the biggest city is Los Angels.

California Seal