California

Overview

California, 'The Golden State', has something for every traveller. The scenery is very diverse, from desert to forests, from high mountains to rugged coasts, giving the visitors endless spectacles and opportunities for outdoor pursuits. For those more interested in urban surroundings, there are the theme parks and museums of Los Angeles, or the excitements of San Francisco. There is nothing more exhilarating than cycling over the Golden Gate Bridge or riding the cable car from Fisherman's Wharf, up and down the extraordinary gradients to the grand stores of Union Square.

California is certainly a state of contrasts and extremes, in a couple of hours one can view the highest point in the contiguous U.S.A. (Mount Whitney) and be below sea level at Furness Creek in Death Valley, the lowest point in the western hemisphere. On the central coast one see the tallest trees in the world yet inland in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, it would be hard to miss the giant sequoias, the biggest trees on earth.

It is difficult to travel without a car, public transport being in short supply. A drive along the coast will take in San Diego from near the Mexican border, where there is a world class zoo and historical sites in the old town, not forgetting the warm sun and Pacific Ocean. There is no shortage of beaches, with surfing being a popular sport. The waters get deceptively cold north of Los Angeles, so hire a wetsuit!

Driving north along Highway 1 takes in the attractive mission...more

History

The first European sighting of California was by the Spanish navigator Cabrillo in 1542. In 1578 Sir Francis Drake sailed as far north as Bodega Bay (north of San Francisco) on the first circum- navigation of the world. The Native American inhabitants were largely left to themselves until Father Junipero Serra arrived from Mexico and set up the first Spanish mission in San Diego in 1769. Within a few years a chain of 21 missions was built, following the Camino Real or Royal Road largely along the coast.

Life for the Indians was changed forever with the introduction of domestic animals, organised farming and industries. With the dominance of the better armed Spanish and the conversion to the Christian religion, the demise of the native population had begun.

With their westward march, the immigrant peoples of America risked everything to find passes in the mountain ranges of the west. In 1846 the Donner Party had to resort to cannibalism of their dead comrades to survive the winter snows. Eventually they succeeded in finding a route to what is now Sacramento, California?s capital city. Two years later, gold was found near here, by 1849 the great Gold Rush began and in 1850 California became a state.

There was rapid expansion of the population and by 1869 the trans-continental railroad was complete. It had been an amazing feat of engineering, using mainly Chinese immigrant labour, to bring the railway over the same 2500m pass that had so nearly defeated the Donner Party.

California developed as a...more

When to Go

Essentials