edit California Travel Guide

• Death Valley National Park At the lowest place in the western hemisphere, you are sure to be impressed by the desert's heat and bare beauty.
• Disneyland Who on earth has not heard of the original fantasy world of Disneyland, the theme park by which all others are measured. One of the most visited attractions in the U.S., very few come to California and miss Disneyland.
• Gold Country Try your hand at mining in the rolling hills near Sacramento.
  
• Los Angeles The entertainment capital of the word will certainly keep you entertained. The stars of Hollywood, the fun of Universal Studios, the beaches of Malibu, and the shopping in Beverly Hills are all just the beginning of what this vibrant city has to offer.
• Napa Valley offers some of the best wineries and win tasting tours in the U.S.
• Road Trip on Coast Highway 1 The dramatic highway bordering the ocean can be beautiful throughout the state but the dramatic stretch hugging the cliffs of Big Sur will take your breath away.
• San Diego Take the kids to Sea World or the world famous zoo, or enjoy a sunset cruise and a night of fine dining in the gaslamp district.
• San Francisco One of those endlessly charming places that can have a relatively small town feel in a large culture-filled city.
  
• Santa Barbara A beautiful coastal resort town where the rich and famous like to hide out.
  
• Yosemite National Park Hike through beautiful forests, admire gaping waterfalls, relax in lush valleys, and watch climbers attack some of the worlds most challenging granite cliffs.

Californians tends to have a relatively liberal political perspective and a general laidback view on life compared to the rest of the country. While this is not always the case in certain rural areas, most of the populated areas such as San Francisco and much of Southern California would be considered comparatively open-minded. This may refresh some and alarm others but this is part of the California charm. Maybe the biggest example of California's open-mindedness (or hollywood worship depending on how you look at it) is the election of the action film star Arnold Swarchenegger as the State Governer (now known locally as the Governator).

California is a very diverse state with many ethnic groups. California large immigrant populations of Mexicans, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Armenians, Iranians, Jews, Chinese, Filipinos, Asian Indians, Koreans, Japanese, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Thai's, and Hmong's. California also has large populations of African Americans and Native Americans.

Californian's have a wide variety of political views. The Central Valley and Orange County tend to be more conservative, while the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area (except for Orange County) and the San Francisco Bay area tend to be more liberal.

Remember, California is a very large populous state, with very different cultures in each region.

The state of California was home to thirty different tribal groups prior to the arrival of European explorers in the 1500's. The Spanish were the first European power to build a settlement in California, establishing twenty-one missions in the state by the late 1700's. Many of these missions survive today, with examples including the mission in Santa Barbara.

After the Mexican War for Independence in 1821 California became a part of Mexico, and remained a part of that country until it was annexed by the United States in 1847 following the Mexican-American War. In 1848 the discovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada mountains kicked off the California Gold Rush, and the state's non-native population surged from 15,000 to over 300,000 within two years, resulting in statehood for California in 1850.

During the 1900's the state population increased steadily, and today California is the most populous state in the United States with over 33 millions residents.

All major road and airport entrances (including entrances from other US States) to California have agricultural inspection stations to ensure that some fruits and vegetables do not cross into a region where they may come into contact with the farms in the Central Valley (California)|Central Valley. Often, travellers are subject to border inspection (somewhat strict for domestic travel) and asked if they have been on a farm or are carrying organic matter with them. These measures are likely to be increasingly stringent as extreme biosecurity problems arise from travel-carried fruit and vegetables, imported plants and animals, or even from packing material that may carry bioinvader species.

Both California's economy and geography are large enough that it could be it's own country. This makes regions which are very distinct from each other in both culture and appearance. California can often be subdivided many ways, but the list below can be used as a starting point to further explorer California's differences:

• North Coast A beautiful region of northern california where giant redwood trees hide a rugged, lesser explored coastline.
• Bay Area San Francisco, Silicon Valley and the surrounding area hugging the bay and the coast make up an interesting contrast of hightech economy and layed back people.
• Sierra Nevadas and the Shasta Cascades make up the border of much of north and eastern California. Mountains, rivers, lakes, vocanoes, and more make this area an outdoorsmen's paradise.
• Central Valley Made up of the Sacramento Valley and the San Joaquin Valley makes up the 'middle' of California. It stretches from the north at Shasta all the way to Fresno at the south end. It contains the state's capital, Sacramento, and the fertile farm land that supports much of California and the U.S.
• Central Coast The low key coastal region between the bay area and southern california is made up of rolling hills, san dunes, light forests, and dramatic cliffs. This is a great area to get away from it all and experience relaxed, rural California.
• Southern California This is the typical region visitors think of when picturing California: Idyllic weather, the hub of the entertainment industry, and unreal traffic. This region is bordered by the ocean, the coastal mountains and the Mexican border.
  
• Desert The region east of Southern California is sparsely populated and can be very hot. Most tourists will only see this region while driving through it from Southern California to Las Vegas, but the adventerous may enjoy the raw beauty of Death Valley.

Due to California's size and geographic diversity, the weather varys distinctly between regions. Most of California has a pleasent mediterranean climate. This generally translates to warm and dry summers with cool and rainy winters. The mountain regions experience cooler weather during the summer, and heavy snow during the winter. The desert regions can be increadibly hot during the summer (death valley being the hottest place on earth) and surprisingly cold during the winter. Coastal regions can have heavy fog in the summer, while the central valley can have heavy fog (regionally called "tule fog") during late fall and winter.

You should also be aware that California can be very earthquake prone. Generally most earthquakes pass by with little more than a scare, as all buildings in California are required to withstand severe earthquakes. However earthquakes large enough to cause at least moderate damage do happen once or twice a year.

California is the third largest state in terms of land size, and is larger than many countries. However, getting around California can be quite simple. In addition to interstates and US highways, California has one of the most expansive state highway systems in the United States. As with all trips in the United States, a car is usually the best way to get around and see all destinations. However the trip from the top of California to the bottom can take well over ten hours. Flying may be a more reasonable option. Many major and low fare airlines link cities within the state of California.