Forests and Redwoods in Partnership With
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California PLACES AND REGIONS QUAKES: SHAKE AND BREAK GREEN FORESTS AND REDWOODS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH Cal_Places_FC.indd 1 2/24/17 11:46 AM 2 You tell them your street and your city. You say that you live in California. Then Where in the some of them ask a strange question: “Where’s that?” World is California? You might give one answer to a friend You’re having a huge party. You invite all who lives in Florida, and a different your friends and family – not just neigh- response to an aunt in Alaska. If you have bors who live close by, but people from all family that lives in a country far away, your over! Naturally, they want your address. answer could change again. r ONE WAY TO California describe California is to explain its relative location: North Pole its position in relation to other places. California is in the Northern Hemisphere. That’s the half of Earth that is north of the equator. (The Western Eastern equator is the Hemisphere Hemisphere imaginary line that divides Earth Northern Hemisphere halfway between the North and Southern Hemisphere South Poles.) It is west of the prime meridian. The Equator Prime prime meridian is Meridian the imaginary line that divides Earth into the Western Hemisphere and the Eastern Hemisphere. South Pole r CALIFORNIA especially near Arctic Circle IS north of the the equator. line called the California is Northern Tropic, south of the or Tropic of Arctic Circle, Cancer. The which surrounds Tropic of Southern Tropic, the North Pole. Cancer or Tropic of The Antarctic Capricorn, is in Circle is around the Southern the South Pole. Hemisphere. The The Arctic Tropic of area between and Antarctic Capricorn these two lines Circles get gets the most less sunlight sunlight on than other Antarctic Earth. It’s often parts of Earth. Circle hot and humid, cal_places_2-3.indd 16 2/24/17 11:48 AM ARCTIC OCEAN CANADA Maine 3 New Hampshire 12˚ 123˚ 122˚ 121˚ 120˚ 11˚ 11˚ 11˚ 11˚ 11˚ 11˚ Washington Vermont Montana North Dakota WANT TO DESCRIBE Massachusetts Minnesota Oregon California’sNew York location Rhode Island 2˚ Wisconsin without discussing Michigan Connecticut Oregon other places? Wyoming South Dakota Pennsylvania New Jersey Idaho Use latitude and 1˚ Delaware Iowa Ohio longitude. That Nevada Maryland Nebraska Westgives you an UNITED STATES Illinois Indiana Virginia“absoluteVirginia location.” Nevada 0˚ Utah Colorado Kentucky North ATLANTIC CALIFORNIA Missouri Kansas Carolina OCEAN 3˚ Tennesse South California Carolina Sacramento Oklahoma Arkansas Arizona 3˚New Mexico Georgia Mississippi Alabama PACIFIC 3˚ Texas OCEAN Louisiana MEXICO Florida 3˚ u ANOTHER WAY continent of North Arizona you can describe America. Within the 3˚ California’s location U.S., California is is to talk about north of the coun- which continent, try of Mexico. It is 3˚ or landmass, it sits south of the state on. Then you can of Oregon, east of describe where the Pacific Ocean, 33˚ you live in relation and west of the Mexico to closer places. states of Arizona California is part of and Nevada. 123˚123° 122˚122° 121˚121° 120120˚° the United States, which is in the 0˚40° CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA Try This! 3˚39° Map Your Own California Adventure Have you seen a lot of California? Would you like to? Print or draw an Sacramento Sacramento outline of California on a piece of 38° paper. Look at a map and copy a few 3˚ lines of latitude and longitude. Then look up the absolute location of your favorite places and draw them on your map. Map places you’ve been, 3˚37° or places you want to see. You decide! u SACRAMENTO IS the equator to u THE LONGITUDE The lines cross the capital of the North Pole of Sacramento is the equator at 360 California. Its and marked between 121 and places, with 180 LATITUDE (or it to make 90 122 degrees west. lines heading east position north equal segments, What does that and 180 going or south of Sacramento mean? Imagine west from the the equator) would be 360 equally prime meridian. is between 38 between the spaced lines Sacramento would and 39 degrees 38th and 39th stretching from be between the north. If you marks. the North Pole to 121st and 122nd drew a line from the South Pole. lines to the west. cal_places_2-3.indd 17 2/24/17 11:49 AM 4 Now that people know how to get to your party, you need to tell them how Climate and to dress for the weather. California is a big state, with many climates. It’s the Vegetation third-largest state in the country, after Weather. Climate. What’s the Difference? u IN CALIFORNIA, droughts. During severe weather a drought, plants often comes in the – even huge trees – form of dryness. can dry up and even Little to no rainfall die. Dry brush leads u WEATHER IS changes from the typical weath- and colder win- is normal in the to wildfires. They the temperature, season to sea- er for a region ters. Moderate summer and early can destroy homes rainfall, wind, and son. It can also over many years. climates don’t vary fall. But dry spells and animal habitats. humidity levels change from day Extreme climates as much between that last for many Without water, farm- that happen in to day. The term experience hotter seasons. months, or even for ers cannot keep an area. Weather “climate” refers to summer weather years, are called their crops alive. Climate in California r EVEN IN A BIG state like California, scientists can make observations about climate. California is cooler and drier than the tropics to the south. It’s warmer than the arctic regions in the north. Within California, tempera- tures are warmer in the south. Coastal climates are usually more moderate than mountains and deserts to the east. cal_places_4-5_v2.indd 16 2/24/17 11:50 AM 5 Alaska and Texas! It’s also tall. The California’s climates. northern edge of California is at a much Some Californians can drive from baking higher latitude than its border with deserts to frosty mountain peaks in just a Mexico. Latitude, elevation, and how few hours. How should your friends dress far a place is from the ocean all shape for your climate? COMMUNITIES IN different climates have different kinds of vegetation, or plant life. Hikers in Big Bear, in Southern California, find oaks and pines. In Big Basin Redwoods State Park, which is farther north, hikers see more redwoods. Yet both places are forested areas. The forests are so different because mountains in the center and northern half of the state get more than twice as many inches of precipitation – rain, hail, sleet, and snow – as those in the southern half. cal_places_4-5_v2.indd 17 2/24/17 11:50 AM Cascade Range Crescent City Klamath Mount Shasta 6 Mts. 14,162 ft. Lassen Peak CALIFORNIA HAS the Central Valley Redding Coast Ranges 10,457 ft. areas that are Region, and the Sacramento R. very different Desert Region. California’s Sacramento Valley from one another. Within each region Geographers have there are similar Sierra Nevada Lake divided it into four landforms, bodies Patterns of Tahoe natural regions: the of water, climates, Feather R. Coastal Region, the and plants. These Sacramento Mountain Region, groupings help Stockton us to understand Settlement San Francisco Oakland California’s patterns San Jose San Joaquin Valley San Joaquin R. of settlement – the If your faraway friends ask San Francisco Coast Ranges Bay places its people why people come to live in Fresno Monterey have chosen to live. your community, how will Mount Whitney Death Valley 14,505 ft. you answer? Do you live in Monterey Bay Southern California, where Bakersfield citrus fruit like oranges Mount Pinos Mojave Desert and lemons grow in some 8,831 ft. Needles people’s backyards? Or Santa Barbara Los Angeles north of San Francisco, Channel Islands Long Beach Palm Springs Colorado DesertSalton where grapevines thrive? Sea Colorado R. Does your home have a San Diego steep roof so that snow San Diego Bay can’t pile on top? Do you often need a raincoat? Maybe you live near a river. Maybe you live in the same city where your great-grandparents once MOUNTAIN REGION: CENTRAL VALLEY COASTAL REGION: DESERT REGION: migrated. Geography The dangerous REGION: The safety of In the past, few peo- shapes California com- passes of the The soil and San Diego’s natural ple lived in the dry Sierra Nevada weather of the harbor encouraged desert. Today, the munities big and small, in mountains kept Central Valley Spanish settlers region supports thriv- ways you might not expect. many Americans made it a very to colonize ing communities like from moving to good place California in the Palm Springs, because California before for farmers to 18th century. people have learned the Gold Rush plant crops. to modify, or change, began. their environment. NEW PATTERNS OF rural, or country, settlement formed lives away from the as the population cities. Ranchers grew. Communities needed large pas- became more tures to graze their urban, or city-like. animals. Farmers Some people adapt- needed fertile land ed, or changed to to raise crops. In the new way of life. the places between They sold products cities and farms, or provided ser- suburbs began vices. Others lived to appear. cal_places_6-7.indd 16 2/24/17 11:53 AM 7 l MANY PEOPLE could hunt, fish, trading or logging. chose a place to and grow crops. Population density, live based on its They needed a or the number of natural resourc- supply of fresh- people who live es: things found water.