Chapter 10: Florida

It is interesting to know that Florida used to be part of North Africa. How is this possible? Due to level shifts caused by climate change, the peninsular part of the state broke off of Africa. It is predicted that by the year of 2100, Florida could be underwater. Florida's weather is tropical like the Caribbean. Florida has attracted many tourist because of its location and weather. Southern Florida's weather tends to be between seventies and eighties. The North part is more cold.

As aforementioned, Florida has many tourist. Tourism and retirees are big contributors of Florida's economy. There are approximately 80 million tourist per year. It is estimated that the tourist industry pays a large part of Florida's taxes because the tourism industry brings in about 57 billion dollars per year. People love the weather and many attractions that Florida has to offer. Just like Florida, Hollywood too attracts a lot of tourists. Hollywood has millions of tourists per year. They enjoy the nice weather and hope to see their favorite stars. There are also other tourist attractions such as, Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood, Knott's Berry Farm, Six Flags Magic Mountain, and many more.

              

Chapter 9: South Atlantic

The term redneck and cracker has been used for many years and both terms originated from the South. Rednecks were white poor people who lived in the South. They usually worked as a yeoman farmer who were previously servants. Now in the united States rednecks are referred to white underclass people. The term cracker was used for people who were considered "white trash." These people are those who did not have an education and who practiced cracking. Nowadays, these terms are still used. Many people know what these terms really mean, but there are others who use them as racist terms. It is common to hear someone call a very white person redneck because of his/her physical appearance. California is a diverse state and it is not unusual to see people who physically look redneck.

Cotton was important in the South. There were two types of cottons that were grown in the South. One of them was called the Seal Island which was easier to clean and it was imported from the West Indies. Upland cotton was more difficult to clean and was grown in the land. Cotton was ranked third in production. Cotton is also grown in San Joaquin, California. San Joaquin has a valley cotton tour that attracts many consumers. According to the Western Farm Press, the annual tours that are arranged bring farmers, brokers, supply chain partners, and brands so they can get an idea of the challenges and possibilities of making changes in the cotton industry. 

San Joaquin Valley Cotton Tour

San Joaquin Cotton YouTube Video

        

  

Chapter 8: Appalachia

Catskill Mountain 

The Appalachian Plateau is very large that it expands from Tug Hill to northern Alabama. Its elevation is about 1,000 feet to 3,000 feet. The Appalachian Plateau's highest mountains is the Catskills which is 4,000 feet high. The California Plateau rises to 10,000 feet on the eastern side.

Coal in the Appalachia has supplied a lot of electricity for America. People are very dependent of coal. Although there are great benefits, coal causes a lot of air pollution, acid rain, deforestation, and degradation of soil. Strip mining, was a type of mining method in the Appalachian Plateau. It was done by stripping rocks and soil from the top of the surface in order to get the coal from beneath the surface. According to Dan L. Mosier, writer of Tesla, the first commercial coal mine in California was the Coast Range. The Coast Range coal mine shipped coal to fuel-hungry factories in Stockton. It sold about 60 tons of coal. Although the Coast Range coal mine did not last long, in 1868 a group of Welsh miners opened Commercial coal mine. The most successful coal mine in California was the Tesla coal mine. This mine was opened by John Treadwell and he also organized the San Francisco and San Joaquin Coal Company. The Tesla mine produced more than 80,000 tons of coal per year.

Tesla Coal Mine 

           

Chapter 7: Megalopolis

When thinking about megalopolis, Los Angeles comes to mind. Los Angeles is a very large city containing a population of approximately 4 million people. Like New York, Los Angeles is a big city where it seems like people never sleep. Throughout the day, no matter what the time, there are people out in the streets going from one place to another. Both places have a large population which means that there is a lot going on. New York City has a transportation network which expands more miles than the actual city. New York's metropolitan expands for many miles that it reaches to other states. Los Angeles metropolitan area is the 2nd largest metropolitan area in the United States and the 13th largest metropolitan in the world. Los Angeles is known as the Entertainment Capital of the World, therefore it is a very popular area. Tourist come and go all the time. Since there is so much going on in the area, there are many different transportation. There is even a metro rail that takes people around from five in the morning to midnight all seven days of the week.

New York City

Los Angeles

    

Chapter 6: The Northern Atlantic Provinces and Northern New England

In the Northern New England, settlers focused on farming crops such as, blueberries and potatoes. In California people also grow crops. Agriculture is a huge contributor for the California economy. Since the last three decades, farming sales in California have quadrupled. For example, the San Diego agriculture is placed fourth on the county. San Diego's agriculture is productive because of the climate, water, and soil that is in San Diego.

   San Diego Agriculture

According to Bettey Sutton, from Lone Star College in Kingwood, during the Great Depression many people had lost hope because what was the land of opportunity was now a land of depression. American families' income had reduced from $2,300 to $1,500. Many people hoped to find some place where they could get back on track. Many families decide to move to California and start working in the agriculture fields. 

There are many crops grown in California. According to BeachCalifornia.com, California's number one products are milk and cream. The number one nation's dairy state is California. Also, California is known to grow some of the best grapes. California's grown products also include almonds, olives, raisins, walnuts, and many more. For the past fifty years, California has been the number one food and agriculture producer in the United States. 

  

Chapter 4: Population and Consumption

California is known to be one of the most diverse states. The population in 2012 was 38,041,430. In just ten years, California's had an increased of 3,090,016. These numbers are pretty high and it would be higher if people would have not migrated to Texas, Nevada, and Arizona in 1990. Los Angeles county has a greater population than 42 U.S states and it held title for the most populated county in the U.S for decades. Also, as mentioned earlier on another chapter, California's top eight most populated cities in the United States include; Los Angeles, San Diego, Long Beach, Oakland, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno, and Sacramento.

Although California is a diverse state, the majority of its population is made up of California born residents. Many illegal immigrants contributed to the large amount of population, but since there has been an increase in security at the borders less people have tried crossing to United States. California has the most minority populated group in the United States. About 60% of California's population is made up of minority groups.

According to the pie graph below, in 2000 people between the ages of 25 and 44 made up 31% of California's population. Next, with 23% of population were teenagers and young children ranging from 15 years and younger. People who were 45-64 years old made up 21% of the population. Teenagers and young adults (15-24 years) made up 14% and the elderly (65 and older) made up only 11% of California's population. 

Chapter 3: Sustainability

California is a large state which means that there are a lot of people who live in the state. Because there is so many people, energy us used a lot. California has promoted people to reuse energy. By 2020, California hopes to obtain a third of its electricity from renewable products. A lot of products that people use in their daily lives can be transformed into reusable items.  

California aims toward a sustainable future. Solar panels have been promoted in many places to maximize the conversion of sunlight into electricity. Installing solar panels helps conserve energy, it is inexpensive, and it is a natural way of using electricity. People are contributing to global warming by leaving lights on or even turning them on during the day. Solar panels help produce clean and renewable energy. The picture below is the 354 MW SEGS concentrated solar power which is the world's largest solar plant. 

California also has two major nuclear power plants known as the Diablo Canyon and San Onofre. The Diablo Canyon power plant is located in Avila Beach and is now the only nuclear plant that is operating due to the shutdown of San Onofre in 2013. This nuclear plant produces 18,000 kilowatt-hour of electricity per year. It is about 750 acres.   

                                                  
                                     

Diablo Canyon Power Plant

Chapter 2: The Nonhuman World

The Sacramento River

The Sacramento River and the San Joaquin River are California's most known rivers. Most of California's rivers are dammed as part of the Central Valley Project, planned in 1933 to regulate and store water to the agriculture in Central Valley, and the California State Water Project, which provides water for 23 million people. Another river in California is the Mojave River. The Mojave River is an underground river which means that most of the time its surface is dry. The Santa Ana River is Southern California's largest river. It is 96 miles long, rising in the San Bernardino Mountains flowing past San Bernardino and Riverside, and it drains about 2,650 square miles. 

Mojave River

Santa Ana River

One of the reasons why many people love California is because of the great weather. The weather is cool, rainy, and dry. It has a Mediterranean weather like. During the summer, it gets pretty hot in the valley and fogs form near the coast. California's highest temperature was 134 degrees Fahrenheit in July 1913 and the lowest was -45 degrees Fahrenheit in 1937. The climate can be influenced by the mountains. During the winter the mountains are covered in snow and during the summer the weather ranges from mild to moderate heat. 

Many people enjoy the summer time in California. The weather ranges from about 90 to a little over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. People love going to the beach to enjoy the hot sun and cold water. People love getting tans and playing games on the sand. Day time is not the only time people decide to go to the beach to cool off, nighttime is an even better time to visit the beach during the summer. 

   

 

Malibu Beach 

Chapter 1: Regions and Ecoregions: An Approach to Sustainable Geography

                                                           

California is located in the West Coast of the United States. California originated from the region composed of the Baja California peninsula. California has the third longest coastline and has the highest and lowest point in the 48 adjoining United States' states. It's capital is Sacramento and eight of fifth cities, which are the most populated cities are in California (Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Fresno, Sacramento Oakland, and Long Beach). Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona surround California. 

There are a lot of regions in California such as, Antelope Valley, Central Valley, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco Bay Area, Sierra Nevada, and many more. California has many endangered ecological communities. It is also part of the Nearctic ecozone, one of the eight terrestial ecozones that divide Earth's surface, and it is one of the richest diverse parts of the world. California's ecoregions are divided into the following: deserts, Mediterranean, forested mountains, and coastal forests.

Welcome to My Home: California

I was born and raised in California. I love California because there are cities such as, San Diego, Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Francisco, Sacramento, and many more that are great to visit. California is known for having beautiful beaches, great weather, and how could one forget: Hollywood! According to the State of California, California is the third largest state and it is known as The Golden State.