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Mision San Miguel La Nueva

Mision san miguel la nueva

The El Descanso Mission (Misión San Miguel la Nueva) was a Dominican mission founded in 1817 by Father Thomas Ahumada. It was the next-to-last New World mission founded by this order, and, being situated 22 kilometers south of the present-day city of Rosarito, the furthest to the north. Today only ruins survive. The religious center was located near San Diego de Alcalá, in whose jurisdiction were the Indian rancherias of Tecate, Tijuana and San Diego (California, USA).

History

Since the Misión San Miguel Arcángel de la Frontera, a Dominican mission 13 kilometers further south, was frequently flooded by the San Juan Bautista stream, Father Ahumada sought another site on higher ground for El Descanso. Additional advantages of the northerly location were good grazing and plentiful arable land. In 1830, Father Félix Caballero constructed an adobe church here and managed both missions from El Descanso, but in 1834, it was abandoned due to the lack of personnel. At the time it had a population of just 254, including those from the Misión San Miguel Arcángel de la Frontera. Due to its proximity to the Pacific Ocean, El Descanso spawned a maritime commerce with ships that traveled along its shores in search of merchandise such as otter fur, salt, tallow, vegetables, and grain.

Missionary Complex

The church, the sacristy, and the missionary rooms were the main structures and formed a square. Several kilometers up the stream there was a garden, a winery, and the orchards. The irrigation system, which used a reservoir and gravity to take the water in acequias into the fields, was typical of missions of this sort. Protection may have been provided by a small fort, located on a hill to the south where the old cemetery is located.

Building System

cemetery The buildings were made of adobe, with round foundations set at a depth of 80 centimeters and united with a mortar of clay, sand, and lime. The adobe bricks resting on the foundation were adhered with the same mixture and placed in an alternating fashion to give them more strength and stability. The walls were from .90 centimeters to 1.10 meters thick. The adobe was made with local soil, water, clay, and sand; unlike the other missionary complexes of the area, these were mixed with pebbles and crushed shells, instead of the usual straw, to make the material tougher. The walls probably reached a height of 4.50 meters. The roofs were interlaced with rush branches over oak beams, and the floors were made of adobe tile.

Location and Natural Habitat

The ruins of this mission are situated in El Descanso Valley, on the banks of an arroyo of the same name, which ends in a small estuary. In front of this are large coastal dunes formed by strong winds from the sea that have blown the sand there. The missionaries discovered a mild humid climate and fertile land in this region, with the characteristic phytogeographic vegetation of coastal shrubs such as rush, watercress, purslane, cat tail, mustard, mangrove trees, grease wood, coastal live oaks, manzanita, yucca, honey mezquite, red willow, choya, and goat nut. Animals that inhabited the region included red fox, badgers, skunks, coyotes, deer, pumas, wild cats, hares, rabbits, squirrels, california quail, rattlesnakes, several water snakes, and lizards. Since the sea was nearby, the sea provided other sources of food, including lobster, abalone, clams, mussels, octopus, sea bass, tuna, small sharks, rays, and sardines. The agricultural production was favored by the humid climate, allowing the cultivation of wheat, barley, and corn, as well as a diversity of fruit and vegetables. The orchard and vineyard were located in the eastern portion of the valley. Animals kept included cattle, sheep, goats, horses, and mules.

Natives of the Region

Both the El Descanso Mission and the Misión San Miguel Arcángel de la Frontera were located in Kumiai territory. These Indians lived in a region that ran from the northern part of Mission San Diego de Alcalá to the Misión San Vicente Ferrer, approximately 193 kilometers south of El Descanso. The Kumiai Indians were nomadic hunter-gatherers, whose knowledge of the flora and fauna of the region proved invaluable to European settlers. Vestiges of their culture have been found along the shores. Their technological level was relatively advanced, with mortars, grinding stones, bows and arrows, baskets, and earthenware all in common use.

Conservation

earthenware A provisional metal covering was installed by the National Institute of Anthropology and History to protect from the elements the remaining adobe tile floors, adobe walls, and foundations.
- Spanish missions in California El Descanso El Descanso

1817

1817 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar).

Events


- March 4 - James Monroe succeeds James Madison as the President of the United States of America
- April - Earthquake in Palermo, Italy
- April 3 - Princess Caraboo appears in Almondsbury in Gloucestershire, England
- May - The General Convention of the Episcopal Church founded General Theological Seminary while meeting in New York City.
- July 4 - At Rome, New York, construction on the Erie Canal begins.
- June 5 - First Great Lakes steamer, the Frontenac, is launched.
- June 25 - Large prison riot in Copenhagen prison - army is sent for to quell it
- August 22 - City of Araraquara, Brazil founded.
- August 23 - Earthquake near the site of the ancient Greek city of Helike. 65 deaths.
- December 10 - Mississippi is admitted as the 20th U.S. state.

Unknown dates


- Elgin Marbles displayed in British Museum
- Emperor Ninko ascends to the throne of Japan
- Battle of Maipú
- John Kidd extracts naphthalene from coal tar

Births


- January 8 - Sir Theophilus Shepstone British South African statesman (d. June 23 1893)
- February 19 - King William III of the Netherlands (d. 1890)
- February 22 - Carl Wilhelm Borchardt, German mathematician (d. 1880)
- March 6 - Clémentine of Orléans, daughter of King Louis-Philippe of France and mother of Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria (d. 1907)
- March 22 - Braxton Bragg, American Confederate general (d. 1876)
- May 15 - Debendranath Tagore, Indian philosopher (d. 1905)
- June 30 - Joseph Dalton Hooker, English botanist (d. 1911)
- July 12 - Henry David Thoreau, American philosopher (d. 1862)
- July 24 - Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (d. 1905)
- August 3 - Archduke Albert, Austrian general (d. 1895)
- August 24 - Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Russian writer (d. 1875)
- November 3 - Leonard Jerome, American entrepreneur and grandfather of Sir Winston Churchill (d. 1891)
- November 12 - Bahá'u'lláh, Persian founder of the Bahá'í Faith (d. 1894)
- November 17 - Benjamin Champney, Founder of the White Mountain school of painters (d. 1907)
- November 30 - Theodor Mommsen, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1903)

Deaths


- January 12 - Juan Andres, Spanish Jesuit (b. 1740)
- January 16 - Alexander J. Dallas, American statesman and financier (b. 1759)
- April 4 - André Masséna, French marshal (b. 1758)
- June 24 - Thomas McKean, American lawyer and signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1734)
- July 14 - Anne Louise Germaine de Staël, French writer (b. 1766)
- July 18 - Jane Austen, English novelist (b. 1775)

Literature


- Samuel Taylor Coleridge publishes Biographia Literaria Category:1817 ko:1817년 ms:1817 simple:1817

Rosarito

Rosarito is a city in the Mexican state of Baja California and seat of the municipality of the same name. The official name is Playas de Rosarito. It is located approximately 35 minutes south of the U.S. border in Tijuana. It is a popular spring break destination for college students and young people in general from the United States. It boasts miles of beaches, hotels, and dance clubs. Nearby at Popotla are the Fox Studios where many scenes from the movie Titanic were filmed. Some of the sets from the movie are now part of a museum located there. In the last years this city has become one of the fastest boom of condomimiums on Mexico. The Rosarito Beach Hotel & Spa[www.rosaritobeachhotel.com] is also very important in Rosarito's history as it was the first establishment open to business. Built and opened in 1925, this beautiful hotel has hosted several Hollywood stars and royals from around the world.

History

In centuries past, the California peninsula was inhabited by tribes of natives, notably the Pai Pai, Cochimi, Kiliwa, Cucupa and Kumiai. The Kumiai settled in the Rosarito Beach area, naming it Uacatucay, (which translates to "the big house") and traces of their everyday life such as arrowheads, stone kitchen utensils, mortar, have been discovered. These artifacts provide a rich source of information regarding their lifestyles and the first stage in Rosarito's evolution. Today, the modern day Kumiai are reduced to a population of ninety three, in the area of San José de la Zorra just 30 kilometers east of La Misión Village. The second stage in Rosarito's evolution, referred to as the "Misional", began with the arrival of the Spaniards in 1533, who began the establishment of missions throughout the peninsula and the evangelization of the native Kumiais. In 1767 the Jesuits were expelled from Mexico in a political-religious decision. The Franciscans were asked to take over the administration of the missions. In 1772, a concordat (agreement) was signed between the King of Spain – with the support of the Viceroy of New Spain (Mexico) and the Pope – and the leaders of the Dominican and Franciscan monks resulting in the division of California in 1773, using the local mountain range that meet the sea at Calafia. The Palou Frontier was establish as the dividing line between Nueva (new) or Alta (upper) California and Antigua (old) of Baja (lower) California. The Franciscans took control of Alta California and everything north of the Palou Frontier (including the state of California, USA) was their domain. Alternately the Dominicans controlled everything south of the frontier in Baja California. Fifteen years later, en 1788, the De Sales Frontier was establish and the boundary between the two Californias was relocated to the site of the Rosarito Creek. The third stage in Rosarito's history began with the establishment of the big ranches. The property of El Rosarito Ranch, granted to Don José Manuel Machado on 1825, stands out as the first in the area. Subsequently his son, Don Joaquín Machado, applied for title to the land to President Porfirio Díaz. On May 14, 1885, Machado received his title and registered it in Ensenada, then the capital city of the state of Baja California. May 14 is now recognized and celebrated as Rosarito's Foundation Day by the Historical Society of Rosarito. The fourth stage of Rosarito's history was centered around tourism. It began with the establishment of the Rosarito Beach Hotel and the Rene's bar in 1925. Rosarito was visited by tourist since then (San Diego Union), attracted by hunting (dear, quail and rabbit) and fishing (lobster, abulone). The Ejida and fifth stage in Rosarito's history began with the inception of Ejidos, common land for farming, when, on August 17, 1930, General Lázaro Cárdenas, then President of Mexico, issued a resolution granting 46.71 square kilometres (over 10,000 acres) of land to a community of local farmers known as Ejido Mazatlán. Urbanization in 1950 marked the sixth stage in Rosarito's development with the planning and construction of streets and city blocks. As land sales soared, coupled with the construction of small restaurants, some shops and two hotels, the city began to take shape. In the 1960s, Rosarito entered the commercial/industrial era with the constructions of a huge thermoelectric power plant and the later installations of Pemex, the state-owned petroleum company. This seventh stage in Rosarito's evolution was marked with further construction and the development of shopping centers and more restaurants and shops were established along the main street. This street has been renovated and enlarge to encompass four lanes and a lighted meridian strip and, in 1989, was officially designated Boulevard Benito Juárez. During the 1970s and early 1980s, Rosarito's growth was moderate but constant. The mid-1980s, however, was marked with the strong development of tourist related businesses of obviously considerable investment. Available hotel rooms in Rosarito were up from 350 to 700 pesos. In the early 1990s appreciable economic growth was been achieved by the construction and competition of numerous hotels, condominiums and shopping centers. On December 1, 1995, Rosarito was converted from a suburb of Tijuana, to an independent city. The territory surrounding the city became the fifth municipio (municipality) of the State of Baja California, this being the eight stage of the history of Rosarito. Rosarito has two suburbs, Plan Libertador, just north of town, and Ejido Primo Tapia, south of town. With these two suburbs, Rosarito encompasses nearly 40 miles of coastline and the population has grown from 28,000 to more than 100,000 residents, according to 1992 census figures. Category:Cities in Baja California

Jurisdiction

In law, jurisdiction from the Latin jus, juris meaning "law" and dicere meaning "to speak", is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted body or to a person to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility. As a topic, it draws its substance from Public International Law, Conflict of Laws, Constitutional Law and the powers of the executive and legislative branches of government to allocate resources to best serve the needs of each society.

Jurisdiction in the international dimension

Public international law provides a framework within which nations and states (in the political sense of the words) can come into being and relate to each other.

Jurisdiction as a political issue

A number of supranational organizations and bodies have been created which provide mechanisms whereby disputes between states may be avoided, discussed or resolved, e.g. through arbitration or mediation. When a country is recognised as de jure, this is an acknowledgement by the other de jure nations that the new country has sovereignty and the right to exist. This is a political system that moves slowly, gathering consensus wherever possible and the extent to which any state will co-operate or participate is always at the discretion of each sovereign state. By definition, if any state does agree to participate in any of the activities of the supranational bodies and to accept decisions that might be made in the ordinary course of their business, that state is giving up a little of its sovereign authority and thereby allocating a little power to these bodies. In so far as these bodies or nominated individuals may resolve disputes in a judicial or quasi-judicial fashion, or promote treaty obligations in the nature of laws, the power ceded to these bodies cumulatively represents each body's own jurisdiction. But no matter how powerful each body may appear to become, the extent to which any of the judgments may be enforced, or proposed treaties and conventions may become or remain effective within the territorial boundaries of each nation is a political matter under the sovereign control of the relevant representative government(s) which, in a democratic context, will have electorates to satisfy.

International versus municipal jurisdiction

The fact that international organizations, courts and tribunals have been created raises the difficult question of how to co-ordinate their activities with those of national courts. If the two sets of bodies do not have concurrent jurisdiction but, as in the case of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the relationship is expressly based on the principle of complementarity, i.e. the international court is subsidiary or complementary to national courts, the difficulty is avoided. But if the jurisdiction claimed is concurrent, or as in the case of International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the international tribunal is to prevail over national courts, the problems are more difficult to resolve politically. The concept of universal jurisdiction is fundamental to the operation of global organizations such as the United Nations and the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which jointly assert the benefit of maintaining legal entities with jurisdiction over a wide range of matters of significance to states (the ICJ should not be confused with the ICC and this version of "universal jurisdiction" is not the same as that enacted in the War Crimes Law (Belgium) which is an assertion of extraterritorial jurisdiction that will fail to gain implementation in any other state under the standard provisions of public policy). Under Article 34 Statute of the ICJ http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/ibasicdocuments/Basetext/istatute.htm only states may be parties in cases before the Court and, under Article 36, the jurisdiction comprises all cases which the parties refer to it and all matters specially provided for in the Charter of the United Nations or in treaties and conventions in force. But, to invoke the jurisdiction in any given case, all the parties have to accept the prospective judgment as binding. This reduces the risk of wasting the Court's time. Despite the safeguards built into the constitutions of most of these organizations, courts and tribunals, the concept of universal jurisdiction is controversial among those states which prefer unilateral to multilateral solutions through the use of executive or military authority, sometimes described as realpolitik-based diplomacy. Within other international contexts, there are intergovernmental organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) that have socially and economically significant dispute resolution functions but, again, even though their jurisdiction may be invoked to hear the cases, the power to enforce their decisions is at the will of the states affected, save that the WTO is permitted to allow retaliatory action by successful states against those states found to be in breach of international trade law. At a regional level, groups of states can create political and legal bodies with sometimes complicated patchworks of overlapping provisions detailing the jurisdictional relationships between the member states and providing for some degree of harmonization between their national legislative and judicial functions, e.g. the European Union and African Union both have the potential to become federated states although the political barriers to such unification in the face of entrenched nationalism will be very difficult to overcome. Each such group may form transnational institutions with declared legislative or judicial powers. For example, in Europe, the European Court of Justice has been given jurisdiction as the ultimate appellate court to the Member States on issues of European law. This jurisdiction is entrenched and its authority could only be denied by a Member State if that Member State asserts its sovereignty and withdraws from the Union.

The jurisdictional relationship between international and municipal laws

The standard treaties and conventions leave the issue of implementation to each state, i.e. there is no general rule in international law that treaties have direct effect in municipal law, but some states, by virtue of their membership of supranational bodies, allow the direct incorporation of rights or enact legislation to honor their international commitments. Hence, citizens in those states can invoke the jurisdiction of local courts to enforce rights granted under international law wherever there is incorporation. If there is no direct effect or legislation, there are two theories to justify the courts incorporating international into municipal law:
- Monism :This theory characterizes international and municipal law as a single legal system with municipal law subordinate to international law. Hence, in the Netherlands, all treaties and the orders of international organizations are effective without any action being required to convert international into municipal law. This has an interesting consequence because treaties that limit or extend the powers of the Dutch government are automatically considered a part of their constitutional law, e.g. the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In states adopting this theory, the local courts automatically accept jurisdiction to adjudicate on lawsuits relying on international law principles.
- Dualism :This theory regards international and municipal law as separate systems so that the municipal courts can only apply international law either when it has been incorporated into municipal law or when the courts incorporate international law on their own motion. In the United Kingdom, for example, a treaty is not effective until it has been incorporated at which time it becomes enforceable in the courts by any private citizen, where appropriate, even against the UK Government. Otherwise the courts have a discretion to apply international law where it does not conflict with statute or the common law. The constitutional principle of parliamentary supremacy permits the legislature to enact any law inconsistent with any international treaty obligations even though the government is a signatory to those treaties. :In the United States, the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution makes all treaties that have been ratified under the authority of the United States and customary international law, …the "Supreme Law of the Land" (U.S. Const.art. VI Cl. 2) and, sas such, the law of the land is binding on the federal government as well as on state and local governments. According to the U.S. Supreme Court, the treaty power authorizes Congress to legislate under the Necessary and Proper Clause in areas beyond those specifically conferred on Congress (Missouri v. Holland 252 U.S. 416 (1920)).

The jurisdiction of courts between and within states

This now concerns states in the technical legal sense of the word and the relationships both between courts in different states, and between courts within the same state.

Supranational

At a supranational level, countries have adopted a range of treaty and convention obligations to relate the right of individual litigants to invoke the jurisdiction of state courts and to enforce the judgments obtained. For example, the Member States of the EEC signed the Brussels Convention in 1968 and, subject to amendments as new states joined, it represents the default law for all twenty-five Member States of what is now termed the European Union on the relationships between the courts in the different countries. In addition, the Lugano Convention (1988) binds the European Union and the European Free Trade Area. With effect from 1 March 2002, all the Member States of the EU except Denmark accepted Council Regulation (EC) 44/2001, which makes major changes to the Brussels Convention and is directly effective in the Member States. In some legal areas, at least, the reciprocal enforcement of foreign judgments is now more straightforward. At a state level, the traditional rules still determine jurisdiction over persons who are not domiciled or habitually resident in the European Union or the Lugano area. There is a real and growing problem of forum shopping and in the reluctance of some states to adopt more positive Conflict of Laws rules. Although the Hague Conference and other international bodies have made consistently useful recommendations on jurisdictional matters, litigants with the encouragement of lawyers now more commonly operating on a contingent fee continue to exploit the system to their advantage, always seeking remedies in courts where the outcome is more likely to be favorable.

Federal

Many nations are subdivided into states and provinces (i.e. a subnational "state") in a federation (as can be found in Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico and the United States) and these subunits will exercise jurisdiction through the court systems as defined by the executives and legislatures operating within the whole. Sometimes when the areas of separate governmental entities overlap one another—for example, between a state and the federation to which it belongs—their jurisdiction is shared or concurrent jurisdiction. Otherwise one governmental entity will have exclusive jurisdiction over the shared area. When jurisdiction is concurrent, one governmental entity may have supreme jurisdiction over the other entity if their laws conflict. If the executive or legislative powers within the jurisdiction are not restricted or restricted only by a number of limited restrictions, these government branches have plenary power such as a national policing power. Otherwise an enabling act grants only limited or enumerated powers. The problem of forum shopping also applies as between federal and state courts, and it is for each system to adjust jurisdictional matters to achieve the fairest possible results.

State level

Within each state, it is for the government to determine the allocation of jurisdiction: #There must be physical distribution of courts and tribunals throughout the territory which should be divided into convenient functional divisions to provide an effective service to the local communities. Hence, it may be convenient for there to be an extensive network of smaller local courts having a criminal law jurisdiction so that neighborhoods can have a disposition system administered by those familiar with their locality and its needs (see criminal jurisdiction). Whereas more specialized civil and commercial courts need only be located in larger towns and major cities where there is a demand for the particular specialisms consistent with the economic costs of providing the facilities and personnel to staff them. Each court system lays down detailed rules for determining who may invoke the jurisdiction in each of the various divisions. In addition to the possibility that the plaintiff has a local domicile, nationality or habitual residence, these conditions may vary from minimum residence requirements for those more transiently present, that business has been conducted within the territory or that there is some other real connection between the plaintiff and/or the cause of action and the state in which the lawsuit has been filed. #The government may decide that individuals within the executive should have the power to make judicial or quasi-judicial decisions, and the extent to which the exercise of this jurisdiction should be subject to review by the courts. This has constitutional implications in that many states operate on the basis of the separation of powers which requires that each branch of government operates as a check on the potential abuse of power by the others. Within the formalized judicial structure, jurisdiction may also be granted to individuals for the provision of specialized functions (e.g. the role of special referees or those individuals of prestige commissioned to conduct inquiries into specific situations with the power to compel testimony). In parallel to the courts system, other tribunals and quasi-judicial bodies may also have a form of jurisdiction, e.g. for arbitration, mediation, etc within a broad framework of alternative dispute resolution. Under normal circumstances, the supervisory function of the courts will be built into the constitutive process for each tribunal or body, or the courts will allow their jurisdiction to be invoked, e.g. by way of remedies such as certiorari, to ensure that justice is seen to be done. However, some well-established bodies such as the Beth Din represent more interesting challenges. Such religious or culturally-based courts often have significant power within the relevant communities yet, in an increasingly multi-ethnic, multi-cultural world, the secular or culturally-different majority in each state cannot be seen to be too quick to interfere and impose its standards without appearing to engage in unequal treatment and discrimination (see the secular response to the get as an example).

Jurisdiction in the United States

The primary distinctions between areas of jurisdiction are codified at a national level. As a common law system, jurisdiction is conceptually divided between jurisdiction over the subject matter of a case and jurisdiction over the person of the litigants. (See personal jurisdiction.) Sometimes a court may exercise jurisdiction over property located within the perimeter of its powers without regard to personal jurisdiction over the litigants; this is called jurisdiction in rem. A court whose subject-matter jurisdiction is limited to certain types of controversies (for example, suits in admiralty or suits where the monetary amount sought is less than a specified sum) is sometimes referred to as a court of special jurisdiction or court of limited jurisdiction. A court whose subject-matter is not limited to certain types of controversy is referred to as a court of general jurisdiction. In the U.S. States, each state has courts of general jurisdiction; most states also have some courts of limited jurisdiction. Federal courts (those operated by the federal government are courts of limited jurisdiction. Federal jurisdiction is divided into federal question jurisdiction and diversity jurisdiction. The United States District Courts may hear only cases arising under federal law and treaties, cases involving ambassadors, admiralty cases, controversies between states or between a state and citizens of another state, lawsuits involving citizens of different states, and against foreign states and citizens. Certain courts, particularly the United States Supreme Court and most state supreme courts, have discretionary jurisdiction, meaning that they can choose which cases to hear from among all the cases presented on appeal. Such courts generally only choose to hear cases that would settle important and controversial points of law. Though these courts have discretion to deny cases they otherwise could adjudicate, no court has the discretion to hear a case that falls outside of its subject-matter jurisdiction.

See also


- Labor unions in the United States for a different usage of the word jurisdiction.
- Guantanamo Bay
- Rasul v. Bush

External links


- [http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/jurisdiction.html LII Law about... Jurisdiction]
- [http://www.cdi.org/news/law/gtmo-sct-decision.cfm Supreme Court Decision] on Guantanamo Bay jurisdiction Category:International law Category:Law

Tecate

Tecate is a small city in the Mexican state of Baja California, located at on the border with the United States. There is a border crossing which is much quieter than nearby Tijuana or Mexicali, making it a more accurate representation of small-town Mexican culture than most border towns. It is best known outside of its region as the origin of Tecate beer. It serves as the administrative centre for the surrounding municipality of the same name, one of the five into which the state is divided.

San Diego

:"San Diego" redirects here. For other uses, see San Diego (disambiguation). San Diego is a coastal southern California city located in the extreme southwestern corner of the continental United States. It is the county seat of San Diego County. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 1,223,400; as of 2005, the California Department of Finance estimated the city to have 1,305,736 residents. The city is the second-largest in California and the seventh-largest in the United States and is noted for its temperate climate and many beaches. It is also the home of many U.S. military facilities, including U.S. Navy ports, Marine Corps bases, and Coast Guard stations. It is the home port of the largest naval fleet in the world, including two Navy supercarriers (the USS Nimitz and the USS Ronald Reagan) five amphibious assault ships, several Los Angeles-class submarines, and many smaller ships. One of the Marine Corps' two Recruit Depots is located here. San Diego is also known as the "birthplace of naval aviation," though Pensacola, Florida makes a rival claim. Several Navy vessels have been named USS San Diego in honor of the city.

History

The area has long been inhabited by the Kumeyaay people. The first European to visit the region was Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, sailing under the flag of Spain, in 1542. He named it San Miguel. The San Diego Bay and the area of present-day San Diego were given their current names by Sebastian Vizcaino when he was mapping the coastline of Alta California for Spain in 1602. The explorers camped near a Native American village called Nipaguay and celebrated Mass in honor of San Diego de Alcala (Saint Didacus of Alcalá). California was then part of the colony of New Spain. In 1769, Gaspar de Portolà and his expedition founded the Presidio of San Diego (military post), and on July 16, Franciscan friars Junípero Serra, Juan Viscaino and Fernando Parron raised and blessed a cross, establishing the first mission in Upper California, Mission San Diego de Alcala. Colonists began arriving in 1774; the following year, the native people rebelled. They killed the priest and two others, and burned the mission. Father Serra organized the rebuilding and two years later a fire-proof adobe structure was built. By 1797 the mission had become the largest in California, with over 1,400 natives associated with it. In 1821, Spain recognized Mexico's independence. The governor of Alta California and Baja California moved the capital to San Diego from Monterey. The mission was secularized in 1834 and 432 people petitioned Governor José Figueroa to form a pueblo. Commandant Santiago Arguello endorsed it. Juan Maria Osuna was elected the first alcalde (mayor), winning over Pio Pico in the 13 ballots cast. However, the population of the town shrank to little over a hundred persons, and by the late 1830s it lost its township until the province of Alta California became part of the United States in 1850 following the Mexican defeat in the Mexican-American War. The village was designated the seat of the newly-established San Diego County and incorporated as a city. In 1885, San Diego was linked to the rest of the nation by railroad. San Diego was reincorporated as a city in 1886. Significant U.S. Naval presence began in 1907 with the establishment of the Navy Coaling Station. San Diego hosted two World's Fairs, the Panama-California Exposition in 1915 and the California Pacific International Exposition in 1935. Since World War II, the military has played a leading role in the local economy. Following the end of the Cold War the military presence has diminished considerably. San Diego has since become a center of the emerging biotech industry and is home to telecommunications giant Qualcomm. Largely because of their city's strong military presence, San Diegans have a reputation for being more politically conservative than residents of California's other two large coastal cities. This reputation is still true when San Diego is compared to San Francisco and Los Angeles, but the city is changing and it is not nearly as conservative as Orange County to the north, or even the northern portion of San Diego County itself. Indications are that while suburban areas of San Diego County are fairly Republican, the city of San Diego itself tilts toward Democrats, for example Al Gore and John Kerry both won the city of San Diego despite losing San Diego County narrowly; notably, reports [http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/voters/Eng/reports/current_reg_report.pdf] show that as of 2005 registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans, 39% to 34%, within the city itself. Beginning in 2003, the public became aware of an ongoing pension fund scandal which has left the city with an estimated $1.4 billion pension fund gap. Despite mounting problems with city finances the incumbent Mayor Dick Murphy narrowly won re-election with a plurality of votes. Some controversy ensued during and after the election when, contrary the San Diego City Charter, current city councilmember Donna Frye was allowed to run as a write-in candidate one month before election day. While more may have intended to vote for her than Dick Murphy, many did not fill in the "bubble" next to her written name and thus these were not counted as legitimate votes. With mounting pressure, Mayor Dick Murphy, in April 2005, announced his intent to resign by mid-July. A few days after his resignation two city councilmembers, Ralph Inzunza and deputy mayor Michael Zucchet, who was to take Murphy's place, were convicted for taking bribes in a scheme to get the city's "no touch" laws at strip clubs repealed. Both subsequently resigned. On July 26, 2005, city councilmember Donna Frye finished first in the special election to replace Dick Murphy with 43% of the vote, but was without the majority required to win outright. She lost the run-off election to the second place finisher, former San Diego police chief Jerry Sanders on a November 8, 2005 ballot. Because of its many recent scandals, San Diego briefly removed references to its longtime nickname, "America's Finest City," from its [http://www.sandiego.gov/ official city website], as [http://www2.dailynews.com/news/ci_3279196 reported] by the Associated Press. As of December 5, 2005, the nickname [http://www.fox6.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=2A8604B3-615C-44D2-A1F7-B00EFA827172 appeared] on San Diego's website once again, as pledged by mayor Jerry Sanders at his inauguration ceremony.

Geography and climate

San Diego is located at 32°46'46" North, 117°8'47" West (32.779541, -117.146344) (about 100 miles south of Los Angeles). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 963.6 km² (372.0 mi²). 840.0 km² (324.3 mi²) of it is land and 123.5 km² (47.7 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 12.82% water. The city's borders are very irregularly shaped because of the absorption of many suburbs into the city limits. Additionally, the numerous canyons that run through the city create natural boundaries and obstacles to development. When conjoined with Tijuana, the San Diego-Tijuana metropolitan area has 4,688,762 people, making it the 21st largest metropolitan area in the Americas. San Diego is famous for its temperate climate. Onshore breezes from the Pacific Ocean tempers the local climate so that the summers are cooler and the winters are warmer. The average summer daytime highs are 25°C (76°F) with overnight lows of 19°C (66°F). Average winter daytime highs are 19°C (66°F) with overnight lows of 9°C (49°F). San Diego averages 10 inches of rain per year, with most of it falling from November to March.

Demographics

largest metropolitan area in the Americas As of the census of 2000, there are 1,223,400 people, 450,691 households, and 271,315 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,456.4/km² (3,771.9/mi²). There are 469,689 housing units at an average density of 559.1/km² (1,448.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 47.18% White, 9.86% African American, 1.62% Native American, 13.65% Asian, 0.48% Pacific Islander, 12.39% from other races, and 4.83% from two or more races. 25.40% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. The city's Asian ethnicities breakdown accordingly: Filipino (6.1%), Vietnamese (2.2%), Chinese (1.9%), Other Asian (1.5%), Japanese (0.8%), Korean (0.6%), Asian Indian (0.6%). There are 450,691 households out of which 30.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% are married couples living together, 11.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% are non-families. 28.0% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.61 and the average family size is 3.30. In the city the population is spread out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 12.4% from 18 to 24, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 32 years. For every 100 females there are 101.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 100.4 males. The median income for a household in the city is $45,733, and the median income for a family is $53,060. Males have a median income of $36,984 versus $31,076 for females. The per capita income for the city is $23,609. 14.6% of the population and 10.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 20.0% of those under the age of 18 and 7.6% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Current estimates

According to estimates by the San Diego Association of Governments, the median household income of San Diego in 2004 was $56,438 (not adjusted for inflation). When adjusted for inflation (1999 dollars; comparable to Census data above), the median household income was $50,543.

Neighborhoods

Census Northwestern: Bay Ho, Bay Park, Carmel Valley, Clairemont, Clairemont Mesa, Del Mar Heights, Fairbanks Country Club, La Jolla, La Jolla Shores, La Jolla Village, Linda Vista, North City, North Clairemont, Pacific Highlands Ranch, Sorrento Hills, Sorrento Valley, Torrey Hills, Torrey Pines, University City, Via de la Valle North Central: Kearny Mesa, Mission Village, Serra Mesa, Birdland, Murphy Canyon Northeastern: Carmel Mountain Ranch, Miramar, Miramar Ranch North, Mira Mesa, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Peñasquitos, Sabre Springs, San Pasqual, Santa Luz, Scripps Ranch (Scripps Miramar Ranch), Sorrento Mesa, West Bernardo Eastern: Allied Gardens, Del Cerro, East Elliott, Grantville, Lake Murray, Mission Valley East, Navajo, San Carlos, Tierrasanta Western: Crown Point, La Playa, Loma Portal, Midtown, Midway, Mission Bay Park, Mission Beach, Morena, Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach, Peninsula, Point Loma, Point Loma Heights, Roseville-Fleetridge, Sunset Cliffs Central: Balboa Park, Banker's Hill, Centre City, Core-Columbia, Cortez, Gaslamp Quarter, Golden Hill, Grant Hill, Hillcrest, Harborview, Horton Plaza, Little Italy, Logan Heights (Barrio Logan), Marina, Memorial, Mission Hills, Mission Valley West, Mountain View, North Park, Old Town, Park West, Sherman Heights, South Park, Stockton, University Heights, Uptown Mid-City: City Heights, College Area, Chollas Creek, Darnall, El Cerrito, Gateway, Kensington, Normal Heights, Oak Park, Rolando, Talmadge, Webster Southeastern: Alta Vista, Broadway Heights, Chollas View, Emerald Hills, Jamacha, Lomita, Lincoln Park, Mountain View, Mt. Hope, North Bay Terraces, North Encanto, Paradise Hills, Shelltown, Skyline, South Bay Terraces, South Encanto, Southcrest, Valencia Park Southern: Egger Highlands, Nestor, Ocean Crest, Otay Mesa, Otay Mesa West, Palm City, San Ysidro, Tijuana River Valley

Economy

Tagged as one of six centers of innovation, San Diego community business entrepreneurs and civic entrepreneurs are building one of the great technology regions of the twenty-first century. San Diego's leaders made a commitment in the 1980s to diversify the economy and encourage the growth of high technology companies. They were motivated by the desire to move away from the boom or bust cycles that dependency on just two core industries had created. No one could have predicted the success with which the region has developed key technology industries. Developing in parallel, and in today's technology environment, finding more and more cross-fertilization opportunities, San Diego's core technology sectors have become leading centers for biotechnology, communications and software development. Fueled by the research being done at San Diego's world class universities and institutes, and supported by a business-friendly public sector, the San Diego region is now recognized as a hotbed for new companies. San Diego's biotechnology community is the third largest in the country. San Diego's communications industry is one of the fastest growing in the country and has earned the title of wireless communications capital of the world.

Crime

San Diego has had a declining crime rate since the early 1990's. In 1991 the number of murders was 167, in 2004 the number of murders was only 62. San Diego is now one of America's safest cities.

Education


- San Diego State University, (SDSU) (California State University)
- University of California, San Diego, UCSD (University of California)
- University of San Diego, USD (Roman Catholic)
- Alliant International University, AIU (Formerly United States International University-USIU)
- Point Loma Nazarene University, PLNU (Nazarene)
- National University
- San Diego Community College District, (San Diego City College, San Diego Mesa College, San Diego Miramar College) Accredited Law Schools in San Diego include(alphabetical):
- California Western School of Law
- Thomas Jefferson School of Law
- University of San Diego School of Law - [http://www.sandiego.edu/usdlaw University of San Diego School of Law Website]

Culture

Cuisine

Owing to its privileged position on the Pacific Ocean and its warm Mediterranean-style climate, San Diego enjoys an abundance of quality produce and dining. With a myriad ethnic and cultural mix, San Diego is well known for its wide selection of cuisines. One can find excellent Mexican, Italian, Greek, Latin, Central and East Asian, Middle Eastern and Pacific Islander food throughout the city. The city's long history and close proximity to Mexico has endowed an endless array of Mexican cafes and restaurants. Regional homemade specialties, border fare and haute cuisine are all easily available. San Diego's warm, dry climate and access to the sea have also made it a natural center for the production of fruit and vegetables. Long a center of the tuna industry, San Diego benefits from an abundant seafood supply. Several of the finest choices of dining can be found in the Gaslamp Quarter, Little Italy, La Jolla and Old Town. The city's many immigrant and ethnic groups have heavily influenced local eating habits and tastes. Local specialties include:
- Mexican cuisine (including carne asada, burritos, fish tacos, enchiladas, and ceviche)
- Woodfired, California-styled Pizza
- Wide variety of salads made from fresh, local produce (including Caesar, Greek, Mixed, and Caprese Salads)
- Southern Italian-styled pastas, panini, and pizzas
- Varieties of shish kebabs, shashlyk, and Gyros
- Southeast Asian specialties including spring rolls,egg rolls and pho
- Locally produced, artisan bread
- Local Wines (San Pasqual Valley, Rancho Bernardo)
- Locally produced (from the mountains near Julian) hard and sweet apple cider
- Various fruits and vegetables (including avocados, tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, eggplant, oranges, lemons, limes, strawberries, grapefruit, grapes, apples, pomegranates, persimmons, and melons) Several chain restaurants have gotten their start in San Diego. These include Jack in the Box, Pat & Oscar's, Souplantation (March 1978), Rubio's, and Anthony's Fish Grotto. Rubio's fish tacos were also featured at the 1996 Republican National Convention.

Events


- Comic Con
- Holiday Bowl
- Poinsettia Bowl

Shopping malls


- Fashion Valley
- Westfield Shoppingtown, Mission Valley
- Westfield Shoppingtown, Horton Plaza
- College Grove
- Westfield Shoppingtown, University Towne Centre
- The Shops at Las Americas (also a U.S.-Mexico Port of Entry walkway and Duty-Free centre)
- The San Diego Factory Outlet

Sites of interest

Westfield Shoppingtown San Diego is a major tourist destination, attracting visitors from all over the world. Among the many attractions are its beaches, climate, and deserts. Noted San Diego tourist attractions include:
- Balboa Park
-
- Berkeley, ferry boat
-
- Chicano Park
- Gaslamp Quarter
- La Casa de Estudillo
-
- La Jolla
- Little Italy (see also Little Italy)
- Mission Bay Park
- Mission Beach Roller Coaster at Belmont Park
- Mission San Diego de Alcala
-
- Mount Soledad
- Old Mission Dam in Mission Trails Regional Park
-
- Old TownOld Town
- Petco Park
- Point Loma
- Qualcomm Stadium
- San Diego Aerospace Museum
- San Diego Presidio
-
- San Diego Wild Animal Park
- San Diego Zoo
- Seaport Village
- SeaWorld
- Star of India, barque sailing ship
-
- Torrey Pines Golf Course
- Torrey Pines State Reserve
- USS Midway (CV-41), aircraft carrier museum (
- An asterisk designates National Historic Landmarks) San Diego is about two hours south of Los Angeles and north adjacent to Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.

Sports

San Diego has several sports venues. Jack Murphy Field at Qualcomm Stadium hosts football and soccer games. Baseball can be seen at Petco Park and Tony Gwynn Stadium. iPayOne Center, formerly the San Diego Sports Arena, hosts hockey, arena football, and basketball, which is also hosted at Cox Arena at Aztec Bowl. Jenny Craig Pavilion at the University of San Diego hosts basketball and volleyball games. SDSU Aztecs (MWC) and the USD Toreros (WCC) are NCAA Division I teams. The UCSD Tritons (CCAA) are members of the NCAA Division II while the PLNU Sea Lions (GSAC) are members of the NAIA.

San Diego in popular culture


- San Diego is the primary setting and filming location for the 1986 movie Top Gun about the real-life TOPGUN program. At the time the movie was made, the TOPGUN program was based at the former Naval Air Station Miramar, which is currently the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, in San Diego. The bar featured in the movie's piano scene, Kansas City BBQ, is on the corner of Kettner Boulevard and West Harbor Drive (near the Manchester Grand Hyatt hotel) and contains memorabilia from the film.
- San Diego and Los Angeles are part of the futuristic utopian megacity San Angeles in the 1993 movie Demolition Man.
- San Diego is home to the 2004 season of MTV's reality series The Real World.
- In the comic book series Aquaman, half of San Diego was plunged into the Pacific Ocean by an earthquake.
- The fictional town of Neptune, California (as portrayed in the hit television show Veronica Mars) is said to be a suburb of San Diego.
- San Diego of the 1970s is the setting for the 2004 comedy film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy starring Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy. The Burgundy character is partially inspired by former San Diego television news personalities.
- In Jurassic Park II, a T-Rex rampaged through the city.
- The Season Two finale of television series Quantum Leap, "M.I.A", was based around San Diego's Naval Base.
- Writer/Director Cameron Crowe attended University of San Diego. He later went "undercover" at Clairemont High School as a student to oberve the students, who were the basis for his book and screenplay Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The semi-autobiographical Almost Famous, which Crowe also wrote and directed, shows shots of San Diego and the Ocean Beach Pier, where main character William Miller grew up.

Transportation

Public mass transportation

Almost Famous San Diego has trolley (LRT), bus [http://www.sdcommute.com/Rider_Information/bus/], Coaster [http://www.gonctd.com/], and Amtrak service. However, these systems serve limited routes and schedules; the vast majority of transportation in San Diego is by private automobile.

Private motoring

San Diego includes a comprehensive collection of freeways, highways, major arterial roads, and streets that forms circles around the interior and outlying areas in the county. Almost every major freeway in the county crosses through the city, but all are important to the flow of goods and people into and out of the city. Of note is that San Diego is the only major California metropolitan area to have its freeway system completed as originally planned, except for Routes 125 and Route 56.

Cycling

San Diego's roadway system provides an excellent network of routes for travel by bicycle. The climate in San Diego makes cycling a convenient and pleasant year-round option. Many San Diego cyclists belong to the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition which represents the rights and interests of cyclists throughout the county.

Air

San Diego International Airport, also known as Lindbergh International Airport or Lindbergh Field, is the primary commercial airport serving San Diego. It is one of the busiest single-runway airports in the nation, serving over 16 million passengers every year. Other airports include Brown Field Airport (Brown Field) and Montgomery Field Municipal Airport (Montgomery Field).

Sea

The Port of San Diego manages the maritime operations of San Diego harbor and the airport. San Diego has a growing cruise ship operation and cargo operations are also a major sector with produce imports from South America, vehicle imports from Germany and Japan and Mexico and other trade operations.

Military institutions


- [http://www.nasni.navy.mil/ Naval Air Station North Island]
- [http://www.nasni.navy.mil/ Naval Amphibious Base Coronado] (Both NAS North Island and NAB Coronado are consolidated into one base known as Naval Base Coronado)
- [http://www.navstasd.navy.mil/ Naval Station San Diego] (Naval Station also has the nickname of Naval Station 32nd Street, due in part to its location at 32nd Street and Harbor Drive in San Diego)
- [http://www.cnrsw.navy.mil/subase2/index.asp Naval Base Point Loma] - Submariners
- [http://www.mcrdsd.usmc.mil/ US Marine Corps Recruit Depot]
- [http://www.miramar.usmc.mil/ US Marine Corps Air Station, Miramar]
- US Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
- [http://enterprise.spawar.navy.mil/ SPAWAR] (Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command)
- [http://www.militarymuseum.org/FtRosecrans.html Fort Rosecrans Military Reservation]

Sister cities

San Diego has fifteen sister cities, as designated by [http://www.sister-cities.org/ Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI)]: Alcalá de Henares (Spain), Campinas (Brazil), Warsaw (Poland), Yantai (China), Yokohama (Japan), Taichung City (China), Jalalabad (Afghanistan), Cavite City (Philippines), Jeonju (South Korea), Edinburgh (Scotland, United Kingdom), León (Mexico), Perth (Australia), Tema (Ghana), Tijuana (Mexico), and Vladivostok (Russia).

External links


- [http://www.sandiego.gov/ City of San Diego Official Website]
- [http://www.aroundandaboutsandiego.com/ Where to go and what to see in San Diego]
- [http://www.sandiego.org/ Official tourism site]
- [http://sandiegohistory.org/index.html San Diego History]
- [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?papr:1:./temp/~ammem_28aA:: Movie of the San Diego Exposition, 1915]
- [http://www.2-sir.com/VirtualSanDiego/ Virtual San Diego]
- [http://www.portofsandiego.org/ Port of San Diego]
- [http://www.san.org/ San Diego International Airport] Category:Cities in California Category:Coastal cities Category:San Diego, California ja:サンディエゴ

California

California is a state located on the west coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous state in the U.S., as well as the most physically diverse, with the highest and the lowest points in the lower 48 states located within 150 miles of each other. If California were an independent nation, it would have the sixth largest economy in the world (after the rest of the U.S., Japan, Germany, Britain and France; see economy of California). The state's official nickname is "The Golden State" in reference to California's 1849 Gold Rush. California's U.S. postal abbreviation is CA, and its Associated Press abbreviation is Calif. As one of the most demographically diverse states in the nation, California is a dominant force in American culture as well as the nation's economy. It has some of the nation's largest cities, including Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco, and is responsible for many legal and technological innovations. The entire region originally known as California was composed of the Mexican peninsula now known as Baja California and much of the land in the current states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and Wyoming, known as Alta California. In these early times, the boundaries of the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific coast were only partially explored and California was shown on early maps as an island. The name comes from Las sergas de Esplandián (Adventures of Splandian), a 16th century novel, by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo, where there is an island paradise called California. (For further discussion, see: Origin of the name California.)

History

:Main articles: History of California, History of California (20th century) The first European to explore parts of the coast was the Portuguese João Rodrigues Cabrilho in 1542. The first to explore the entire coast and claim possession of it was Francis Drake in 1579. Beginning in the late 1700s, Spanish missionaries set up tiny settlements on enormous grants of land in the vast territory north of Baja California. The missions played a dominant role in the decimation of California's indigenous population. Upon Mexican independence from Spain, the chain of missions became the property of the Mexican government, and they were quickly dissolved and abandoned. In 1846, at the outset of the Mexican-American War, the California Republic was founded and the Bear Flag was flown, which featured a golden bear and a star. The Republic came to a sudden end, however, when Commodore John D. Sloat of the United States Navy sailed into San Francisco Bay and claimed California for the United States. Following the war, the region was divided between Mexico and the United States. The Mexican portion, Baja (lower) California was later divided into the states of Baja California and Baja California Sur. The western part of the U.S. portion, Alta (upper) California, was to become the state of California. In 1848, the Spanish-speaking population of distant upper California numbered around 4,000. But after gold was discovered, the population burgeoned with Americans and a few Europeans in the great California gold rush. In 1850, the state was admitted to the Union of the USA. During the American Civil War, popular support in California was divided 70% for the South and 30% for the North, and although California officially entered on the side of the North, many troops went east to fight for the Confederacy CSA. At first, travel between the far Pacific West to the eastern population centers was time-consuming and dangerous, requiring either long ocean voyages, or difficult transcontinental passages. A more direct connection came in 1869 with the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. After this rail link was established, hundreds of thousands of Americans came west, where new Californians were discovering that land in the state, if irrigated during the dry summer months, was extremely well suited to fruit cultivation and agriculture in general. Citrus, oranges in particular, was widely grown, and the foundation was laid for the state's prodigious agricultural production of today. During the early 20th century, migration to California accelerated with the completion of major transcontinental highways like the Lincoln Highway and Route 66. In the period from 1900 to 1965 the population grew from fewer than one million to become the most populous state in the Union. From 1965 to the present, the population demographic changed radically and became one of the most diverse in the world. The state is generally liberal-leaning, technologically and culturally savvy, and a world center of engineering businesses, the film and television industry and, as mentioned above, American agricultural production.

Law and government

California is governed as a republic, with three branches of government, the executive branch consisting of the Governor of California and the other independently elected constitutional officers, the legislative branch consisting of the Assembly and Senate, and the judicial branch consisting of the Supreme Court of California and lower courts. The state also allows direct participation of the electorate by referendum, recall, and ratification. The Governor of California and the other state constitutional officers serve four-year terms and may be re-elected only once. The California State Legislature consists of a 40 member Senate and 80 member Assembly. Senators serve four year terms and Assembly members two. The terms of the Senators are staggered so that half the membership is elected every two years. The Senators representing the odd-numbered districts are elected in years evenly divisible by four, i.e., presidential election years. The Senators from the even-numbered districts are elected in the intervening even-numbered years, in the gubernatorial election cycle. California's legislature is organized in such a way that the party caucus leaders wield great power and can usually speak on behalf of their caucuses. Many important legislative decisions are thus not made on the floor of the legislature but in back-room deals by the "Big Five", which comprises the governor and the Democratic and Republican leaders of each chamber. For the 2005–2006 session, there are 48 Democrats and 32 Republicans in the Assembly. In the Senate, there are 25 Democrats and 15 Republicans. The current Governor is the Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose current term lasts through January 2007. Schwarzenegger was only the second person in the history of the United States to be put into office by a recall of a sitting governor (the first was the 1921 recall of North Dakota Governor Lynn J. Frazier). Schwarzenegger replaced Governor Gray Davis (1999–2003), who was removed from office by the October 2003 California recall election. The state's capital is Sacramento. During California's early history under European control, the capital was successively located in Monterey (1775–1849), San Jose (1849–1851), Vallejo (1852–1853), Benicia (1853–1854), and San Francisco (1862). The capital moved to Sacramento temporarily in 1852 when construction on a State House could not be completed in time in Vallejo. The capital's final move to Sacramento was on February 25, 1854 where it has been permanently, except for a four-month temporary move in 1862 to San Francisco, due to severe flooding in Sacramento. California's giant judiciary is the largest in the United States (with a total of 1,600 judges, while the federal system has only about 840). It is supervised by the seven Justices of the Supreme Court of California. Justices of the Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal are appointed by the Governor, but are subject to retention by the electorate every 12 years. Judges of the trial courts, the Superior Courts in each county, may be appointed by the Governor or elected directly by the voters, depending on when the vacancy occurs. Superior Court judges serve six-year terms, after which they may run for re-election. Unlike the retention elections for Supreme Court and Court of Appeal justices, Superior Court judges run for re-election in open races, in which other qualified candidates may run as challengers. California's legal system is explicitly based on English common law but carries a few features from Spanish civil law. Capital punishment is a legal form of punishment and the state has the largest "Death Row" population in the country. At the national level, California is represented by two senators and 53 representatives, as of 2005. It has 55 electoral votes in the U.S. Electoral College. (As California is the most populous state in the Union, its counts of Congressmen and Presidential Electors are, of course, also the largest.) The two U.S. Senators from California are Democrats Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. 33 Democrats and 20 Republicans represent the state in the U.S. House of Representatives. While California is among the most Democratic and liberal states in the nation because of the large concentration of voters in populous areas, much of California is politically very conservative, notably the Central Valley, the Inland Empire, Orange and San Diego counties, and most inland, eastern, and rural areas. Democratic bastions are mostly coastal and include the entire San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Salinas, Santa Barbara, and Imperial County. The state has supported Democrats in the last four presidential elections. In 2004, Republican President George W. Bush received a majority of votes in more than half the state's 58 counties, but still lost California's 55 electoral votes to John Kerry, who won 54.3% of the popular vote, by a margin of 10 percentage points. See also: List of California Governors, U.S. Congressional Delegations from California, List of California counties, List of California ballot propositions

Geography

California borders the Pacific Ocean, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, and the Mexican state of Baja California. The state has strikingly beautiful natural features, including an expansive central valley, tall mountains, hot deserts, and hundreds of miles of scenic coastline. With an area of 411,000 km² it is the third largest state in the U.S and larger than Germany in size. Most major cities cling to the cool seacoast along the Pacific, notably Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Ana/Orange County, and San Diego. However, the capital, Sacramento is in the Central Valley. California has extremely varied geography. In the center of the state lies the Central Valley, a huge, fertile valley bounded by the coastal mountain ranges in the west, the granite Sierra Nevada to the east, the volcanic Cascade Range in the north and the Tehachapi Mountains in the south. Mountain-fed rivers, dams, and canals provide water to irrigate the Central Valley. With dredging, several of these rivers have become sufficiently large and deep that several inland cities, notably Stockton, California, are seaports. The hot, fertile Central Valley is California's agricultural heartland and grows a large portion of America's food, yet near freezing temperatures are not uncommon during winter which sometimes wipe out portions of crops. The bottom part of the valley, which is part desert, is known as the San Joaquin Valley while the upper half is known as the Sacramento Valley. In the center and east of the state are the Sierra Nevada (meaning Snowy Range in Spanish), containing the highest peak in the contiguous lower 48 states, Mount Whitney, at 14,505 feet (4421 m). Also located in the Sierra are the world famous Yosemite National Park and a deep freshwater lake, Lake Tahoe, the largest lake in the state by volume. To the east of the Sierra are Owens Valley and Mono Lake, an essential seabird habitat. To the west is Clear Lake, California's largest freshwater lake by area. The Sierra Nevada receives arctic temperatures in the winter and holds several dozen small glaciers, including the most southern glacier in the United States (Palisade Glacier). California has about 35% of its total surface area covered by forests. California's diversity of pine species is unmatched by any other state. Though other states have a higher percentage of their land area covered by forests, in terms of total area, California contains more forestland than any other state except Alaska. Most of the forest is found in 2 places. First, in the northwestern part of the state and along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. Smaller forests, mainly consisting of oaks, can be found along the coast ranges of California closer to the coast, and also in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Smaller areas of pine forests can be found in the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains of Southern California and also in the mountain areas of Central San Diego Country. Deserts in California make up about 25% of the total surface area. In the south lie the Transverse Ranges and a large salt lake, the Salton Sea. The south-central desert is called the Mojave. To the northeast of the Mojave lies Death Valley, which contains the lowest, hottest point in North America. The lowest point of Death Valley and the peak of Mount Whitney are less than 200 miles apart. The hiking trek between the two points has been attempted, several times, most notably by Lee Bergthold. Indeed, almost all of southeastern California is arid, hot desert, with the Coachella Valley routinely experiencing extreme high temperatures during the summer. Finally, along the densely-populated but long California coast lie a number of major metropolitan areas, including San Francisco Bay, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Climates near the Pacific Ocean are remarkably moderate compared with inland climates. Winter temperatures never reach freezing (snow is unheard of) and summer temperatures rarely reach above the high 80's Fahrenheit (27 °C). California is famous for its earthquakes, due partly to the presence of the San Andreas Fault. While more powerful earthquakes in the United States have occurred in Alaska and along the Mississippi River, California earthquakes are notable in their frequency and location in highly populated areas. Some people believe, eventually, a huge earthquake will result in the splitting of coastal California from the continent, either to sink into the ocean or form a new landmass. The fact that this scenario is completely implausible from a geologic standpoint does not lessen its acceptance in public conventional wisdom, or its exploitation by the producers of science fiction and fantasy media. Notable movies in which the possible destruction of much of California by an earthquake includes the titles Earthquake, A View to a Kill, Escape from L.A. and Superman. California is also home to several volcanoes, some active such as Mammoth Mountain. Other volcanoes include Lassen Peak, which erupted from 1914 and 1921, and Mount Shasta.

Climate

Different regions of California have very different climates, depending on their latitude, elevation, and proximity to the coast. Most of the state has a Mediterranean climate, with rainy winters and dry summers. The influence of the ocean generally moderates temperature extremes, creating warmer winters and substantially cooler summers, and the cold oceanic California Current offshore often creates summer fog near the coast. As one moves away from the coast, the climate becomes more continental, with colder winters and markedly hotter summers. The temperature gradient between immediate coast and low-lying inland valleys in the north is about 7 °F (4 °C) in winter, coast being warmer, and in summer roughly 25 °F (14 °C) but opposite. In the south, the figures are approximately 4 and 23 °F (2 °C and 13 °C), respectively; however 4 °F and 35 °F (2 °C and 20 °C) between Santa Barbara and Death Valley. Westerly winds from the ocean also bring moisture, and the northern parts of the state generally receive higher rainfall than the south. California's mountain ranges influence the climate as well: moisture-laden air from the west cools as it ascends the mountains, dropping moisture; some of the rainiest parts of the state are west-facing mountain slopes. Northwestern California has a temperate climate with rainfall of 15–40 inches (400–1000 mm) per year. The Central Valley has a Mediterranean climate, but with greater temperature extremes than the coastal areas; parts of the valley are often filled with thick fog, similar to that found in the coastal valleys. The high mountains, including the Sierra Nevada, have a mountain climate with snow in winter and mild to moderate heat in summer. On the east side of the mountains is a drier "rain shadow." California's desert climate regions lie east of the high Sierra Nevada and southern California's Transverse Ranges and Peninsular Ranges. The low deserts east of the southern California mountains, including the Imperial and Coachella valleys and the lower Colorado River, are part of the Sonoran Desert, with hot summers and mild winters; the higher elevation deserts of eastern California, including the Mojave Desert, Owens Valley, and the Modoc Plateau, are part of the Great Basin region, with hot summers and cold winters. Death Valley, in the northern portion of the Mojave Desert on the east side of the state, is the hottest spot on the Western Hemisphere, with high temperatures over 120 °F common in the summer. The highest temperature in the Western Hemisphere, 134 °F (56.6 °C), was recorded in Death Valley on July 10, 1913. Temperatures of 130 °F or higher have been recorded as recently as 2005. The 24-hour average July temperature in Death Valley is 101 °F (38 °C) (1961--1990 standard).

Ecology

Ecologically, California is one of the richest and most diverse parts of the world, and includes some of the most endangered ecological communities. California's diverse geography, geology, soils and climate have generated a tremendous diversity of plant and animal life. The State of California is part of the Nearctic ecozone, and spans a number of terrestrial ecoregions, and is perhaps the most ecologically diverse state in the United States. California has a rather high percentage of endemic species. California endemics include relict species that have died out elsewhere, including the redwoods and the Catalina Ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus). Many other endemics originated through differentiation or adaptive radiation, whereby multiple species develop from a common ancestor to take advantage of diverse ecological conditions. California's great abundance of species of California lilac (Ceanothus) is an example of adaptive radiation. Many California endemics have become endangered, as urbanization, logging, overgrazing, and the introduction of exotic species have encroached on their habitat. Furthermore, California is home to the largest trees in the world, the Giant Sequoias. California's native grasses were perennials, which stayed green year-round in most of the state's subclimates. After European contact, these were generally replaced by invasive species of European annual grasses; and, in modern times, California's hills turn a characteristic golden brown in summer and fall. California's nickname The Golden State is in reference to the California Gold Rush, and not to the golden brown summer hillsides as is sometimes stated.

Economy

California Gold Rush California Gold Rush] California has the fifth largest economy in the world. It is responsible for 14% of the United States' gross domestic product (GDP). The gross state product (GSP) is about $1.5 trillion ($1,500,000,000,000, as of 2004), making it greater than that of every other U.S. state, and most countries in the world (by Purchasing Power Parity). The predominant industry, more than twice as large as the next, is agriculture, (including fruit, vegetables,