California's Mount Whitney measures as the highest peak in the lower 48 states.

The highest and lowest points in the continental United States are within 100 miles (160 km) of one another. Mount Whitney measures 14,495 feet (4,418 m) and Bad Water in Death Valley is 282 feet (86 m) below sea level.

Alpine County, south of Lake Tahoe, is the eighth smallest of California's 58 counties. It has no high schools, ATMs, dentists, banks, or traffic lights. It is also the only county in the state that doesn't generate agricultural production.

Totaling nearly three million acres, San Bernardino County is the largest county in the entire United States.

San Francisco Bay is considered the world's largest landlocked harbor.

California is bigger than eighty-five of the smallest nations in the world.

California Caverns claims the distinction of being the most extensive system of caves and passageways in the California Foothills region of the state.

The area around Geyserville, just north of San Francisco, is the largest geothermal area in the world.

Mount Shasta, at 14,162 feet, (4248 m) is the tallest volcano in California and the second highest in America.

Portions of Mount Lassen in Northern California still resemble an active volcano with boiling mud pots, hot springs, and steam rising from the side of the mountain. Mount Lassen last erupted less than 100 years ago with a seven mile high plume of ash.

More odd facts about California

The Country Store in Baker, CA has sold more winning California State Lottery tickets than any outlet in the state.

Reputed to be the most corrupt politician in Fresno County history, Vice-leader Joseph Spinney was mayor for only ten minutes.

One out of every eight United States residents lives in California.

The largest oil can collection in the world, of 10,000 cans, is found in Santa Rosa, CA.

Seventeen-Mile Drive through Pebble Beach is the only private toll road west of the Mississippi River.

The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco has enough steel wires in its cables to circle the earth at the equator 3.5 times.

The Golden Gate Bridge is so big that workers paint the bridge year round. By the time they are finished with one end it is time to begin repainting the other end.

The birth of the Internet was sparked from the campus of UCLA in 1969 when professor Leonard Kleinrock needed a way to communicate between campuses.

Cool Californian inventions: Barbie Dolls, blue jeans, the boysenberry, the pill, white zinfandel wine, the square tomato, natural soda, the computer "mouse," the wetsuit, and theme parks.

The Petrified Forest near Calistoga has a 3000 year old Redwood tree, that was petrified 3.4 million years ago.



Lots more interesting facts here: http://www.pashnittours.com/funfacts.html

California State Symbols

Animal: California Grizzly Bear (Extinct)
Bird: California Valley Quail
Flower: Golden Poppy
For other US State Flowers, see our General Webs for Gardening.
Gem Stone: Benitoite
Motto: "Eureka" (I Have Found It)
Nickname: Golden State
Song: "I Love You California"
Tree: California Redwood

Trinity County has NO traffic lights, except for a caution blinker at a firehouse.

it is still a state law, that in California it is illegal to use old underwear for (dust)rags....

From Strangest U. S. Laws:

California:

In L.A., a man may legally beat his wife with a leather strap, as long as it is less than 2 inches wide, or she gives him permission to use a wider strap.
It is a misdemeanor to shoot any kind of game from a moving vehicle, unless the target is a whale.
It is illegal to set a mouse trap without a hunting license.

More Strange California Laws:



In Berkeley, before 7 A.M., it's against the law to whistle in an attempt to find your lost canary.

In La Jolla, CA an unincorporated sub-division of the City of San Diego. Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions pertaining to real estate sales and ownership prohibit the sales of properties in La Jolla to individuals that are colored, be it Black or Hispanic. Such covenants state that individuals that are Black or Hispanic in Race and reside in La Jolla are only allowed to do so if they are employed as a caretaker, laborer or maid and have no ownership rights to the property for which they are employed.

Fact: Circa early 1900’s, these C,C&R’s still exists and are routinely rerecorded as legally binding documents with almost every real estate transaction in La Jolla, CA. Although no longer legally enforceable it’s surprising that no one has ever amended the language of said C,C&R’s.


Other odd facts:

The weight of the world’s ant population outweighs the human population 10 times

A Fresno Sanitary Landfill that operated from 1937 to 1981 was designated a National Historic Landmark by the United States Interior Department on August 26, 2001 along with Wrigley Field in Chicago.

It takes more energy to digest a piece of celery than is contained within it.

San Francisco’s Cable Cars are the only Mobile National Landmark

If you have three quarters, four dimes, and four pennies, you have $1.19.You also have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar.

A Star Trek Fan in L.A. has translated the entire Bible into Klingon

Reno Nevada is further west than L.A. California

In Ventura County, California, cats and dogs are not allowed to have sex without a permit.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles has issued six driver's licenses to six different people named Jesus Christ.

California’s Hewlett Packard’s first product was an automatic urinal flusher.

The Land occupied by San Quentin State Prison is estimated to be worth $80 to $100 Million Dollars, making it the most valuable Prison in the World

There is a regulation size half-court where employees can play basketball inside the Matterhorn at Disneyland.

32 out of 33 samples of well-known brands of milk purchased in Los Angeles and Orange counties in California had trace amounts of perchlorate. Perchlorate is the explosive component in rocket fuel.

The prison system is the largest supplier of mental health services in America, with 250,000 Americans with mental illness living there.

The New Yorker magazine now has more subscribers in California than New York.

There are more plastic flamingoes in the United States than real ones.

The flashing warning light on the cylindrical Capitol Records tower spells out HOLLYWOOD in Morse code.

California Laws
It is a misdemeanor to shoot at any kind of game from a moving vehicle, unless it's a whale.
In Pacific Grove, "molesting" butterflies can result in a $500 fine.
In Pasadena, it is illegal for a secretary to be alone in a room with her boss.
It is illegal to set a mousetrap without a hunting license.
In Long Beach, it is illegal to curse on a mini-golf course.
In San Francisco, it is illegal to wipe one's car with used underwear.
It is illegal to cry on the witness stand in Los Angeles.
It is illegal to eat oranges in a bathtub.

uh oh! I have a photo of my child at age 4 eating an orange while in the bathtub (also wearing a snorkel and mask, and his floaties!) Please don't tell...please don't tell....:D

In La Jolla, CA an unincorporated sub-division of the City of San Diego. Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions pertaining to real estate sales and ownership prohibit the sales of properties in La Jolla to individuals that are colored, be it Black or Hispanic. Such covenants state that individuals that are Black or Hispanic in Race and reside in La Jolla are only allowed to do so if they are employed as a caretaker, laborer or maid and have no ownership rights to the property for which they are employed.

Fact: Circa early 1900’s, these C,C&R’s still exists and are routinely rerecorded as legally binding documents with almost every real estate transaction in La Jolla, CA. Although no longer legally enforceable it’s surprising that no one has ever amended the language of said C,C&R’s.



WOW! Come to think of it... anytime I'm at the grocery store (or Blockbuster), they are all white! :eek:

OMG that is crazy!!!

this is not written for offense, just for laughter's sake!

:) So as not to be outdone by all the redneck, hillbilly, and Texan jokes, you know you're from California if:

1. Your coworker has 8 body piercing and none are visible.

2. You make over $300,000 and still can't afford a house.

3. You take a bus and are shocked at two people carrying on a conversation in English.

4. Your child's 3rd-grade teacher has purple hair, a nose ring, and is named Flower.

5. You can't remember . . is pot illegal?

6. You've been to a baby shower that has two mothers and a sperm donor.

7. You have a very strong opinion about where your coffee beans are grown, and you can taste the difference between Sumatra and Ethiopian.

8. You can't remember . . . is pot illegal?

9. A really great parking space can totally move you to tears.

10. Gas costs $1.00 per gallon more than anywhere else in the U.S.

11. Unlike back home, the guy at 8:30 am at Starbucks wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses who looks like George Clooney really IS George Clooney.

12. Your car insurance costs as much as your house payment.

13. You can't remember . . .is pot illegal?

14. It's barely sprinkling rain and there's a report on every news station: "STORM WATCH."

15. You pass an elementary school playground and the children are all busy with their cells or pagers.

16. It's barely sprinkling rain outside, so you leave for work an hour early to avoid all the weather-related accidents.

17. HEY!!!! Is pot illegal????

18. Both you AND your dog have therapists.

19. The Terminator is your governor.

20. If you drive illegally, they take your driver's license. If you're here illegally, they want to give you one.

Okay where is my favorite one
BALDWIN PARK..... it is illegal to ride a bicycle in a swimming Pool!
:eek: I didn't know that while I was growing up there!:p
But it is okay to carry guns to school... Okay not really, but we really had to learn how to eat while avoiding bullets!!

California has the largest population of Native Americans, more than any other state.
California has one of the largest Chinese communities outside Asia in the entire world ( San Francisco ).
The Los Angeles area has more people of Mexican ancestry than any other urban area in the world, outside of Mexico.
California has the largest Armenian population outside Armenia ( Glendale ).

Wow these are all real good, too bad I don't have any of my own to add. I didn't know the one about La Jolla though, my aunt owns a home there and we're Mexican, and we look like it too! LOL

Rebeca

I thought this was interesting:

During the late 1800s, early 1900s, the city of Vacaville produced 25% of all the fruit grown in the entire United States. That's a lot of fruit!

Laura, William'sBaby:heart: