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Get to know
California before you incorporate
State Nickname: “
The Golden State” has long been a popular
designation for California and was made the official State
Nickname in 1968. It is particularly appropriate since California's
modern development can be traced back to the discovery of
gold in 1848 and fields of golden poppies can be seen each
spring throughout the state. The Golden State Museum is also
the name of a new museum slated to open in late 1998 at the
California State Archives in Sacramento. The museum's exhibits
will bring to life the momentous events of California's history
through a series of innovative, interpretive exhibits.
Capital City: Sacremento
Economy:
Agriculture: Vegetables, fruits and nuts, dairy products,
cattle, nursery stock, grapes.
Industry: Electronic components and equipment, aerospace,
film production, food processing, petroleum, computers and
computer software, tourism.
State Motto: The Greek
word "Eureka" has appeared
on the state seal since 1849 and means "I have found
it". The words were probably intended to refer to the
discovery of gold in California. Archimedes, the famed Greek
mathematician, is said to have exclaimed "Eureka!"
when, after long study, he discovered a method of determining
the purity of gold. In 1957, attempts were made to establish
"In God We Trust" as the state motto, but "Eureka"
was made the official state motto in 1963.
 State
Flag: Historic Bear Flag raised at Sonoma on June 14,
1846, by a group of American settlers in revolt against Mexican
rule. The flag was designed by William Todd on a piece of
new unbleached cotton. The star imitated the lone star of
Texas. A grizzly bear represented the many bears seen in the
state. The word, "California Republic" was placed
beneath the star and bear. It was adopted by the 1911 State
Legislature as the State Flag.
[Source: California Blue Book.]
 State
Seal: The Constitutional onvention of 1849 adopted the
Great Seal of the State of California. The seal was designed
by Major R. S. Garnett of the United States Army, and proposed
by Caleb Lyon, a clerk of the convention. The Roman goddess
of wisdom, Minerva, has at her feet a grizzly bear and clusters
of grapes representing wildlife and agricultural richness.
A miner works near the busy Sacramento River, below the Sierra
Nevada peaks. The Greek word "Eureka" meaning "I
have found it", probably refers to the miner's discovery
of gold. Near the upper edge of the seal are 31 stars representing
the number of states with California's anticipated admission.
Just as Minerva sprung full-grown from the head of Jupiter,
California became a state on September 9, 1850, without having
to go through a territorial stage.
 State
Flower: California Indians cherished the poppy
as both a source of food and for oil extracted from the plant.
Its botanical name, Eschsholtzia californica,
was given by Adelbert Von Chamisso, a naturalist and member
of the Prussian Academy of Sciences, who dropped anchor in
San Francisco in 1816 in a bay surrounded by hills of the
golden flowers. Also sometimes known as the flame flower,
la amapola, and copa de oro (cup of gold), the poppy grows
wild throughout California. It became the state flower in
1903. Every year April 6 is California Poppy Day, and Governor
Wilson proclaimed May 13-18, 1996, Poppy Week.
 State
Tree: The California redwood
was designated the official State Tree of California by the
State Legislature in 1937. Once common throughout the Northern
Hemisphere, redwoods are found only on the Pacific Coast.
Many groves and stands of the towering trees are preserved
in state and national parks and forests. There are actually
two species of California redwood: the coast redwood (Sequoia
sempervirens) and the giant sequoia (Sequoia gigantea). The
coast redwoods are the tallest trees in the world - one reaching
over 360 feet tall grows in the Humboldt Redwoods. One giant
sequoia, the General Sherman Tree in Sequoia National Park,
is 272 feet high and more than 36 feet in diameter and is
widely considered to be the world's largest tree overall.
information source: http://www.library.ca.gov/history/cahinsig.html
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