California


California is located in the southwestern corner of continental U.S.A. More than half of the Pacific Coast belongs to this state, and the major cities are Los Angeles and San Francisco. The Capital of the state is Sacramento.

The State is part of the Pacific fire ring and is located on the convergent plate border of the Pacific Plate. The result is the formation of mountain ridges, volcanism and frequent earthquakes. The state has two main regions, the mountain ridges of Northern California and the mountain ridges of Southern California, which are separated by the Central Valley. The highest mountain ridge is the Sierra Nevada along the eastern border. The Coast Ranges run along the coast. All mountain ridges run almost north to south parallel to the plate rim.

The State has numerous limestone areas and many caves, including numerous spectacular show caves. The volcanic areas have lava tubes, several are open to the public, although not show caves. It also has a wide variety of resources and numerous show mines. The major resource is gold, world-famous is the California Gold Rush.


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