California

| amphibian = California red-legged frog | bird = California quail | colors = Blue & Gold | dance = West Coast Swing | fish = | flower = California poppy | folk_dance = Square dance | fossil = Sabre-toothed cat | gemstone = Benitoite | grass = Purple needlegrass | insect = California dogface butterfly | mineral = Native gold | image_quarter = 2005 CA Proof.png | quarter_release_date = 2005 | reptile = Desert tortoise | tree = Coast redwood & giant sequoia | rock = Serpentine | soil = San Joaquin | sport = Surfing | tartan = California state tartan | image_route = California 1.svg | butterfly = | fruit = Avocado | vegetable = Artichoke | dinosaur = Augustynolophus | color = Blue & Gold | ship = ''Californian'' | mushroom = California Golden Chanterelle |crustacean=Dungeness crab}}

California () is a state in the Western United States that lies on the Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the south. With over 39million residents across an area of , it is the most populous U.S. state, the third-largest by area, and the most populated subnational entity in North America.

Prior to European colonization, California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America. European exploration in the 16th and 17th centuries led to the colonization by the Spanish Empire. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821, following its successful war for independence, but was ceded to the United States in 1848 after the Mexican–American War. The California gold rush started in 1848 and led to social and demographic changes, including depopulation of Indigenous tribes. The western portion of Alta California was then organized and admitted as the 31st state in 1850, as a free state, following the Compromise of 1850.

The Greater Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas are the nation's second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, with 19 million and 10 million residents respectively. Los Angeles is the state's most populous city and the nation's second-most. Sacramento California's capital. Part of the Californias region of North America, the state's diverse geography ranges from the Pacific Coast and metropolitan areas in the west to the Sierra Nevada mountains in the east, and from the redwood and Douglas fir forests in the northwest to the Mojave Desert in the southeast. Two-thirds of the nation's earthquake risk lies in California. The Central Valley, a fertile agricultural area, dominates the state's center. The large size of the state results in climates that vary from moist temperate rainforest in the north to arid desert in the interior, as well as snowy alpine in the mountains. Droughts and wildfires are an ongoing issue, while simultaneously, atmospheric rivers are turning increasingly prevalent and leading to intense flooding events—especially in the winter.

The economy of California is the largest of any U.S. state, with an estimated 2024 gross state product of $4.132 trillion as of Q3 2024. It is the world's largest sub-national economy; by most estimations, if it were a country on its own, it would be the fifth-largest economy in the world (putting it, as of 2025, behind Japan and ahead of India) when ranked by nominal GDP. The state's agricultural industry also leads the nation in agricultural output, led by its production of dairy, almonds, and grapes. With the busiest port in the country (Los Angeles), California plays a pivotal role in the global supply chain, hauling in about 40% of goods imported to the US. Notable contributions to popular culture, ranging from entertainment, sports, music, and fashion, have their origins in California. The Los Angeles area is seen as the center of the U.S. film industry; the area is the home of Hollywood, the oldest and one of the largest film industries in the world, profoundly influencing global entertainment. The San Francisco Bay's Silicon Valley is seen as the center of the global technology industry.

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