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California
I went a little crazy here.. I don't know if it's because CA was home or that it's so big that there's a lot to say. Anyway, check out the website link below for more info. There's some amazing stuff there!
State motto: Eureka (A Greek word meaning "I have found it!")
California has more theme and amusement parks than any other state.
The state flower is the Golden Poppy, which blooms somewhere in CA every month of the year.
California became a state on September 9, 1850, without having to go through a territorial stage.
Were California a separate country it would rank among the top eight economies in the world.
California is the nation's leading agriculture state.
104 of the 500 fastest growing U.S. technology companies are based in California.
California has the largest environmental industry (including technology) in the nation.
California is the number one travel destination in the U.S., attracting 282 million visitors in 1999 with travel expenditures totaling $67.9 billion.
With the exception of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt. Diablo State Park Summit offers a sweeping panorama showing more of the earth's surface than any other peak in the world.
California is the third largest state in the nation covering 158,693 square miles.
California has a coastline more than 1,264 miles long.
At 14,495 feet above sea level, Mt. Whitney, in Sequoia National Park, is the highest point in the contiguous U.S.
At 280 feet below sea level, Badwater, in Death Valley National Park, is the lowest point in the western hemisphere.
California State Parks cover more than one million acres; more than the 48 state park systems combined, with the exception of Alaska.
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is the largest state park in the U.S., with more than 600,000 acres.
Death Valley is the largest national park in the contiguous U.S. with over 3.3 million acres.
The elevation change from Badwater Basin to Telescope Peak is 11,300 feet in 15 miles, which is the greatest elevation change in the shortest distance in California.
The South Fork Ridge in Northern California is the longest ridge in the world (63 miles long).
Santa Monica boasts the longest stretch of beach on the Pacific Coast (3 miles).
San Bernardino County is the largest county in the U.S. (12,876,032 acres).
The average width of the Golden State is 150-200 miles.
California boasts 4.1 million acres of National Parks.
International Banana Club in Pasadena is the world's only banana museum.
Whiskeytown National Recreation Area is the only place in which "Pucinelli Howelli" or Howel's Salt Grass, grows in the Shasta Cascade Region.
The Hotel del Coronado, built in 1888, is the largest beach resort on the North American Pacific Coast.
The Hale Telescope, located on Palomar Mountain in San Diego County, is the largest telescope in North or South America.
Solvang is home of the oldest wind harp in California, dating back to 1941.
The Yard House, at Shoreline Village in Long Beach, serves the world's largest number of beers on tap with 430 handles of draft beer served.
Baker, near Death Valley, is home to a 135-foot tall thermometer.
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