Works Cited

"Annual Days of Sunshine in California - Current Results." Current Results. Current Results Nexus. Web. 04 Mar. 2011. .

"Average Weather for Sacramento, CA." Weather.com. The Weather Channel, 28 Feb. 2011. Web. .

"California Biotechnology Foundation." California Biotechnology: Revolutionizing Global Healthcare. California Biotechnology Foundation. Web. 04 Mar. 2011. .

"California Food Facts - Production & Crops California." California Beaches | Vacation Travel Guide for Beaches in California. BeachCalifornia.com. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. .

"City of Sacramento - A Brief History of the City." City of Sacramento, California, USA - Municipal Government. City of Sacramento. Web. 30 Jan. 2011. .

"Hawaii QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau." State and County QuickFacts. US Census Bureau. Web. 06 Mar. 2011. .

"A Look at California's Agriculture." AG Classroom. Agriculture in the Classroom, July 2010. Web. 2 Feb. 2011. .

"Los Angeles County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau." State and County QuickFacts. 4 Nov. 2010. Web. 03 Mar. 2011. .

"The Port of Los Angeles | About the Port." The Port of Los Angeles: America's Port. Port of Los Angeles. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. .

"Port of New Orleans Overview." Port of New Orleans - Louisiana, USA. Port of New Orleans, 21 Dec. 2009. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. .

"Sacramento, California City History and Historical Figures - ByCityLight.com." ByCityLight.com - Welcome to ByCityLight.com, Your Tour Guide To The Cities You Love. CityByLight.com. Web. 31 Jan. 2011. .

"Sacramento, California Climate, Temperature, Average Weather History, Rainfall/ Precipitation, Sunshine." World Weather and Climate Graphs, Average Climate Charts, Guide to Precipitation, Temperatures, Best, Friendly, Holiday Climate. Climatetemp.info, 25 Jan. 2011. Web. 31 Jan. 2011. .

"Sacramento, California Climate, Temperature, Average Weather History, Rainfall/ Precipitation, Sunshine." World Weather and Climate Graphs, Average Climate Charts, Guide to Precipitation, Temperatures, Best, Friendly, Holiday Climate. Climatetemp.info, 25 Jan. 2011. Web. 31 Jan. 2011. .

"Sacramento (city) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau." State and County QuickFacts. United States Census Bureau, 8 July 2009. Web. 31 Jan. 2011. .

"Sacramento County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau." State and County QuickFacts. United States Census Bureau, 4 Nov. 2010. Web. 03 Mar. 2011. .

"Sacramento: Economy - Major Industries and Commercial Activity." Stats about All US Cities - Real Estate, Relocation Info, House Prices, Home Value Estimator, Recent Sales, Cost of Living, Crime, Race, Income, Photos, Education, Maps, Weather, Houses, Schools, Neighborhoods, and More. City-data.com. Web. 02 Feb. 2011. .

"Sacramento: Geography and Climate." Stats about All US Cities - Real Estate, Relocation Info, House Prices, Home Value Estimator, Recent Sales, Cost of Living, Crime, Race, Income, Photos, Education, Maps, Weather, Houses, Schools, Neighborhoods, and More. City-data.com. Web. 30 Jan. 2011. .

Stodghill, Ron, and Amanda Bower. "Welcome to America's Most Diverse City - TIME." Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com. Time Magazine, 25 Aug. 2002. Web. 03 Mar. 2011. .

White, Deborah. "Profile of Cesar Chavez, Latino Champion of Civil Rights & Fairness." Liberal & Progressive Politics & Perspectives. About.com. Web. 10 Feb. 2011. .

Hawaii

The diversity that flows through Hawaii is intense, to say the least. Hawaii's strange history, which led it ultimately into becoming a state, is filled with conquests, contracted foreign workers, and political powers which were overthrown continuous times in the battle to make these islands into the claimed land they are today. Surprisingly enough, the story behind Hawaii's migration patterns is similar with Sacramento's, and each area do share the same idea about diversity, through each area is diverse in its own way.

I wish I was one of those people sitting on the beach right now enjoying the day.

(Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Oahu_North_Shore_surfing_watchers.jpg)

Hawaii did not start out as a diverse area. Around 1500 years ago, the Polynesians, a group of islanders whom live on the islands that surround Hawaii, discovered the land and claimed it as their own. Their population peaked to 300,000 on the islands until it was discovered by Captain Cook in 1778. The news about the discovery spread throughout Europe and North America, causing people to settle there. Soon, the French, British, and the United States all shared land throughout Hawaii. The French had a strong influence on the islands from 1820 to 1850, and Britain claimed the land as their own in 1843, until the plantations from the United States overthrew the government in 1893 with their larger numbers of people. During this time, America began to contract workers from Asian countries in order to keep up with the required labor force that was needed to work at the plantations. After these laborers had completed their work on these plantations, many of them decided to stay on the islands. As all of this was going on, the Polythesians began to slowly die out. It is believed that less than 10,000 Polythesians are still on the islands today.

Don't you wish you were here right now, instead of sitting somewhere looking at a computer screen?

(Source: http://www.allamericanpatriots.com/files/images/hawaii-surfers.jpg)

Needless to say, with all this activity going on, Hawaii became very diverse through European, Asian, and American influences. According to the US Census Bureau, the largest population percentage in Hawaii for one ethnic group are Asians, totaling 38.8%. The second largest are whites, who make up 30.1% of the population, with 25.1% who are not of Hispanic origin. This is followed by Native Hawaiians at 9.1%, Hispanics at 9.0%, Blacks at 3.2%, and Native Americans at 0.6%. 18.2% claim that they are of two or more races (census.gov.) With this type of diverse mix, it would be common to see inter-racial relationships occurring in many different fashions.

A happy diverse group of people within Hawaii. They're probably happy because they get to spend their time in such an amazing place.

(Source: http://www.kanuhawaii.org/images/photos/kanubeginning.jpg)

Sacramento, on the other hand, has its own story on its diversity as well. According to city-data.com, Sacramento's history started around 10,000 years ago, where Indian tribes had established their living before any other settlers had arrived. In 1808, Spanish soldiers discovered the Sacramento and American rivers, and made some of these Indians their slaves. Many Indians had been taken as slaves by the Spanish. In 1839, John Sutter established a small town which he called New Heveltica. 11 years later, as the Spanish were being driven off of this land, the area would become Sacramento, and 4 years after this in 1854 the city would become the capital of California. The gold rush, which was occurring during this time, brought a rapid influx of people who came to "strike it rich" from overseas (citydata.com). During the late 19th century (and entering into the 20th century) immigrants from China began to filter into Sacramento in order to escape the wars which were occurring in their homeland, and as cheap laborers who came under contract to work here. Though they faced major discrimination by others, many Chinese immigrants decided to stay in Sacramento. Even through today, Sacramento continues to take in immigrants from Asia and other countries. Sacramento's diversity is well-known. It is so well known, that Time Magazine published an article in 2002 that called Sacramento the "most diverse city in America" (Stodghill).

These kids whom come from a variety of different races look happy in Sacramento, but could you imagine how much happier they'd be in Hawaii?

(Source: http://images.dcheetahimages.com/www.cheetah.org/ama/orig/SequoiaCheetahDay2008.jpg)

In either case, the diversity in both Sacramento and Hawaii has helped enhance these areas to be more welcoming to others, build better interracial relationships, and has created a more positive environment. People in these areas seem to be more open-minded about different topics and issues, which inspires development and creates a strong community among ethnically different people.

Now that I'm done with the majority of the work for this class, I'm going to Oahu. Now I just need some money...

(Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Hawaii_Maritime_Center_from_Aloha_Tower.jpg/400px-Hawaii_Maritime_Center_from_Aloha_Tower.jpg)

The Pacific North Coast

The Pacific North Coast is known for its beautiful outdoor scenery and recreational potential. In fact, many Americans move to this region due to the fact that the outdoor life here is encouraged by most residents. Certain parts of California that do not fall within the Pacific North Coast region are also viewed in similar ways, though the connections between the two may be different.

View of the beach from a turnoff spot off highway 101 near Pacific City in Oregon. One of the pictures I took during my recent trip to Oregon in February this year.

(Source: My Camera!)

Each have their similarities and differences when it comes to the different recreational activities available within each region. The Pacific North Coast is famous for its various forested areas and campgrounds that surround (and are within) the cities. Areas in Oregon, such as Corvallis or Pacific City, are filled with different outdoor activities that can be enjoyed by everyone, such as the trail that runs through Bald Hill behind where Oregon State University is located, or the dunes on the Oregon coast that give a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean and its jagged coastline. Similar areas are found within California as well in both the Northern and Southern portions of the city. Beaches, such as the ones in Carpenteria, have situated campgrounds where both whales and sea lions can be seen during particular times of the season, and trails such as the various ones that run through the dry portions of Santa Clarita can have spectacular views within the hills that overlook the surrounding valley.

This is the view over one of the larger dunes found in Pacific City, about 350 feet above the shoreline below.

(Source: My Camera!)

The differences, though small, are still noticeable enough to be discussed. For example, one outdoor activity that does not occur in the Pacific North Coast as much as it does within California is ocean surfing. Ocean surfing is more popular within the California coast due to the fact that the water is often quite warmer here than in the Pacific North Coast, and because California beaches are often not as rocky or dangerous, making it safer to surf in case of an incident. Areas in Southern California, such as Emerald Bay or Laguna Beach, are primary surf spots all throughout the year. Other differences include that people who live in California normally do not move there due to its outdoor recreational value like they do within the Pacific North Coast. Most people who move to California enjoy the views of the area and would much rather find a good spot to live where they can wake up to these views instead of actually going out to explore them. This is more difficult to do within the Pacific North Coast regions, due to the fact that most of the areas here that have such beautiful views are public land that cannot by law be privately owned, making it next to impossible to build any type of home there. An example of this can be seen down the Oregon coastline, where it is prohibited for an individual or company to own any portion of the beaches.

Warning: Some surfing is not for the faint of heart.

(Source: http://surfing-beach.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/california-surfing.jpg)

But if these two regions have more similarities than differences, then why is the population within the two regions so contrasting? This answer can be found when we look over the other differences between the two. People move to California for many other reasons, such as its abundance of different career opportunities, the ability to create a better life for one's family, it's dry and warm climate, and its welcoming diverse community. However, the Pacific North Coast has limited opportunities when compared to California, due to its hard to reach region which makes exporting goods difficult, its cooler climate which limits agricultural opportunities, and its homogeneous population which defeats the ability for diversity to occur. Simply put, the opportunities presented within the Pacific North Coast are overshadowed by the ones presented within California.

Picture taken along the Oregon coastline. The large rocks here are home to mussels and the starfish who eat them.

(Source: My Camera!)

California

Although California is a state, many people see it as a country of its own. The state, which is the third largest in the US in size, houses approximately 12 percent of the entire US population, making it the most populated state in the country. However, California is known for more than just this amazing record.

The Official California Flag. I couldn't think of a good Dwight quote to put here about bears.
(Source: http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/22491/images/california_state_flag.jpg)

California is also the number one agricultural provider within the United States. According to Agriculture in the Classroom, California grows more than 350 different crops per year, with many of them being solely grown within the State. These crops, which makes up over half of the nation's fruits, vegetables, and nuts, generate an estimated $36.2 billion every year in revenue and has made California the top agricultural state (AG Classroom). One reason why California is so strong agriculturally is due to the state's climate. The state enjoys 261 days of sunshine a year on average, according to the Current Results Nexus. The amount of sunshine varies throughout the state, giving the state both cool and warm environments and maximizing growth capabilities by allowing farmers to grow whichever crops they'd like. Another reason includes the concept behind specialty crops, where a farm will focus solely on growing one particular crop in order to maximize efficiency. California normally distributes the their crops the most during the wintertime to other states due to the fact that the weather that occurs in the rest of the United States give poor growing conditions.

Almond trees growing in California
(Source: http://musingbymoonlight.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/almondtrees.jpg)

California is also known for its revolutionary political views, which often differ from the rest of the country's beliefs. Items such as legalized same sex marriages, open border policy concepts, and legalized marijuana (as well as dispensaries located throughout the state that make it easy to obtain marijuana) are quite often not seen anywhere else, especially in more conservative states. The reason behind this lies in the diversity that creates California. Most of the northern and midwest portions of the United States stay very homogenous, which can also cause their views to become very similar with one another, and quite often single focused. Other factors, such as universal religious beliefs, also deeply impact individual's values. With factors like these, it becomes difficult for the people within these regions to understand the reasoning behind certain new laws and beliefs, mainly because they cannot view the concept from both sides (or actively refusing to.)

Pro same-sex marriage rally in San Francisco
(Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/images/2010/0124-weekly/0124-awedstrategy-san-francisco/7265824-1-eng-US/0124-AWEDSTRATEGY-san-francisco_full_600.jpg)

California is also known for being the leading state in a number of industries. One example of these industries can be seen within Southern California, which is the leading aircraft-manufacturing center in all of the United States. This is because many aircraft companies choose to have their planes developed within California (such as Boeing), or because the actual aircraft company is based in California, such as Lockheed Martin. Though this industry may be viewed as being a limited one, it is quite the opposite. Approximately 20 percent of the Department of Defense's budget is entered into California every year, which the majority of it goes to Lockheed Martin. This, plus half the federal budget for NASA, helps employ many of the 2.9 million people who currently live in San Diego today. Another leading industry within California that has recently become more popular is biotechnology. According to the California Biotechnology Foundation, the biotechnology industry was started in California, and has made California the home of over half the life saving medical therapies that have been approved by the FDA in the past 26 years. Biotechnology is the leading industry that is focused on curing "non-curable" diseases by altering the way DNA works (masonbay.com).

F-35 Joint Strikc Fighter Jet, developed by Lockheed Martin
(Source: http://www.aviationearth.com/Lockheed_F-35_Joint_Strike_Fighter.jpg)

In conclusion, it can be understood on why some people view California so differently from the rest of the United States, and why not everyone is comfortable with the way Californians live their lives. However, this change, though it may be daunting, should not be viewed as bad. As the old saying goes, "The only thing that never changes is change". Some of us just embrace change more than others.

The Southwest Border Area

The southwest border area, compared to other portions of the United States, has a style that is all its own. The ethnic cultures that flow through these areas make it unique, and can only be compared to the type of culture that is seen in places within the outskirts of Megaopolis, such as New York City. Around these areas, people live their lives a bit differently than the rest of the world, mainly due to their cultural backgrounds and beliefs that they have brought into their present day lives, either from their own families who have kept their cultures alive within the United States, or from others who are new to our country from Central and South American countries. We can see these clear differences when we compare Sacramento, a Northern California city, to Los Angeles, a Southern California city. Though only 365 miles separate the outer portions of each city to one another, the differences that we see between these two cities is phenomonal.

Where do you plan to go today?
(Source: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2743/4349302703_e101171483_z.jpg)

For starters, we can see the comparisons between people by looking at the populations that are found within each county. According to the 2000 Census Bureau statistics for the county of Los Angeles, the county housed an estimated 9,848,011 residents, with 48% percent of those residents being Latino. The county of Sacramento housed an estimated 1,400,949 residents in 2009, with 20.5% of those residents being Latino (Census.gov). Both the larger population and the larger percentage of Latino's within Los Angeles contributes to its very consistent ethnic activity that can be see throughout the county. Whereas Sacramento is normally focused around being a city that is very unprovoked by just one culture, making it unbiased to any ethnicity.

Go ahead. Count how many cars there are.
(Source: http://philip.greenspun.com/images/pcd0222/los-angeles-traffic-44.4.jpg?)

These numbers make the difference on what to expect in each major county. In Los Angeles county, the Latino culture has its imprint on just about everything. Many billboards and advertisements come in both English and Spanish. More businesses and government jobs favor individuals whom are both fluent in both English and Spanish instead of just one. Certain items, such as specialty snacks like Pulparindo's (which consists of the dried pulp of a tamarind covered in sugar and chile salt) or bakery items such as pan dulce (sweet bread) are commonly found in the southwest border area, but are more rarely found elsewhere. Not all residents are expected to know English, which is acceptable here due to the mixture of the population, but would not be acceptable in areas such as the Great Plains or the Agricultural Core. Images of the Virgin Mary and Guadalupe are seen more often than in other places, due to the strong Catholic influence from Mexico, where Catholicism is the dominant religion. Latino's are proud of where they've come from, and who they are now. They widely show their roots throughout the county, and keep their culture thriving by bringing it into their daily lives.

Latino culture runs deep through Los Angeles
(Source: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2631/4177317768_9e73d1524e.jpg)

However, a very different picture is shown in Sacramento. The county (and most namely the city) consists of a very mixed "melting pot" which prevents any particular ethnicity from becoming dominant. An article in Time magazine explains this phenomenon, they name Sacramento "America's most diverse city", explaining that the residents here have found multiple ways to blend in together without being biased or segregated. Multi-racial couples are common here, and transparency is seen both in classrooms and businesses, even through language barriers. The only common area where race still plays a role that separates people is within the church and through gang activities (Stodghill.) This kind of diversity allows Sacramento to run like a well maintained machine, and prevents issues such as hate crimes from occurring.

Diversity is seen normally through within any workplace in Sacramento.
(Source: http://www.sacda.org/assets/img/diversity/div3.jpg)

However, these characteristics do not make one area better than the other. Each county shares its strengths and weaknesses in their own ways, and its a matter of how an individual fits within these characteristics that allow them to fit within their environment. The cultures that we live within can only effect us as much as we'd like them to, and its our choice to either embrace our surroundings or dismiss them.

Why Can't We Be Friends?
(Source: http://pndblog.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/09/08/diversity_4.jpg)

The Empty Interior

Since the 19th century, America's fascination with gold and silver has brought individuals (and their families) out on quests in order to find lands where they could "strike it rich". Pathways to states where gold was abundant (such as the Oregon Trail) were quickly formed and traveled over, until the mining areas ran out of ore, to which they were abandoned and people moved onto the next one. States that are located within the empty interior such as Nevada became popular in this era for gold and silver mining, as well as other areas such as ones in Northern California around Sacramento.

Gold Ore found at Mother Lode, near Sacramento
(Source: http://nevada-outback-gems.com/prospect/gold_specimen/gold_ore_calif_b.jpg)

Throughout Nevada, gold mining was a very enticing reason for moving to the dry desolate desert. Miners began to populate the region even before it had become a unionized state, and came to live with the Mormons who had already established a settlement there. Towns and cities such as Virginia City began to spring up around areas where precious metals were discovered (namely gold and silver). However, the life of these cities was short-lived, due to the fact that these mines became quickly depleted due to their popularity, which caused people to move away from these towns to mine elsewhere, quickly transforming a once populated area into a ghost town. Nowadays, these areas have become tourist attractions.

Virginia City in the 1860's
(Source: http://nevada-outback-gems.com/Mark_Twain/virginia_city1861.jpg)

In Northern California, similar actions were taking place, but not quite in the same manner. Settlers from the East and Midwest began to trickle into both California and Oregon during the Gold Rush era of the 1850's. Northern California became famous for the gold mines that were found in places such as Eureka, and had more settlers established themselves there due to the large amount of mines that were found in the area. Some of these towns, such as Bodie, were filled with people during this era, but became ghost towns once the mines near the towns ran out of gold. However, some of these cities did survive long enough to be the major ones that we see today. One example of this is Sacramento. When John Sutter was building the foundation for his mill, he discovered gold around the area. After word had gotten out about the gold, settlers began to rush into his town and area, hoping to strike it rich there. His son, John Sutter Jr., was able to take these settlers and grow Sutterville into modern-day Sacramento, which became the state capital in 1854. Though the gold around Sacramento is very much depleted from how much there once was, the city is still very active, with just under 1.4 million residents.

Sacramento River in 1860
(Source: http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt696nc58z/hi-res%3Bjsessionid=DvS-cWFCvv-PIveM)

If we were to review both Virginia City and Sacramento together, and focus on the strengths and weaknesses of each, we can see that Sacramento has a lot more potential than Virginia City ever had. For starters, Virginia City is located in a very desolate area, where there is little to no vegetation and water. The city was not very close to any major rivers, which prevented water from being irrigated to the city without having to pay for substantial work to be done in the area. The city was not close to any substantial transportation hubs, making it costly to ship goods to and from the city, and making it hard to travel to the city except by horseback, wagon, or on food.

Virgina City In Present Day
(Source: http://www.desertusa.com/Cities/nv/photos/DSCN0905.jpg)

However, Sacramento was (and still is) quite the opposite. Sacramento's location between the Sacramento and American rivers made it easy to ship goods in and out of the city to other areas, and also made it popular for exporting goods to other countries. Due to the city's easy shipping routes, many railroad companies turned Sacramento into a railroad hub, where today the US's largest railroad company in the country is located. The area around Sacramento is filled with plush vegetation, where many farms are located with distribution centers and canneries based in Sacramento. These opportunities have allowed Sacramento to stay prosperous and active area within the United States.

Sacramento in Present Day
(Source: http://www.planetware.com/i/photo/sacramento-ca339.jpg)