California

CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA THE GOLDEN STATE At some time in their lives everybody in the USA wants to go to California. To most people California means sunshine and golden beaches. Situated on the west coast of the USA, it is the state wich has the most people (23 milion). The capital of California is Sacramento. Other important cities are Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and San José. DIGGING FOR GOLD In the Great Gold Rush of 1849 people went to California to find gold. They called it "The Golden State" because of the gold they found. In the next few years over 200,000 people from the rest of the USA and Europe arrived to look for gold. Later people went there to farm California's rich and fertile land. California was "the land of plenty". DISNEYLAND One of the biggest tourist attractions in California is Disneyland, a theme park just outside Los Angeles. It was built by Walt Disney, the "father" of the cartoon character, Mickey Mouse. Disneyland has been so popular that there are now three other Disney theme parks-in Fonda, Japan, and France. HOLLYWOOD At the beginning of the twentieth century people went to a small town called Hollywood, near Los Angeles, to make films.They went there because of the good weather and the open spaces. Today they still make many famous films in Hollywood, and tourists like to go to see the old film studios and the homes of the rich and famous film stars who live in Hollywood. CAR MANIA! Californians love cars.There are drive-in cinemas, drive-in restaurants and even drive-in churches! However, with more than eight milion cars in Los AngeLes, air pollution and traffic jams are serious problems. SURFING Californians say that they invented surfing. They love the outdoor life and California has plenty of outdoor activities to offer. You can go surfing in the Pacific Ocean, back-packing in the national parks and skiing in the Sierra Nevada mountains!