1.
Interstate 380 (California)
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The highway primarily consists of only three intersections, I-280, El Camino Real, and U. S.101. Like nearby I-280, I-380 never connects to Interstate 80, its parent Interstate Highway, however, there is no rule that says that spur routes need to. I-380 is officially known as the Quentin L. Kopp Freeway, State Senator from San Mateo County. Interstate 380 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System, I-380 begins at a junction with I-280 in San Bruno. This junction is only partially built, allowing room to build a proposed freeway extension west towards State Route 1. I-380 then travels east through the City of San Bruno, intersecting with State Route 82, El Camino Real, at its terminus at US101, the mainline lanes of I-380 continue to North Access Road. The westbound lanes of I-380 branch off to the right at I-280, leaving a very wide and this space is currently often used as storage space for equipment used in highway maintenance. A pair of unused bridges crossing over the I-280 South to I-380 East offramp remain as evidence, mileage is measured from the unconstructed western terminus at State Route 1 near Pacifica. The entire route is in San Mateo County
2.
California Department of Transportation
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The California Department of Transportation is an executive department within the U. S. state of California. Caltrans manages the highway system and is actively involved with public transportation systems throughout the state. It supports Amtrak California and the Capitol Corridor, the department is part of the state cabinet-level California State Transportation Agency. Like the majority of government agencies, Caltrans is headquartered in Sacramento. In 2015, Caltrans released a new statement, Provide a safe, sustainable, integrated and efficient transportation system to enhance California’s economy. The earliest predecessor of Caltrans was the Bureau of Highways, which was created by the California Legislature and this agency consisted of three commissioners who were charged with analyzing the state road system and making recommendations. At the time, there was no highway system, since roads were purely a local responsibility. After the commissioners submitted their report to the governor on November 25,1896, voters approved an $18 million bond issue for the construction of a state highway system in 1910, and the first Highway Commission was convened in 1911. On August 7,1912, the department broke ground on its first construction project, the year 1912 also saw the founding of the Transportation Laboratory and the creation of seven administrative divisions. In 1913, the legislature started requiring vehicle registration and allocated the funds to support regular highway maintenance. In 1921, the legislature turned the Department of Engineering into the Department of Public Works, the history of Caltrans and its predecessor agencies during the 20th century was marked by many firsts. In late 1972, the legislature approved a reorganization in which the Department of Public Works was merged with the Department of Aeronautics to become the modern Department of Transportation, for administrative purposes, Caltrans divides the State of California into 12 districts, supervised by district offices. Most districts cover multiple counties, District 12 is the district with one county. The largest districts by population are District 4 and District 7, like most state agencies, Caltrans maintains its headquarters in Sacramento, which is covered by District 3. Official California Department of Transportation website Named Highways, Freeways, Structures, and Other Appurtenances in California
3.
Los Algodones
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Los Algodones, Baja California, is a small Mexican town located on the extreme northeastern tip of the municipality of Mexicali, approximately 16 km west of Yuma, Arizona, USA. Its official name is Vicente Guerrero, although most people use Algodones or Molar City when referring to it and it reported a population of 5,474 as of the 2010 Mexican census. It also serves as a seat of its surrounding area. Los Algodones is the northernmost town in Mexico, and at its tip is the northernmost point in Mexico. Another interesting geographical distinction is that if someone were to travel in any of the four directions from anywhere in Algodones. Organized day trips from the Coachella Valley are popular among seniors as well, from the U. S. side, Los Algodones is most easily reached via Interstate 8 and south a short distance along State Route 186/Andrade Road to the international border at Andrade, California. From Andrade, visitors can elect to park their vehicles for a fee and walk across the border. They have largely displaced many of the shops and restaurants immediately across the border. Nevertheless, a number of shops and restaurants remain, and Los Algodones capitalizes on the tourist trade with frequent fiestas throughout the year, the exact geographical location is 32°42′55″N 114°43′44″W at an elevation of 110 feet/33.5 m above mean sea level. The Spanish-language name Los Algodones translates into English as the cotton plants, the origin of the name is unknown. Transportes Miguel Siga, a bus company, provides service between Mexicali and Los Algodones. Yuma County Area Transit provides service from Andrade to Yuma, link to tables of population data from Census of 2010 INEGI, Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática Algodones Mexico Official Website
4.
Interstate 8
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Interstate 8 is an Interstate Highway in the southwestern United States. It runs from the edge of Mission Bay at Sunset Cliffs Boulevard in San Diego, California, almost at the Pacific Ocean, to the junction with I-10, just southeast of Casa Grande. Crossing the Colorado River into Arizona, I-8 continues through the city of Yuma across the Sonoran Desert to Casa Grande and these were later replaced by U. S. Route 80 across California and part of Arizona, and Arizona State Route 84 between Gila Bend and Casa Grande. The Arizona portion of the road was starting in the 1960s. The route was completed in 1975 through California, and by 1977 through Arizona, I-8 is part of the National Highway System, a network of roadways important to the countrys economy, defense, and mobility. The freeway begins at the intersection of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard and Nimitz Boulevard in San Diego, for its first few miles, it parallels the San Diego River floodway. Near Old Town San Diego, I-8 intersects with I-5 as well as with Rosecrans Avenue, as the freeway enters Mission Valley, it continues eastward, bisecting the area known as Hotel Circle that has several hotels. I-8 then has interchanges with SR163, I-805, and I-15 and its continuation, SR15, in La Mesa, the route intersects SR125. The freeway intersects with SR79 in the national forest before passing through the La Posta, in Boulevard, I-8 has an interchange with the eastern end of SR94. I-8 straddles the San Diego—Imperial county line for a few miles before turning east, at the Mountain Springs/In Ko Pah grade, the freeway is routed down two separate canyons, as it descends 4,000 feet in 11 miles. In places, the median is over 1.5 miles wide, the route enters the Imperial Valley, where it intersects with SR98, a highway leading to Calexico, and passes near the Desert View Tower. I-8 then goes through Coyote Wells before entering the city of El Centro several miles later, in El Centro, I-8 intersects with SR86 and SR111, both north–south routes which connect to I-10 in the Coachella Valley, north of the Salton Sea. SR115 and SR98 end at I-8 east of El Centro, the route also has the lowest above-ground elevation of any Interstate at 52 feet below sea level near El Centro. The freeway then traverses the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area and intersects with SR186 leading south to Baja California Norte, I-8 runs parallel to the All-American Canal across the desert for roughly 55 miles. At points in eastern Imperial County, the Mexican border is less than half a mile south of the Interstate, I-8 then passes through Felicity and Winterhaven before crossing the Colorado River on a bridge into Yuma, Arizona. It is officially known as the Border Friendship Route from San Diego to the Arizona state line, the Interstate is signed as the Ocean Beach Freeway west of I-5. Between Old Town and El Cajon, I-8 is called the Mission Valley Freeway, I-8 enters Arizona from California at the Colorado River bridge at Yuma. It initially heads south through Yuma until the interchange with US95, west of Wellton, the highway takes a northeasterly course, paralleling the Gila River and passing to the south of Roll
5.
Winterhaven, California
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Winterhaven is a census-designated place in Imperial County, California. Winterhaven is located 6.5 miles east of Pilot Knob, The population was 394 at the 2010 census and it is part of the El Centro, California Metropolitan Statistical Area. North of Interstate 8 and bordering Yuma, Arizona, the town is located in the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation. The Colorado River marks the eastern border. Telephone service is provided by Winterhaven Telephone Company, a subsidiary of TDS Telecom and these numbers are assigned to subscribers in Winterhaven, Bard, and Felicity. The communities of Bard and Felicity, California, appear in the US Geological Survey, National Geographic Names Database, the communities of Felicity and Winterhaven share a ZIP code,92283. Bard does not have postal delivery, and post office boxes for the community have a ZIP code of 92222, the first post office at Winterhaven operated from 1916 to 1921. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has an area of 0.2 square miles. Winterhaven is the southeasternmost settlement in California and this area has a large amount of sunshine year round due to its stable descending air and high pressure. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Winterhaven has a desert climate. The 2010 United States Census reported that Winterhaven had a population of 394, the population density was 1,655.3 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Winterhaven was 245 White,4 African American,37 Native American,1 Asian,0 Pacific Islander,84 from other races, Hispanic or Latino of any race were 261 persons. The Census reported that 394 people lived in households,0 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, there were 11 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 1 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 48 households were made up of individuals and 27 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.61. There were 97 families, the family size was 3.30. The median age was 39.0 years, for every 100 females there were 86.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males, there were 186 housing units at an average density of 781.4 per square mile, of which 62 were owner-occupied, and 89 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3. 1%, the vacancy rate was 8. 1%
6.
Imperial County, California
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Imperial County is a county in the U. S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 174,528, the county seat is El Centro. Established in 1907, it was the last county to be formed in California, Imperial County comprises the El Centro, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is also part of the Southern California border region, the smallest but most economically diverse region in the state and it is located in the Imperial Valley, in the far southeast of California, bordering both Arizona and Mexico. The Imperial Valley is a pot of Anglo-American and Chicano/Latino cultures. On the American side, the majority of residents are of Mexican American heritage, the entire valley is a multi-ethnic mixture of whites, Asian Americans, some African Americans and Native Americans. In 2014, Imperial County had the second highest percentage of unemployed people of any county in the United States, Spanish explorer Melchor Díaz was one of the first Europeans to visit the area around Imperial Valley in 1540. The explorer Juan Bautista de Anza also explored the area in 1776, years later, after the Mexican-American War, the northern half of the valley was annexed by the U. S. while the southern half remained under Mexican rule. Small scale settlement in natural aquifer areas occurred in the early 19th century, in 1905, torrential rainfall in the American Southwest caused the Colorado River to flood, including canals that had been built to irrigate the Imperial Valley. Since the valley is partially below sea level, the waters never fully receded, but collected in the Salton Sink in what is now called the Salton Sea, Imperial County was formed in 1907 from the eastern portion of San Diego County. Much of the Imperial Land Companys land also existed in Mexico, the objective of the company was commercial crop farming development. By 1910, the company had managed to settle and develop thousands of farms on both sides of the border. The Mexican Revolution soon after severely disrupted the companys plans, nearly 10,000 farmers and their families in Mexico were ethnically cleansed by the rival Mexican armies. By the 1950 census, over 50,000 residents lived in Imperial County alone, most of the population was year-round but would increase every winter by migrant laborers from Mexico. Until the 1960s, the farms in Imperial County provided substantial economic returns to the company, currently, El Centro has one of the U. S highest unemployment rates and ranks one of the states poorest counties or have a lower than state and national average annual household income. Fort Yuma is located on the banks of the Colorado River in Winterhaven, first established after the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848, it was originally located in the bottoms near the Colorado River, less than 1-mile below the mouth of the Gila River. It was to defend the newly settled community of Yuma, Arizona on the side of the Colorado River. In March 1851 the post was moved to an elevation on the Colorados west bank, opposite the present city of Yuma, Arizona
7.
State highways in California
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The state highway system of the U. S. state of California is a network of highways that are owned and maintained by the Highway Division of the California Department of Transportation. Each highway is assigned a Route number in the Streets and Highways Code, most of these are numbered in a statewide system, and are known as State Route X. United States Numbered Highways are labeled US X, and Interstate Highways are Interstate X. Under the code, the state assigns a unique Route X to each highway, the California Highway Patrol is tasked with patrolling all state highways to enforce traffic laws. Californias highway system is governed under the states Streets and Highways Code, since July 1 of 1964, the majority of legislative route numbers, those defined in the Streets and Highways Code, match the sign route numbers. For example, Interstate 5 is listed as Route 5 in the code, the state may relinquish segments of highways and turn them over to local control. The state may also delete a highway completely and turn over a state route to local control. Business routes are not maintained by the state unless they are also assigned legislative route numbers, State Route 14U, an old alignment of State Route 14, is the only one signed as such. Both types of suffixed routes are also considered spurs, current or former unsigned suffixed routes include State Route 156U, signed as State Route 156 Business through Hollister, and State Route 180S, the freeway replacement for State Route 180 in Fresno. The first legislative routes were defined by the State Highway Bond Act in 1909, passed by the California State Legislature and these, and later extensions to the system, were numbered sequentially. No signs were erected for these routes, the United States Numbered Highways were assigned by the American Association of State Highway Officials in November 1926, but posting did not begin in California until January 1928. These were assigned to some of the legislative routes in California. In 1934, after the expansion of the state highway system in 1933 by the California Legislature. The California sign route numbers were assigned in a geographical system, odd-numbered routes ran north–south and even-numbered routes ran east–west. A rough grid was used inside the two regions, with the largest numbers — all less than 200 - in eastern California, the Interstate Highway System numbers were assigned by AASHO in late 1959. In 1963 and 1964, a renumbering of the legislative routes was made. Some changes were made to the sign routes, mostly related to decommissionings of U. S. Since the 1990s, many routes, especially in urban areas, have been deleted and turned over to local control. This transfers the cost of maintaining them from state to local budgets, not all cities have been prepared to accept such routes from Caltrans simultaneously, so many have been decommissioned from the state system one fragment at a time
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History of California's state highway system
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The state highway system in the U. S. state of California dates back to 1896, when the state took over maintenance of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road. Construction of a connected system began in 1912, after the states voters approved an $18 million bond issue for over 3000 miles of highways. The last large addition was made by the California State Assembly in 1959, the 58 mile road had been operated as a toll road until 1886, when El Dorado County bought it, the county deeded the road to the state on February 28,1896. Funding was only enough for minimal improvements, including a bridge over the South Fork American River in 1901. Also in 1895, on March 27, the created the three-person Bureau of Highways to coordinate efforts by the counties to build good roads. The bureau traveled to every county of the state in 1895 and 1896 and prepared a map of a system of state roads. Several more state highways were legislated in the decade. This new department, in addition to duties, was to maintain all state highways. On March 22,1909 the State Highways Act was passed and this law authorized the Department of Engineering to issue $18 million in bonds for a continuous and connected state highway system that would connect all county seats. To this end, the department created the three-member California Highway Commission on August 8,1911 to take charge of the construction. As with the 1896 plan by the Bureau of Highways, the Highway Commission traveled the state to determine the best routes, construction began in mid-1912, with groundbreaking on Contract One - now part of SR82 in San Mateo County - on August 7. Noteworthy portions of the built by the commission included the Ridge Route in southern California. This gave the Department of Engineering an additional $12 million to complete the original system, at this time, each route was assigned a number from 1 to 34, this system of labeling routes, although never marked with signs, remained until the 1964 renumbering. Where not serving as extensions of existing routes, these -, the three bond issues together totaled 5560 miles, of which just over 40% was completed or under construction in mid-1920. The Department of Engineering became part of the new Department of Public Works in 1921, in order to pay for the roads, a 2-cent per gallon gasoline tax was approved in 1923. The legislature continued to add highways to the system, including the Mother Lode Highway in 1921 and the Arrowhead Trail in 1925. In January 1928, the California State Automobile Association and Automobile Club of Southern California, Highways along several of the most major state highways. The California Toll Bridge Authority was created in 1929 to acquire and operate all toll bridges on highways, including the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge
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California Freeway and Expressway System
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The California Freeway and Expressway System is a system of existing or planned freeways and expressways in the U. S. state of California. It encompasses both State highways and federal highways in California and it is defined by the Streets and Highways Code, sections 250-257. The following is a list of defined by the Streets and Highways Code, sections 250-257. Some of the routes listed may still be in the stages of being fully upgraded to freeways or expressways. State Route 1 State Route 2 State Route 3 State Route 4 Interstate 5 U. S. S. S, Route 95 State Route 96 U. S. Route 97 State Route 98 State Route 99 State Route 100 U. S. S. S
10.
California State Route 185
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State Route 185 is a state highway in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U. S. state of California. It runs along sections of Mission Boulevard in Hayward, East 14th Street in San Leandro, the south end of SR185 is defined to be at State Route 92 in Hayward. However, the part in Hayward south of A Street was relinquished in 2010 and it is unclear whether this loop is also part of SR185 or not. SR185 heads northwest on Mission Boulevard and East 14th Street, crossing under Interstate 238, the north end of SR185 lies just northwest of High Street in Oakland at 42nd Avenue, where the short State Route 77 heads southwest to Interstate 880. The 0.35 mi State Route 77 is part of a planned 13.8 mi route, there it would have turned northwest on I-580 toward Park Boulevard, splitting there to head northeast and north to State Route 24 near Lafayette. Only the part east of unbuilt State Route 93 west of Moraga is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System, this does not include the constructed part, SR185 traverses a once-deadly stretch of what was then called East 14th Street in East Oakland. For many years it was a scene of prostitution, drug dealings, the bad reputation continued until California Highway Patrol stepped in to curtail the crime. In 2012, the California legislature relinquished control of SR185 in Downtown Hayward between SR 92/SR238 and A Street to local control. In March 2013, this segment became part of a one way circulation known as the Hayward Loop, designed to improve traffic flow between SR92, SR185 and SR238. Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964, based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers an overlap due to a correction or change, segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The entire route is in Alameda County, California Roads portal California @ AARoads. com - State Route 185 Caltrans, Route 185 highway conditions California Highways, SR185
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California State Route 187
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California State Route 187 in Los Angeles is the portion of Venice Boulevard between Lincoln Boulevard in Venice and its intersection with Interstate 10 in the South Robertson district. Proceeding easterly, Venice Boulevard assumes the designation California State Route 187 at Lincoln Boulevard, the route then passes through the Mar Vista neighborhood. Further east, it forms the boundary between Palms and Culver City and passes near Sony Pictures Studios. Route 163 was defined in 1961 as a route from the ocean in Santa Monica to Route 173, routed along Pacific Avenue and this was redefined as SR187 in the 1964 state highway renumbering. In 1988, the part of SR187 in Santa Monica was removed from the highway system. The part of the route from the boundary of Santa Monica to Lincoln Boulevard was removed in 1994. According to Section 487 of the California Streets and Highways Code, if a relinquishment occurs, the state highway will cease to exist. Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964, based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers an overlap due to a correction or change, segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The entire route is in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California Roads portal California @ AARoads. com - State Route 187 Caltrans, Route 187 highway conditions California Highways, SR187
12.
Colorado River
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The Colorado River is one of the principal rivers of the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The 1, 450-mile-long Colorado River drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U. S. starting in the central Rocky Mountains in the U. S. After entering Mexico, the Colorado approaches the mostly dry Colorado River Delta at the tip of the Gulf of California between Baja California and Sonora. Known for its dramatic canyons, whitewater rapids, and eleven U. S. National Parks, the Colorados large flow and steep gradient are used for generating hydroelectric power, and its major dams regulate peaking power demands in much of the Intermountain West. Intensive water consumption has dried up the lower 100 miles of the river, beginning with small bands of nomadic hunter-gatherers, Native Americans have inhabited the Colorado River basin for at least 8,000 years. Most native peoples that inhabit the basin today are descended from groups that settled in the region beginning about 1,000 years ago. Europeans first entered the Colorado Basin in the 16th century, when explorers from Spain began mapping and claiming the area, early contact between Europeans and Native Americans was generally limited to the fur trade in the headwaters and sporadic trade interactions along the lower river. After most of the Colorado River basin became part of the U. S. in 1846, several expeditions charted the Colorado in the mid-19th century – one of which, led by John Wesley Powell, was the first to run the rapids of the Grand Canyon. American explorers collected valuable information that would later be used to develop the river for navigation, lesser numbers settled in the upper basin, which was the scene of major gold strikes in the 1860s and 1870s. Large engineering works began around the start of the 20th century, with guidelines established in a series of international. The U. S. federal government was the driving force behind the construction of dams and aqueducts in the river system, although many state. Most of the dams in the river basin were built between 1910 and 1970, the system keystone, Hoover Dam, was completed in 1935. The Colorado is now considered among the most controlled and litigated rivers in the world, as demands for Colorado River water continue to rise, the level of human development and control of the river continues to generate controversy. The Colorado begins at La Poudre Pass in the Southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado, after a short run south, the river turns west below Grand Lake, the largest natural lake in the state. As it flows southwest, it gains strength from many tributaries, as well as larger ones including the Blue, Eagle. In a few areas, such as the marshy Kawuneeche Valley near the headwaters, arcing northwest, the Colorado begins to cut across the eponymous Colorado Plateau, a vast area of high desert centered at the Four Corners of the southwestern United States. In Utah, the Colorado flows primarily through the slickrock country and this is one of the most inaccessible regions of the continental United States. Here, the San Juan River, carrying runoff from the slope of Colorados San Juan Mountains, joins the Colorado from the east. S
13.
Alamo Canal
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The Alamo Canal was a 14 mi long waterway that connected the Colorado River to the head of the Alamo River. The canal was constructed to provide irrigation to the Imperial Valley, a small portion of the canal was located in the United States but the majority of the canal was located in Mexico. The Alamo Canal is also known as the Imperial Canal, historically, the Colorado River flowed to the Gulf of California, however in times of the spring floods the Colorado River would overflow its banks and also drain into the Alamo River. Flow from the Alamo River then drained to the Salton Sink area of the Colorado Desert, such overflow had been observed in 1884,1891,1892, and 1895. The Alamo Canal was the first attempt to create that diversion and it was engineered by George Chaffey of the California Development Company starting in 1900. The canal intake and temporary wooden headgates were initially located in the United States at Pilot Knob due to the availability of a rock foundation. The canal then crossed the border with Mexico and ran parallel to the Colorado River for approximately 4 miles and this path was selected to avoid the expensive engineering that would otherwise be required if the canal were to traverse the Algodones Dunes. A small amount of water was first delivered to the Imperial Valley in 1901. In 1906 work was completed on the permanent concrete headgates at Hanlon Heading, in 1904 heavy silting greatly reduced the water-carrying capacity of the canal. Imperial Valley farmers, under financial stress, pressured the California Development Company to resolve the problem. During the subsequent seasonal floods of 1904 through to late 1906, at various times during this period the entirety of the Colorado River was diverted into the canal. Rockwoods action in ordering the breach was later described as a blunder so serious as to be practically criminal, multiple failed attempts were made to close the diversion and establish a controlled flow via headgates. On January 27,1907 the flooding was stopped after substantial intervention by the Southern Pacific Company. The rate of loss through aquifer replenishment and evaporation in the Salton Sink was much less than the massive inflow of the Colorado River via the third diversion of the Alamo Canal. As a direct result of the decision to create canal intakes from the Colorado River without headgates the Salton Sea was formed, ongoing provision of water to the Imperial Valley from the Alamo Canal ensured that the Salton Sea would remain intact through the lifetime of the canal. The initial flooding of the Salton Sink destroyed the New Liverpool Salt Company works, on January 10,1908 the owners of the works were awarded a judgement against the California Development Company of $458,246.23. Southern Pacific, which incurred considerable costs repairing the breaches, held a judgement against California Development of $3,772,128.52. By June,1915 a total of $5,049,554.78 was owed to creditors and this debt triggered the bankruptcy of California Development, with all assets passed to Southern Pacific
14.
All-American Canal
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The All-American Canal is an 80-mile long aqueduct, located in southeastern California. It conveys water from the Colorado River into the Imperial Valley and it is the Imperial Valleys only water source, and replaced the Alamo Canal, which was located mostly in Mexico. Five smaller canals branching off the All American Canal move water into the Imperial Valley and these canal systems irrigate up to 630,000 acres of good crop land and have made possible a greatly increased crop yield in this area, originally one of the driest on earth. It is the largest irrigation canal in the world, carrying a maximum of 26,155 cubic feet per second, agricultural runoff from the All American Canal drains into the Salton Sea. The All American Canal runs parallel to the Mexico California border for several miles, with over 500 people having drowned in the canal since 1997, it has been called the Most Dangerous Body of Water in the U. S. The All-American Canal was authorized along with the Hoover Dam by the 1928 Boulder Canyon Project Act and built in the 1930s by the United States Bureau of Reclamation and Six Companies, Inc. Its design and construction was supervised by the Bureaus then chief designing engineer, the Bureau of Reclamation owns the canal, but the Imperial Irrigation District operates it. Water for the canal is diverted at the Imperial Diversion Dam, the All-American Canal feeds, from east to west, the Coachella Canal, East Highline Canal, Central Main Canal, and the Westside Main Canal. Eight hydroelectric power plants have been constructed along drops in the All-American Canal system, drops 1 through 5, Pilot Knob, East Highline and Double Weir are located on the All-American Canal. Another power plant, Turnip, is located on the Central Main Canal branch, the power plants are all relatively small and have a combined capacity of 58 MW. Electricity generation is dictated by water delivery needs, there is also a 7.2 MW pumped storage plant at Senator Wash Dam. Water from the Senator Wash Reservoir is released when water needs exceed flows at Parker Dam. Runoff from the farmland irrigated by the All-American Canal make up most of the flows in the Alamo River and New River, the rest is from smaller rivers and drainage systems. Historically, the Salton Sea had been flooded by extreme Colorado River floods. If not for the All-American Canal, the Salton Sea would have dried up long ago. The system transports silt, selenium and salts from the Colorado River into the Salton Sea, because there is no outlet to the ocean, these salts and minerals are concentrated by evaporation. Approximately 68,000 acre feet was lost annually by seepage from the All-American Canal, about 90% of this seepage entered Mexico. At first this seepage caused widespread flooding, but Mexicali Valley residents and businesses built drainage, Mexicali Valley agriculture became reliant upon this seepage for irrigation
15.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
16.
Mexico
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Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a federal republic in the southern half of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States, to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean, to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea, and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost two million square kilometers, Mexico is the sixth largest country in the Americas by total area, Mexico is a federation comprising 31 states and a federal district that is also its capital and most populous city. Other metropolises include Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, Toluca, Tijuana, pre-Columbian Mexico was home to many advanced Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya and Aztec before first contact with Europeans. In 1521, the Spanish Empire conquered and colonized the territory from its base in Mexico-Tenochtitlan, Three centuries later, this territory became Mexico following recognition in 1821 after the colonys Mexican War of Independence. The tumultuous post-independence period was characterized by instability and many political changes. The Mexican–American War led to the cession of the extensive northern borderlands, one-third of its territory. The Pastry War, the Franco-Mexican War, a civil war, the dictatorship was overthrown in the Mexican Revolution of 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the countrys current political system. Mexico has the fifteenth largest nominal GDP and the eleventh largest by purchasing power parity, the Mexican economy is strongly linked to those of its North American Free Trade Agreement partners, especially the United States. Mexico was the first Latin American member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and it is classified as an upper-middle income country by the World Bank and a newly industrialized country by several analysts. By 2050, Mexico could become the fifth or seventh largest economy. The country is considered both a power and middle power, and is often identified as an emerging global power. Due to its culture and history, Mexico ranks first in the Americas. Mexico is a country, ranking fourth in the world by biodiversity. In 2015 it was the 9th most visited country in the world, Mexico is a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G8+5, the G20, the Uniting for Consensus and the Pacific Alliance. Mēxihco is the Nahuatl term for the heartland of the Aztec Empire, namely, the Valley of Mexico, and its people, the Mexica and this became the future State of Mexico as a division of New Spain prior to independence. It is generally considered to be a toponym for the valley became the primary ethnonym for the Aztec Triple Alliance as a result. After New Spain won independence from Spain, representatives decided to name the new country after its capital and this was founded in 1524 on top of the ancient Mexica capital of Mexico-Tenochtitlan
17.
Casino
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A casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. The industry that deals in casinos is called the gaming industry, casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions. There is much debate whether or not the social and economic consequences of casino gambling outweigh the initial revenue that may be generated. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertainment events, such as comedy, concerts. The term casino is a confusing linguistic false friend for translators, Casino is of Italian origin, the root casa originally meant a small country villa, summerhouse, or social club. In modern-day Italian, the term designates a bordello, while the gambling house is spelled casinò with an accent. Not all casinos were used for gaming, the Copenhagen Casino was a theatre, known for the mass public meetings often held in its hall during the 1848 Revolution, which made Denmark a constitutional monarchy. Until 1937, it was a well-known Danish theatre, the Hanko Casino in Hanko, Finland—one of that towns most conspicuous landmarks—was never used for gambling. Rather, it was a hall for the Russian nobility which frequented this spa resort in the late 19th century and is now used as a restaurant. In military and non-military usage in German and Spanish, a casino or kasino is an officers mess, in Italian—the source-language of the word—a casino is either a brothel, a mess, or a noisy environment, while a gaming house is called a casinò. The precise origin of gambling is unknown and it is generally believed that gambling in some form or another has been seen in almost every society in history. From the Ancient Greeks and Romans to Napoleons France and Elizabethan England and it was closed in 1774 as the city government felt it was impoverishing the local gentry. In American history, early gambling establishments were known as saloons, the creation and importance of saloons was greatly influenced by four major cities, New Orleans, St. Louis, Chicago and San Francisco. It was in the saloons that travelers could find people to talk to, drink with, during the early 20th century in America, gambling became outlawed and banned by state legislation and social reformers of the time. However, in 1931, gambling was legalized throughout the state of Nevada, Americas first legalized casinos were set up in those places. In 1976 New Jersey allowed gambling in Atlantic City, now Americas second largest gambling city, most jurisdictions worldwide have a minimum gambling age. Customers gamble by playing games of chance, in cases with an element of skill, such as craps, roulette, baccarat, blackjack. Most games played have mathematically determined odds that ensure the house has at all times an overall advantage over the players and this can be expressed more precisely by the notion of expected value, which is uniformly negative
18.
Quechan
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Not to be confused with Quechua, South American language. The Quechan are a Native American tribe who live on the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation on the lower Colorado River in Arizona, members are enrolled into the Quechan Tribe of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation. The federally recognized Quechan tribes main office is located in Fort Yuma and its operations and the majority of its reservation land are located in California, United States. The term Patayan is used by archaeologists to describe the prehistoric Native American cultures who inhabited parts of modern day Arizona, California and these areas included territory near the Colorado River Valley, the nearby uplands, and north to the vicinity of the Grand Canyon. The prehistoric people may have been ancestral to the Quechan and they practiced floodplain agriculture where possible, but relied heavily on hunting and gathering. The first significant contact of the Quechan with Europeans was with the Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza, the chief Palma and his three companions were baptized in Mexico City on February 13,1777. Palma was given the Spanish baptismal name Salvador Carlos Antonio, Spanish settlement among the Quechan did not go smoothly, the tribe rebelled from July 17–19,1781 and killed four priests and thirty soldiers. They also attacked and damaged the Spanish mission settlements of San Pedro y San Pablo de Bicuñer and Puerto de Purísima Concepción, the following year, the Spanish retaliated with military action against the tribe. After the United States annexed the territories after winning the Mexican-American War, during which, the historic Fort Yuma was built across the Colorado River from the present day Yuma, Arizona. Estimates for the populations of most native groups in California have varied substantially. Alfred L. Kroeber put the 1770 population of the Quechan at 2,500, jack D. Forbes compiled historical estimates and suggested that before they were first contacted, the Quechan had numbered 4,000 or a few more. Kroeber estimated the population of the Quechan in 1910 as 750, by 1950, there were reported to be just under 1,000 Quechan living on the reservation and another 1, 100+ off it. The 2000 census reported a resident population of 2,376 persons on the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation, more than 27 percent identified as white. The Quechan language is part of the Yuman language family, the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation is a part of the Quechans traditional lands. Established in 1884, the reservation, at 32°47′N 114°39′W, has an area of 178.197 km2 in southeastern Imperial County, California. Both the county and city are named for the tribe, warriors of the Colorado, The Yumas of the Quechan Nation and Their Neighbors. Kroeber, A. L. Handbook of the Indians of California, a Native American Encyclopedia, History, Culture, and Peoples. Traders and Raiders, The Indigenous World of the Colorado Basin, chapel Hill, NC, University of North Carolina Press
19.
Native Americans in the United States
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In the United States, Native Americans are people descended from the Pre-Columbian indigenous population of the land within the countrys modern boundaries. These peoples were composed of distinct tribes, bands, and ethnic groups. Most Native American groups had historically preserved their histories by oral traditions and artwork, at the time of first contact, the indigenous cultures were quite different from those of the proto-industrial and mostly Christian immigrants. Some of the Northeastern and Southwestern cultures in particular were matrilineal, the majority of Indigenous American tribes maintained their hunting grounds and agricultural lands for use of the entire tribe. Europeans at that time had patriarchal cultures and had developed concepts of property rights with respect to land that were extremely different. Assimilation became a consistent policy through American administrations, during the 19th century, the ideology of manifest destiny became integral to the American nationalist movement. Expansion of European-American populations to the west after the American Revolution resulted in increasing pressure on Native American lands and this resulted in the ethnic cleansing of many tribes, with the brutal, forced marches coming to be known as The Trail of Tears. As American expansion reached into the West, settler and miner migrants came into increasing conflict with the Great Basin, Great Plains and these were complex nomadic cultures based on horse culture and seasonal bison hunting. Over time, the United States forced a series of treaties and land cessions by the tribes, in 1924, Native Americans who were not already U. S. citizens were granted citizenship by Congress. Contemporary Native Americans have a relationship with the United States because they may be members of nations, tribes. The terms used to refer to Native Americans have at times been controversial, by comparison, the indigenous peoples of Canada are generally known as First Nations. It is not definitively known how or when the Native Americans first settled the Americas and these early inhabitants, called Paleoamericans, soon diversified into many hundreds of culturally distinct nations and tribes. The archaeological periods used are the classifications of archaeological periods and cultures established in Gordon Willey and Philip Phillips 1958 book Method and they divided the archaeological record in the Americas into five phases, see Archaeology of the Americas. The Clovis culture, a hunting culture, is primarily identified by use of fluted spear points. Artifacts from this culture were first excavated in 1932 near Clovis, the Clovis culture ranged over much of North America and also appeared in South America. The culture is identified by the distinctive Clovis point, a flaked flint spear-point with a notched flute, dating of Clovis materials has been by association with animal bones and by the use of carbon dating methods. Recent reexaminations of Clovis materials using improved carbon-dating methods produced results of 11,050 and 10,800 radiocarbon years B. P, other tribes have stories that recount migrations across long tracts of land and a great river, believed to be the Mississippi River. Genetic and linguistic data connect the people of this continent with ancient northeast Asians
20.
National Highway System (United States)
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Altogether, it constitutes the largest highway system in the world. Individual states are encouraged to focus federal funds on improving the efficiency, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 provided that certain key routes such as the Interstate Highway System, be included. The National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 is a United States Act of Congress that was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on November 28,1995, the legislation designated about 160,955 miles of roads, including the Interstate Highway System, as the NHS. Aside from designating the system, the act served several other purposes, the act also created a State Infrastructure Bank pilot program. Ten states were chosen in 1996 for this new method of road financing and these banks would lend money like regular banks, with funding coming from the federal government or the private sector, and they would be repaid through such means as highway tolls or taxes. In 1997,28 more states asked to be part of the program, ohio was the first state to use a state infrastructure bank to start building a road. An advantage to this method was completing projects faster, state laws, all urban areas with a population of over 50,000 and about 90% of Americas population live within 5 miles of the network, which is the longest in the world
21.
Federal Highway Administration
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The Federal Highway Administration is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agencys major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program and the Federal Lands Highway Program and its role had previously been performed by the Office of Road Inquiry, Office of Public Roads and the Bureau of Public Roads. The organization has several organizations and a complicated history. The Office of Road Inquiry was founded in 1893, in 1905 that organizations name was changed to the Office of Public Roads which became a division of the United States Department of Agriculture. The name was changed again to the Bureau of Public Roads in 1915 and it was then shifted to the Federal Works Agency which was abolished in 1949 when its name reverted to Bureau of Public Roads under the Department of Commerce. With the coming of the bicycle in the 1890s, interest grew regarding the improvement of streets, the traditional method of putting the burden on maintaining roads on local landowners was increasingly inadequate. New York State took the lead in 1898, and by 1916 the old system had been discarded everywhere area, demands grew for local and state government to take charge. With the coming of the automobile after 1910, urgent efforts were made to upgrade, the American Association for Highway Improvement was organized in 1910. Funding came from automobile registration, and taxes on motor fuels, in 1916, federal-aid was first made available to improve post-roads, and promote general commerce. Congress appropriated $75 million over a period, with the Secretary of Agriculture in charge through the Bureau of Public Roads. There were 2.4 million miles of rural dirt rural roads in 1914,100,000 miles had been improved with grading and gravel, the rapidly increasing speed of automobiles, and especially trucks, made maintenance and repair high-priority item. Concrete was first used in 1893, and expanded until it became the dominant surfacing material in the 1930s, from 1917 through 1941,261,000 miles of highways were built with federal aid, and cost $5.31 billion. Federal funds totaled $3.17 billion, and state-local funds were $2.14 billion, the FHWA was created on October 15,1966. In 1967 the functions of the Bureau of Public Roads were transferred to the new organization and it was one of three original bureaus along with the Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety and the National Highway Safety Bureau. The FHWA’s role in the Federal-aid Highway Program is to oversee federal funds used for constructing and maintaining the National Highway System and this funding mostly comes from the federal gasoline tax and mostly goes to state departments of transportation. FHWA oversees projects using these funds to ensure that requirements for project eligibility. The FHWA also publishes the “Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices”, the MUTCD specifies such things as the size, color and height of traffic signs, traffic signals and road surface markings. The Federal Highway Administration is overseen by an Administrator appointed by the President of the United States by, the Administrator works under the direction of the Secretary of Transportation and Deputy Secretary of Transportation
22.
Annual average daily traffic
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Annual average daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning and transportation engineering. Traditionally, it is the volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a year divided by 365 days. AADT is a useful and simple measurement of how busy the road is, newer advances from traffic data providers are now providing AADT by side of the road, by day of week and by time of day. One of the most important uses of AADT is for determining funding for the maintenance, in the United States the amount of federal funding a state will receive is related to the total traffic measured across its Highway network. Each year on June 15, every state in the United States submits a Highway Performance Monitoring System HPMS report, the HPMS report contains various information regarding the road segments in the state based on a sample of the road segments. In the report, the AADT is converted to Vehicle Miles Traveled, VMT is the AADT multiplied by the length of the road segment. To determine the amount of traffic a state has, the AADT cannot be summed for all road segments since an AADT is a rate, the VMT is summed and is used as an indicator of the amount of traffic a state has. For federal-funding, formulas are applied to include the VMT and other highway statistics, to measure AADT on individual road segments, traffic data is collected either by an automated traffic counter or hiring an observer to record traffic. There are two different techniques of measuring the AADTs for road segments, one technique is called continuous count data collection method. This is where sensors are embedded into a road and traffic data is measured all 365 days. The AADT would be the sum of the traffic for the entire year divided by 365 days. There is a problem calculating the AADT with this method. The continuous count equipment is not operating for the full 365 days due to being shut down for maintenance or repair, because of this, seasonal or day-of-week biases might skew the calculated AADT. In 1992, AASHTO released the AASHTO Guidelines for Traffic Data Programs, for every month and day-of-week, a Monthly Average Day of Week is calculated. Each day-of-weeks MADW is then calculated across months to calculate an Annual Average Day of Week, finally, the AADWs are averaged to calculate an AADT. The United States Federal Highway Administration has adopted this method as the method in the. While providing the most accurate AADT, installing and maintaining continuous count stations method is costly, most agencies are only able to monitor a very small percentage of the roadway using this method. Most AADTs are generated using data collection methods sometimes known as the coverage count data collection method
23.
California State Legislature
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The California State Legislature is the state legislature of the U. S. state of California. It is a body consisting of the lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members, and the upper house. New legislators convene each new session, to organize, in the Assembly and Senate Chambers, respectively. Aside from the recess, the legislature is in session year-round, the Democratic Party currently holds supermajorities in both chambers of the California Legislature. The state senate currently consists of 27 Democrats and 13 Republicans, except for the period from 1995 to 1996, the Assembly has been in Democratic hands since the 1970 election. The Senate has been in Democratic hands continuously since 1970, the first Californian State House was originally a hotel in San Jose owned by businessman Pierre Don Pedro Sainsevain and his associates. The State Legislature currently meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento, members of the Assembly are elected from 80 districts and serve two-year terms. Members of the Senate are elected from forty districts and serve four-year terms, twenty Senate seats are up for election at each two-year election cycle. Term limits were established in 1990 following the passage of Proposition 140. In June 2012, voters approved Proposition 28 which allows legislators to serve a maximum of 12 years without regard to whether the years are served in the State Assembly or the State Senate. The proceedings of the California State Legislature are briefly summarized in regularly published journals, which show votes, reports produced by California executive agencies, as well as the Legislature, were published in the Appendices to the Journals from 1849 to 1970. Since the 1990s, the legislature has provided a video feed for its sessions. Due to the expense and the obvious political downside, California did not keep records of actual speeches made by members of the Assembly. As a result, reconstructing legislative intent outside of an acts preamble is extremely difficult in California for legislation passed before the 1990s. Since 1993, the Legislature has hosted a web/ftp site in one form or another, the most sought-after legislative committee appointments are to banking, agriculture and insurance. A bill is a proposal to change, repeal, or add to existing state law, an Assembly Bill is one introduced in the Assembly, a Senate Bill, in the Senate. Bills are designated by number, in the order of introduction in each house, for example, AB16 refers to the 16th bill introduced in the Assembly. The numbering starts afresh each session, there may be one or more extraordinary sessions
24.
Andrade Port of Entry
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The Andrade Port of Entry is the easternmost and lowest volume border crossing in California, USA. It is located 2 miles south of Interstate 8, and about 2000 feet west of the Colorado River, in Imperial County opposite the Los Algodones border crossing in Baja California and it is a minor port in comparison to the larger Calexico West and Calexico East Ports of Entry. In spite of its desert location, it supports significant tourist traffic volume. The Andrade-Los Algodones border crossing is also Mexicos northernmost port of entry, the port ranked 11th for pedestrian crossings in 2010, with more than one million people processed by U. S. Customs and Border Protection. List of Mexico–United States border crossings List of Canada–United States border crossings
25.
Yuma, Arizona
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Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. It is located in the corner of the state. Yuma is the city of the Yuma, Arizona Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the United States Census Bureau, the 2014 estimated population of the Yuma MSA is 203,247, more than 85,000 retirees make Yuma their winter residence. The areas first settlers for thousands of years were Native American cultures and their descendants now occupy the Cocopah and Quechan reservations. In 1540, Spanish colonial expeditions under Hernando de Alarcon and Melchior Diaz visited the area, the Colorado River narrows to slightly under 1,000 feet wide in one area. Military expeditions that crossed the Colorado River at the Yuma Crossing include Juan Bautista de Anza, the Mormon Battalion, during and after the California Gold Rush to the late 1870s, the Yuma Crossing was known for its ferry crossings for the Southern Emigrant Trail. This was considered the gateway to California, as it was one of the few spots where travelers could cross the otherwise very wide Colorado River. Following the United States establishing Fort Yuma, two towns developed one mile down river, the one on the California side was called Jaeger City, named after the owner of Jaegers Ferry, which crossed the river there. It was for a time the larger of the two, with the Butterfield Overland Mail office and station, two blacksmiths, a hotel, two stores, and other dwellings, the other was called Colorado City. Developed on the side of the river in what is now Arizona by speculator Charles Poston. When started, it was just north of the border between Mexican-ruled Sonora, Mexico and California, after the Gadsden Purchase by the United States, the town bordered on the Territory of New Mexico. This area was designated as the Territory of Arizona in 1863, the county of San Diego collected taxes from there for many years. From 1853 a smaller settlement, Arizona City, grew up on the ground across from the fort and was organized under the name of its post office in 1858. It had adobe dwellings, two stores and two saloons, Colorado City and Jaeger City were almost completely destroyed by the Great Flood of 1862 and had to be rebuilt on higher ground. At that time Colorado City became part of Arizona City and it took the name Yuma in 1873. From 1854, Colorado City was the major stop for traffic up. After the 1862 flood, it part of Arizona City
26.
El Centro, California
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El Centro is also the largest American city to lie entirely below sea level. The city, located in the far corner of California, is near the major Southern California city of San Diego. Founded in 1906, W. F. Holt and C. A. Barker purchased the land on which El Centro was eventually built for about $40 per acre and invested $100,000 in improvements. As one historian of valley life put it, in five months El Centro went from a barley field to a city. It is home to retail, transportation, wholesale, and agricultural industries, there are also two international border crossings nearby for commercial and noncommercial vehicles. The citys population was 42,598 at the 2010 census, spanish explorer Melchor Díaz was one of the first Europeans to visit the area around El Centro and Imperial Valley in 1540. The explorer Juan Bautista de Anza also explored the area in 1776, years later, after the Mexican-American War, the northern half of the valley was annexed by the U. S. while the southern half remained under Mexican rule. Small scale settlement in natural aquifer areas occurred in the early 19th century, originally part of San Diego County, the Imperial Valley was settled by farmers once water from the Colorado River was diverted via canals to irrigate the desert valley floor. In 1906, the land on which El Centro was later built was purchased by W. F. Holt, by 1907 Imperial County was incorporated into California and by then much of the valley was successfully irrigated. Before the town began, the railroad had established a station, Barker, a friend of the landowner. The first post office in El Centro opened in 1905, the City of El Centro was incorporated on April 16,1908. By 1910, the population of the city had reached 1,610, one reason for this rapid growth was El Centros becoming the county seat of Imperial County. Population growth was slow, but accelerated in the 1930s, and again in the 1940s, by the mid-1940s, El Centro had become the second largest city in the Imperial Valley, with a population of about 11,000 people. El Centro had also become the location of the Imperial Irrigation District administrative offices, Imperial Valley Mall opened on the southeast side of the city in 2005. The nearby Algodones Dunes, the largest dune field in the US, draws thousands of visitors each year, the Salton Sea lies 30 miles north of El Centro, but water sport enthusiasts head to the Colorado River,50 miles to the east near Yuma, Arizona. The El Centro Naval Air Facility 10 miles to the west is home to the annual Blue Angels flight maneuvering event, stark Field is home of a minor league baseball team El Centro Imperials of the Arizona Summer League. Mexico is 10 miles away, which offers big city amenities like museums, a zoo, according to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.1 square miles, of which over 99% is land. El Centro is located in the Imperial Valley, the city is 50 feet below sea level and the largest city in the United States below sea level
27.
California County Routes in zone S
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There are 34 routes assigned to the S zone of the California Route Marker Program, which designates county routes in California. The S zone includes county highways in Imperial, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, County Route S1, also known as Sunrise Highway for a portion of its length, is a 34.08 mi long county route located entirely in San Diego County, California. It begins at SR94 near Barrett and moves northward across Interstate 8 and this segment is also known as Buckman Springs Road. North of I-8, it is the Sunrise Scenic Byway, a National Forest Scenic Byway, the route begins at SR94 near Barrett not far from the Mexican border. From there, it heads northward along Buckman Springs Road, soon afterwards, it enters the Cleveland National Forest. It then closely parallels I-8 for several miles, upon crossing the freeway at Laguna Junction, CR S1 separates from Old Highway 80 and becomes Sunrise Scenic Byway. From Interstate 8, it begins its ascent into the Laguna Mountains, the route here was built along a cliff overlooking Pine Valley to its west. Around here, the vegetation is still consisted of chaparral and sagebrush, as the route gains elevation through Cleveland National Forest, the route becomes more heavily forested. Around here, numerous campgrounds dot the side of the road, there exists a picnic area overlooking Anza-Borrego Desert State Park near the Burnt Rancheria Campground, which is often said to deeply contrast the forest scenery along the route. Upon passing the settlement of Laguna Mountain, the vegetation along the route consists of dead trees devastated by the 2003 Cedar Fire. As the route approaches its end at SR79, Lake Cuyamaca is visible. The north terminus is located just north of Cuyamaca Rancho State Park where it meets State Route 79, the route was established by the county in the year 1959, where the entire route was designated as it is now. No major numbering or routing changes occurred throughout its history, the northern segment of the route was also established as a Scenic Byway in 1959. County Route S2 is a county highway in the US state of California and it runs for 65 miles, north–south, in Imperial County and San Diego County. S2 is the third longest county route in California and is almost exclusively a rural road. It largely follows the route of the former Southern Emigrant Trail, the highway begins at a junction with State Route 98 in Ocotillo, California, and runs north through an interchange with Interstate 8. This part is also called Imperial Highway, the highway crosses into San Diego County and its name changes to Sweeney Pass Road. Farther north, the name of the changes to the Great Southern Overland Stage Route of 1849 at a remote junction
28.
Microsoft Excel
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Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet developed by Microsoft for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a programming language called Visual Basic for Applications. It has been a widely applied spreadsheet for these platforms, especially since version 5 in 1993. Excel forms part of Microsoft Office, Microsoft Excel has the basic features of all spreadsheets, using a grid of cells arranged in numbered rows and letter-named columns to organize data manipulations like arithmetic operations. It has a battery of supplied functions to answer statistical, engineering, in addition, it can display data as line graphs, histograms and charts, and with a very limited three-dimensional graphical display. It allows sectioning of data to view its dependencies on various factors for different perspectives, Excel was not designed to be used as a database. Microsoft allows for a number of optional command-line switches to control the manner in which Excel starts, the Windows version of Excel supports programming through Microsofts Visual Basic for Applications, which is a dialect of Visual Basic. Programming with VBA allows spreadsheet manipulation that is awkward or impossible with standard spreadsheet techniques, programmers may write code directly using the Visual Basic Editor, which includes a window for writing code, debugging code, and code module organization environment. A common and easy way to generate VBA code is by using the Macro Recorder, the Macro Recorder records actions of the user and generates VBA code in the form of a macro. These actions can then be repeated automatically by running the macro, the macros can also be linked to different trigger types like keyboard shortcuts, a command button or a graphic. The actions in the macro can be executed from these types or from the generic toolbar options. The VBA code of the macro can also be edited in the VBE, advanced users can employ user prompts to create an interactive program, or react to events such as sheets being loaded or changed. Macro Recorded code may not be compatible between Excel versions, some code that is used in Excel 2010 can not be used in Excel 2003. Making a Macro that changes the colors and making changes to other aspects of cells may not be backward compatible. User-created VBA subroutines execute these actions and operate like macros generated using the macro recorder, from its first version Excel supported end user programming of macros and user defined functions.0. Beginning with version 5.0 Excel recorded macros in VBA by default, after version 5.0 that option was discontinued. All versions of Excel, including Excel 2010 are capable of running an XLM macro, Excel supports charts, graphs, or histograms generated from specified groups of cells. The generated graphic component can either be embedded within the current sheet and these displays are dynamically updated if the content of cells change
29.
Google
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Google is an American multinational technology company specializing in Internet-related services and products. These include online advertising technologies, search, cloud computing, software, Google was founded in 1996 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were Ph. D. students at Stanford University, in California. Together, they own about 14 percent of its shares, and they incorporated Google as a privately held company on September 4,1998. An initial public offering took place on August 19,2004, in August 2015, Google announced plans to reorganize its various interests as a conglomerate called Alphabet Inc. Google, Alphabets leading subsidiary, will continue to be the company for Alphabets Internet interests. Upon completion of the restructure, Sundar Pichai became CEO of Google, replacing Larry Page, rapid growth since incorporation has triggered a chain of products, acquisitions, and partnerships beyond Googles core search engine. The company leads the development of the Android mobile operating system, the Google Chrome web browser, and Chrome OS, the new hardware chief, Rick Osterloh, stated, a lot of the innovation that we want to do now ends up requiring controlling the end-to-end user experience. Google has also experimented with becoming an Internet carrier, alexa, a company that monitors commercial web traffic, lists Google. com as the most visited website in the world. Several other Google services also figure in the top 100 most visited websites, including YouTube, Googles mission statement, from the outset, was to organize the worlds information and make it universally accessible and useful, and its unofficial slogan was Dont be evil. In October 2015, the motto was replaced in the Alphabet corporate code of conduct by the phrase Do the right thing, Google began in January 1996 as a research project by Larry Page and Sergey Brin when they were both PhD students at Stanford University in Stanford, California. They called this new technology PageRank, it determined a websites relevance by the number of pages, and the importance of those pages, Page and Brin originally nicknamed their new search engine BackRub, because the system checked backlinks to estimate the importance of a site. Originally, Google ran under Stanford Universitys website, with the domains google. stanford. edu, the domain name for Google was registered on September 15,1997, and the company was incorporated on September 4,1998. It was based in the garage of a friend in Menlo Park, craig Silverstein, a fellow PhD student at Stanford, was hired as the first employee. The first funding for Google was an August 1998 contribution of $100,000 from Andy Bechtolsheim, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, given before Google was incorporated. At least three other investors invested in 1998, Amazon. com founder Jeff Bezos, Stanford University computer science professor David Cheriton. Author Ken Auletta claims that each invested $250,000, early in 1999, Brin and Page decided they wanted to sell Google to Excite. They went to Excite CEO George Bell and offered to sell it to him for $1 million, vinod Khosla, one of Excites venture capitalists, talked the duo down to $750,000, but Bell still rejected it. Googles initial public offering took place five years later, on August 19,2004, at that time Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Eric Schmidt agreed to work together at Google for 20 years, until the year 2024
30.
Google Maps
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Google Maps is a web mapping service developed by Google. It offers satellite imagery, street maps, 360° panoramic views of streets, real-time traffic conditions, Google maps began as a C++ desktop program designed by Lars and Jens Eilstrup Rasmussen at Where 2 Technologies. In October 2004, the company was acquired by Google, which converted it into a web application, after additional acquisitions of a geospatial data visualization company and a realtime traffic analyzer, Google Maps was launched in February 2005. The services front end utilizes JavaScript, XML, and Ajax, Google Maps offers an API that allows maps to be embedded on third-party websites, and offers a locator for urban businesses and other organizations in numerous countries around the world. Google Map Maker allows users to expand and update the services mapping worldwide. Much of the satellite imagery is no more than three years old and is updated on a regular basis. Google Maps uses a variant of the Mercator projection. The current redesigned version of the application was made available in 2013. Google Maps for mobile was released in September 2008 and features GPS turn-by-turn navigation, in August 2013, it was determined to be the worlds most popular app for smartphones, with over 54% of global smartphone owners using it at least once. In 2012, Google reported having over 7,100 employees, Google Maps provides a route planner under Get Directions. Up to four modes of transportation are available depending on the area, driving, public transit, walking, in combination with Google Street View, issues such as parking, turning lanes, and one-way streets can be viewed before traveling. China mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, Jordan, Lebanon, only public transit directions are provided for South Korea. All countries of mainland North and Central America are covered contiguously, all countries of mainland South America are covered. All countries including Trinidad and Tobago* are treated contiguously, all inhabited countries and territories in the Caribbean are covered, though in general there are no connections between islands. Like many other Google web applications, Google Maps uses JavaScript extensively, as the user drags the map, the grid squares are downloaded from the server and inserted into the page. When a user searches for a business, the results are downloaded in the background for insertion into the panel and map. Locations are drawn dynamically by positioning a red pin on top of the map images, a hidden IFrame with form submission is used because it preserves browser history. The site also uses JSON for data rather than XML
I-8 near Winterhaven
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CR S24 (Araz Road)
