1.
Donner Lake
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Donner Lake is a freshwater lake in Northeast California on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada and about 11 miles northwest of the much larger Lake Tahoe. A moraine serves as a dam for the lake. The lake is located in the town of Truckee, between Interstate 80 to the north and Schallenberger Ridge to the south, the tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad run along Schallenberger Ridge and closely follow the route of the original transcontinental railroad. The historic route of the Lincoln Highway, the first automobile road across America and US40 follows the northern shoreline, both the lake and the pass were named after the ill-fated Donner Party, which wintered unintentionally near the lake in 1846. Donner Memorial State Park is on the east end of the lake, there are also various hiking trails in the park. The lakes depth has been measured by the California State Lands Commission to be 238 feet deep at its deepest point, the deepest point is the fallen tree, just off the guard rail on the north side. High water level is 5,935.8 feet above Mean Sea Level, Donner Lake holds some of the biggest Lake Trout in the state. There is also a population of Rainbow and Brown Trout as well as Kokanee Salmon. Fisherman use downriggers and troll with plugs for Kokanee Salmon and Rainbow Trout in order to catch the trophy sized Lake Trout. During the Spring and Fall season, Lake Trout come to the top to feed, a public boat ramp operated by the Truckee Donner Recreation & Parks District is available in the northwest corner of Donner Lake. There is a fee charged for boat launching, the lake is open to both power and sail boats. Donner Memorial State Park wraps around the East and part of the South shore of the Lake, summer activities include, camping, picnicking, boating, fishing, water-skiing, wind-surfing hiking and mountain biking. Winter activities include skiing and snowshoeing. The Park features the Pioneer Monument, welcoming visitors year round, the statue itself is positioned 23 feet high, which is said to be the depth snow reached during the winter of 1846 when the Donner Party failed to make it over the pass. The North shore of the Lake hosts 1.5 miles of public docks for both swimmers and boaters, there are roughly 2.5 miles of hiking trails inside the Park. Visitors can legally park in Coldstream Canyon which contains the alignment of the primary Emigrant Trail, which leads up to U. S. Forest Service, Donner lake is roughly 8 miles around which also makes for a great hike. There are 154 sites to camp at in the park and an area along the lake. A lakeside interpretive trail has 18 panels which discuss the natural and cultural resources in the local area,1915, The Bancroft Library Change of Pace Pipeline spill of diesel fuel into Donner Lake settlement
2.
Nevada County, California
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Nevada County is a County located in the Sierra Nevada of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 98,764, the county seat is Nevada City. Nevada County comprises the Truckee-Grass Valley, CA Micropolitan Statistical Area and it is located in the Mother Lode Country. Created in 1851, from portions of Yuba County, Nevada County was named after the town of Nevada City. The word nevada is Spanish for snowy or snow-covered, Nevada City was the first to use the word Nevada in its name. In 1851 the newly formed Nevada County used the name as the county seat. The bordering state of Nevada used the name in 1861. The region came to life in the Gold Rush of 1849, many historical sites remain to mark the birth of this important region in Californias formative years. Among them are the Nevada Theatre in Nevada City, the oldest theater built in California in 1865 and it operates to this day and once hosted Mark Twain among other historical figures. The Old 5 Mile House stagecoach stop built in 1890, also operates to this day as a provider of hospitality spanning three centuries, the gold industry in Nevada County thrived into the post WWII days. The county had many firsts and historic technological moments, the first long-distance telephone in the world, built in 1877 by the Ridge Telephone Company, connected French Corral with French Lake,58 miles away. It was operated by the Milton Mining Company from a building on site that had been erected about 1853. The Pelton wheel, designed to power gold mines, still drives hydro-electric generators today, Nevada City and Grass Valley were among the first California towns with electric lights. The Olympics, NASA, and virtually every television station around the country utilizes video/broadcasting equipment designed and manufactured by Grass Valley Group, founded in Grass Valley. The Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad was built in 1876, and was the railroad in the West that was never robbed. The rail line closed in 1942 and was torn up for scrap, in Grass Valley the historic Holbrooke Hotel opened in 1851 and housed Mark Twain, Bret Harte, and four U. S. presidents. The Community of Rough and Ready seceded from the Union for a time and became the Great Republic of Rough and Ready. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 974 square miles
3.
Placer County, California
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Placer County, officially the County of Placer, is a county located in the U. S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 348,432, Placer County is included in the Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located in both the Sacramento Valley and Sierra Nevada regions, in what is known as the Gold Country and it stretches from the suburbs of Sacramento to Lake Tahoe and the Nevada border. The discovery of gold in 1848 brought tens of thousands of miners from around the world, in addition to many more thousands intending to provide goods and services to the miners. Only three years after the discovery of gold, the county was formed from portions of Sutter. Placer County took its name from the Spanish word for sand or gravel deposits containing gold, miners washed away the gravel, leaving the heavier gold, in a process known as placer mining. Gold mining was a major industry through the 1880s, but gradually the new residents turned to farming the fertile soil, harvesting timber. Auburn was settled when Claude Chana discovered gold in Auburn Ravine in May 1848 and later became a shipping, the cornerstone of Placers beautiful and historic courthouse, which is clearly visible from Interstate 80 through Auburn, was laid on July 4,1894. The building itself was renovated during the late 1980s and continues to serve the public today with courtrooms, a sheriffs office. Loomis and Newcastle began as mining towns, but soon became centers of a booming fruit-growing industry, penryn was founded by a Welsh miner, Griffith Griffith, who turned from mining to establish a large granite quarry. Rocklin began as a town and became home to a number of granite quarries. Lincoln and Sheridan continue to support ranching and farming, Lincoln also is the home of one of the countys oldest businesses, the Gladding, McBean terra cotta clay manufacturing plant established in 1875. The 1960 Winter Olympics were hosted in Squaw Valley, which is located in Placer County. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 1,502 square miles. Watercourses in Placer County include the American River and Bunch Creek, Lake Tahoe has 40. 96% of its surface area in Placer County, more than in any of the four other counties in which it lies. El Dorado National Forest in part Tahoe National Forest in part The 2010 United States Census reported that Placer County had a population of 348,432. The racial makeup of Placer County was 290,977 White,4,751 African American,3,011 Native American,20,435 Asian,778 Pacific Islander,13,375 from other races, Hispanic or Latino of any race were 44,710 persons. As of the census of 2000, there were 248,399 people,93,382 households, the population density was 177 people per square mile
4.
Truckee, California
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Truckee is an incorporated town in Nevada County, California, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 16,180, the town’s original name was Coburn Station, commemorating a saloon keeper. It was renamed Truckee after a Paiute chief, whose assumed Paiute name was Tru-ki-zo and he was the father of Chief Winnemucca and grandfather of Sarah Winnemucca. The first Europeans who came to cross the Sierra Nevada encountered his tribe, the friendly Chief rode toward them yelling, “Tro-kay. ”, which is Paiute for “Everything is all right”. The unaware travelers assumed he was yelling his name, Chief Truckee later served as a guide for John C. Truckee is located along Interstate 80 at 39°20′32″N 120°12′13″W, Truckee has a dry-summer continental climate. Winters are extremely snowy and cold if not severe, while summers are cool-to-warm and dry, the National Weather Service reports that Truckee’s warmest month is July with an average maximum temperature of 82.7 °F and an average minimum temperature of 42.4 °F. January is the coldest month with an maximum temperature of 40.9 °F. The record maximum temperature of 104 °F was on July 6,2007, the record minimum temperature of −28 °F was on February 27,1962. Normal annual precipitation in Truckee is 30.85 inches, measurable precipitation occurs on an average of 87.0 days annually. The most precipitation in one month was 23.65 inches in December 1955, the most snow in one month was 196.0 inches in February 1938, and the most in a season 444.30 inches between July 1951 and June 1952. The maximum 24-hour snowfall was 34.0 inches on February 17,1990, the 2010 United States Census reported that Truckee had a population of 16,180. The population density was 480.8 people per square mile, the Census reported that 16,137 people lived in households,43 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 were institutionalized. There were 502 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 43 same-sex married couples or partnerships,1,382 households were made up of individuals and 275 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54, there were 4,168 families, the average family size was 2.98. The median age was 38.0 years, for every 100 females there were 108.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.3 males, there were 12,803 housing units at an average density of 380.4 per square mile, of which 4,326 were owner-occupied, and 2,017 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3. 3%, the vacancy rate was 7. 8%
5.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
6.
California Department of Parks and Recreation
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The California Department of Parks and Recreation, also known as California State Parks, manages the California state parks system. Headquartered in Sacramento, park administration is divided into 25 districts, the California State Parks system is the largest state park system in the United States. Californias first state park was the Yosemite Grant, which constitutes part of Yosemite National Park. In 1864, the government set aside Yosemite Valley for preservation and ceded the land to the state. Californias oldest state park, Big Basin Redwoods State Park, was founded in 1902, until 1921, each park was managed by an independent commission or agency. In 1927, the California Legislature, with the support of Governor C. C. Young, established the State Park Commission, and its membership included, Major Frederick R. Burnham, W. F. Chandler, William E. Colby, Henry W. OMelveny. The following year, a newly established State Park Commission began gathering support for the first state park bond issue and its efforts were rewarded in 1928 when Californians voted nearly three-to-one in favor of a $6 million park bond act. With Newton B. Drury serving as officer, the new system of state parks rapidly began to grow. William Penn Mott, Jr. served as director of the agency under Governor Ronald Reagan, responsible for almost one-third of Californias scenic coastline, California State Parks manages the states finest coastal wetlands, estuaries, beaches, and dune systems. California State Parks contains the largest and most diverse natural and cultural heritage holdings of any agency in the nation. The Department employs State Park Peace Officers Law Enforcement to protect and preserve the State Parks, Parks are patrolled by sworn State Park Peace Officers, of which there are two classifications, State Park Ranger and State Park Lifeguards. In May 2008 The National Trust for Historic Preservation listed the system as a whole on their list of Americas Most Endangered Places. The Parks Forward commission issued a report in 2015 that noted the lack of maintenance for many parks along with visitors who do not reflect the diversity of Californias population. The report also said the agency is using outdated technology for managing the parks, at least $1 million of more than $14 million in total proposed cuts resulting from park closures would take place during the current budget year. The deficit reducing measure would reduce or eliminate over 100 staff positions in addition to seasonal lifeguards at many state beaches. On May 29,2009, the State of California announced that it planned to close 220 parks, examples of service reductions included some parks only being open on weekends and holidays, or closing accessibility to portions of an otherwise open park. On May 11,2011, state officials announced that seventy parks would be closed due to department budget cuts in response to Californias continuing budget crises
7.
National Register of Historic Places
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The National Register of Historic Places is the United States federal governments official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation. The passage of the National Historic Preservation Act in 1966 established the National Register, of the more than one million properties on the National Register,80,000 are listed individually. The remainder are contributing resources within historic districts, each year approximately 30,000 properties are added to the National Register as part of districts or by individual listings. For most of its history the National Register has been administered by the National Park Service and its goals are to help property owners and interest groups, such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation, coordinate, identify, and protect historic sites in the United States. While National Register listings are mostly symbolic, their recognition of significance provides some financial incentive to owners of listed properties, protection of the property is not guaranteed. During the nomination process, the property is evaluated in terms of the four criteria for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, the application of those criteria has been the subject of criticism by academics of history and preservation, as well as the public and politicians. Occasionally, historic sites outside the proper, but associated with the United States are also listed. Properties can be nominated in a variety of forms, including individual properties, historic districts, the Register categorizes general listings into one of five types of properties, district, site, structure, building, or object. National Register Historic Districts are defined geographical areas consisting of contributing and non-contributing properties, some properties are added automatically to the National Register when they become administered by the National Park Service. These include National Historic Landmarks, National Historic Sites, National Historical Parks, National Military Parks/Battlefields, National Memorials, on October 15,1966, the Historic Preservation Act created the National Register of Historic Places and the corresponding State Historic Preservation Offices. Initially, the National Register consisted of the National Historic Landmarks designated before the Registers creation, approval of the act, which was amended in 1980 and 1992, represented the first time the United States had a broad-based historic preservation policy. To administer the newly created National Register of Historic Places, the National Park Service of the U. S. Department of the Interior, hartzog, Jr. established an administrative division named the Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation. Hartzog charged OAHP with creating the National Register program mandated by the 1966 law, ernest Connally was the Offices first director. Within OAHP new divisions were created to deal with the National Register, the first official Keeper of the Register was William J. Murtagh, an architectural historian. During the Registers earliest years in the late 1960s and early 1970s, organization was lax and SHPOs were small, understaffed, and underfunded. A few years later in 1979, the NPS history programs affiliated with both the U. S. National Parks system and the National Register were categorized formally into two Assistant Directorates. Established were the Assistant Directorate for Archeology and Historic Preservation and the Assistant Directorate for Park Historic Preservation, from 1978 until 1981, the main agency for the National Register was the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service of the United States Department of the Interior. In February 1983, the two assistant directorates were merged to promote efficiency and recognize the interdependency of their programs, jerry L. Rogers was selected to direct this newly merged associate directorate
8.
National Historic Landmark
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A National Historic Landmark is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Of over 85,000 places listed on the countrys National Register of Historic Places, a National Historic Landmark District may include contributing properties that are buildings, structures, sites or objects, and it may include non-contributing properties. Contributing properties may or may not also be separately listed, prior to 1935, efforts to preserve cultural heritage of national importance were made by piecemeal efforts of the United States Congress. The first National Historic Site designation was made for the Salem Maritime National Historic Site on March 17,1938. In 1960, the National Park Service took on the administration of the data gathered under this legislation. Because listings often triggered local preservation laws, legislation in 1980 amended the procedures to require owner agreement to the designations. On October 9,1960,92 properties were announced as designated NHLs by Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton, more than 2,500 NHLs have been designated. Most, but not all, are in the United States, there are NHLs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Three states account for nearly 25 percent of the nations NHLs, three cities within these states all separately have more NHLs than 40 of the 50 states. In fact, New York City alone has more NHLs than all but five states, Virginia, California, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, there are 74 NHLs in the District of Columbia. Some NHLs are in U. S. commonwealths and territories, associated states, and foreign states. There are 15 in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and other U. S. commonwealths and territories,5 in U. S. -associated states such as Micronesia, over 100 ships or shipwrecks have been designated as NHLs. About half of the National Historic Landmarks are privately owned, the National Historic Landmarks Program relies on suggestions for new designations from the National Park Service, which also assists in maintaining the landmarks. A friends group of owners and managers, the National Historic Landmark Stewards Association, works to preserve, protect, if not already listed on the National Register of Historic Places, an NHL is automatically added to the Register upon designation. About three percent of Register listings are NHLs, american Water Landmark List of U. S
9.
California Historical Landmark
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California Historical Landmarks are buildings, structures, sites, or places in the state of California that have been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of the criteria listed below, The first, last, only, associated with an individual or group having a profound influence on the history of California. California Historical Landmarks of #770 and above are listed in the California Register of Historical Resources. By contrast, a site, building, feature, or event that is of local significance may be designated as a California Point of Historical Interest. List of California Historical Landmarks by county National Historic Sites National Register of Historic Places listings in California — with links to list articles by county, los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments San Francisco Designated Landmarks Johnson, Marael. A Guide to California Roadside Historical Markers, official OHP—California Office of Historic Preservation website OHP, California Historical Sites searchpage — links to lists by county
10.
State park
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State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use state as a political subdivision. State parks are established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest. There are state parks under the administration of the government of each U. S. state, some of the Mexican states, the term is also used in the Australian state of Victoria. The equivalent term used in Canada, Argentina, South Africa, similar systems of local government maintained parks exist in other countries, but the terminology varies. State parks are thus similar to parks, but under state rather than federal administration. Similarly, local government entities below state level may maintain parks, in general, state parks are smaller than national parks, with a few exceptions such as the Adirondack Park in New York and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in California. As of 2014, there were 10,234 state park units in the United States, there are some 739 million annual visits to the countrys state parks. The NASPD further counts over 43,000 miles of trail,217,367 campsites, many states include designations beyond state park in their state parks systems. Other designations might be state recreation areas, state beaches, some state park systems include long-distance trails and historic sites. The title of oldest state park in the United States is claimed by Niagara Falls State Park in New York, however several public parks previously or currently maintained at the state level pre-date it. Indian Springs State Park has been operated continuously by the state of Georgia as a park since 1825. In 1864 Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove were ceded by the government to California until Yosemite National Park was proclaimed in 1890. In 1878 Wisconsin set aside a vast swath of its forests as The State Park but, needing money. The first state park with the designation of state park was Mackinac Island State Park in 1895, list of U. S. state parks National Association of State Park Directors Wilderness preservation systems in the United States Ahlgren, Carol. The Civilian Conservation Corps and Wisconsin State Park Development, the State Park Movement in America, A Critical Review excerpt and text search Larson, Zeb. Silver Falls State Park and the Early Environmental Movement, oregon Historical Quarterly 112#1 pp, 34-57 in JSTOR Newton, Norman T. When Forests Trumped Parks, The Maryland Experience, 1906-1950, Maryland Historical Magazine 101#2 pp, 203-224
