1.
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
2.
Governor of Alta California
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This is a list of the Governors of early California, 1769–1850, before its admission as the 31st U. S. state. Founded by Gaspar de Portolá at San Diego and Monterey, the vast country was a sparsely-settled Spanish province for 53 years, a year after Mexicos independence from Spain, Alta California became a federal territory of Mexico. As time went on, Alta Californians began to resent Mexicos neglect and incompetent, beginning with the Tennessean-led revolt of 1824, California resisted Mexican rule, culminating in the revolution of 1836. Two years later, California was admitted as a state by the government in faraway Mexico City. The revolution in November 1836 found success when the Diputación of California declared independence, california-born Juan Alvarado was elected governor, who then gathered support for independence from the whole country, from Sonoma to Los Angeles. Mexico retaliated by propping up Carlos Carillo as puppet-governor in Los Angeles and inciting a brief and that conflict ended in 1838, when the general government of Mexico accepted California as a sovereign state and recognized Alvarado as the real governor. The territorial Diputación became the new states Asambléa, in 1846, the Bear Flag Revolt in Sonoma declared California an independent republic—the Bear Flag Republic. The government was separated permanently from Mexico, less than a month later, the independent republic came under American protection. Like Texas, the Republic of California never was demoted to a U. S. territory but was admitted directly as the 31st U. S. state on September 9,1850, peter Burnett, the last governor of the republic, became its first governor after admission. For governors of the state after admission in September 1850, see List of Governors of California, Gaspar de Portolá founded the first Spanish settlements in Alta California at San Diego, and at Monterey, the first capital. Californias first revolt against Mexico took place the year as Mexicos first constitution,1824. In 1836, California declared Independence from Mexico and fashioned its own flag, after 1837, the governorship was disputed between popularly elected Alvarado, in the capital, and Mexican puppet Carlos Carrillo, in Los Angeles. This ended when Mexico conceded statehood to California and recognized Alvarado as its legal governor, military governors were appointed during this time, until Burnett. On September 9,1850, California was admitted into the U. S, List of Governors of California List of Texas Governors and Presidents List of Spanish governors of New Mexico Irvine, Leigh H. Vol. I, Chapter III. A History of The New California, Its Resources And People, New York, The Lewis Publishing Company
3.
Governor
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A governor is, in most cases, a public official with the power to govern the executive branch of a non-sovereign or sub-national level of government, ranking under the head of state. In federations, governor may be the title of a politician who governs a constituent state and these companies operate as a major state within a state with its own armed forces. For example, in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries, there are governors, school governors. The adjective pertaining to a governor is gubernatorial, from the Latin root gubernyare, the historical female form is governess, though female officials are referred to by the gender-neutral form governor of the noun to avoid confusion with other meanings of the term. Indeed, many regions of the pre-Roman antiquity were ultimately replaced by Roman standardized provincial governments after their conquest by Rome, in Pharaonic times, the governors of each of the various provinces in the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt are usually known by the Greek word. The core function of a Roman governor was as a magistrate or judge, and the management of taxation, under the Republic and the early Empire, however, a governor also commanded military forces in his province. Republican governors were all men who had served in senior magistracies in Rome in the previous year, a special case was Egypt, a rich private domain and vital granary, where the Emperor almost inherited the theocratic status of a Pharaoh. The Emperor was represented there by a sui generis styled praefectus augustalis. Otherwise, the governors of provinces had various titles, some known as consularis, apart from Egypt and the East, each diocese was directed by a governor known as a vicarius. The prefectures were directed by praefecti praetorio and this system survived with few significant changes until the collapse of the empire in the West, and in the East, the breakdown of order with the Persian and Arab invasions of the seventh century. At that stage, a new kind of governor emerged, the Strategos, today, crown colonies of the United Kingdom continue to be administered by a governor, who holds varying degrees of power. Because of the different constitutional histories of the colonies of the United Kingdom. Administrators, Commissioners and High Commissioners exercise similar powers to Governors, frequently the name Government House is given to Governors residences. The term can also be used in a generic sense, especially for compound titles which include it, Governor-general. In the United Kingdoms remaining overseas territories, the governor is normally a direct appointee of the British Government, the Governors chief responsibility is for the Defence and External Affairs of the colony. In some minor overseas territories, instead of a Governor, there is an Administrator or Commissioner, in Australia, each state has the governor as its formal representative of the Queen, as head of the state government. It is not an office but a ceremonial one. Each state governor is appointed by the Queen of Australia on the advice of the Premier, State Governors have emergency reserve powers but these are rarely used
4.
Soldier
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A soldier is one who fights as part of an organised, land-based armed force. A soldier can be a person, a non-commissioned officer. The word soldier derives from the Middle English word soudeour, from Old French soudeer or soudeour, meaning mercenary, from soudee, meaning shillings worth or wage, from sou or soud, the word is also related to the Medieval Latin soldarius, meaning soldier. These words ultimately derive from the Late Latin word solidus, referring to an Ancient Roman coin used in the Byzantine Empire. In most armed forces use of the soldier has taken on a more general meaning due to the increasing specialization of military occupations that require different areas of knowledge. In many countries soldiers serving in specific occupations are referred to by other than their occupational name. For example, military personnel in the British Army are known as red caps because of the colour of their caps. Infantry are sometimes called grunts or squaddies, while US Army artillery crews, or gunners, are referred to as redlegs. U. S. soldiers are often called G. I. s, members of the Marine Corps are typically referred to as marines rather than soldiers. In the United States, the term warfighter is often used to refer collectively to all whose job it is to do the actual fighting, the army has not completely phased out this terminology and still uses warfighter in various contexts such as the Project Manager Warfighter Information Network-Tactical. French Marine Infantry are called marsouins because of their amphibious role, Military units in most armies have nicknames of this type, arising either from items of distinctive uniform, some historical connotation or rivalry between branches or regiments. Some soldiers, such as conscripts or draftees, serve a limited term. Others choose to serve until retirement, then receive a pension. In the United States, military members can retire after 20 years, in other countries, the term of service is 30 years, hence the term 30-year man. Airman Marine Military use of children Seaman Media related to Soldier at Wikimedia Commons
5.
Mexican Army
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The Mexican Army is the combined land and air branch and largest of the Mexican Armed Forces, it is also known as the National Defense Army. It was the first army to adopt and use a self-loading rifle, the Mexican Army has an active duty force of 766,750. Mexico has no major foreign nation-state adversaries and it officially repudiates the use of force to settle disputes and rejects interference by one nation in the affairs of another. Although it has not suffered a major international terrorist incident in recent decades, in the prehispanic era, there were many indigenous tribes and highly developed city-states in what is now known as central Mexico. In Aztec society, it was compulsory for all males, nobles as well as commoners. Itzcoatl Obsidian Serpent, fourth king of Tenochtitlán, organized the army defeated the Tepanec of Atzcapotzalco. His reign began with the rise of what would become the largest empire in Mesoamerica, then Moctezuma Ilhuicamina The arrow to the sky came to extend the domain and the influence of the monarchy of Tenochtitlán. He began to trade to the outside regions of the Valley of Mexico. This was the Mexica ruler who organized the alliance with the lordships of Texcoco, the Aztec established the Flower Wars as a form of worship, these, unlike the wars of conquest, were aimed at obtaining prisoners for sacrifice to the sun. Combat orders were given by kings using drums or blowing into a sea shell that gave off a sound like a horn. Giving out signals using coats of arms was very common, for combat outside of cities, they would organize several groups, only one of which would be involved in action, while the others remained on the alert. In the early morning of September 16,1810, the Army of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla initiated the independence movement, Hidalgo was followed by his loyal companions, among them Mariano Abasolo, and a small army equipped with swords, spears, slingshots and sticks. Captain General Ignacio Allende was the brains of the insurgent army in the first phase of the War of Independence. The Spaniards saw that it was important to defend the Alhóndiga de Granaditas public granary in Guanajuato, the insurgents entered Guanajuato and proceeded to lay siege to the Alhóndiga. With this stunt, the managed to bring down the door and enter the building. Hidalgo headed to Valladolid, which was captured with little opposition, on November 29,1810, Hidalgo entered Guadalajara, the capital of Nueva Galicia, where he organized his government and the Insurgent Army, he also issued a decree abolishing slavery. At Calderon Bridge near the city of Guadalajara Jalisco, insurgents held a battle with the royalists. During the fierce fighting, one of the ammunition wagons exploded
6.
General officer
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A general officer is an officer of high rank in the army, and in some nations air forces or marines. The term general is used in two ways, as the title for all grades of general officer and as a specific rank. It originates in the 16th century, as a shortening of captain general, the adjective general had been affixed to officer designations since the late medieval period to indicate relative superiority or an extended jurisdiction. Today, the title of General is known in countries as a four-star rank. However different countries use different systems of stars for senior ranks and it has a NATO code of OF-9 and is the highest rank currently in use in a number of armies. The various grades of general officer are at the top of the rank structure. Lower-ranking officers in military forces are typically known as field officers or field-grade officers. There are two systems of general ranks used worldwide. In addition there is a system, the Arab system of ranks. Variations of one form, the old European system, were used throughout Europe. It is used in the United Kingdom, from which it spread to the Commonwealth. The other is derived from the French Revolution, where ranks are named according to the unit they command. The system used either a general or a colonel general rank. The rank of marshal was used by some countries as the highest rank. Many countries actually used two brigade command ranks, which is why some countries now use two stars as their brigade general insignia, mexico and Argentina still use two brigade command ranks. As a lieutenant outranks a sergeant major, confusion arises because a lieutenant is outranked by a major. Originally the serjeant major was, exclusively, the commander of the infantry, junior only to the captain general, the distinction of serjeant major general only applied after serjeant majors were introduced as a rank of field officer. Serjeant was eventually dropped from both titles, creating the modern rank titles
7.
Alta California
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Alta California, founded in 1769 by Gaspar de Portolà, was a polity of New Spain and after the Mexican War of Independence in 1822, a territory of Mexico. The region included all of the states of California, Nevada, and Utah. Large areas east of the Sierra Nevada and San Gabriel Mountains were claimed to be part of Alta California, to the southeast, beyond the deserts and the Colorado River, lay the Spanish settlements in Arizona. The areas formerly comprising Alta California were ceded to the United States in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the Mexican–American War in 1848, two years later, California joined the union as the 31st state. Other parts of Alta California became all or part of the later U. S. states of Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. The Spanish explored the area of Alta California by sea beginning in the 16th century. During the following two centuries there were plans to settle the area, none of which were effectively carried out. Ultimately, New Spain did not have the resources nor population to settle such a far northern outpost. To ascertain the Russian threat a number of Spanish expeditions to the Pacific Northwest were launched, the Spanish Crown funded the construction and subsidized the operation of the missions, with the goal that the relocation, conversion and enforced labor of Native people would bolster Spanish rule. The first Alta California mission and presidio were established by the Franciscan friar Junípero Serra, the following year,1770, the second mission and presidio were founded in Monterey. In 1773 a boundary between the Baja California missions and the Franciscan missions of Alta California was set by Francisco Palóu, the missionary effort coincided with the construction of presidios and pueblos, which were to be manned and populated by Hispanic people. The first pueblo founded was San José in 1777, followed by Los Ángeles in 1781, by law, mission land and property were to pass to the indigenous population after a period of about ten years, when the natives would become Spanish subjects. In the interim period, the Franciscans were to act as mission administrators who held the land in trust for the Native residents, the transfer of property never occurred under the Franciscans. As the number of Spanish settlers grew in Alta California, the boundaries, conflicts between the Crown and the Church and between Natives and settlers arose. State and ecclesiastical bureaucrats debated over authority of the missions and they advocated that the Natives owned property and had the right to defend it. Governor Diego de Borica is credited with defining Alta and Baja Californias official borders, Mexico won independence in 1822, and Alta California became a territory of Mexico. The Spanish and later Mexican governments rewarded retired soldados de cuera with large grants, known as ranchos, for the raising of cattle. Hides and tallow from the livestock were the primary exports of California until the mid-19th century, the construction, ranching and domestic work on these vast estates was primarily done by Native Americans, who had learned to speak Spanish and ride horses
8.
Mestizo
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The term was used as an ethnic/racial category in the casta system that was in use during the Spanish Empires control of their New World colonies. Mestizos are usually considered to be mixed Spaniards by the crown of Spain, the term mestizaje - taking as its root mestizo or mixed - is the Spanish word for miscegenation, the general process of mixing ancestries. To avoid confusion with the usage of the term mestizo. In colonial Venezuela, pardo was more commonly used instead of mestizo, pardo means being mixed without specifying which mixture, it was used to describe anyone born in the Americas whose ancestry was a mixture of European, Amerindian, and Black African. In colonial Brazil most of the population was mestiço in the original Iberian definition of the word. In the Philippines, which was a colony of Spain, the term came to refer to a Filipino with any foreign ancestry especially whites. In Canada, the Métis people is a community composed of those who possess combined European, in Saint Barthélemy, the term mestizo refers to people of mixed European and East Asian ancestry. The Spanish word mestizo is from Latin mixticius, meaning mixed and its usage has been documented as early as 1275, to refer to the offspring of an Egyptian and a Jew. This term was first documented in English in 1582 and it is related to the particular racial identity of historical non-white Amerindian-descended Hispanic and Latino American communities in an American context. In English-speaking Canada, Canadian Métis, as a loanword from French, refers to persons of mixed French, in the United States, Métis Americans and Mestizo Americans are two distinct racial and ethno-racial identities, as reflected in the use of French and Spanish loanwords, respectively. The latter was listed as a mestizo de sangley in birth records of the 19th century, with sangley as a reference to the Hokkiense word for business. Mestizo, mestiço, métis, mestís, Mischling, meticcio, mestiezen, mestee, in the Spanish colonial period, the Spanish developed an extremely vast complex system of racial hierarchy, which was used for social control and which also determined a persons standing in society. There were three categories of race during the initial period of colonization of the Americas by the Spanish, White Spaniard, Amerindian. During the Spanish colonial era, a myriad of terms were created to differentiate these racial mixtures, by the end of the colonial period in 1821, over one hundred sub-categories of possible variations of mixture existed, but official church and civil records were maintained with few categories. Church baptismal and marriage registers and civil records used the terms español, castizo, mestizo, mulato, and indio. As time went on, a system of hierarchy, the sistema de castas or the sociedad de castas developed where society was divided based on race, wealth. Mestizo – a person of mixed White European and Amerindian ancestry, in theory, and as depicted in eighteenth-century Mexican casta paintings, español status could also be attained by people of mixed origin who consistently had intermarried with Europeans. Such cases might include the offspring of a parent and one Peninsular or criollo parent
9.
Brigadier general
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Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general, when appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000 troops. In some countries a brigadier general is designated as a one-star general. The rank can be traced back to the militaries of Europe where a general, or simply a brigadier. An alternative rank of general was first used in the French revolutionary armies. Some countries, such as Brazil, Taiwan, and Japan, some of these countries then use the rank of colonel general to make four general-officer ranks. The naval equivalent is usually commodore and this gallery displays Air Force brigadier general insignia if they are different from the Army brigadier general insignia. Note that in many Commonwealth countries, the equivalent air force rank is Air Commodore, the rank of brigadier general is used in the Argentine Air Force. Unlike other armed forces of the World, the rank of general is actually the highest rank in the Air Force. This is due to the use of the rank of brigadier and its derivatives to designate all general officers in the Air Force, brigadier, brigadier-major, and brigadier-general. The rank of general is reserved for the Chief General Staff of the Air Force. The Argentine Army does not use the rank of brigadier-general, instead using brigade general which in turn is the lowest general officer before Divisional General, see also Argentine Army officer rank insignia. When posted elsewhere, the rank would be relinquished and the former rank resumed and this policy prevented an accumulation of high-ranking general officers brought about by the relatively high turnover of brigade commanders. Brigadier general was used as an honorary rank on retirement. The rank insignia was like that of the current major general, as in the United Kingdom, the rank was later replaced by brigadier. Prior to 2001, the Bangladesh Army rank was known as brigadier, in 2001 the Bangladesh Army introduced the rank of brigadier general, however the grade stayed equivalent to brigadier. It is the lowest ranking general officer, between the ranks of Colonel and Major General, Brigadier General is equivalent to commodore of the Bangladesh Navy and air commodore of the Bangladesh Air Force. It is still popularly called brigadier
10.
Mexican secularization act of 1833
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The Mexican secularization act of 1833 was passed twelve years after Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821. Mexico feared Spain would continue to have influence and power in California because most of the Spanish missions in California remained loyal to the Roman Catholic Church in Spain, as the new Mexican republic matured, calls for the secularization of the missions increased. The missions were part of the first major effort by Europeans to colonize the Pacific Coast region, the settlers introduced European fruits, vegetables, cattle, horses, ranching and technology into the Alta California region and to the Mission Indians. The El Camino Real road connected the missions from San Diego to Mission San Francisco Solano, in Sonoma, between 1683 and 1834, Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries established a series of religious outposts from todays Baja California and Baja California Sur into present-day California. José María de Echeandía, the first Mexican-born elected Governor of Alta California issued a Proclamation of Emancipation on July 25,1826. All Indians within the districts of San Diego, Santa Barbara. Those who wished to remain under mission tutelage were exempted from most forms of corporal punishment. In 1831, the number of Indians under missionary control in all of Upper-Alta California was about 18,683 and about 4,342 of garrison soldiers, free settlers, to that end, he appointed a number of comisionados to oversee the emancipation of the Indians. The Mexican government passed legislation on December 20,1827 that mandated the expulsion of all Spaniards younger than sixty years of age from Mexican territories, Spaniards could pose a threat to Mexico because Spain did not recognize Mexican independence and attempted to regain control over its former colony. Governor Echeandía nevertheless intervened on behalf of some Franciscans in order to prevent their deportation once the law took effect in California, in response, Father-Presidente Narciso Durán transferred the headquarters of the Alta California Mission System to Mission Santa Bárbara, where it remained until 1846. Governor Figueroa issued a regulation on August 9,1834 outlining the requirements for the distribution of property to each mission’s neophytes, among the provisions were that 5. To each head of a family and to all over 20 years old, plus 6. pro rata. one-half of the livestock and 7. Half or less of the chattels, tools, and seed. The ranchos made of former mission lands were divided into large land grants. This meant that the missions would hold only to the worship chapel, the residences of the priests. In some missions all of the buildings were lost and some mission buildings were divided. As the four to six soldiers assigned to guard each Mission were dismissed, Mission San Juan Capistrano was the very first to have land taken way, on August 9,1834 Governor Figueroa issued his Decree of Confiscation. Nine other settlements followed, with six more in 1835, San Buenaventura and Mission San Francisco de Asís were among the last to have land taken way, in June and December 1836
11.
Spanish missions in California
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The missions were part of a major effort by the Spanish Empire to extend colonization into the most northern and western parts of Spains North American claims. Following a long-term secular and religious policy of Spain in Latin America, Mexico achieved independence in 1821, taking Alta California along with it, but the missions maintained authority over native neophytes and control of vast land holdings until the 1830s. At the peak of its development in 1832, the mission system controlled an area equal to approximately one-sixth of Alta California. The Alta California government secularized the missions after the passage of the Mexican secularization act of 1833 and this divided the mission lands into land grants, which became many of the Ranchos of California. In the end, the missions had mixed results in their objectives, to convert, educate, today, the surviving mission buildings are the states oldest structures, and its most-visited historic monuments. Prior to 1754, grants of lands were made directly by the Spanish Crown. The missions were to be interconnected by a route which later became known as the Camino Real. The detailed planning and direction of the missions was to be carried out by Friar Junípero Serra, work on the coastal mission chain was concluded in 1823, completed after Serras death in 1784. Plans to build a mission in Santa Rosa in 1827 were canceled. The Santa Ysabel Asistencia had been founded in 1818 as a mother mission, in addition to the presidio and pueblo, the misión was one of the three major agencies employed by the Spanish sovereign to extend its borders and consolidate its colonial territories. Each frontier station was forced to be self-supporting, as existing means of supply were inadequate to maintain a colony of any size. California was months away from the nearest base in colonized Mexico, to sustain a mission, the padres required converted Native Americans, called neophytes, to cultivate crops and tend livestock in the volume needed to support a fair-sized establishment. The scarcity of imported materials, together with a lack of skilled laborers, compelled the missionaries to employ simple building materials, although the missions were considered temporary ventures by the Spanish hierarchy, the development of an individual settlement was not simply a matter of priestly whim. The padres blessed the site, and with the aid of their military escort fashioned temporary shelters out of tree limbs or driven stakes and it was these simple huts that ultimately gave way to the stone and adobe buildings that exist to the present. The first priority when beginning a settlement was the location and construction of the church, once the spot for the church had been selected, its position was marked and the remainder of the mission complex was laid out. The cuadrángulo was rarely a perfect square because the missionaries had no surveying instruments at their disposal and it was a doctrine established in 1531, which based the Spanish states right over the land and persons of the Indies on the Papal charge to evangelize them. It was employed wherever the indigenous populations were not already concentrated in native pueblos, the civilized and disciplined culture of the natives, developed over 8,000 year, was not considered. A total of 146 Friars Minor, mostly Spaniards by birth, were ordained as priests, sixty-seven missionaries died at their posts, while the remainder returned to Europe due to illness, or upon completing their ten-year service commitment
12.
California
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California is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area. Located on the western coast of the U. S, California is bordered by the other U. S. states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California. Los Angeles is Californias most populous city, and the second largest after New York City. The Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nations second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, California also has the nations most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The Central Valley, an agricultural area, dominates the states center. What is now California was first settled by various Native American tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its war for independence. The western portion of Alta California then was organized as the State of California, the California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale emigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom. If it were a country, California would be the 6th largest economy in the world, fifty-eight percent of the states economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5 percent of the states economy, the story of Calafia is recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián, written as a sequel to Amadis de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The kingdom of Queen Calafia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts. This conventional wisdom that California was an island, with maps drawn to reflect this belief, shortened forms of the states name include CA, Cal. Calif. and US-CA. Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, various estimates of the native population range from 100,000 to 300,000. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct groups of Native Americans, ranging from large, settled populations living on the coast to groups in the interior. California groups also were diverse in their organization with bands, tribes, villages. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups, the first European effort to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, in 1542. Some 37 years later English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed a portion of the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila galleons on their trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565
13.
Spaniards
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Within Spain there are a number of nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the countrys complex history and diverse culture. There are several commonly spoken languages, most notably Basque. There are many populations outside Spain with ancestors who emigrated from Spain, the Roman Republic conquered Iberia during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. As a result of Roman colonization, the majority of languages, with the exception of Basque. The Germanic Vandals and Suebi, with part of the Iranian Alans under King Respendial conquered the peninsula in 409 AD. The Iberian Peninsula was conquered and brought under the rule of the Arab Umayyads in 711 and by the Berber North African dynasties the Almohads, in the early 16th century the Kingdom of Navarre was also conquered. In parallel, a wave of emigration began to the Americas began with over 16 million people emigrating to the Americas during the colonial period. In the post-colonial period, a further 3.5 million Spanish left for the Americas, particularly Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, as a result, Spanish-descendants in Latin America number in the hundreds of millions. Spain is home to one of the largest communities of Romani people, the Spanish Roma, which belong to the Iberian Kale subgroup, are a formerly-nomadic community, which spread across Western Asia, North Africa, and Europe, first reaching Spain in the 15th century. The population of Spain is became increasingly diverse due to recent immigration, the earliest modern humans inhabiting Spain are believed to have been Neolithic peoples who may have arrived in the Iberian Peninsula as early as 35, 000–40,000 years ago. In more recent times the Iberians are believed to have arrived or developed in the region between the 4th millennium BC and the 3rd millennium BC, initially settling along the Mediterranean coast, celts settled in Spain during the Iron Age. Some of those tribes in North-central Spain, which had contact with the Iberians, are called Celtiberians. In addition, a known as the Tartessians and later Turdetanians inhabited southwestern Spain. The seafaring Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians successively founded trading colonies along the Mediterranean coast over a period of several centuries, the Second Punic War between the Carthaginians and Romans was fought mainly in what is now Spain and Portugal. The Roman Republic conquered Iberia during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC transformed most of the region into a series of Latin-speaking provinces, hispania emerged as an important part of the Roman Empire and produced notable historical figures such as Trajan, Hadrian, Seneca and Quintilian. The Germanic Vandals and Suebi, with part of the Iranian Alans under King Respendial, the Suebi became the first Germanic kingdom to convert officially to Roman Catholicism in 447 AD. under king Rechiar. After two centuries of domination by the Visigothic Kingdom, the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by a Muslim force under Tariq Bin Ziyad in 711 and this army consisted mainly ethnic Berbers from the Ghomara tribe, which were reinforced by Arabs from Syria once the conquest was complete. Muslim Iberia became part of the Umayyad Caliphate and would be known as Al-Andalus, the Berbers of Al Andalus revolted as early as 740 AD, halting Arab expansion across the Pyrenees into France
14.
Franciscans
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The Franciscans are a group of related mendicant religious orders within the Catholic Church, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. These orders include the Order of Friars Minor, the Order of Saint Clare, Francis began preaching around 1207 and traveled to Rome to seek approval from the Pope in 1209. The original Rule of Saint Francis approved by the Pope disallowed ownership of property, the austerity was meant to emulate the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Franciscans traveled and preached in the streets, while boarding in church properties, Saint Clare, under Franciss guidance, founded the Poor Clares in 1212, which remains a Second Order of the Franciscans. The extreme poverty required of members was relaxed in final revision of the Rule in 1223, the degree of observance required of members remained a major source of conflict within the order, resulting in numerous secessions. The Order of Friars Minor, previously known as the Observant branch, is one of the three Franciscan First Orders within the Catholic Church, the others being the Capuchins and Conventuals. The Order of Friars Minor, in its current form, is the result of an amalgamation of smaller orders completed in 1897 by Pope Leo XIII. The latter two, the Capuchin and Conventual, remain distinct religious institutes within the Catholic Church, observing the Rule of Saint Francis with different emphases, Franciscans are sometimes referred to as minorites or greyfriars because of their habit. In Poland and Lithuania they are known as Bernardines, after Bernardino of Siena, the name of original order, Friars Minor, means lesser brothers, and stems from Francis of Assisis rejection of extravagance. Francis was the son of a cloth merchant, but gave up his wealth to pursue his faith more fully. Francis adopted of the tunic worn by peasants as the religious habit for his order. Those who joined him became the original Order of Friars Minor and they all live according to a body of regulations known as the Rule of St Francis. First Order The First Order or the Order of Friars Minor are commonly called simply the Franciscans and this Order is a mendicant religious order of men, some of whom trace their origin to Francis of Assisi. Their official Latin name is the Ordo Fratrum Minorum, St. Francis thus referred to his followers as Fraticelli, meaning Little Brothers. Franciscan brothers are informally called friars or the Minorites and they all live according to a body of regulations known as the Rule of St Francis. These are The Order of Friars Minor, known as the Observants, most commonly simply called Franciscan friars, official name, the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin or simply Capuchins, official name, Friars Minor Capuchin. The Conventual Franciscans or Minorites, official name, Friars Minor Conventual, Second Order The Second Order, most commonly called Poor Clares in English-speaking countries, consists of religious sisters. The order is called the Order of St. Clare, but in the century, prior to 1263, this order was referred to as The Poor Ladies, The Poor Enclosed Nuns
15.
Ranchos of California
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The Spanish and later Mexican governments encouraged settlement of Alta California by giving prominent men large land grants called ranchos, usually two or more square leagues. Land-grant titles were government-issued, permanent, unencumbered property-ownership rights to land called ranchos, devoted to raising cattle and sheep, the owners of the ranchos attempted to pattern themselves after the landed gentry of Spain. Their workers included Californian Native Americans who had learned to speak Spanish, Spain made about 30 grants between 1784 and 1821, and Mexico granted about 270 more between 1833 and 1846. The ranchos established land-use patterns and place names that are still in use in California today, Rancho boundaries became the basis for Californias land survey system, and can still be found on modern maps and land titles. Ranchos were partially based on geography, such as access to river water, Land development in the 20th and 21st century often follow the boundaries of the ranchos, and often retain the original name. For example, Rancho San Diego, an unincorporated rural-burb east of San Diego, or Rancho Bernardo, during Spanish rule, the ranchos were concessions from the Spanish crown, permitting settlement and granting grazing rights on specific tracts of land, while the crown retained the title. The land concessions were usually measured in leagues, a league of land would encompass a square that is one Spanish league on each side – approximately 4,428 acres. The Spanish and Mexican governments made a number of grants from 1785 to 1846. It was not until the Mexican era that the titles to the plots of land were granted to individuals, in 1821, Mexico achieved its independence from Spain, and California came under control of the Mexican government. The 1824 Mexican Colony Law established rules for petitioning for land grants in California, and by 1828, the Acts sought to break the land monopoly of the missions and also paved the way for luring additional settlers to California by making land grants easier to obtain. Secularization was implemented between 1834 and 1836, the Mexican government allowed the padres to keep only the church, priests quarters and priests garden. The army troops guarding each Mission were dismissed, a commissioner would oversee the missions crops and herds, while the land was divided up as communal pasture, a town plot, and individual plots for each Indian family. The Mission Indians, freed from the missions, often joined other tribes or sought work on the new ranchos along the troops formerly assigned to each mission. The number of Mexican land grants greatly increased after the secularization of the missions in 1834, the Mexican rancho grants were provisional. The boundaries, on paper, had to be surveyed and marked. This produced a diseño, a topological map, to define the area. Since there were very few surveyors this requirement was seldom met, the grantee could not initially subdivide or rent out the land. The land had to be used for grazing or cultivated, some kind of residential house had to be built within a year—most were initially simple adobe walled cabins
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Mission Indians
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Spanish explorers arrived on Californias coasts as early as the mid-16th century. In 1769 the first Spanish Franciscan mission was built in San Diego, local tribes were relocated and conscripted into forced labor on the mission, stretching from San Diego to San Francisco. Disease, starvation, over work, and torture decimated these tribes, many were baptized as Roman Catholics by the Franciscan missionaries at the missions. Mission Indians were from many regional Native American tribes, their members were often relocated together in new mixed groups, for instance, the Payomkowishum were renamed Luiseños after the Mission San Luis Rey, and the Acjachemem were renamed the Juaneños after the Mission San Juan Capistrano. The Catholic priests forbade the Indians from practicing their native culture, resulting in the disruption of many linguistic, spiritual. When Mexico gained its independence in 1834, it assumed control of the Californian missions from the Franciscans, Mexico secularized the missions and transferred or sold the lands to other non-Native administrators or owners. Many of the Mission Indians worked on the newly established ranchos with little improvement in their living conditions, around 1906 Alfred L. Kroeber and Constance G. On January 12,1891 the U. S, in 1927, Sacramento Bureau of Indian Affairs Superintendent Lafayette A. Dorrington was instructed by Assistant Commissioner E. B. Merritt in Washington D. C. to list tribes in California that Congress had not yet purchased land to be used as reservations. As part of the 1928 California Indian Jurisdictional Act enrollment, Native Americans were asked to identify their “Tribe or Band. ”The majority of applicants supplied the name of the mission that they knew their ancestors were associated with. The enrollment was part of a plan to provide reservation lands promised, some bands also occupy trust lands—Indian Reservations—identified under the Mission Indian Agency. The Mission Indian Act of 1891 formed the administrative Bureau of Indian Affairs unit which governs San Diego County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, there is one Chumash reservation in the last county, and more than thirty reservations in the others. Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, and Orange counties do not contain any tribal trust lands. But, resident tribes, including the Tongva in the first and these and the tribal governments of fifteen other reservations operate casinos today. The total acreage of the Mission group of reservations constitutes approximately 250,000 acres, los Coyotes Band of Mission Indians Manzanita Band of Mission Indians Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians Mission Creek Band of Mission Indians - Mission Creek Reservation of Cahuilla. Morongo Band of Mission Indians Pala Band of Mission Indians Pauma Band of Mission Indians Pechanga Band of Mission Indians Ramona Band or Village of Mission Indians San Cayetano Band of Cahuilla. San Manuel Band of Mission Indians San Miguel Arcangel, descandants of Mission San Miguel Indians in San Miguel, Mythology of the Mission Indians, The Journal of the American Folk-Lore Society, Vol. XVII, No. Two Myths of the Mission Indians of California, Journal of the American Folk-Lore Society, Vol. XIX, a Native American Encyclopedia, History, Culture, and Peoples
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Mission Santa Cruz
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Mission Santa Cruz was a Spanish mission founded by the Franciscan order in present-day Santa Cruz, California. The settlement was the site of the first autopsy in Alta California, the current Holy Cross Church was built on the site of the original mission church in 1889, and it remains an active parish of the Diocese of Monterey. A section of stone wall from one of the mission buildings. A reduced-scale replica chapel was built near the site in the 1930s. Todays Plaza Park occupies the location as the original plaza. The complex at one time included as many as 32 buildings, the only surviving mission building, a dormitory for native acolytes, has been restored to its original appearance and functions as a museum of the Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park. The Santa Cruz mission was originally consecrated by Padre Fermin Lasuen on August 28,1791 and it was one of the smaller missions, in the fourth military district under protection of the Presidio of San Francisco. The mission was flooded as the San Lorenzo swelled with the rains that winter, over the next two years, the padres rebuilt the mission on the hill overlooking the river. On the night of December 14,1793, Mission Santa Cruz was attacked, the attack was purportedly motivated by the forced relocation of Indians to the Mission. In 1797, the pueblo of Branciforte was founded across the San Lorenzo River to the east of Mission Santa Cruz. On October 12,1812, Father Andrés Quintana was strangled to death by mission neophytes, in 1818, the Mission received advance warning of an attack by the Argentine corsair Hipólito Bouchard and was evacuated. The citizens of Branciforte, several of whom were retired soldiers, were asked to protect the Missions valuables, instead, the front wall of the adobe mission, built in 1794, was destroyed by the 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake. A wooden facade was added and the converted to other uses. A new wooden church was next door in 1858. In 1889, the current Gothic Revival-style Holy Cross Church was built on the original quadrangle site, at the same time, the mission cemetery was excavated and the remains moved to a mass grave at Old Holy Cross Cemetery, a few miles to the east. In recent years, a group of volunteers have been working to restore the old cemetery, and to identify the mission gravesite. A memorial was dedicated in 2016, the only original Mission building left is a long multi-room building which at one time housed local Yokut and Ohlone Indian families. The original building is located at 144 School Street and can be toured during operating hours, there is also a protected remnant of the mission church foundation wall behind the current Holy Cross Church
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Los Angeles
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Los Angeles, officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L. A. is the cultural, financial, and commercial center of Southern California. With a census-estimated 2015 population of 3,971,883, it is the second-most populous city in the United States, Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated county in the United States. The citys inhabitants are referred to as Angelenos, historically home to the Chumash and Tongva, Los Angeles was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542 along with the rest of what would become Alta California. The city was founded on September 4,1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve. It became a part of Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence, in 1848, at the end of the Mexican–American War, Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thereby becoming part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4,1850, the discovery of oil in the 1890s brought rapid growth to the city. The completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, delivering water from Eastern California, nicknamed the City of Angels, Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, and sprawling metropolis. Los Angeles also has an economy in culture, media, fashion, science, sports, technology, education, medicine. A global city, it has been ranked 6th in the Global Cities Index, the city is home to renowned institutions covering a broad range of professional and cultural fields, and is one of the most substantial economic engines within the United States. The Los Angeles combined statistical area has a gross metropolitan product of $831 billion, making it the third-largest in the world, after the Greater Tokyo and New York metropolitan areas. The city has hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1932 and 1984 and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics and thus become the second city after London to have hosted the Games three times. The Los Angeles area also hosted the 1994 FIFA mens World Cup final match as well as the 1999 FIFA womens World Cup final match, the mens event was watched on television by over 700 million people worldwide. The Los Angeles coastal area was first settled by the Tongva, a Gabrielino settlement in the area was called iyáangẚ, meaning poison oak place. Gaspar de Portolà and Franciscan missionary Juan Crespí, reached the present site of Los Angeles on August 2,1769, in 1771, Franciscan friar Junípero Serra directed the building of the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, the first mission in the area. The Queen of the Angels is an honorific of the Virgin Mary, two-thirds of the settlers were mestizo or mulatto with a mixture of African, indigenous and European ancestry. The settlement remained a small town for decades, but by 1820. Today, the pueblo is commemorated in the district of Los Angeles Pueblo Plaza and Olvera Street. New Spain achieved its independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821, during Mexican rule, Governor Pío Pico made Los Angeles Alta Californias regional capital
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Monterey, California
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The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, in the Northern Portion of Californias Central Coast. It stands at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level, the 2010 census recorded a population of 27,810. Monterey was the capital of Alta California under both Spain and Mexico and it was the only port of entry for taxable goods in California. In 1846 the U. S. flag was raised over the Customs House, the city had Californias first theater, public building, public library, publicly funded school, printing press, and newspaper. The city and surrounding area have attracted artists since the late 19th century, until the 1950s, there was an abundant fishery. Among Montereys notable present-day attractions are the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Cannery Row, Fishermans Wharf, long before the arrival of Spanish explorers, the Rumsen Ohlone tribe, one of seven linguistically distinct Ohlone groups in California, inhabited the area now known as Monterey. They subsisted by hunting, fishing and gathering food on and around the biologically rich Monterey Peninsula, researchers have found a number of shell middens in the area and, based on the archaeological evidence, concluded the Ohlones primary marine food consisted at various times of mussels and abalone. A number of sites have been located along about 12 miles of rocky coast on the Monterey Peninsula from the current site of Fishermans Wharf in Monterey to Carmel. In 1602, Spanish maritime explorer Sebastian Vizcaino recorded the name Bahía de Monterrey, Vizcaino landed at the southern end of the bay and described a great port, suitable for use as an anchorage by southbound Manila galleons. Vizcaino also noted and named the Point of Pines, all other uses of the name Monterey derive from Vizcainos name for the bay. Variants of the name are recorded as Monte Rey and Montery. In 1769, the first European land exploration of Alta California, for some reason, the explorers failed to recognize the place when they came to it on October 1,1769. The party continued north as far as San Francisco Bay before turning back, on the return journey, they camped near one of Montereys lagoons on November 27, still not convinced they had found the place Vizcaino had described. Franciscan missionary Juan Crespí noted in his diary, We halted in sight of the Point of Pines and camped near a lagoon which has rather muddy water. Portolá returned by land to Monterey the next year, having concluded that he must have been at Vizcainos Port of Monterey after all, the land party was met at Monterey by Junípero Serra who traveled by sea. Portolá erected the Presidio of Monterey to defend the port and, on June 3,1770, Portolá returned to Mexico, replaced in Monterey by Captain Pedro Fages, who had been third in command on the exploratory expeditions. Fages became the governor of Alta California, serving from 1770 to 1774. Serras missionary aims soon came into conflict with Fages and the soldiers, the existing wood and adobe building became the chapel for the Presidio
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Mission Santa Barbara
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Mission Santa Barbara, also known as Santa Barbara Mission, is a Spanish mission founded by the Franciscan order near present-day Santa Barbara, California. The mission is the namesake of the city of Santa Barbara as well as of Santa Barbara County, Mission Santa Barbara is the only mission to remain under the leadership of the Franciscan Friars since its founding, and today is a parish church of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Mission Santa Barbaras name comes from the legend of Saint Barbara, the early missionaries built three different chapels during the first few years, each larger than the previous one. It was only after the Santa Barbara earthquake on December 21,1812, which destroyed the existing buildings and it was completed and then dedicated in 1820. The towers were damaged in the June 29,1925 earthquake. The appearance of the inside of the church has not been altered significantly since 1820, many elements of the Missions extensive water treatment system, all built by Chumash Indians labor under the direction of the Franciscans remain to this day. The larger reservoir, which was built in 1806 by the expedient of damming a canyon, had been a component of the Citys water system until 1993. The original fountain and lavadero are also intact near the entrance to the Mission, a dam constructed in 1807 is situated in the current Santa Barbara Botanic Garden up Mission Canyon. The Missions tanning vats, pottery kiln, and guard house are all in ruins to this day, in 1818, two Argentine ships under the command of the French privateer Hipólito Bouchard approached the coast and threatened the young town of Santa Barbara. The padres armed and trained 150 of the neophytes to prepare for attack, with their help, the Presidio soldiers confronted Bouchard, who sailed out of the harbor without attacking. Some Franciscans serve on the Board of Trustees along with scholars and community members and it is the oldest library in the State of California that still remains in the hands of its founders, the Franciscans. Beginning with the writings of Hubert Howe Bancroft, the library has served as a center for study of the missions for more than a century. The collections of the Santa Barbara Mission-Archive Library had their inception in the 1760s with Fray Junipero Serras plans for missions in Alta California, the collections include named sections, the Junipero Serra Collection, the California Mission Documents, and the Apostolic College collection. The archive-library also has a collection of early California writings, maps. In 1840, Alta California Territory and Baja California Territory were removed from the Diocese of Sonora to form the Diocese of Both Californias. Bishop Francisco Garcia Diego y Moreno, OFM, established his cathedra at Mission Santa Barbara, making the chapel the pro-cathedral of the diocese until 1849. Under Bishop Thaddeus Amat y Brusi, C. M. the chapel served as a pro-cathedral, for the Diocese of Monterey and then the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles. It is for this reason that of all the California missions, at that time, that particular architectural feature was restricted to a cathedral church
21.
Figueroa Mountain
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Figueroa Mountain is a summit in Santa Barbara County in the U. S. state of California. It is in the San Rafael Mountains, part of the Transverse Ranges group of ranges, the mountain is located in Los Padres National Forest. Figueroa Mountain was named for a member of the well-known southern California family, the Figueroa Mountain Recreation Area has excellent spring wildflower displays after wet winters. Late March brings out the early blooming specimens such as purple shooting stars, later arrivals on the mountain include chocolate lilies, and the scarlet Indian paintbrush. The open grassland areas support a profusion of annual species including goldfields, sky lupine, other favorites include pitcher sage and blue dicks. The plant community here is an inland central oak woodland dominated by oak, blue oak, interior live oak. The companion shrub species are manzanita, coffeeberry and redberry and gooseberry and currants
22.
San Rafael Mountains
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The San Rafael Mountains are a mountain range in central Santa Barbara County, California, U. S. separating the drainages of the Santa Ynez River and the Santa Maria River. They are part of the Transverse Ranges system of Southern California which in turn are part of the Pacific Coast Ranges system of western North America. Most of the range is within the Los Padres National Forest. The highest peaks include Big Pine Mountain, San Rafael Mountain and McKinley Mountain, the highest peak at the southern edge of the range is Little Pine Mountain. Hurricane Deck is a block of sandstone that can be found deep in the San Rafael Wilderness. The Sisquoc River headwaters are on the slopes of Big Pine Mountain. It is a designated Wild and Scenic River of the United States, Sisquoc Falls,250 feet high, is located on a tributary of the Sisquoc RIver to the west of Big Pine Mountain. Climate is moderate, with hot dry summers and cool to cold wet winters, snow sometimes falls on the higher slopes between December and March during frontal passages. Annual precipitation totals are between 15 and 25 inches, several prominent faults exist, including the Big Pine Fault, which trends eastward towards the San Andreas Fault about forty miles away. Decades of fire suppression, however, have resulted in areas of brush which have not burned within the last century. The Forest Service occasionally conducts controlled burns to remove areas of fire hazard. In the more shaded and moist canyons and northern slopes oak woodlands, above the montane chaparral and woodlands ecosystem zone are stands of conifers of the mixed evergreen forest ecosystem. Snow is common in the winter on the summits, above about 6,000 feet, though overall the climate of the range is Mediterranean, with mild rainy winters and warm. In historic times, mercury mining was conducted on portions of the southern slopes, tailings from these old mines sometimes contain high levels of mercury, and recent environmental investigations have been conducted to determine if cleanup is necessary and feasible. The central part of the mountains is included into Santa Ynez Recreation area, a part of Los Padres National Forest, Los Padres National Forest Santa Ynez Mountains Sierra Madre Mountains Mountain ranges of Santa Barbara County
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Los Padres National Forest
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Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the land along the California coast from Ventura to Monterey. Elevations range from sea level to 8,847 feet, the forest is approximately 1,950,000 acres in area, of which 1,762,400 acres or about 88% are public lands, the rest are privately owned inholdings. The forest is divided between two noncontiguous areas, the northern division is within Monterey County and includes the beautiful Big Sur Coast and scenic interior areas. This is a popular area for hiking, with 323 miles of hiking trails and 11 campgrounds. This division also contains the Ventana Wilderness, home to the California condor, the forest is also adjacent to the Angeles National Forest, which is in Los Angeles County in Southern California and is nearby Carrizo Plain National Monument in eastern San Luis Obispo County. Forest headquarters are located in Goleta, California, there are local ranger district offices in Frazier Park, King City, Ojai, Santa Barbara, and Santa Maria. Another large wilderness created in the 1970s was the Ventana Wilderness in the Santa Lucia Mountains, a total of 48% of the total area within the forest has a wilderness designation. There are three areas, Figueroa Mountain Recreation Area Sage Hill Group Recreation Area Santa Ynez Recreation Area. Many threatened and endangered species live within the forest, probably most famous among them is the California condor, for whom the United States Forest Service established the Sespe Condor Sanctuary. Also present is the California mountain kingsnake, a California species of special concern, the American peregrine falcon is also entirely dependent on the forest for its survival. The mountain lion and California mule deer may be the most common large mammals, bighorn sheep inhabit the Sespe Creek region of the forest. American black bears browse on grasses, berries, and carrion, coyotes thrive everywhere in this forest. Bobcats can occasionally be seen in the remote mountainous areas of the forest. Researchers estimate the extent of old growth in the forest is 18,900 acres and it consists largely of Jeffrey pine forests, although old-growth coast redwood, coast Douglas-fir, and white fir are also found there. In 2008, scientist J. Michael Fay published a map of old growth redwoods in, due to the very dry summers, forest fires in Los Padres National Forest are always a risk. In 1965, a driven by country singer Johnny Cash caught fire. In August 1977, the Marble Cone Fire burned 178,000 acres within the Ventana Wilderness, in June and July,2008, the Basin Complex Fire torched 162,818 acres in the same region
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Santa Barbara County, California
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Santa Barbara County, California, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is a county located in the southern portion of the state of California, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 423,895, the county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria. Santa Barbara County comprises the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, most of the county is part of the California Central Coast. Mainstays of the economy include engineering, resource extraction, winemaking, agriculture. The software development and tourism industries are important employers in the part of the county. Southern Santa Barbara County is sometimes considered the cultural boundary of Southern California. The Santa Barbara County area, including the Northern Channel Islands, was first settled by Native Americans at least 13,000 years ago, europeans first contacted the Chumash in AD1542, when three Spanish ships under the command of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo explored the area. Spanish ships associated with the Manila Galleon trade probably made emergency stops along the coast during the next 167 years, the first land expedition to explore California, led by Gaspar de Portolà explored the coastal area in 1769, on its way to Monterey Bay. The party traveled the route on the return to San Diego in January 1770. That same year, an expedition to Monterey again passed through the area. The DeAnza expeditions of 1774-76 followed Portolas trail, the Presidio of Santa Barbara was established in 1782, followed by Mission Santa Barbara in 1786 – both in what is now the city of Santa Barbara. The presidio and mission kept Vizcainos denomination, as did the city and county – a common practice which has preserved the names of many of the 21 California Missions. European contacts had devastating effects on the Chumash people, including a series of epidemics that drastically reduced Chumash population. The Chumash survived, however, and thousands of Chumash descendants still live in the Santa Barbara area or surrounding counties, a tribal homeland was established in 1901, the Santa Ynez Reservation. 604 of these grants were later confirmed by the state of California. Santa Barbara County was one of the 27 original counties of California, the countys territory was later divided to create Ventura County in 1873. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 3,789 square miles. Four of the Channel Islands – San Miguel Island, Santa Cruz Island, Santa Rosa Island and they form the largest part of the Channel Islands National Park
25.
Figueroa Street
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One of the longer streets in the city, it runs in a north/south direction for more than 30 miles between the neighborhoods of Wilmington and Eagle Rock of Los Angeles. From its south end at Harry Bridges Boulevard to Downtown Los Angeles, the only portion of this segment of Figueroa Street that lies outside Los Angeles city limits is in the city of Carson. South of the Financial District, Figueroa Street services some popular locations including the University of Southern California, the Los Angeles Convention Center, and Staples Center/L. A. An early routing of Figueroa Street in this area was part of U. S. Route 66. The noted Figueroa Street Tunnels were once a part of that stretch of roadway. After resuming at San Fernando Road, Figueroa continues to run parallel to the Arroyo Seco Parkway until it reaches York Boulevard in Highland Park. Afterwards, it heads north to its terminus with the Ventura Freeway, some of the southern termini was once part of U. S. Early maps produced by the Automobile Club of Southern California measured distances to Los Angeles from the headquarters at the intersection of Figueroa Street with Adams Boulevard. On April 2,2011, a portion of the street at Jefferson Boulevard was blocked off for the Orange Carpet, Figueroa was originally called Calle de los Chapules. Later in the 1880s it became known as Pearl Street, the section of what is now Figueroa in Highland Park above Avenue 39 was known as Pasadena Avenue until Figueroa was extended through Elysian Park. The portion of what is now Figueroa between the Los Angeles River and Avenue 39 was originally known as Dayton Avenue until the Arroyo Parkway went through. Metro Local Line 81 operates on Figueroa Street between Colorado Boulevard and Interstate 105 and Torrance Transit Line 1 between Interstate 105 and the Harbor Gateway Transit Center, southbound Silver Line trips to Harbor Gateway Transit Center run south on Flower Street from 5th Street to the Harbor Transitway. There are 5 Silver line street stops served in the direction, Figueroa/23rd, Figueroa/Washington, Figueroa/Pico, Figueroa/Olympic. In addition, there are 5 Metro Silver Line Stations served on the Harbor Transitway close to Figueroa Street, 37th Street/USC, Slauson, Manchester, Harbor Freeway, the Harbor Transitway is located on the I-110 freeway, between Figueroa Street and Broadway. The Lincoln/Cypress Station for the Metro Gold Line on Avenue 26 at its intersection with Lacy Street is about a 5-minute walk from Figueroa Street, the Figueroa Corridor Streetscape project is a city led effort to beautify and improve the boulevard by adding pedestrian friendly amenities. The project begins on 7th street in Downtown Los Angeles, by Staples Center, the $20 million Figueroa Corridor Streetscape project is funded by a Proposition 1C grant. After delays, work is expected to commence in the summer of 2016 and is expected to be completed by March 2017, when the prop 1C grant expires. Los Angeles 2024 bid organizers plan to use this corridor as a planned Live Site, a area dedicated as a central pedestrian corridor, linking all of the Downtown LA venues, and creating an unparalleled zone of fan excitement for locals and visitors from around the world
26.
Figueroa Street Tunnels
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The Figueroa Street Tunnels are a set of four four-lane tunnels that carry northbound traffic on State Route 110 through Elysian Park in Los Angeles, California, United States. From south to north, the four tunnels measure 755,461,130, and 405 feet in length,46.5 feet in width, and 28.3 ft in height. The north three tunnels opened in 1931 as a bypass to a section of North Broadway, the southernmost opened in 1935, connections were added in 1937 to the Figueroa Street Viaduct,1940 to the Arroyo Seco Parkway, and 1953 to the Four Level Interchange. A new alignment for southbound traffic, passing through a cut to the west of the tunnels, traffic through the tunnels is heavy at almost all times of day. At the north end of the tunnels is an interchange with Interstate 5, there are also sharp exit and entrance ramps on the right side at Solano Avenue after the first tunnel. Since the tunnels incorporation into Arroyo Seco Parkway, Figueroa Street has been discontinuous and it merges into SR110 at Alpine Street in Chinatown, south of the tunnels, and splits in Highland Park, north of the Figueroa Street Viaduct over the Los Angeles River. Prior to the construction of the tunnels, traffic between Los Angeles and Pasadena crossed the Los Angeles River on the congested 1911 North Broadway Bridge, the Dayton Avenue Bridge provided another crossing to the north, but the hills of Elysian Park prevented it from being connected to downtown. The north three of the four opened by November 1,1931, connecting to North Broadway on the south via Solano Avenue. Riverside Drive was an earlier high-speed road along the Los Angeles River to Burbank, and also intersected the Dayton Avenue Bridge, from opening, the tunnels carried two lanes in each direction, with a 5-foot sidewalk on the side. The fourth tunnel opened in 1935, continuing the route south, the Figueroa Street Viaduct opened in 1937, providing a wider and direct Los Angeles River crossing than the Dayton Avenue Bridge. After passing over the river and San Fernando Road, it tied into Dayton Avenue south of Avenue 26, the Arroyo Seco Parkway opened in late 1940 as a freeway from the Viaduct to Pasadena. However, the six-lane parkway narrowed to four lanes at the viaduct and through the tunnels, through Elysian Park, it was built higher than the tunnels, with open-cuts through the ridges through which the older tunnels were built, and viaducts over the valleys between the ridges. South of the southernmost tunnel, the road was widened and upgraded to freeway standards south to Adobe Street. This new road opened December 30,1943, a further extension was completed on September 22,1953 to the Four Level Interchange with U. S. Route 101. The tunnels were part of pre-1964 Legislative Route 165, defined in 1933, by 1942, U. S. Route 6, U. S. Route 66, U. S. Route 99 and State Route 11 were signed through them. S. US99 moved to the new Golden State Freeway, bypassing the tunnels with Interstate 5, US6 and US66 were removed from the Los Angeles area in the 1964 renumbering, leaving only SR11 through the tunnels. SR11 became State Route 110 in 1981, when the Harbor Freeway section of it became Interstate 110, in April,2008, retrofitting of the tunnel lighting was completed, replacing the tandem fluorescent lighting arrangement in place since 1964, with a more efficient lighting array. Featured in the 1971 film, Duel in the credit sequence
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Figueroa at Wilshire
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Figueroa at Wilshire, formerly Sanwa Bank Plaza, is a 53-storey,218.5 m skyscraper in Los Angeles, California. It is the eighth tallest building in Los Angeles and it was designed by Albert C. Martin & Associates, and developed by Hines Interests Limited Partnership. It won the Rose Award for Outstanding New Office Building in 1991, the tower was constructed from 1988 to 1990 on the site of the former St. Pauls Episcopal Cathedral
18th Governor of Alta California
Mexican Army
General
