1.
Contra Costa County, California
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Contra Costa County is a county in the state of California in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,049,025, the name is Spanish for opposite coast, referring to its position on the other side of the bay from San Francisco. Contra Costa County is included in the San Francisco–Oakland–Hayward, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area and it occupies the northern portion of the East Bay region and is primarily suburban. In the northern part of the county, significant coal and sand deposits were formed in even earlier geologic eras, other areas of the county have ridges exposing ancient but intact seashells, embedded in sandstone layers alternating with limestone. Layers of volcanic ash ejected from geologically recent but now extinct volcanoes, compacted and now tilted by compressive forces, may be seen at the site of some road excavations. This county is an agglomeration of several distinct geologic terranes, as is most of the greater San Francisco Bay Area, younger deposits at middle altitudes include pillow lavas, the product of undersea volcanic eruptions. There is an extensive but little recorded human history pre-European settlement in this area, the earliest definitively established occupation by modern man appears to have occurred six to ten thousand years ago. However, there may have been human presence far earlier, at least as far as non–settling populations are concerned, extensive trading from tribe to tribe transferred exotic materials such as obsidian throughout the region from far distant Californian tribes. Unlike the nomadic Native American of the Great Plains it appears that these tribes did not incorporate warfare into their culture but were generally cooperative. Within these cultures the concept of individual or collective land ownership was nonexistent, early European settlers in the region, however, did not record much about the culture of the natives. Most of what is known comes from preserved contemporaneous and excavated artifacts. Although there were no missions established within this county, Spanish influence here was direct and extensive, in 1821 Mexico gained independence from Spain. Mission lands extended throughout the Bay Area, including portions of Contra Costa County, between 1836 and 1846, during the era when California was a province of independent Mexico, the following 15 land grants were made in Contra Costa County. Rough surveying was based on a map, or diseño, measured by streams, shorelines, and/or horseman who marked it with rope, lands outside rancho grants were designated el sobrante, as in surplus or excess, and considered common lands. The law required the construction of a house within a year, fences were not required and were forbidden where they might interfere with roads or trails. Locally a large family required roughly 2000 head of cattle and two leagues of land to live comfortably. Foreign entrepreneurs came to the area to provide goods that Mexico couldn’t, Rancho Canada de los Vaqueros was granted to Francisco Alviso, Antonio Higuera, and Manuel Miranda. Two ranchos, both called Rancho San Ramon, were granted by the Mexican government in the San Ramon Valley, in 1833, Bartolome Pacheco and Mariano Castro shared the two square league Rancho San Ramon
2.
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
3.
U.S. state
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A U. S. state is a constituent political entity of the United States of America. There are 50 states, which are together in a union with each other. Each state holds administrative jurisdiction over a geographic territory. Due to the shared sovereignty between each state and the government, Americans are citizens of both the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons covered by certain types of court orders. States range in population from just under 600,000 to over 39 million, four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names. States are divided into counties or county-equivalents, which may be assigned some local authority but are not sovereign. County or county-equivalent structure varies widely by state, State governments are allocated power by the people through their individual constitutions. All are grounded in principles, and each provides for a government. States possess a number of powers and rights under the United States Constitution, Constitution has been amended, and the interpretation and application of its provisions have changed. The general tendency has been toward centralization and incorporation, with the government playing a much larger role than it once did. There is a debate over states rights, which concerns the extent and nature of the states powers and sovereignty in relation to the federal government. States and their residents are represented in the federal Congress, a legislature consisting of the Senate. Each state is represented in the Senate by two senators, and is guaranteed at least one Representative in the House, members of the House are elected from single-member districts. Representatives are distributed among the states in proportion to the most recent constitutionally mandated decennial census, the Constitution grants to Congress the authority to admit new states into the Union. Since the establishment of the United States in 1776, the number of states has expanded from the original 13 to 50, alaska and Hawaii are the most recent states admitted, both in 1959. The Constitution is silent on the question of states have the power to secede from the Union. Shortly after the Civil War, the U. S. Supreme Court, in Texas v. White, as a result, while the governments of the various states share many similar features, they often vary greatly with regard to form and substance
4.
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
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Municipal corporation
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A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which they are located, often, this event is marked by the award or declaration of a municipal charter. A city charter or town charter is a document establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages and is considered to be a version of a constitution. Traditionally the granting of a charter gave a settlement and its inhabitants the right to town privileges under the feudal system, townspeople who lived in chartered towns were burghers, as opposed to serfs who lived in villages. Towns were often free, in the sense that they were protected by the king or emperor. Today the process for granting charters is determined by the type of government of the state in question, in monarchies, charters are still often a royal charter given by the Crown or the state authorities acting on behalf of the Crown. In federations, the granting of charters may be within the jurisdiction of the level of government such as a state or province. In Brazil, municipal corporations are called municípios and are created by means of legislation at the state level. All municipal corporations must also abide by a municipal law which is passed and amended at the municipal level. In Canada charters are granted by provincial authorities, in Germany, municipal corporations existed since antiquity and through medieval times, until they became out of favour during the absolutism. In order to strengthen the spirit, the city law of Prussia dated 19 November 1808 picked up this concept. It is the basis of municipal law. In India, a Municipal Corporation is a local government body. This standard varies from state to state, according to laws passed by state legislatures, the Corporation of Chennai was the first Municipal Corporation in India. It was established on 29 September 1688 by the British East India Company, the second was Hyderabad Municipal Corporation established in 1869 by the Nizam rulers of Hyderabad State. The third was the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, established in 1876, the Bombay Municipal Corporation was established in 1888 by the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act. The Delhi Municipal Council was established in 1911 during the Delhi Durbar when New Delhi was proclaimed to be the new Capital of India and it was elevated to Municipal Corporation level on 7 April 1958 by an Act of Parliament which established the Municipal Corporation of Delhi
6.
California's 7th State Senate district
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Californias 7th State Senate district is one of 40 California State Senate districts. It is currently represented by Democrat Steve Glazer of Orinda, the district encompasses the East Bay east of the Berkeley Hills. It stretches from the western Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta in the north down to the Tri-Valley region in the south, the district is primarily suburban and consists mainly of bedroom communities for the San Francisco Bay Area. California State Senate California State Senate districts Districts in California District map from the California Citizens Redistricting Commission
7.
Steve Glazer
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Steven Mitchell Glazer is an American politician currently serving in the California State Senate. He is a Democrat representing the 7th Senate District, which encompasses most of Contra Costa County, Glazer won a May 2015 special election to succeed Mark DeSaulnier, who was elected to Congress in 2014, after defeating a fellow Democrat, Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla. Prior to being elected to the State Senate, he was the mayor of Orinda, Glazer is a member of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus. He was President of the Associated Students at San Diego State University, Glazer was also Governor Jerry Browns campaign manager at SDSU. Immediately upon graduation he served as the Legislative Director of the CSSA in Sacramento
8.
California Democratic Party
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The California Democratic Party is the state branch of the United States Democratic Party in the state of California. Headquartered in Sacramento, it is chaired by veteran Democratic politician and former United States Representative John L. Burton and it is the majority party in both chambers of the California State Legislature, i. e. the State Assembly and the Senate. In regards to businesses and economics, the California Democratic party takes a stance that protects consumers, small businesses, unions, the platform also makes a point to champion the economic reforms of President Barack Obama. The 2012 platform addresses the issues of family in several sections, the platform promises to protect seniors, children and all types of families with fair economic and social policies. These policies range from continuing Medicare for the elderly and keeping playgrounds safe for children, the platform also highlights the right of a woman to make choices for her own body and claims that healthcare is a natural right of all people. The California democrats further promise to protect the dignity of disabled citizens, the platform is dedicated to advocating for the rights of women through equal pay and affirmative action. The party prioritizes the creation of a sustainable and earth-friendly state, focus is placed on the development of alternative forms of energy and how energy is consumed. In addition, the stresses that green jobs are a solution to economic. Finally, the platform takes stances on open internet use, immigration, the Democrats of California support the right of the people to express their thoughts and ideas through any media, and their right to assemble. The party believes that laws should be fair and that immigrants should not be discriminated against. The party wishes to bring education to the forefront, aiming to turn California into a state for academic achievement. A Detailed description of the California Democratic Partys position on all of the issues can be found in their 2012 Platform document. The California Democratic Party passes multiple resolutions every year as a way of expressing their opinion to lawmakers statewide, while the partys resolutions have no legal force themselves, they are official documents that elected representatives should take into account when making decisions. A few recent resolutions are summarised below,2012 Buy American This resolution, written 18 November 2012, encourages all arms of government to favor American suppliers of goods and services. The above are three of a long list of Resolutions passed by the California Democratic Party in 2012 and in preceding years. The history of the Democratic Party of California is complex and long, the State has traded hands every few cycles since its admission into the union in 1850. At that time, the state was firmly in the hands of the Democratic Party, until the early 1880s after the Republican Party abolished slavery, the Republicans held the state through the power and influence of railroad men. The Democratic Party responded by taking an anti-corporate, anti freedom of attainment position, in 1894, Democrat James Budd was elected to the governorship, and the Democratic Party attempted to make good on their promises to reform the booming railroad industry
9.
California's 16th State Assembly district
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Californias 16th State Assembly district is one of 80 California State Assembly districts. It is currently represented by Republican Catharine Baker of Dublin, the district is located in the East Bay. It consists mainly of suburbs east of the Berkeley Hills, including Lamorinda and it is currently the most Democratic seat held by a Republican in the Assembly. California State Assembly California State Assembly districts Districts in California District map from the California Citizens Redistricting Commission
10.
California Republican Party
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The California Republican Party is the California affiliate of the United States Republican Party. The party chairman is Jim Brulte, and is based in Burbank, California, the CRP also has a headquarters in Sacramento. The partys stated goals are to enhance economic prosperity within the state, cut taxes, the CRP is active throughout the entire state of California, and the party prides itself on providing common sense solutions to the most troubling issues. As of 2016 Republicans represent approximately 28% of the registered voters. Crime and justice—The California Republican Party supports the governments protecting the welfare of the people and creating fair, the party advocates victims rights under the position that the victim is just as important as the offender in a crime. They believe overcrowding is an issue that should be solved by the creation of both private and public prisons. The party also supports the use of punishment for heinous crimes. The party call for a cut on unnecessary spending in order to create government infrastructure that will boost the economy, the party also supports Right-to-work laws and opposes closed shop establishments. Education— The California Republican Party believes that all children have the right to a first-class education, the party supports parents and local school boards being the primary regulators of the education system. The party also supports incentives for quality educators and that school admission, the party also believes that unions have too much influence in Californias schools and that has caused the degradation of the curriculum and the marginalization of involvement by parents. Environment—The California Republican Party believes in long-term responsible stewardship of Californias natural resources, the party supports California industry being a world leader in developing and manufacturing safe, renewable and sustainable energy. The party also believes that city governments should be held to the standards of cleaning waste water as are applied to private industry. Equal Opportunity—We oppose quotas, special rights, set asides, or guaranteed equality of results and we support laws prohibiting discrimination in employment and housing based on race, ethnicity, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or religion. Family values—We support the two-parent family as the best environment for raising children, the Supreme Courts ruling cannot and must not be used to coerce a church or religious institution into performing marriages that their faith does not recognize. We believe public policy and education should not be exploited to advocate or teach any social or political agenda, healthcare—The California Republican Party opposes government mandated health care plans and single payer plans. The party also opposes any government healthcare plan for California that would involve taxes on doctors or hospitals, coverage for illegal aliens, the party also supports private sector solutions such as small business insurance pools, employment pricing reductions, guaranteed insurability and medical savings accounts. Immigration—The California Republican Party contends that the state of California is rich in the history of immigration, English should be mandatory in the workplace and businesses should be able to require employees to speak the English and all immigrants should be required to learn the language. Illegal aliens should be deported if they engage in criminal activity, the party supports the government offering intensive English language instruction to all who need it, including stipends to help immigrants attend the programs
11.
California's 11th congressional district
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Californias 11th congressional district is a congressional district in the U. S. state of California. Mark DeSaulnier, a Democrat, has represented the district since January 2015, currently, the 11th district consists of portions of Contra Costa County. Cities in the district include Concord, El Cerrito, Orinda, Pittsburg, prior to redistricting by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission of 2011, the 11th district consisted of portions of Alameda, Contra Costa, San Joaquin, and Santa Clara counties. As of April 2015, there are four members of the U. S. House of Representatives from Californias 11th congressional district that are currently living. The most recent representative to die is William Royer on April 8,2013, the most recently serving representative to die was Tom Lantos on February 11,2008. List of United States congressional districts GovTrack. us, Californias 11th congressional district RAND California Election Returns, District Definitions California Voter Foundation map - CD11
12.
Mark DeSaulnier
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Mark James DeSaulnier /dəˈsoʊnjeɪ/ is an American politician and a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, serving Californias 11th Congressional District since 2015. Previously, he served in the California Legislature representing Californias 7th State Senate district from 2008 to 2015, from 2006 to 2008, DeSaulnier represented Californias 11th State Assembly district. He also served as a Contra Costa County supervisor and on the Concord City Council, DeSaulnier received endorsements from Congresswoman Tauscher and Congressman George Miller for the seat. In the September 1 primary election, DeSaulnier came in second, born in Lowell, Massachusetts, DeSaulnier earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the College of the Holy Cross. He traveled cross-country to California in the early 1970s and eventually settled in Concord, as a young man, DeSaulnier worked as a probation officer, a truck driver and a hotel services employee. DeSaulnier was a member of both the Teamsters International Union and the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union and his jobs allowed his early exposure to the challenges of working families and the power of organized labor to create equity among employers and employees. A small businessman, DeSaulnier owned and operated restaurants in the greater Bay Area before taking office in the Legislature in 2006. He is a member of the Concord Chamber of Commerce and the Contra Costa Council, DeSaulnier lives in Concord where he raised his two adult sons, Tristan and Tucker. He is a runner and has completed twenty-one marathons. DeSaulnier was appointed to the Concord Planning Commission in 1988, in 1991, he was elected to the Concord City Council and served as mayor of Concord in 1993. He was also a member of the University of California Toxic Substances Research, DeSaulnier served on the Board of Supervisors until 2006. He was elected in 1994 and re-elected in 1998 and 2002, in June 1998, he received 98.4 percent of the vote against write-in candidates. In March 2002, he retained his seat with 79 percent of the vote against challenger Dione Mustard, although the Board of Supervisors is a non-partisan office, DeSaulnier was active in Republican party affairs during much of his tenure as county supervisor. Many of the candidates that DeSaulnier aided supported the anti-union Proposition 226 on the June 1998 statewide ballot, during DeSaulniers tenure on the Board of Supervisors, he sponsored the Industrial Safety Ordinance and the Refinery Flare Rule for local refineries and chemical facilities. DeSaulnier served on the boards of the Association of Bay Area Governments, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. He was appointed to represent the Bay Area on the California Air Resources Board by the Air District, on a county level, DeSaulnier introduced a Womens Health Program to serve the health-care needs of all women in Contra Costa County. He also established the annual Children and Families Budget, a separate County budget that reviews and his other projects for children include AfterSchool4All, the Future Fund and the Children and Families Committee of the Board of Supervisors. The Contra Costa Times editorial board was critical of DeSaulniers record as county supervisor, an editorial published in 2009 stated, Many of the financial problems that afflict Contra Costa County today stem directly from decisions DeSaulnier championed while he was supervisor
13.
Democratic Party (United States)
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The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The Democrats dominant worldview was once socially conservative and fiscally classical liberalism, while, especially in the rural South, since Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal coalition in the 1930s, the Democratic Party has also promoted a social-liberal platform, supporting social justice. Today, the House Democratic caucus is composed mostly of progressives and centrists, the partys philosophy of modern liberalism advocates social and economic equality, along with the welfare state. It seeks to provide government intervention and regulation in the economy, the party has united with smaller left-wing regional parties throughout the country, such as the Farmer–Labor Party in Minnesota and the Nonpartisan League in North Dakota. Well into the 20th century, the party had conservative pro-business, the New Deal Coalition of 1932–1964 attracted strong support from voters of recent European extraction—many of whom were Catholics based in the cities. After Franklin D. Roosevelts New Deal of the 1930s, the pro-business wing withered outside the South, after the racial turmoil of the 1960s, most southern whites and many northern Catholics moved into the Republican Party at the presidential level. The once-powerful labor union element became smaller and less supportive after the 1970s, white Evangelicals and Southerners became heavily Republican at the state and local level in the 1990s. However, African Americans became a major Democratic element after 1964, after 2000, Hispanic and Latino Americans, Asian Americans, the LGBT community, single women and professional women moved towards the party as well. The Northeast and the West Coast became Democratic strongholds by 1990 after the Republicans stopped appealing to socially liberal voters there, overall, the Democratic Party has retained a membership lead over its major rival the Republican Party. The most recent was the 44th president Barack Obama, who held the office from 2009 to 2017, in the 115th Congress, following the 2016 elections, Democrats are the opposition party, holding a minority of seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The party also holds a minority of governorships, and state legislatures, though they do control the mayoralty of cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Washington, D. C. The Democratic Party traces its origins to the inspiration of the Democratic-Republican Party, founded by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and that party also inspired the Whigs and modern Republicans. Organizationally, the modern Democratic Party truly arose in the 1830s, since the nomination of William Jennings Bryan in 1896, the party has generally positioned itself to the left of the Republican Party on economic issues. They have been liberal on civil rights issues since 1948. On foreign policy both parties changed position several times and that party, the Democratic-Republican Party, came to power in the election of 1800. After the War of 1812 the Federalists virtually disappeared and the national political party left was the Democratic-Republicans. The Democratic-Republican party still had its own factions, however. As Norton explains the transformation in 1828, Jacksonians believed the peoples will had finally prevailed, through a lavishly financed coalition of state parties, political leaders, and newspaper editors, a popular movement had elected the president
14.
2010 United States Census
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The 2010 United States Census, is the twenty-third and currently most recent United States national census. National Census Day, the day used for the census, was April 1,2010. As part of a drive to increase the accuracy,635,000 temporary enumerators were hired. The population of the United States was counted as 308,745,538, as required by the United States Constitution, the U. S. census has been conducted every 10 years since 1790. The 2000 U. S. Census was the previous census completed, participation in the U. S. Census is required by law in Title 13 of the United States Code. On January 25,2010, Census Bureau Director Robert Groves personally inaugurated the 2010 Census enumeration by counting World War II veteran Clifton Jackson, more than 120 million census forms were delivered by the U. S. Post Office beginning March 15,2010, the number of forms mailed out or hand-delivered by the Census Bureau was approximately 134 million on April 1,2010. The 2010 Census national mail participation rate was 74%, from April through July 2010, census takers visited households that did not return a form, an operation called non-response follow-up. In December 2010, the Census Bureau delivered population information to the president for apportionment, personally identifiable information will be available in 2082. The Census Bureau did not use a form for the 2010 Census. In several previous censuses, one in six households received this long form, the 2010 Census used only a short form asking ten basic questions, How many people were living or staying in this house, apartment, or mobile home on April 1,2010. Were there any additional people staying here on April 1,2010 that you did not include in Question 1, mark all that apply, Is this house, apartment, or mobile home – What is your telephone number. What is Person 1s age and Person 1s date of birth, is Person 1 of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin. Does Person 1 sometimes live or stay somewhere else, the form included space to repeat some or all of these questions for up to twelve residents total. In contrast to the 2000 census, an Internet response option was not offered, detailed socioeconomic information collected during past censuses will continue to be collected through the American Community Survey. The survey provides data about communities in the United States on a 1-year or 3-year cycle, depending on the size of the community, rather than once every 10 years. A small percentage of the population on a basis will receive the survey each year. In June 2009, the U. S. Census Bureau announced that it would count same-sex married couples, however, the final form did not contain a separate same-sex married couple option
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Pacific Time Zone
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The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC−7 and is based on the mean solar time of the 105th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. In the United States and Canada, this zone is generically called the Pacific Time Zone. Specifically, it uses Pacific Standard Time when observing standard time, most of Canada uses daylight saving time. In Mexico, the UTC−8 time zone is known as the Northwest Zone, the largest city in the Pacific Time Zone is Los Angeles, the citys metropolitan area is the largest in the zone. The following states or areas are part of the Pacific Time Zone, California Washington Oregon – all, except for most of Malheur County, nevada Idaho Panhandle – the northern half of Idaho, north of the Salmon River. The town of Hyder, Alaska, is officially in the Alaska Time Zone, however, most of the town observes the Pacific Time because of strong connections with nearby Stewart, British Columbia, which is in the Pacific Time Zone. The United States Post Office in Hyder strictly adheres to Alaska Time, in Canada, the Pacific Time Zone includes most of British Columbia, all of Yukon, and the townsite of Tungsten. In Mexico, the state of Baja California lies completely within the Pacific Time Zone and this does not include the state of Baja California Sur, which is south of Baja California. Through 2006, the time changed to daylight time at 02,00 LST to 03,00 LDT on the first Sunday in April. The Canadian provinces and territories that use daylight time each adopted these dates between October 2005 and February 2007, in Mexico, beginning in 2010, the portion of the country in this time zone uses the extended dates, as do some other parts. The vast majority of Mexico, however, still uses the old dates
16.
Daylight saving time
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Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
17.
ZIP Code
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ZIP Codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, was chosen to suggest that the travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly. The basic format consists of five numerical digits, an extended ZIP+4 code, introduced in 1983, includes the five digits of the ZIP Code, a hyphen, and four additional digits that determine a more specific location within a given ZIP Code. The term ZIP Code was originally registered as a servicemark by the U. S. Postal Service, USPS style for ZIP is all caps and the c in code is also capitalized, although style sheets for some publications use sentence case or lowercase. The early history and context of postal codes began with postal district/zone numbers, the United States Post Office Department implemented postal zones for numerous large cities in 1943. For example, Mr. John Smith 3256 Epiphenomenal Avenue Minneapolis 16, by the early 1960s a more organized system was needed, and on July 1,1963, non-mandatory five-digit ZIP Codes were introduced nationwide. Three months later, on October 1,1963, the U. S, an earlier list in June had proposed capitalized abbreviations ranging from two to five letters. The abbreviations have remained unchanged, with one exception, according to the historian of the U. S. Robert Moon, an employee of the post office, is considered the father of the ZIP Code, he submitted his proposal in 1944 while working as a postal inspector. The post office gives credit to Moon only for the first three digits of the ZIP Code, which describe the sectional center facility or sec center, an SCF is a central mail processing facility with those three digits. The SCF sorts mail to all post offices with those first three digits in their ZIP Codes, the mail is sorted according to the final two digits of the ZIP Code and sent to the corresponding post offices in the early morning. Sectional centers do not deliver mail and are not open to the public, Mail picked up at post offices is sent to their own SCF in the afternoon, where the mail is sorted overnight. The United States Post Office used a character, which it called Mr. ZIP. He was often depicted with a such as USE ZIP CODE in the selvage of panes of stamps or on labels contained in, or the covers of. In 1983, the U. S. Postal Service introduced an expanded ZIP Code system that it called ZIP+4, often called plus-four codes, add-on codes, or add ons. But initial attempts to promote use of the new format met with public resistance. For Post Office Boxes, the rule is that each box has its own ZIP+4 code. However, there is no rule, so the ZIP+4 Code must be looked up individually for each box. It is common to use add-on code 9998 for mail addressed to the postmaster,9999 for general delivery, for a unique ZIP Code, the add-on code is typically 0001
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Area code 925
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Area code 925 is a California telephone area code that was split from area code 510 on March 14,1998. It covers the portions of the East Bay counties of Alameda. The area was part of area code 415, one of the first three area codes created in California in 1947, which originally covered all of central California. In 1991, area code 510 was created to encompass most of the East Bay, Area code 925 was created March 14,1998, when area code 510 was split along the natural border of the East Bay hills. The number was formed by adding 415 and 510, the area code includes southeastern Alameda County, and all of Contra Costa County except the western part. com,925 Area Code
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Geographic Names Information System
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It is a type of gazetteer. GNIS was developed by the United States Geological Survey in cooperation with the United States Board on Geographic Names to promote the standardization of feature names, the database is part of a system that includes topographic map names and bibliographic references. The names of books and historic maps that confirm the feature or place name are cited, variant names, alternatives to official federal names for a feature, are also recorded. Each feature receives a permanent, unique feature record identifier, sometimes called the GNIS identifier, the database never removes an entry, except in cases of obvious duplication. The GNIS accepts proposals for new or changed names for U. S. geographical features, the general public can make proposals at the GNIS web site and can review the justifications and supporters of the proposals. The Bureau of the Census defines Census Designated Places as a subset of locations in the National Geographic Names Database, U. S. Postal Service Publication 28 gives standards for addressing mail. In this publication, the postal service defines two-letter state abbreviations, street identifiers such as boulevard and street, department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey, National Mapping Division, Digital Gazeteer, Users Manual. Least Heat Moon, William, Blue Highways, A Journey Into America, standard was withdrawn in September 2008, See Federal Register Notice, Vol.73, No. 170, page 51276 Report, Principles, Policies, and Procedures, Domestic Geographic Names, U. S. Postal Service Publication 28, November 2000. Board on Geographic Names website Geographic Names Information System Proposals from the general public Meeting minutes
20.
San Francisco Bay Area
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The San Francisco Bay Area is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses the cities and metropolitan areas of San Jose, San Francisco. The Bay Areas nine counties are Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma. The combined statistical area of the region is the second-largest in California, the fifth-largest in the United States, the Bay Area has the second-most Fortune 500 Companies in the United States, and is known for its natural beauty, liberal politics, entrepreneurship, and diversity. The eastern side of the bay, consisting of Alameda and Contra Costa counties, is known locally as the East Bay, the inner East Bay is more densely populated, with generally older buildings, and a more ethnically diverse population. The word Lamorinda was coined by combining the names of the cities it includes, Lafayette, Moraga, walnut Creek is situated east of Lamorinda and north of the San Ramon Valley and, together with Concord, Martinez, and Pleasant Hill comprises Central Contra Costa County. The cities of Antioch, Pittsburg, Brentwood, Oakley and the areas surrounding them comprise East Contra Costa County. The Tri-Valley consists of the Amador, the Livermore, and the San Ramon Valleys, dublin and Pleasanton comprise the Amador Valley, Livermore lies in the Livermore Valley, and the San Ramon Valley consists of Alamo, Danville, Diablo and its namesake, San Ramon. The outer East Bay is connected to the inner East Bay by BART, Interstate 580 to the south, and State Routes State Route 4 to the north, the outer East Bays infrastructure was mostly built up after World War II. This area remains largely white demographically, although the Hispanic and Filipino populations have grown significantly over the past 2–3 decades, the region north of the Golden Gate Bridge is known locally as the North Bay. This area encompasses Marin County, Sonoma County, Napa County, the city of Fairfield, being part of Solano County, is often considered the easternmost city of the North Bay. With few exceptions, this region is affluent, Marin County is ranked as the wealthiest in the state. The North Bay is relatively rural compared to the remainder of the Bay Area, with areas of undeveloped open space, farmland. Santa Rosa in Sonoma County is the North Bays largest city, with a population of 167,815 and a Metropolitan Statistical Area population of 466,891, making it the fifth-largest city in the Bay Area. The North Bay is the section of the Bay Area that is not currently served by a commuter rail service. The area from San Francisco to the Silicon Valley, geographically part of the San Francisco Peninsula, is known locally as The Peninsula, many of these families are of foreign background and have significantly contributed to the diversity of the area. Whereas the term peninsula technically refers to the entire geographical San Franciscan Peninsula, in local terms, San Francisco is surrounded by water on three sides, the north, east, and west. The city squeezes roughly 870,000 people in under 47 square miles, on any given day, there can be as many as 1 million people in the city because of the commuting population and tourism
21.
Juan Bautista de Anza
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Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto was a New-Spanish explorer of Basque descent, and Governor of New Mexico for the Spanish Empire. Juan Bautista de Anza was born in Fronteras, Sonora, New Spain in 1736 and he was the son of Juan Bautista de Anza I. In 1752 he enlisted in the army at the Presidio of Fronteras and he advanced rapidly and was a captain by 1760. His wife was the daughter of Spanish mine owner Francisco Pérez Serrano and his military duties mainly consisted of forays against hostile Native Americans, such as the Apache, during the course of which he explored much of what is now Arizona. The Spanish began colonizing Alta California with the Portolá expedition of 1769-1770, the two-pronged Portolá effort involved both a long sea voyage against prevailing winds and the California Current, and a difficult land route from Baja California. Colonies were established at San Diego and Monterey, with a presidio, a more direct land route and further colonization were desired, especially at present-day San Francisco, which Portolá saw but was not able to colonize. By the time of Juan Bautista de Anzas expedition, three missions had been established, including Mission San Antonio de Padua in the Salinas Valley. In 1772, Anza proposed an expedition to Alta California to the Viceroy of New Spain, Anza heard of a California Native American called Sebastian Tarabal who had fled from Mission San Gabriel to Sonora, and took him as guide. The expedition took a route along the Rio Altar, then paralleled the modern Mexico/California border. This was in the domain of the Yuma tribe, with which he established good relations, Anza reached Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, near the California coast, on March 22,1774, and Monterey, California, Alta Californias capital, on April 19. He returned to Tubac by late May,1774 and this expedition was closely watched by Viceroy and King, and on October 2,1774, Anza was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and ordered to lead a group of colonists to Alta California. The expedition got under way on October 23,1775, and arrived at Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in January,1776, today this route is marked as the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail. The expedition continued on to Monterey with the colonists, in Anzas diary on March 25,1776, he states that he arrived at the arroyo of San Joseph Cupertino, which is useful only for travelers. Here we halted for the night, having come eight leagues in seven, from this place we have seen at our right the estuary which runs from the port of San Francisco. Pressing on, Anza located the sites for the Presidio of San Francisco and Mission San Francisco de Asis in present-day San Francisco and he did not establish the settlement, it was established later by José Joaquín Moraga. While returning to Monterey, he located the sites for Mission Santa Clara de Asis and the town of San José de Guadalupe. On August 24,1777, the Viceroy of New Spain appointed Anza as the Governor of the Province of Nuevo México, Governor Anza led a punitive expedition against the Comanche group of Native Americans, who had been repeatedly raiding Taos during 1779. With his Ute and Apache Native American allies, and around 800 Spanish soldiers, Anza went north through the San Luis Valley, entering the Great Plains at what is now Manitou Springs, circling El Capitan, he surprised a small force of the Comanche near present-day Colorado Springs
22.
Lafayette, California
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Lafayette is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. As of 2011, the population was estimated to be 24,285. It was named after the Marquis de La Fayette, a French military hero of the American Revolutionary War, today Lafayette is known for its pastoral rolling hills and wealthy inhabitants. In 2009, estimated household income in Lafayette was over $120,000, more than double the statewide average. Before the colonization of the region by Spain, Lafayette and its vicinity were inhabited by the Saclan tribe of the indigenous Bay Miwok, ohlone also populated some of the areas along Lafayette Creek. The indigenous inhabitants first contact with Europeans was in the late 18th century with the founding of Catholic missions in the region, most of what is currently Lafayette was given as a Mexican land grant, Rancho Acalanes to Candelario Valencia in 1834. The name Acalanes seems to have come from the name of a village in the area. American settlement started with the arrival of Elam Brown from St. Joseph and he purchased Rancho Acalanes in 1848. The settlement continued to grow due to its proximity to San Francisco, starting with Browns group of 18 settlers. Brown founded a mill in 1853, a school began in 1852 in a one-room schoolhouse, taught by a 25-year-old Kentucky migrant, Benjamin Shreve. By 1865 the school had expanded to 43 students in five classes, in 1893, a new schoolhouse was built to accommodate the increasing number of students, this building still stands today. On March 2,1857 the LaFayette post office was established by the U. S. Postal Service, the name LaFayette came together with the communitys first post office. In 1857 Benjamin Shreve, owner and manager of a roadside hotel-general store, applied for a post office for the community, first requesting the name Centerville. When informed that a post office with that already existed in California, Shreve suggested La Fayette. The first LaFayette post office was established at 3535 Plaza Way and Shreve became the towns first permanent postmaster, holding the job for 30 years. Spelling, On the original document from the U. S. Postal Service, dated 2 March 1857, in 1864 the place name Lafayette first appeared on a map of the area, titled Bancrofts Map of California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona. Yet research by Ruth Dyer, Lafayette historian, shows that the name of the post office and of the new town soon began to be written as two words, “La Fayette. ”By 1890 it had changed to one word, Lafayette. Post Office Department in Feb.1899, then by 1905 it was back to two words
23.
Orinda, California
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Orinda is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 17,643 at the 2010 census, and was estimated in 2012 to have increased to 18,342, Orinda was ranked the second most friendly town in America by Forbes. The town is located just east of the city of Berkeley and is home to affluent suburban professionals who commute to downtown Oakland, San Francisco. Its location provides for a more rustic landscape, and Orindas many parks and trails make it a destination for many Bay Area hikers and naturalists. Present-day Orinda was located within four Mexican land grants, Rancho Laguna de los Palos Colorados, Rancho Acalanes, Rancho El Sobrante, the area was originally rural, mainly known for ranching and summer cabins. In the late 19th century, the land was named by Alice Marsh Cameron, probably in honor of the poet Katherine Philips, in the 1880s, the United States Surveyor General for California, Theodore Wagner, built an estate which he named Orinda Park. The Orinda Park post office opened in 1888, the post offices name was changed to Orinda in 1895. Orinda was also the site of Bryant Station, a stop on the failed California, in later times, the area around Bryant Station was known as Orinda Crossroads. Orindas popularity as a year-round residence grew after the 1937 completion of the Caldecott Tunnel, bisected by California State Route 24 and framed by its rolling oak-covered hills, the city of Orinda was incorporated on July 1,1985. Its first mayor was Richard G. Heggie, the city has a station on the Pittsburg/Bay Point Line of the Bay Area Rapid Transit. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 12.7 square miles. The area is characterized by a warm-summer Mediterranean climate with cool, rainy winters and warm and it is located in the Chaparral biome. Because Orinda is located in an area, microclimates often dominate temperature differences in short distances. The Oakland hills often block the cool conditions that can be seen in Oakland. In the summer, fog can spill over the Oakland hills cooling off the area, heatwaves from the inland areas can be felt much more in Orinda than in Oakland and the innerbay during the summer. In the winter, Orinda often sees more precipitation than surrounding areas because of its higher elevation, snowfall is rare but not unheard of. A dusting of snow may occur any given year because of the elevation, during stable conditions in the winter, mornings can be rather cold and frosty in downtown and lower lying areas while the higher hills surrounding the area may be several degrees warmer. The population density was 1,398.2 people per square mile, there were 6,744 housing units at an average density of 535. 8/sq mi
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Unincorporated area
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Occasionally, municipalities dissolve or disincorporate, which may happen if they become fiscally insolvent, and services become the responsibility of a higher administration. In some countries, such as in Brazil, Japan, France or the United Kingdom, unlike many other countries, Australia has only one level of local government immediately beneath state and territorial governments. A local government area often contains several towns and even entire cities, thus, aside from very sparsely populated areas and a few other special cases, almost all of Australia is part of an LGA. Unincorporated areas are often in locations, cover vast areas or have very small populations. Postal addresses in unincorporated areas, as in parts of Australia. Thus, there is any ambiguity regarding addresses in unincorporated areas. The Australian Capital Territory has no municipalities and is in some sense an unincorporated area, the territorial government is directly responsible for matters normally carried out by local government. The far west and north of New South Wales constitutes the Unincorporated Far West Region, a civil servant in the state capital manages such matters as are necessary. The second unincorporated area of state is Lord Howe Island. In the Northern Territory,1. 45% of the area and 4. In South Australia, 60% of the area is unincorporated and communities located within can receive services provided by a state agency. Firstly, the remote area that is unincorporated is the Abrolhos Islands. Secondly, the unincorporated areas are A-class reserves either in, or close to. In Canada, depending on the province, a settlement is one that does not have a municipal council that governs solely over the settlement. It is usually, but not always, part of a municipal government. This can range from hamlets to large urbanized areas that are similar in size to towns. In British Columbia, unincorporated settlements lie outside municipal boundaries entirely, Unincorporated settlements with a population of between 100 and 1,000 residents may have the status of designated place in Canadian census data. In some provinces, large tracts of undeveloped wilderness or rural country are unorganized areas that fall directly under the provincial jurisdiction
25.
Canyon, California
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Canyon, formerly known as Sequoya, is an unincorporated community located near the border of Contra Costa and Alameda counties, in the U. S. state of California. It is situated between Oakland and Moraga in the San Francisco Bay Area, the community is named for its location in the upper canyon of San Leandro Creek along the eastern slope of the Berkeley Hills. Canyon lies at an elevation of 1138 feet, the community is mainly traversed by Pinehurst Road and Canyon Road. Logging camps and notorious saloons helped establish a reputation for rowdiness in the nineteenth century. A vast forest known as the Moraga Redwoods once covered the valley that is now Canyon, in the 1850s, Thorn operated a mill on the site. Thorn built the road to bring logs out of the forest and to his mill. The Oakland part of the route is now known as Thornhill Road, in the first half of the 20th century, the local water company, East Bay Municipal Utilities District, purchased much land south of town. They constructed the Upper San Leandro Reservoir, which slowly as it filled up, flooded the towns of Valle Vista. The reservoir also flooded several neighbourhoods of Canyon itself, in fact, the only reason Canyon is not the size of neighbouring Moraga is because a lack of a viable water resource. The few people that do live there are mostly commuters and retired people who like the towns secludedness, with proximity to San Francisco, Oakland. Earlier in the 20th century, the Sacramento Northern Railway ran through the canyon for which the community is named, the rails ran on a bench above Pinehurst Road, upon exiting a long tunnel from Oakland at the site of Thorns road. The eastern portal just north of Canyon was buried by a landslide in 1980 and is no longer visible, in the late 1960s, Canyon became a center of political and social protest and creative alternative lifestyles. Canyon Cinema of San Francisco was founded by neighbors here in the 1960s, in the summer of 1967 Country Joe and the Fish with the Youngbloods played a benefit for the Canyon School. Much of the land beyond the community is owned by the East Bay Municipal Utility District, a notion of the communitys unconventionality may be gleaned from the fact that the school lunch menu features organic milk and produce, Niman Ranch beef, and hormone and antibiotic free chicken. The community is in area code 925, in Canyon, the mutual respect and the cohesion of neighbors revive the vital satisfactions once intrinsic in human communities, and its civil agencies are functions of the inhabitants. Between 2011 and 2013, a Carmelite monastery was located in the area of the town. It was moved the year to the nearby town of Kensington. Canyon enjoys a cool summer Mediterranean climate similar to that of the city of Oakland, California
26.
Walnut Creek, California
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Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located 16 miles east of the city of Oakland in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its active downtown neighborhood features hundred-year-old buildings and extensive high-end retail establishments, restaurants, as of 2014, the citys total estimated population is 67,673. Diablo, and the Tactan at Danville and Walnut Creek, on San Ramon Creek, todays Walnut Creek is located amidst the earlier site of four Mexican land grants. One of these land grants – measuring 18,000 acres – belonged to Juana Sanchez de Pacheco, Ygnacio Sibrian, one of the grandsons, created the first roofed home in the valley in about 1850. The grant was called Rancho Arroyo de Las Nueces y Bolbones, named after the principal waterway, the Arroyo de las Nueces was named for the occurrence in the valley of the native species of walnut tree, the California Walnut. With the coming of American settlers following the Mexican-American War, a settlement called The Corners emerged, named because it was the place where roads from Pacheco. The site of this first American settlement is today at the intersection of Mt. Diablo Boulevard. The first town settler was William Slusher, who built a dwelling on the bank of Walnut Creek, in the year 1855, Milo Hough of Lafayette built the hotel named Walnut Creek House in the corners. A blacksmith shop and a store soon joined the hotel, two decades later, the community changed its name from The Corners to Walnut Creek. In December 1862 a United States Post Office was established, the downtown street patterns laid out in 1871–1872 by pioneer Homer Shuey on a portion of one of his familys large cattle ranches are still present today. Walnut Creek began to grow with the arrival of Southern Pacific Railroad service in 1891, on October 21,1914, the town and the surrounding area of 500 acres ), were incorporated as the 8th city in Contra Costa County. A branch line of the Southern Pacific railroad ran through Walnut Creek until the late 1970s, the East Bay Regional Park Districts Iron Horse Trail, used by walkers, runners and bikers, runs over what were portions of that branch line. The mainline of the Sacramento Northern Railway passed through Walnut Creek, today, the Pittsburg/Bay Point – SFO Line line of the Bay Area Rapid Transit serves Walnut Creek with a station adjacent to Highway 680. Walnut Creek is located at 37°54′23″N 122°03′54″W, portions lie in both the San Ramon Valley and the Ygnacio Valley below the western slopes of Mount Diablo. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 19.8 sq mi,0.06 percent of which is water. Walnut Creek owns more open space per capita than any community in the state of California. In 1974, Walnut Creek voters approved a $6.7 million bond measure that allowed the city to purchase 1,800 acres of undeveloped hillsides, ridge lines, and park sites. Walnut Creek owns parts of Lime Ridge Open Space, Shell Ridge Open Space, Acalanes Ridge Open Space, the East Bay Regional Park District operates Diablo Foothills Regional Park and Castle Rock Regional Recreation Area, both in Walnut Creek
27.
Oakland, California
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Oakland /ˈoʊklənd/ is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. The city was incorporated in 1852, Oaklands territory covers what was once a mosaic of California coastal terrace prairie, oak woodland, and north coastal scrub. Its land served as a resource when its hillside oak and redwood timber were logged to build San Francisco. In the late 1860s, Oakland was selected as the terminal of the Transcontinental Railroad. Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, many San Francisco citizens moved to Oakland, enlarging the citys population, increasing its housing stock and it continued to grow in the 20th century with its busy port, shipyards, and a thriving automobile manufacturing industry. Oakland is known for its sustainability practices, including a top-ranking for usage of electricity from renewable resources, in addition, due to a steady influx of immigrants during the 20th century, along with thousands of African-American war-industry workers who relocated from the Deep South during the 1940s. Oakland is the most ethnically diverse city in the country. The earliest known inhabitants were the Huchiun Indians, who lived there for thousands of years, the Huchiun belonged to a linguistic grouping later called the Ohlone. In Oakland, they were concentrated around Lake Merritt and Temescal Creek, in 1772, the area that later became Oakland was claimed, with the rest of California, by Spanish settlers for the King of Spain. In the early 19th century, the Spanish crown granted the East Bay area to Luis María Peralta for his Rancho San Antonio, the grant was confirmed by the successor Mexican republic upon its independence from Spain. Upon his death in 1842, Peralta divided his land among his four sons, Most of Oakland fell within the shares given to Antonio Maria and Vicente. The portion of the parcel that is now Oakland was called encinal—Spanish for oak grove—due to the oak forest that covered the area. In 1851, three men—Horace Carpentier, Edson Adams, and Andrew Moon—began developing what is now downtown Oakland, on May 4,1852, the Town of Oakland incorporated. Two years later, on March 25,1854, Oakland re-incorporated as the City of Oakland, with Horace Carpentier elected the first mayor, the city and its environs quickly grew with the railroads, becoming a major rail terminal in the late 1860s and 1870s. In 1868, the Central Pacific constructed the Oakland Long Wharf at Oakland Point, a number of horsecar and cable car lines were constructed in Oakland during the latter half of the 19th century. The first electric streetcar set out from Oakland to Berkeley in 1891, at the time of incorporation, Oakland consisted of the territory that lay south of todays major intersection of San Pablo Avenue, Broadway, and Fourteenth Street. The city gradually annexed farmlands and settlements to the east and the north, Oaklands rise to industrial prominence, and its subsequent need for a seaport, led to the digging of a shipping and tidal channel in 1902. This resulted in the town of Alameda being made an island
28.
San Francisco
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San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the cultural, commercial, and financial center of Northern California. It is the birthplace of the United Nations, the California Gold Rush of 1849 brought rapid growth, making it the largest city on the West Coast at the time. San Francisco became a consolidated city-county in 1856, after three-quarters of the city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt, hosting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition nine years later. In World War II, San Francisco was a port of embarkation for service members shipping out to the Pacific Theater. Politically, the city votes strongly along liberal Democratic Party lines, San Francisco is also the headquarters of five major banking institutions and various other companies such as Levi Strauss & Co. Dolby, Airbnb, Weebly, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Yelp, Pinterest, Twitter, Uber, Lyft, Mozilla, Wikimedia Foundation, as of 2016, San Francisco is ranked high on world liveability rankings. The earliest archaeological evidence of habitation of the territory of the city of San Francisco dates to 3000 BC. Upon independence from Spain in 1821, the became part of Mexico. Under Mexican rule, the system gradually ended, and its lands became privatized. In 1835, Englishman William Richardson erected the first independent homestead, together with Alcalde Francisco de Haro, he laid out a street plan for the expanded settlement, and the town, named Yerba Buena, began to attract American settlers. Commodore John D. Sloat claimed California for the United States on July 7,1846, during the Mexican–American War, montgomery arrived to claim Yerba Buena two days later. Yerba Buena was renamed San Francisco on January 30 of the next year, despite its attractive location as a port and naval base, San Francisco was still a small settlement with inhospitable geography. The California Gold Rush brought a flood of treasure seekers, with their sourdough bread in tow, prospectors accumulated in San Francisco over rival Benicia, raising the population from 1,000 in 1848 to 25,000 by December 1849. The promise of fabulous riches was so strong that crews on arriving vessels deserted and rushed off to the gold fields, leaving behind a forest of masts in San Francisco harbor. Some of these approximately 500 abandoned ships were used at times as storeships, saloons and hotels, many were left to rot, by 1851 the harbor was extended out into the bay by wharves while buildings were erected on piles among the ships. By 1870 Yerba Buena Cove had been filled to create new land, buried ships are occasionally exposed when foundations are dug for new buildings. California was quickly granted statehood in 1850 and the U. S. military built Fort Point at the Golden Gate, silver discoveries, including the Comstock Lode in Nevada in 1859, further drove rapid population growth. With hordes of fortune seekers streaming through the city, lawlessness was common, and the Barbary Coast section of town gained notoriety as a haven for criminals, prostitution, entrepreneurs sought to capitalize on the wealth generated by the Gold Rush
29.
Concord, California
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Concord is the largest city in Contra Costa County, California. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 122,067 making it the 8th largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, founded in 1869 as the community of Todos Santos by Salvio Pacheco, the name was changed to Concord within months. The city is a major regional suburban East Bay center within the San Francisco Bay Area, Concord is located at 37°58′41″N 122°01′52″W. It is 29 miles northeast of San Francisco,22 miles northeast from Oakland,65 miles southwest of Sacramento, according to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 30.5 square miles, all of it land. Despite this, some crime and homelessness remain issues in the downtown area, to the north and east of downtown is the older residential area of Concord, with many homes dating back to before World War II. In the far edge of town is a primarily industrial area. The southeastern area of the city, centered along Clayton Road, is residential and was mostly developed in the 1960s and 1970s. In the southwest area of the city is the primarily Latino neighborhood known as Four Corners, centered around the intersection of Monument Boulevard, though it shares no border with Concord, Martinez is located almost immediately adjacent to Concord on the northwest. The North Concord BART station is known as Martinez BART. Concord has a hot summer Mediterranean climate, official data from the National Weather Service cooperative station in Concord shows average January temperatures are a maximum of 57.2 degrees Fahrenheit and a minimum of 41.6 °F. Average July temperatures are a maximum of 87.8 °F, there are an average of 45.0 days with highs of 90 °F or higher and 3.8 days with lows of 32 °F or lower. The highest recorded temperature was 110 °F on July 23,2006, the lowest record temperature was 24 °F on December 23,1998. Average annual precipitation is 18.31 inches, falling on an average of 57 days annually, the wettest year was 1995 with 26.62 inches and driest year was 2007 with 10.57 inches. The most rainfall in one month was 11.79 inches in December 2005, the valleys north of Mount Diablo were inhabited by the Miwok people, who hunted elk and fished in the numerous streams flowing from the mountain into the San Francisco Bay. In 1772, Spanish explorers began to cross the area, in 1834 the Mexican land grant Rancho Monte del Diablo at the base of Mount Diablo was granted to Salvio Pacheco. Concord was founded under the name of Todos Santos, on the initiative of Pacheco in 1869 and it achieved prominence in the 19th century as a result of most residents of Pacheco relocating to Concord to avoid the devastation of fire and flood which crippled Pachecos formerly booming economy. Concord was incorporated on February 5,1905, the area around Concord in the surrounding Ygnacio and Clayton Valleys was a large agricultural area. Crops that were grown included grapes, walnuts, wheat, hay, the area to the east was the site of a few enormous wheat ranches over 5,000 acres, and was almost a sea of wheat all the way to the marshes bordering Suisun Bay
30.
Berkeley, California
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Berkeley is a city on the east shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley and it borders the cities of Oakland and Emeryville to the south and the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington to the north. Its eastern border with Contra Costa County generally follows the ridge of the Berkeley Hills, the 2010 census recorded a population of 112,580. It also has the Graduate Theological Union, one of the largest religious studies institutions in the world and it is one of the most politically liberal cities in the United States. The site of todays City of Berkeley was the territory of the Chochenyo/Huchiun band of the Ohlone people when the first Europeans arrived, other artifacts were discovered in the 1950s in the downtown area during remodeling of a commercial building, near the upper course of the creek. The first people of European descent arrived with the De Anza Expedition in 1776, today, this is noted by signage on Interstate 80, which runs along the San Francisco Bay shoreline of Berkeley. The De Anza Expedition led to establishment of the Spanish Presidio of San Francisco at the entrance to San Francisco Bay, luis Peralta was among the soldiers at the Presidio. For his services to the King of Spain, he was granted a vast stretch of land on the east shore of San Francisco Bay for a ranch, luis Peralta named his holding Rancho San Antonio. The primary activity of the ranch was raising cattle for meat and hides, eventually, Peralta gave portions of the ranch to each of his four sons. What is now Berkeley lies mostly in the portion that went to Peraltas son Domingo, with a little in the portion that went to another son, no artifact survives of the Domingo or Vicente ranches, but their names survive in Berkeley street names. However, legal title to all land in the City of Berkeley remains based on the original Peralta land grant, the Peraltas Rancho San Antonio continued after Alta California passed from Spanish to Mexican sovereignty after the Mexican War of Independence. The lands of the brothers Domingo and Vicente were quickly reduced to reservations close to their respective ranch homes, the rest of the land was surveyed and parceled out to various American claimants. Politically, the area that became Berkeley was initially part of a vast Contra Costa County, on March 25,1853, Alameda County was created from a division within Contra Costa County, as well as from a small portion of Santa Clara County. The area of Berkeley was at this period mostly a mix of land, farms and ranches. It was not yet Berkeley, but merely the part of the Oakland Township subdivision of Alameda County. In 1866, Oaklands private College of California looked for a new site, according to the Centennial Record of the University of California, In 1866…at Founders Rock, a group of College of California men watched two ships standing out to sea through the Golden Gate. Although the philosophers name is pronounced bark-lee, the pronunciation of the name has evolved to suit American English as burk-lee. The College of Californias College Homestead Association planned to raise funds for the new campus by selling off adjacent parcels of land, to this end, they laid out a plat and street grid that became the basis of Berkeleys modern street plan
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United States Census Bureau
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The United States Census Bureau is a principal agency of the U. S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureaus primary mission is conducting the U. S. Census every ten years, in addition to the decennial census, the Census Bureau continually conducts dozens of other censuses and surveys, including the American Community Survey, the U. S. Economic Census, and the Current Population Survey, furthermore, economic and foreign trade indicators released by the federal government typically contain data produced by the Census Bureau. The Bureaus various censuses and surveys help allocate over $400 billion in federal funds every year and help states, local communities, the Census Bureau is part of the U. S. Department of Commerce and its director is appointed by the President of the United States. The Census Bureau now conducts a population count every 10 years in years ending with a 0. Between censuses, the Census Bureau makes population estimates and projections, the Census Bureau is mandated with fulfilling these obligations, the collecting of statistics about the nation, its people, and economy. The Census Bureaus legal authority is codified in Title 13 of the United States Code, the Census Bureau also conducts surveys on behalf of various federal government and local government agencies on topics such as employment, crime, health, consumer expenditures, and housing. Within the bureau, these are known as surveys and are conducted perpetually between and during decennial population counts. The Census Bureau also conducts surveys of manufacturing, retail, service. Between 1790 and 1840, the census was taken by marshals of the judicial districts, the Census Act of 1840 established a central office which became known as the Census Office. Several acts followed that revised and authorized new censuses, typically at the 10-year intervals, in 1902, the temporary Census Office was moved under the Department of Interior, and in 1903 it was renamed the Census Bureau under the new Department of Commerce and Labor. The department was intended to consolidate overlapping statistical agencies, but Census Bureau officials were hindered by their role in the department. An act in 1920 changed the date and authorized manufacturing censuses every 2 years, in 1929, a bill was passed mandating the House of Representatives be reapportioned based on the results of the 1930 Census. In 1954, various acts were codified into Title 13 of the US Code, by law, the Census Bureau must count everyone and submit state population totals to the U. S. President by December 31 of any year ending in a zero. States within the Union receive the results in the spring of the following year, the United States Census Bureau defines four statistical regions, with nine divisions. The Census Bureau regions are widely used. for data collection, the Census Bureau definition is pervasive. Title 13 of the U. S. Code establishes penalties for the disclosure of this information, all Census employees must sign an affidavit of non-disclosure prior to employment. The Bureau cannot share responses, addresses or personal information with anyone including United States or foreign government, only after 72 years does the information collected become available to other agencies or the general public
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Antioch, California
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Antioch is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area along the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta, it is a suburb of San Francisco, the citys population was 102,372 at the 2010 census and estimated to be 110,542 in 2015. Antioch is one of the oldest towns in California, in 1848, John Marsh, owner of Rancho Los Meganos, one of the largest ranches in California, built a landing on the San Joaquin River in what is now Antioch. It became known as Marshs Landing, and was the point for the 17. It included a pier extending out into the river, enabling vessels drawing 15 feet of water to tie up there at any season of the year. In 1850, two brothers, William and Joseph Smith, founded a town slightly west of Marshs Landing, in 1851, the towns new minister persuaded the residents to change the name of the town to Antioch, for the biblical city of Antioch. This new industry resulted in the founding of the towns of Nortonville, Somersville, Stewartsville, and Black Diamond, the Empire Coal Company was formed by John C. Rouse and George Hawxhurst in 1876, which built a railroad that passed from Antioch toward the mines over what is now F Street, however, later on, both the mine and the railroad passed into the hands of the Belshaw brothers. In 1863, a great excitement arose over the discovery of ore near Antioch. Smelting works were built at Antioch, and a value of fifteen to twenty-five dollars per ton was paid for the ore, unfortunately the copper bubble eventually burst, to the dismay of the citizens with connections. Petroleum was first drilled for near Antioch in 1865, but not enough oil was found to make a decent profit. The Antioch Post Office was opened in 1851, closed in 1852, re-opened in 1855, closed again in 1862, the city of Antioch was incorporated in 1872. The Antioch Ledger was first issued on March 10,1870, in memory of when the paper was formed, a copy of its first issue has been framed and hangs over the desk of the present editor. It is five by eight inches in size, printed on one side only, the Ledger later merged with the Contra Costa Times and printed its last issue in 2005. Today, Antioch is mainly a community, with most adults working in larger cities toward Oakland. However, the Contra Costa Times and affiliated newspapers contradicted their claim, Disturbing, only its not, according to a Bay Area News Group analysis of sex offender addresses and census data. Monte Rio ranked first with 4.5 per 1000, the city was attempting in 2012 to annex an adjacent 678-acre area of unincorporated land, which includes a GenOn Energy 760-megawatt power plant, to include the plant within city limits. Antioch is located at 38°00′18″N 121°48′21″W, along the San Joaquin River at the end of the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta
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Bay Miwok
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The Bay Miwok were a cultural and linguistic group of Miwok, a Native American people in Northern California who lived in Contra Costa County. The Bay Miwok were not recognized by modern anthropologists or linguists until the mid-twentieth century, in 1955 linguist Madison Beeler recognized an 1821 vocabulary taken from a Saclan man at Mission San Francisco as representative of a Miwok language. The language was named Bay Miwok and its extent was rediscovered during the 1960s. The Bay Miwok lived by hunting and gathering, and lived in small bands without centralized political authority and they spoke Bay Miwok also known as Saclan. The original Bay Miwok peoples world view was a form of Shamanism, varying forms of the Kuksu Cult were shared with other indigenous ethnic groups of Central California, such as their neighbors the northern Ohlone, Maidu, Patwin, Pomo, and Wappo. However Kroeber observed less specialized cosmogony in the Miwok, which he termed one of the southern Kuksu-dancing groups, in comparison to the Maidu, the specific myths, legends, tales, and histories of the Bay Miwok are not well documented. All Miwok peoples believed in animal and human spirits, and saw the animal spirits as their ancestors, coyote was seen as the representation of their creator god. The Sierra and Plains Miwok, as well as the Bay Miwok, believed this world began at Mount Diablo, the major clues to the linguistic affiliation of these river mouth tribelets are provided by the personal names of female neophytes recorded in the baptismal registers. Ompin, Chupcan, Julpun, and Wolwon are linked together by the use of a constellation of endings which appear in female personal names. Milliken subsequently used the technique, applied to the original mission records. The locations of the seven Bay Miwok local tribes are generally as follows, At and surrounding present-day City of Concord, at Mt. Diablo, surrounding present-day City of Clayton and east along Marsh Creek to Brentwood, Volvon. At present-day City of Pittsburg and north to rural south Solano County, at and surrounding present-day cities of Lafayette and Walnut Creek, Saclan. At and surrounding present-day City of Danville, on San Ramon Creek, in south portion of present-day City of Oakland, in present City of San Leandro, and on San Leandro Creek to the east, Jalquin. Another group, the Yrgin of present-day City of Hayward and Castro Valley, had Chochenyo Ohlone signature female name endings, yet they were so highly intermarried with the Jalquin that it seems possible that they and the Jalquin formed a single bilingual local tribe. Documentation of Miwok peoples dates back as early as 1579 by a priest on a ship under the command of Francis Drake, identification and references to the Bay Miwok tribes exists from California Mission records as early as 1794. Spanish-American Franciscans set up Catholic missions in the Bay Area in the 1770s, beginning in 1794, the Bay Miwoks began to migrate to the Franciscan missions, most to Mission San Francisco de Asís, but some others to Mission San José. All but the Ompin and Julpun in the northeast were at the missions by the end of 1806, the first baptisms and emigration to the missions of each tribe were, In 1794-1795,143 Saclans were baptized at the San Francisco Mission. In 1799-1805,152 Yrgins were baptized at the San Jose Mission, in 1801-1803,77 Jalquins were baptized at the San Francisco Mission
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Presidio of San Francisco
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It had been a fortified location since September 17,1776, when New Spain established it to gain a foothold on Alta California and the San Francisco Bay. It passed to Mexico, which in turn passed it to the United States in 1848. As part of a 1989 military reduction program under the Base Realignment, on October 1,1994, it was transferred to the National Park Service, ending 219 years of military use and beginning its next phase of mixed commercial and public use. In 1996, the United States Congress created the Presidio Trust to oversee and manage the interior 80% of the parks lands, with the National Park Service managing the coastal 20%. In a first-of-its-kind structure, Congress mandated that the Presidio Trust make the Presidio financially self-sufficient by 2013, the park is characterized by many wooded areas, hills, and scenic vistas overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. It was recognized as a California Historical Landmark in 1933 and as a National Historic Landmark in 1962, battery Chamberlin, seacoast defense museum and artillery display at Baker Beach built in 1904. Fort Point,1861 brick and granite fortification located under the Golden Gate Bridge, the visitor center, open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, offers video orientations, guided tours, self-guiding materials, exhibits, and a bookstore. Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Visitor Center, This center offers hands-on marine-life exhibits, the building was used by the Coast Guard from 1890 to 1990. Golden Gate Bridge Pavilion, opened May 2012 for the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge and it is located just east of the southern end of the bridge. Crissy Field Center is an environmental education center with programs for schools, public workshops, after-school programs, summer camps. The Center is operated by the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, the facilities include interactive environmental exhibits, a media lab, resource library, arts workshop, science lab, gathering room, teaching kitchen, café and bookstore. The landscape of Crissy Field was designed by George Hargreaves, the project restored a naturally functioning and sustaining tidal wetland as a habitat for flora and fauna, which were previously not in evidence on the site. It also restored a historic grass airfield that functioned as a significant military airfield between 1919 and 1936. The park at Crissy Field expanded and widened the recreational opportunities of the existing 1 1⁄2-mile San Francisco shore to a number of Presidio residents. 1776, Spanish Captain Juan Bautista de Anza led 193 soldiers, women,1794, Castillo de San Joaquin, an artillery emplacement was built above present-day Fort Point, San Francisco, complete with iron or bronze cannon. Six cannons may be seen in the Presidio today, 1776–1821, The Presidio was a simple fort made of adobe, brush and wood. It often was damaged by earthquakes or heavy rains, in 1783, its company was only 33 men. Presidio soldiers duties were to support Mission Dolores by controlling Indian workers in the Mission, and also farming, ranching, support from Spanish authorities in Mexico was very limited
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History of San Jose, California
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For thousands of years before the arrival of European settlers, the area now known as San Jose was inhabited by several groups of Ohlone Native Americans. Don Pedro Fages, the governor at Monterey, passed through the area on his 1770 and 1772 expeditions to explore the East Bay. Late in 1775, Juan Bautista de Anza led the first overland expedition to bring colonists from New Spain to California and he left the colonists at Monterey in 1776, and explored north with a small group. Anza returned to Mexico City before any of the settlements were actually founded, el Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe was founded by José Joaquín Moraga on November 29,1777, the first pueblo-town not associated with a mission or a military post in upper Las Californias. The town was founded by the colonists led to California by Anza, as a community to provide food for the presidios of San Francisco. In 1778, the pueblo had a population of 68, in the ensuing years a number of Mexican Rancho Land Grants Land Grants were confirmed within the lands now considered San Jose. During the Bear Flag Revolt, Captain Thomas Fallon led a force from Santa Cruz. Fallon would later become the mayor of San Jose. Its unclear whether or not Fallon ordered all townspeople of Spanish/Mexican origin out of San Jose, during the California Gold Rush period, the New Almaden Quicksilver Mines just south of the city were the largest mercury mines in North America. Mining operations began in 1847 at what was the first operating mine in the province, the importance of the mercury industry at the time explains why the local newspaper is named the Mercury News. On March 27,1850, San Jose became the first incorporated city in the U. S. state of California, the first mayor was Josiah Belden. It also served as the states first capital with the first and second sessions of the California Legislature, known as the Legislature of a Thousand Drinks, from 1858 to 1861, San Jose was a stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail stage line. In 1881, because of a campaign by editor J. J. It didnt provide sufficient illumination, and by 1884 was used only for ceremonial purposes and it collapsed during the great gale of 1915. In 1989, an informal Court of Historical Inquiry looked into the issue of whether the Eiffel Tower was an infringement of the Electric Light Tower. Before the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the Winchester Mystery House reached a height of 7 stories, many visitors to the house claim to have felt the presence of ghosts, while others claim there is no detectable presence. In 1909, Dr. Charles Herrold began experimental broadcasts in downtown San Jose. His station was licensed in 1921 as KQW, then moved to San Francisco
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Sacramento River
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The Sacramento River is the principal river of Northern California in the United States, and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for 400 miles before reaching the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, the Sacramento and its wide natural floodplain were once abundant in fish and other aquatic creatures, notably one of the southernmost large runs of chinook salmon in North America. For about 12,000 years, humans have depended on the vast natural resources of the watershed, the river has provided a route for trade and travel since ancient times. Hundreds of tribes sharing regional customs and traditions inhabited the Sacramento Valley, the Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga named the river Rio de los Sacramentos in 1808, later shortened and anglicized into Sacramento. In the 19th century gold was discovered on a tributary of the Sacramento River, starting the California Gold Rush, overland trails such as the California Trail and Siskiyou Trail guided hundreds of thousands of people to the gold fields. By the late part of the mining had ceased to be a major part of the economy. Many populous communities were established along the Sacramento River, including the capital of Sacramento. Intensive agriculture and mining contributed to pollution in the Sacramento River, since the 1950s the watershed has been intensely developed for water supply and the generation of hydroelectric power. Today, large dams impound the river and almost all of its major tributaries, the Sacramento is used heavily for irrigation and serves much of Central and Southern California through the canals of giant state and federal water projects. The Sacramento River originates in the mountains and plateaus of far northern California as three major waterways that flow into Shasta Lake, the Upper Sacramento River, McCloud River and Pit River. The Upper Sacramento begins near Mount Shasta, at the confluence of North, Middle and it flows east into a small reservoir, Lake Siskiyou, before turning south. The river flows through a canyon for about 60 miles, past Dunsmuir and Castella, the Pit River, by far the largest of the three, begins in Modoc County in the northeastern corner of California. Draining a vast and remote volcanic highlands area, it flows southwest for nearly 300 miles before emptying into Shasta Lake near Montgomery Creek, Goose Lake, straddling the Oregon–California border, occasionally overflows into the Pit River during wet years, although this has not happened since 1881. The Goose Lake watershed is the part of the Sacramento River basin extending into another state. Unlike most California rivers, the Pit and the McCloud Rivers are predominantly spring-fed, ensuring a large, at the lower end of Shasta Lake is Shasta Dam, which impounds the Sacramento River for flood control, irrigation and hydropower generation. Before the construction of Shasta Dam the McCloud River emptied into the Pit River, the Pit River Bridge, which carries Interstate 5 and the Union Pacific Railroad over the reservoir, is structurally the highest double-decked bridge in the United States. The Upper Sacramento River canyon also provides the route for I-5, below Shasta Dam the Sacramento River enters the foothills region of the northern Sacramento Valley. It flows through Keswick Dam, where it receives about 1,200,000 acre feet of water per year diverted from the Trinity River and it then swings east through Redding, the largest city of the Shasta Cascade region, and turns southeast, entering Tehama County
California
