1.
Provinces of New Spain
–
New Spain was a colonial territory of the Spanish Empire, in the New World north of the Isthmus of Panama. It was established following the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1521, after 1535 the colony was governed by the Viceroy of New Spain, an appointed minister of the King of Spain, who ruled as monarch over the colony. The capital of New Spain was Mexico City and it developed highly regional divisions, which reflect the impact of climate, topography, the presence or absence of dense indigenous populations, and the presence or absence of mineral resources. The areas of central and southern Mexico had dense indigenous populations with complex social, political, silver mining not only became the engine of the economy of New Spain, but vastly enriched Spain, and transformed the global economy. New Spain was the New World terminus of the Philippine trade, although New Spain was a dependency of Spain, it was a kingdom not a colony, subject to the presiding monarch on the Iberian Peninsula. Every privilege and position, economic political, or religious came from him and it was on this basis that the conquest, occupation, and government of the New World was achieved. The Viceroyalty of New Spain was established in 1535 in the Kingdom of New Spain and it was the first New World viceroyalty and one of only two in the Spanish empire until the 18th century Bourbon Reforms. The Spanish Empire comprised the territories in the north overseas Septentrion, from North America, to the west of the continent, New Spain also included the Spanish East Indies. To the east of the continent, it included the Spanish West Indies and this was not occupied by many Spanish settlers and were considered more marginal to Spanish interests than the most densely populated and lucrative areas of central Mexico. To shore up its claims in North America starting in the late 18th century, Spanish expeditions to the Pacific Northwest explored and claimed the coast of what is now British Columbia and Alaska. The indigenous societies of Mesoamerica brought under Spanish control were of unprecedented complexity, the societies could provide the conquistadors, especially Hernán Cortés, a base from which the conquerors could become autonomous, or even independent, of the Crown. As a result, the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, since the time of the Catholic Monarchs, central Iberia was governed through councils appointed by the monarch with particular jurisdictions. Thus, the creation of the Council of the Indies became another, the crown had set up the Casa de Contratación in 1503 to regulate contacts between Spain and its overseas possessions. A key function was to gather information about navigation to make trips less risky and they were accompanied by maps of the area discussed, many of which were drawn by indigenous artists. The Francisco Hernández Expedition, the first scientific expedition to the New World, was sent to gather information medicinal plants, an earlier Audiencia had been established in Santo Domingo in 1526 to deal with the Caribbean settlements. That Audiencia, housed in the Casa Reales in Santo Domingo, was charged with encouraging further exploration, management by the Audiencia, which was expected to make executive decisions as a body, proved unwieldy. Therefore, in 1535, King Charles V named Don Antonio de Mendoza as the first Viceroy of New Spain. After the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire in 1532 opened up the vast territories of South America to further conquests, the Crown established an independent Viceroyalty of Peru there in 1540
Provinces of New Spain
–
"Vázquez de Coronado Sets Out to the North" (1540) by
Frederic Remington, oil on canvas, 1905
Provinces of New Spain
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Flag
Provinces of New Spain
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Indian Wedding and Flying Pole, circa 1690
Provinces of New Spain
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Route from Philippines to Acapulco, México
2.
New Spain
–
New Spain was a colonial territory of the Spanish Empire, in the New World north of the Isthmus of Panama. It was established following the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1521, after 1535 the colony was governed by the Viceroy of New Spain, an appointed minister of the King of Spain, who ruled as monarch over the colony. The capital of New Spain was Mexico City and it developed highly regional divisions, which reflect the impact of climate, topography, the presence or absence of dense indigenous populations, and the presence or absence of mineral resources. The areas of central and southern Mexico had dense indigenous populations with complex social, political, silver mining not only became the engine of the economy of New Spain, but vastly enriched Spain, and transformed the global economy. New Spain was the New World terminus of the Philippine trade, although New Spain was a dependency of Spain, it was a kingdom not a colony, subject to the presiding monarch on the Iberian Peninsula. Every privilege and position, economic political, or religious came from him and it was on this basis that the conquest, occupation, and government of the New World was achieved. The Viceroyalty of New Spain was established in 1535 in the Kingdom of New Spain and it was the first New World viceroyalty and one of only two in the Spanish empire until the 18th century Bourbon Reforms. The Spanish Empire comprised the territories in the north overseas Septentrion, from North America, to the west of the continent, New Spain also included the Spanish East Indies. To the east of the continent, it included the Spanish West Indies and this was not occupied by many Spanish settlers and were considered more marginal to Spanish interests than the most densely populated and lucrative areas of central Mexico. To shore up its claims in North America starting in the late 18th century, Spanish expeditions to the Pacific Northwest explored and claimed the coast of what is now British Columbia and Alaska. The indigenous societies of Mesoamerica brought under Spanish control were of unprecedented complexity, the societies could provide the conquistadors, especially Hernán Cortés, a base from which the conquerors could become autonomous, or even independent, of the Crown. As a result, the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, since the time of the Catholic Monarchs, central Iberia was governed through councils appointed by the monarch with particular jurisdictions. Thus, the creation of the Council of the Indies became another, the crown had set up the Casa de Contratación in 1503 to regulate contacts between Spain and its overseas possessions. A key function was to gather information about navigation to make trips less risky and they were accompanied by maps of the area discussed, many of which were drawn by indigenous artists. The Francisco Hernández Expedition, the first scientific expedition to the New World, was sent to gather information medicinal plants, an earlier Audiencia had been established in Santo Domingo in 1526 to deal with the Caribbean settlements. That Audiencia, housed in the Casa Reales in Santo Domingo, was charged with encouraging further exploration, management by the Audiencia, which was expected to make executive decisions as a body, proved unwieldy. Therefore, in 1535, King Charles V named Don Antonio de Mendoza as the first Viceroy of New Spain. After the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire in 1532 opened up the vast territories of South America to further conquests, the Crown established an independent Viceroyalty of Peru there in 1540
New Spain
–
"Vázquez de Coronado Sets Out to the North" (1540) by
Frederic Remington, oil on canvas, 1905
New Spain
–
Flag
New Spain
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Indian Wedding and Flying Pole, circa 1690
New Spain
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Route from Philippines to Acapulco, México
3.
Alta California
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Alta California, founded in 1769 by Gaspar de Portolà, was a polity of New Spain and after the Mexican War of Independence in 1822, a territory of Mexico. The region included all of the states of California, Nevada, and Utah. Large areas east of the Sierra Nevada and San Gabriel Mountains were claimed to be part of Alta California, to the southeast, beyond the deserts and the Colorado River, lay the Spanish settlements in Arizona. The areas formerly comprising Alta California were ceded to the United States in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the Mexican–American War in 1848, two years later, California joined the union as the 31st state. Other parts of Alta California became all or part of the later U. S. states of Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. The Spanish explored the area of Alta California by sea beginning in the 16th century. During the following two centuries there were plans to settle the area, none of which were effectively carried out. Ultimately, New Spain did not have the resources nor population to settle such a far northern outpost. To ascertain the Russian threat a number of Spanish expeditions to the Pacific Northwest were launched, the Spanish Crown funded the construction and subsidized the operation of the missions, with the goal that the relocation, conversion and enforced labor of Native people would bolster Spanish rule. The first Alta California mission and presidio were established by the Franciscan friar Junípero Serra, the following year,1770, the second mission and presidio were founded in Monterey. In 1773 a boundary between the Baja California missions and the Franciscan missions of Alta California was set by Francisco Palóu, the missionary effort coincided with the construction of presidios and pueblos, which were to be manned and populated by Hispanic people. The first pueblo founded was San José in 1777, followed by Los Ángeles in 1781, by law, mission land and property were to pass to the indigenous population after a period of about ten years, when the natives would become Spanish subjects. In the interim period, the Franciscans were to act as mission administrators who held the land in trust for the Native residents, the transfer of property never occurred under the Franciscans. As the number of Spanish settlers grew in Alta California, the boundaries, conflicts between the Crown and the Church and between Natives and settlers arose. State and ecclesiastical bureaucrats debated over authority of the missions and they advocated that the Natives owned property and had the right to defend it. Governor Diego de Borica is credited with defining Alta and Baja Californias official borders, Mexico won independence in 1822, and Alta California became a territory of Mexico. The Spanish and later Mexican governments rewarded retired soldados de cuera with large grants, known as ranchos, for the raising of cattle. Hides and tallow from the livestock were the primary exports of California until the mid-19th century, the construction, ranching and domestic work on these vast estates was primarily done by Native Americans, who had learned to speak Spanish and ride horses
Alta California
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Map of N. America showing California when it was part of New Spain. Map dated 1789 from
Dobson's Encyclopedia.
Alta California
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Mexico in 1838. From Britannica 7th edition
Alta California
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Map of Mexico. S. Augustus Mitchell, Philadelphia, 1847. New California is depicted with a north-eastern border at the meridian leading north of the
Rio Grande headwaters.
4.
Loreto, Baja California Sur
–
Loreto is a city in and municipal seat of Loreto Municipality, located on the Gulf of California in eastern Baja California Sur state, Mexico. The city of 14,724 people is located about 350 km north of La Paz, Loreto was the first Spanish colonial settlement of the Viceroyalty of New Spain on the Baja California Peninsula. The town was founded in 1697 by Jesuit missionaries, who found a spring of fresh water on this site. The Jesuits were expelled in 1767, and control of the Baja California missions was given to the Franciscans, the expedition departed from Loreto on March 24,1769. The town served as the capital of the province of Las Californias from its founding until the capital was moved to Monterey on February 3,1777, in 1768, the province had been split into Alta California and Baja California. At first, the two continued with a single governor. Later, the became the headquarters for the Lieutenant Governor of California Viejo. Loreto is located on the east coast of the Baja California Peninsula, the city is built on relatively flat land with an average elevation is 10 meters above sea level. “La Giganta” Mountain Range lies to the west, extending along the center of the state of Baja California Sur, parallel to the gulf coast. The city is a tourist resort, catering mostly to U. S. travelers, many American tourists enjoy fishing in pangas for dorado. Local restaurants will willingly prepare the daily catch of the tourists, Loreto has a museum that coexists alongside the historic, but still active, parish. Loreto has active sister city relationships with the California cities of Hermosa Beach, Cerritos, Loreto’s climate is hot and humid, with abundant sunshine. The median temperature is 24.4 °C, the temperatures are hot from June through October. These summer days have highs around 34 °C and high humidity, in spring season, the temperatures are moderate and temperate. Autumn and winter months are usually windy, from January to March, winds blow from the NW and the North, the rest of the year, the winds blow usually from the West. Loretos yearly precipitation is low, averaging about 160 mm, the wettest months are August and September, when there are occasional short-lived rainfalls. One concern for Loreto is the Pacific hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, the last time the town area was hit by a hurricane was on September 2 and 3,2006, when the hurricane John hit the Baja California Peninsula. According to INEGI, the 2005 city population was 10,283 people with 2565 households, with 77. 67% male and 22. 32% female householders
Loreto, Baja California Sur
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Coat of arms
Loreto, Baja California Sur
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Loreto
Loreto, Baja California Sur
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Mission of Our Lady of Loreto
Loreto, Baja California Sur
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Loreto City Hall
5.
Monterey, California
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The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, in the Northern Portion of Californias Central Coast. It stands at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level, the 2010 census recorded a population of 27,810. Monterey was the capital of Alta California under both Spain and Mexico and it was the only port of entry for taxable goods in California. In 1846 the U. S. flag was raised over the Customs House, the city had Californias first theater, public building, public library, publicly funded school, printing press, and newspaper. The city and surrounding area have attracted artists since the late 19th century, until the 1950s, there was an abundant fishery. Among Montereys notable present-day attractions are the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Cannery Row, Fishermans Wharf, long before the arrival of Spanish explorers, the Rumsen Ohlone tribe, one of seven linguistically distinct Ohlone groups in California, inhabited the area now known as Monterey. They subsisted by hunting, fishing and gathering food on and around the biologically rich Monterey Peninsula, researchers have found a number of shell middens in the area and, based on the archaeological evidence, concluded the Ohlones primary marine food consisted at various times of mussels and abalone. A number of sites have been located along about 12 miles of rocky coast on the Monterey Peninsula from the current site of Fishermans Wharf in Monterey to Carmel. In 1602, Spanish maritime explorer Sebastian Vizcaino recorded the name Bahía de Monterrey, Vizcaino landed at the southern end of the bay and described a great port, suitable for use as an anchorage by southbound Manila galleons. Vizcaino also noted and named the Point of Pines, all other uses of the name Monterey derive from Vizcainos name for the bay. Variants of the name are recorded as Monte Rey and Montery. In 1769, the first European land exploration of Alta California, for some reason, the explorers failed to recognize the place when they came to it on October 1,1769. The party continued north as far as San Francisco Bay before turning back, on the return journey, they camped near one of Montereys lagoons on November 27, still not convinced they had found the place Vizcaino had described. Franciscan missionary Juan Crespí noted in his diary, We halted in sight of the Point of Pines and camped near a lagoon which has rather muddy water. Portolá returned by land to Monterey the next year, having concluded that he must have been at Vizcainos Port of Monterey after all, the land party was met at Monterey by Junípero Serra who traveled by sea. Portolá erected the Presidio of Monterey to defend the port and, on June 3,1770, Portolá returned to Mexico, replaced in Monterey by Captain Pedro Fages, who had been third in command on the exploratory expeditions. Fages became the governor of Alta California, serving from 1770 to 1774. Serras missionary aims soon came into conflict with Fages and the soldiers, the existing wood and adobe building became the chapel for the Presidio
Monterey, California
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Fisherman's Wharf and downtown rooftops, seen from
Monterey Bay
Monterey, California
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Construction on the
Custom House began in 1814 under Spanish rule. This photo dates from 1936.
Monterey, California
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Birds along a rock sea wall near the Coast Guard Station, which borders the
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Monterey, California
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Monterey Wharf and Harbor area
6.
List of Governors of California before admission
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This is a list of the Governors of early California, 1769–1850, before its admission as the 31st U. S. state. Founded by Gaspar de Portolá at San Diego and Monterey, the vast country was a sparsely-settled Spanish province for 53 years, a year after Mexicos independence from Spain, Alta California became a federal territory of Mexico. As time went on, Alta Californians began to resent Mexicos neglect and incompetent, beginning with the Tennessean-led revolt of 1824, California resisted Mexican rule, culminating in the revolution of 1836. Two years later, California was admitted as a state by the government in faraway Mexico City. The revolution in November 1836 found success when the Diputación of California declared independence, california-born Juan Alvarado was elected governor, who then gathered support for independence from the whole country, from Sonoma to Los Angeles. Mexico retaliated by propping up Carlos Carillo as puppet-governor in Los Angeles and inciting a brief and that conflict ended in 1838, when the general government of Mexico accepted California as a sovereign state and recognized Alvarado as the real governor. The territorial Diputación became the new states Asambléa, in 1846, the Bear Flag Revolt in Sonoma declared California an independent republic—the Bear Flag Republic. The government was separated permanently from Mexico, less than a month later, the independent republic came under American protection. Like Texas, the Republic of California never was demoted to a U. S. territory but was admitted directly as the 31st U. S. state on September 9,1850, peter Burnett, the last governor of the republic, became its first governor after admission. For governors of the state after admission in September 1850, see List of Governors of California, Gaspar de Portolá founded the first Spanish settlements in Alta California at San Diego, and at Monterey, the first capital. Californias first revolt against Mexico took place the year as Mexicos first constitution,1824. In 1836, California declared Independence from Mexico and fashioned its own flag, after 1837, the governorship was disputed between popularly elected Alvarado, in the capital, and Mexican puppet Carlos Carrillo, in Los Angeles. This ended when Mexico conceded statehood to California and recognized Alvarado as its legal governor, military governors were appointed during this time, until Burnett. On September 9,1850, California was admitted into the U. S, List of Governors of California List of Texas Governors and Presidents List of Spanish governors of New Mexico Irvine, Leigh H. Vol. I, Chapter III. A History of The New California, Its Resources And People, New York, The Lewis Publishing Company
List of Governors of California before admission
–
Gaspar de Portolá, first Governor of California
List of Governors of California before admission
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José Castro
List of Governors of California before admission
–
Juan Bautista Alvarado
List of Governors of California before admission
–
Pío Pico
7.
United States
–
Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
United States
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Native Americans meeting with Europeans, 1764
United States
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Flag
United States
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The signing of the
Mayflower Compact, 1620.
United States
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The
Declaration of Independence: the
Committee of Five presenting their draft to the
Second Continental Congress in 1776
8.
Treaty of Paris (1763)
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The signing of the treaty formally ended the Seven Years War, known as the French and Indian War in the North American theatre, and marked the beginning of an era of British dominance outside Europe. Great Britain and France each returned much of the territory that they had captured during the war, additionally, Great Britain agreed to protect Roman Catholicism in the New World. The treaty did not involve Prussia and Austria as they signed a separate agreement, France had captured Minorca and British trading posts in Sumatra, while Spain had captured the border fortress of Almeida in Portugal, and Colonia del Sacramento in South America. In the treaty, most of territories were restored to their original owners. France and Spain restored all their conquests to Britain and Portugal, Britain restored Manila and Havana to Spain, and Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Gorée, and the Indian factories to France. In return, France ceded Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, France also ceded the eastern half of French Louisiana to Britain, that is, the area from the Mississippi River to the Appalachian Mountains. France had already secretly given Louisiana to Spain in the Treaty of Fontainebleau, in addition, while France regained its factories in India, France recognized British clients as the rulers of key Indian native states, and pledged not to send troops to Bengal. Britain agreed to demolish its fortifications in British Honduras, but retained a logwood-cutting colony there, Britain confirmed the right of its new subjects to practise Catholicism. In turn France gained the return of its colony, Guadeloupe. Voltaire had notoriously dismissed Canada as Quelques arpents de neige, A few acres of snow, the Treaty of Paris is frequently noted as the point at which France gave Louisiana to Spain. The transfer, however, occurred with the Treaty of Fontainebleau but was not publicly announced until 1764, the Treaty of Paris was to give Britain the east side of the Mississippi. New Orleans on the east side remained in French hands, the Mississippi River corridor in what is modern day Louisiana was to be reunited following the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and the Adams–Onís Treaty in 1819. The 1763 treaty states in Article VII, While the war was all over the world. While the war had weakened France, it was still a European power, British Prime Minister Lord Bute wanted a peace that would not aggravate France towards a second war. This explains why Great Britain agreed to return so much while being in such a strong position, though the Protestant British feared Roman Catholics, Great Britain did not want to antagonize France through expulsion or forced conversion. Also, it did not want French settlers to leave Canada to strengthen other French settlements in North America and this explains Great Britains willingness to protect Roman Catholics living in Canada. Unlike Lord Bute, the French Foreign Minister the Duke of Choiseul expected a return to war, however, France needed peace to rebuild. French diplomats believed that without France to keep the Americans in check, in Canada, France wanted open emigration for those, such as nobility, who would not swear allegiance to the British Crown
Treaty of Paris (1763)
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"A new map of North America" - produced following the Treaty of Paris
9.
Spanish language
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Spanish —also called Castilian —is a Romance language that originated in the Castile region of Spain, with hundreds of millions of native speakers around the world. It is usually considered the worlds second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese and it is one of the few languages to use inverted question and exclamation marks. Spanish is a part of the Ibero-Romance group of languages, which evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. Beginning in the early 16th century, Spanish was taken to the colonies of the Spanish Empire, most notably to the Americas, as well as territories in Africa, Oceania, around 75% of modern Spanish is derived from Latin. Greek has also contributed substantially to Spanish vocabulary, especially through Latin, Spanish vocabulary has been in contact from an early date with Arabic, having developed during the Al-Andalus era in the Iberian Peninsula. With around 8% of its vocabulary being Arabic in origin, this language is the second most important influence after Latin and it has also been influenced by Basque as well as by neighboring Ibero-Romance languages. It also adopted words from languages such as Gothic language from the Visigoths in which many Spanish names and surnames have a Visigothic origin. Spanish is one of the six languages of the United Nations. It is the language in the world by the number of people who speak it as a mother tongue, after Mandarin Chinese. It is estimated more than 437 million people speak Spanish as a native language. Spanish is the official or national language in Spain, Equatorial Guinea, speakers in the Americas total some 418 million. In the European Union, Spanish is the tongue of 8% of the population. Spanish is the most popular second language learned in the United States, in 2011 it was estimated by the American Community Survey that of the 55 million Hispanic United States residents who are five years of age and over,38 million speak Spanish at home. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the language of the whole Spanish State in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas. Article III reads as follows, El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado, las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas. Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State, the other Spanish languages as well shall be official in their respective Autonomous Communities. The Spanish Royal Academy, on the hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. Two etymologies for español have been suggested, the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary derives the term from the Provençal word espaignol, and that in turn from the Medieval Latin word Hispaniolus, from—or pertaining to—Hispania
Spanish language
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A page of
Cantar de Mio Cid, the oldest preserved Spanish
epic poem, in medieval Spanish.
Spanish language
–
Spanish is sole official language at the national level
Spanish language
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Antonio de Nebrija, author of
Gramática de la lengua castellana, the first grammar of modern European languages.
Spanish language
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Miguel de Cervantes author of
Don Quixote, considered the first modern European novel.
10.
Viceroyalty of New Spain
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New Spain was a colonial territory of the Spanish Empire, in the New World north of the Isthmus of Panama. It was established following the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1521, after 1535 the colony was governed by the Viceroy of New Spain, an appointed minister of the King of Spain, who ruled as monarch over the colony. The capital of New Spain was Mexico City and it developed highly regional divisions, which reflect the impact of climate, topography, the presence or absence of dense indigenous populations, and the presence or absence of mineral resources. The areas of central and southern Mexico had dense indigenous populations with complex social, political, silver mining not only became the engine of the economy of New Spain, but vastly enriched Spain, and transformed the global economy. New Spain was the New World terminus of the Philippine trade, although New Spain was a dependency of Spain, it was a kingdom not a colony, subject to the presiding monarch on the Iberian Peninsula. Every privilege and position, economic political, or religious came from him and it was on this basis that the conquest, occupation, and government of the New World was achieved. The Viceroyalty of New Spain was established in 1535 in the Kingdom of New Spain and it was the first New World viceroyalty and one of only two in the Spanish empire until the 18th century Bourbon Reforms. The Spanish Empire comprised the territories in the north overseas Septentrion, from North America, to the west of the continent, New Spain also included the Spanish East Indies. To the east of the continent, it included the Spanish West Indies and this was not occupied by many Spanish settlers and were considered more marginal to Spanish interests than the most densely populated and lucrative areas of central Mexico. To shore up its claims in North America starting in the late 18th century, Spanish expeditions to the Pacific Northwest explored and claimed the coast of what is now British Columbia and Alaska. The indigenous societies of Mesoamerica brought under Spanish control were of unprecedented complexity, the societies could provide the conquistadors, especially Hernán Cortés, a base from which the conquerors could become autonomous, or even independent, of the Crown. As a result, the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, since the time of the Catholic Monarchs, central Iberia was governed through councils appointed by the monarch with particular jurisdictions. Thus, the creation of the Council of the Indies became another, the crown had set up the Casa de Contratación in 1503 to regulate contacts between Spain and its overseas possessions. A key function was to gather information about navigation to make trips less risky and they were accompanied by maps of the area discussed, many of which were drawn by indigenous artists. The Francisco Hernández Expedition, the first scientific expedition to the New World, was sent to gather information medicinal plants, an earlier Audiencia had been established in Santo Domingo in 1526 to deal with the Caribbean settlements. That Audiencia, housed in the Casa Reales in Santo Domingo, was charged with encouraging further exploration, management by the Audiencia, which was expected to make executive decisions as a body, proved unwieldy. Therefore, in 1535, King Charles V named Don Antonio de Mendoza as the first Viceroy of New Spain. After the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire in 1532 opened up the vast territories of South America to further conquests, the Crown established an independent Viceroyalty of Peru there in 1540
Viceroyalty of New Spain
–
"Vázquez de Coronado Sets Out to the North" (1540) by
Frederic Remington, oil on canvas, 1905
Viceroyalty of New Spain
–
Flag
Viceroyalty of New Spain
–
Indian Wedding and Flying Pole, circa 1690
Viceroyalty of New Spain
–
Route from Philippines to Acapulco, México
11.
Spanish East Indies
–
The Spanish East Indies were the Spanish territories in Asia-Pacific from 1565 until 1899. They comprised the Philippines, the Mariana Islands, the Caroline Islands, Cebu was the first seat of government, later transferred to Manila. From 1565 to 1821 these territories, together with the Spanish West Indies, were administered through the Viceroyalty of New Spain based in Mexico City, the King of Spain traditionally styled himself King of the East and West Indies. After Mexican independence, they were ruled directly from Madrid, administrative affairs of the Spanish East Indies were handled by the Captaincy General of the Philippines and the Real Audiencia of Manila. The few remaining islands were ceded to the United States when the Treaty of Washington was ratified in 1901, Spanish contact began on 6 March 1521, when a Spanish expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan reached the Mariana Islands. He named Guam and the other islands Islas de los Ladrones because the natives came aboard his galleon, the expedition later continued its journey west and reached the island of Homonhon in the eastern Philippines on 16 March, with only 150 crewmen. There they were able to communicate with the local peoples because the Malayan interpreter, Enrique of Malacca, Miguel López de Legazpi set out from Mexico, and established the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines in 1565, which became the town of San Miguel in present-day Cebu. In 1571, the city of Manila was founded and made seat of the Spanish Captaincy General of the Philippines and these and other Asian territories claimed by the Spanish crown were to be governed from the Viceroyalty of New Spain in Mexico City. The Manila-Acapulco galleons shipped products gathered from both Asia-Pacific and the Americas, such as silk, spices, silver, gold and other Asian-Pacific islander products to Mexico, in 1606, the Spaniards established some form of trade links with the Maluku Islands and remained until 1663. Contacts with Japan were also established and Sebastián Vizcaíno was sent as ambassador in 1611, on the north eastern coastal region of Taiwan, the Spaniards built Fort Santo Domingo near Keelung in 1626 and a mission in Tamsui in 1628, which they occupied until 1642. In 1668, Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores established the first mission on Guam, in 1762 British troops briefly captured the city of Manila during the Seven Years War. The British promised support for an uprising led by Diego Silang and his wife Gabriela, under the peace settlement Manila was exchanged, along with British-occupied Havana, for Florida and Minorca. It was handed back to Spanish authorities in April 1764, the Seven Years War prompted Charles III to initiate extensive governmental reforms throughout the overseas possessions. An intendencia was established in Manila in 1784 to handle the government finances, in a similar vein, to promote innovation and education among the residents of the islands, Governor-General José Basco y Vargas established the Economic Society of the Friends of the Country. For over 256 years, the Spanish East Indies were governed by a general. All economic matters of the Philippines were managed by the Viceroyalty of New Spain, in 1821 the New Spanish Viceroyalty collapsed following the Mexican War of Independence, which resulted in the First Mexican Empire. In 1574 the Captaincy General of the Philippines was created as a dependency of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, Islas Carolinas Islas Marianas Islas Palau The Spanish used several names that are not currently used. Gran Moluca for the island of Mindanao and Nueva Castilla for Luzon, because Spanish interest in the region was primarily focused on its use as a base for trade with East Asia, direct Spanish control over the area expanded slowly
Spanish East Indies
–
Map of the Spanish East Indies (1857)
Spanish East Indies
–
Flag
Spanish East Indies
Spanish East Indies
–
Routes of early Spanish expeditions in the Philippines.
12.
Etymology of California
–
California is a place name used by three North American states, in the United States by the state of California, and in Mexico by the states of Baja California and Baja California Sur. Collectively, these three constitute the region formerly referred to as The Californias. The name California is shared by other places in other parts of the world whose names derive from the original. Several other origins have suggested for the word California, including Spanish, Latin, South Asian. After Mexicos independence from Spain, the territory became the Alta California province. In even earlier times, the boundaries of the Sea of Cortez, the Sea of Cortez is also known as the Gulf of California. This popular Spanish novel was printed in editions with the earliest surviving edition published about 1510. The Island was ruled by Queen Calafia, when the Spanish started exploring the Pacific coast they applied this name on their maps to what is now called the Baja California Peninsula, which they originally thought was an island. Once the name was on the maps it stuck, eran de bellos y robustos cuerpos, fogoso valor y gran fuerza. Su isla era la más fuerte de todo el mundo, con sus escarpados farallones y sus pétreas costas. Sus armas eran todas de oro y del mismo metal eran los arneses de las bestias salvajes que ellas acostumbraban domar para montarlas and they had beautiful and robust bodies, and were brave and very strong. Their island was the strongest of the World, with its cliffs and their weapons were golden and so were the harnesses of the wild beasts that they were accustomed to taming so that they could be ridden, because there was no other metal in the island than gold. –Las Sergas de Esplandián, by García Ordóñez de Montalvo, for many years, the de Montalvo novel languished in obscurity, with no connection known between it and the name of California. In 1864, a portion of the original was translated by Edward Everett Hale for The Antiquarian Society, Hale supposed that in inventing the names, de Montalvo held in his mind the Spanish word calif, the term for a leader of an Islamic community. Hales joint derivation of Calafia and California was accepted by many, then questioned by a few scholars who sought further proof, george Davidson wrote in 1910 that Hales theory was the best yet presented, but offered his own addition. In 1917, Ruth Putnam printed an account of the work performed up to that time. She wrote that both Calafia and California most likely came from the Arabic word khalifa which means steward or leader, the same word in Spanish was califa, easily made into California to stand for land of the caliph خلیف, or Calafia to stand for female caliph خلیفه. Putnam discussed Davidsons 1910 theory based on the Greek word kalli but discounted it as exceedingly unlikely, Putnam also wrote that The Song of Roland held a passing mention of a place called Califerne, perhaps named thus because it was the caliphs domain, a place of infidel rebellion
Etymology of California
–
This 1562 map
Americae Sive Quartae Orbis Partis Nova Et Exactissima Descriptio by
Diego Gutiérrez was the first map to print the
toponym California.
Etymology of California
–
The
Island of California, from a map circa 1650 (restored)
13.
Eusebio Kino
–
Eusebio Francisco Kino, was an Italian Jesuit, missionary, geographer, explorer, cartographer and astronomer. For the last 24 years of his life he worked in the then known as the Pimería Alta, modern-day Sonora in Mexico. He explored the region and worked with the indigenous Native American population, including primarily the Tohono OOdham, Sobaipuri and he proved that the Baja California Peninsula is not an island by leading an overland expedition there. By the time of his death he had established 24 missions, Kino was born Eusebius Chinus in the village of Segno, then in the sovereign Prince-bishopric of Trent, a part of the Holy Roman Empire. Other sources cite his name as Eusebio Francesco Chini and his parents were Franciscus Chinus and Margherita Luchi. The exact date of his birth is unknown but he was baptized on 10 August 1645 in the parish church, Kino was educated in Innsbruck, Austria, and after recuperating from a serious illness, he joined the Society of Jesus on 20 November 1665. From 1664-69, he received training as a member of the Society at Freiburg, Ingolstadt. After completing a stage of training in the Society, during which he taught mathematics in Ingolstadt. Although Kino wanted to go to the Orient, he was sent to New Spain, due to travel delays while crossing Europe, he missed the ship on which he was to travel and had to wait a year for another ship. While waiting in Cádiz, Spain, he wrote some observations, done during late 1680 and early 1681, about his study of a comet, which he published as the Exposición astronómica de el cometa. This publication was later the subject of a sonnet by the noted colonial nun and poet of New Spain, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, kinos first assignment was to lead the Atondo expedition to the Baja California peninsula of Las Californias Province of New Spain. He established the Misión San Bruno in 1683, after a prolonged drought there in 1685, Kino and the Jesuit missionaries were forced to abandon the mission and return to the viceregal capital of Mexico City. See also Spanish missions in the Sonoran Desert Father Kino began his career in the Pimería Alta on the morning of 14 March 1687,24 years and this was the morning he left Cucurpe, a town once considered the Rim of Christendom. Once Father Kino arrived in the Pimería Alta, at the request of the natives, subsequently Kino traveled across northern Mexico, and to present day California and Arizona. He followed ancient trading routes established millennia prior by the natives and these trails were later expanded into roads. His many expeditions on horseback covered over 50,000 square miles, Kino was important in the economic growth of the area, working with the already agricultural indigenous native peoples and introducing them to European seed, fruits, herbs and grains. He also taught them to raise cattle, sheep and goats, kinos initial mission herd of twenty cattle imported to Pimería Alta grew during his period to 70,000. Historian Herbert Bolton referred to Kino as Arizonas first rancher, in his travels in the Pimería Alta, Father Kino interacted with 16 different tribes
Eusebio Kino
–
Equestrian statue in
Segno
Eusebio Kino
–
Written historic accounts of the
Casa Grande in
Coolidge, Arizona, begin with the journal entries of Padre Eusebio Francisco Kino when he visited the ruins in 1694.
Eusebio Kino
–
This map, which was hand-colored by cartographer Nicholas de Fer, was originally created by Kino in 1696. It is called California or New Carolina: Place of Apostolic Works of Society of Jesus at the Septentrional America.
Eusebio Kino
–
Crypt housing the remains of Father Kino in
Magdalena de Kino.
14.
Spanish missions in Baja California
–
The missions gave Spain a valuable toehold in the frontier land, and introduced European livestock, fruits, vegetables, and industry into the region. Mexico secularized all missions in its territory in 1834 and the last of the departed in 1840. Some of the mission churches survive and are still in use, as early as the voyages of Christopher Columbus, the Kingdom of Spain sought to establish missions to convert pagans to Catholicism in Nueva España. New Spain consisted of the Caribbean, Mexico, and portions of what is now the Southwestern United States, to facilitate colonization, the Catholic Church awarded these lands to Spain. In addition to the presidio and pueblo, the misión was one of three major agencies employed by the Spanish crown to extend its borders and consolidate its colonial territories, asistencias were small-scale missions that regularly conducted Catholic religious services on days of obligation, but lacked a resident priest. Smaller sites called visitas also lacked a resident priest, and were attended only sporadically. Since 1493, the Crown of Spain had maintained missions throughout Nueva España, each frontier station was forced to be self-supporting, as existing means of supply were inadequate to maintain a colony of any size. Scarcity of imported materials and lack of skilled laborers compelled the Fathers to employ simple building materials, although the Spanish hierarchy considered the missions temporary ventures, individual settlement development was not based simply on priestly whim. The founding of a mission followed longstanding rules and procedures, the paperwork involved required months, sometimes years of correspondence, and demanded the attention of virtually every level of the bureaucracy. Once empowered to erect a mission in an area, the men assigned to it chose a specific site that featured a good water supply, proximity to a population of indigenous peoples. The padres, their military escort and often converted mainland indigenous people or mestizos initially fashioned defendable shelters, from which a base was established, construction of the iglesia constituted the focus of the settlement, and created the center of the community. The majority of mission sanctuaries were oriented on a roughly east-west axis to take the best advantage of the position for interior illumination. Indian peoples encountered by the Spanish missionaries in Baja California were the Kumeyaay, Cocopah, Pai Pai, Kiliwa, Cochimi, Monqui, Guaycura, and Pericu. The Indigenous peoples were housed often by gender, forcibly converted to Catholicism, recalcitrant indigenous peoples often ran away or revolted, and many missions maintained a precarious existence during the colonial era. Use of firearms, corporal punishment in the form of whippings and religious ritual and psychological punishments were all employed by the missionaries to maintain. At the time of first contact with the Spanish, the Native Americans living in Baja California may have numbered as many as 60,000, by 1762, their numbers had fallen to 21,000 and by 1800 to 5,900. The primary reason for the decline was recurrent epidemics of European diseases, primarily smallpox, measles, the spread of disease was facilitated by the missionarys practice of congregating the population near the mission. Endemic Syphilis resulted in higher mortality and a reduced birth rate
Spanish missions in Baja California
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Misión Santa Rosalía de Mulegé in Baja California Sur
Spanish missions in Baja California
–
An early map traces the mission trail in Baja California as it existed in 1769.
15.
Baja California Peninsula
–
The Baja California Peninsula is a peninsula in Northwestern Mexico. Its land mass separates the Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of California, the peninsula extends 1,247 km from Mexicali, Baja California in the north to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur in the south. It ranges from 40 km at its narrowest to 320 km at its widest point and has approximately 3,000 km of coastline, the total area of the Baja California Peninsula is 143,390 km2. The peninsula is separated from mainland Mexico by the Gulf of California, there are four main desert areas on the peninsula, the San Felipe Desert, the Central Coast Desert, the Vizcaíno Desert and the Magdalena Plain Desert. The land of California existed as a myth among European explorers before it was discovered, the earliest known mention of the idea of California was in the 1510 romance novel Las Sergas de Esplandián by Spanish author Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. Its first expedition reached the Gulf of California and California, nevertheless, the idea of the island persisted for well over a century and was included in many maps. 1532, Hernán Cortés sends three ships North along the coast of Mexico in search of the Island of California, the three ships disappear without a trace. 1533, Cortés sends a mission to search for the lost ships. Pilot Fortún Ximénez leads a mutiny and founds a settlement in the Bay of La Paz before being killed,1539, Francisco de Ulloa explores both coasts. 1690s–1800s, Spanish settlement and colonization in lower Las Californias, the first Spanish missions in Baja California are established by Jesuit missionaries,1701, The first report and a map showing California as a peninsula rather than an island is sent to Europe. 1767, Jesuits expelled, Franciscans take over the Baja missions,1769, Franciscans go with the Portola expedition to establish new missions in Alta California. Control of the existing Baja missions passes to the Dominican Order,1773, Francisco Palóus line demarcates Franciscan and Dominican areas of mission control. 1804, Las Californias divided into Alta and Baja California, using Palóus line, 1810–1821, Mexican War of Independence 1821, First Mexican Empire, Baja California Territory established, covering Baja California Peninsula. 1847, The Battle of La Paz and the Siege of La Paz occurs,1848, Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo cedes Alta California to the United States. As a U. S. territory it receives the California Gold Rush,1850, California admitted to U. S. statehood. 1853, William Walker, with 45 men, captures the city of La Paz. Mexico forces him to retreat a few months later, 1930–31, The Territory of Baja California is further divided into Northern and Southern territories. 1952, The North Territory of Baja California becomes the 29th State of Mexico, the southern portion, below 28°N, remains a federally administered territory
Baja California Peninsula
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Satellite image of the Baja California Peninsula
Baja California Peninsula
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Isla Partida, which is part of the
San Lorenzo Marine Archipelago National Park
Baja California Peninsula
–
Port of
Cabo San Lucas
Baja California Peninsula
–
Baja California as seen in April 1984, from the bay of a Space Shuttle (
STS 41)
16.
Expulsion of the Jesuits
–
The suppression of the Jesuits in the Portuguese Empire, France, the Two Sicilies, Malta, Parma, the Spanish Empire and Austria and Hungary is a highly controversial subject. It has been argued that it was a result of a series of localized political moves rather than a theological controversy, by the brief Dominus ac Redemptor Pope Clement XIV suppressed the Society of Jesus. Russia, Prussia, and the United States allowed the Jesuits to continue their work, soon after their restoration by Pope Pius VII in 1814 they began returning to most of the places from which they had been expelled. By the mid-18th century, the Society had acquired a reputation in Europe for political maneuvering, monarchs in many European states grew progressively wary of what they saw as undue interference from a foreign entity. The expulsion of Jesuits from their states had the benefit of allowing governments to impound the Societys accumulated wealth. However, historian Charles Gibson cautions, ow far this served as a motive for the expulsion we do not know, various states took advantage of different events in order to take action. The Portuguese Empire, France, the Two Sicilies, Parma, the conflicts began with trade disputes, in 1750 in Portugal, in 1755 in France, and in the late 1750s in the Two Sicilies. Austria and the Two Sicilies suppressed the order by decree in 1767, the Távora affair in 1758 could be considered a pretext for the expulsion and crown confiscation of Jesuit assets. Portugals quarrel with the Jesuits began over an exchange of South American colonial territory with Spain, the native Guaraní, who lived in the mission territories, were ordered to quit their country and settle across the Uruguay. Owing to the conditions, the Guaraní rose in arms against the transfer. It was a disaster for the Guaraní, benedict was skeptical as to the gravity of the alleged abuses. He ordered an inquiry, but so as to safeguard the reputation of the Society. Benedict died the month on May 3. He had not visited Jesuit houses as ordered, and pronounced on the issues which the pope had reserved to himself. Pombal implicated the Jesuits in the Távora affair, an assassination of the king on September 3,1758. Among those arrested and executed was the then denounced Gabriel Malagrida, after Malagridas execution in 1759, the Society was suppressed by the Portuguese crown. The Portuguese ambassador was recalled from Rome and the papal nuncio expelled, diplomatic relations between Portugal and Rome were broken off until 1770. Their large mission plantations included large populations that worked under the usual conditions of tropical colonial agriculture of the 18th century
Expulsion of the Jesuits
–
The Marquis of Pombal,
Louis-Michel van Loo, 1766
Expulsion of the Jesuits
–
History of the Jesuits
Regimini militantis Suppression Jesuit Hierarchy
Superior General Adolfo Nicolás Ignatian Spirituality
Spiritual Exercises Ad majorem Dei gloriam Magis Notable Jesuits St. Ignatius of Loyola St. Francis Xavier St. Peter Faber St. Aloysius Gonzaga St. Robert Bellarmine St. Peter Canisius St. Edmund Campion Pope Francis
17.
San Francisco Bay Area
–
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
San Francisco Bay Area
–
San Francisco
San Francisco Bay Area
–
San Jose
San Francisco Bay Area
–
Oakland
San Francisco Bay Area
–
A view of the
San Francisco skyline from the bay.
18.
U.S. state
–
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
U.S. state
–
U.S. states
19.
California
–
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
California
–
A forest of redwood trees in
Redwood National Park
California
–
Flag
California
–
Mount Shasta
California
–
Aerial view of the
California Central Valley
20.
Pedro Fages
–
Fages was born in Guissona, Lérida/Lleida province, Catalonia, Spain. In 1762 he entered the infantry in Catalonia in 1762. In May 1767 Fages, commissioned as a lieutenant in the newly formed Free Company of Volunteers of Catalonia, set sail from Cádiz along with a company of light infantry and he and his men served under Domingo Elizondo in Sonora. In 1769, Fages was selected by visitador José de Gálvez to lead the portion of the Gaspar de Portolá-led expedition to found San Diego. Lieutenant Fages sailed from Guaymas to the Baja California port of La Paz, then on January 9,1769, he boarded the galleon San Carlos, captained by Vicente Vila and bound for San Diego. Also on board were Franciscan friar Fernando Parrón, engineer and cartographer Miguel Costansó, surgeon Pedro Prat, after sailing nearly 200 miles beyond San Diego due to cartography errors, the San Carlos doubled back south. It finally arrived in San Diego Bay on April 29, with scurvy-ridden troops, in his letter reporting to Gálvez, Fages observed of the local Kumeyaay Indians, …They appear to be docile and alert. We have made good friends with them and we are never lacking some little rabbits, hares. We give them some glass beads, but they value very highly any kind of cloth — no matter how poor it might be — since in exchange for some that I had, I received some furs and nets. Costansó, while branding the Kumeyaay as lazy idlers, noted that they have bestowed great affection upon Don Pedro Fages and they have invited him at various times to be with their women, an expression of friendship that the rest have not merited. Fages ordered a leather target erected at a practical distance, the Indians fired their arrows, which had only a mild effect on the leather. Fages then ordered his best marksmen to shoot at the same target, upon hearing the noise and seeing the destruction so close at hand, the Indians changed their expressions and some of the more timid ones left, giving very clear signs of their surprise and fear. On July 14,1769, Fages set out from San Diego with a party of 74 men on the Portolá expedition to locate Monterey Bay. The party included Catalonian volunteers, leather-jacketed soldiers, Christian Indians from Baja California, during this time he was promoted to captain. Although the party failed to recognize Monterey Bay as they passed it, the 74 men returned exhausted to San Diego on January 24,1770, having had to slaughter and eat their mules on the return trek south. In March 1770 Felipe de Barri, in Baja California, was governor of both Baja and Alta California. But, since Monterey was far away, Fages had free rein to run Alta as acting governor, taking charge of constructing the Spanish presidio in Monterey, Fages imposed strict discipline on his soldier laborers. He decided the amount of work they had to do in a certain time, heavy rains punctuated the spring and winter of 1770-1, but Fages permitted no let-up in the work
Pedro Fages
–
Pedro Fages
21.
Juan Bautista de Anza
–
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
Juan Bautista de Anza
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Juan Bautista de Anza
Juan Bautista de Anza
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Signature
Juan Bautista de Anza
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Juan Bautista de Anza, from a portrait in oil by Fray Orsi in 1774
Juan Bautista de Anza
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Map of the route, Juan Bautista de Anza travelled in 1775–76 from Mexico to today's San Francisco
22.
Department (country subdivision)
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Department is the name given to the administrative and political subdivisions of many countries. Departments are the subdivisions of eleven countries, nine in the Americas. An additional ten countries use departments as second-level subdivisions, eight in Africa, one in the Americas and this attempt to de-emphasize local political identity contrasts strongly with countries which are divided into states. The earliest known suggestion of it is from 1764 in the writings of dArgenson, today, departments may exist either with or without a representative assembly and executive head depending upon the countries constitutional and administrative structure. The United States used this designation for the Department of Alaska during the period of U. S. rule in Alaska
Department (country subdivision)
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As first level
23.
Mexican-American War
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It followed in the wake of the 1845 U. S. annexation of Texas, which Mexico considered part of its territory in spite of its de facto secession in the 1836 Texas Revolution. After its independence in 1821 and brief experiment with monarchy, Mexico became a republic in 1824 and it was characterized by considerable instability, leaving it ill-prepared for conflict when war broke out in 1846. In 1845, Texas agreed to an offer of annexation by the U. S. Congress, and became the 28th state on December 29 that year. In 1845, James K. Polk, the newly-elected U. S. president, when that offer was rejected, American forces commanded by Major General Zachary Taylor were moved into the disputed territory. They were then attacked by Mexican forces, who killed 12 U. S. soldiers and these same Mexican troops later laid siege to an American fort along the Rio Grande. This led to the war and the loss of much of Mexicos northern territory. The U. S. army, under the command of Major General Winfield Scott, captured the capital, Mexico City, marching from the port of Veracruz. The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war and specified its major consequence, the U. S. agreed to pay $15 million compensation for the physical damage of the war. In addition, the United States assumed $3.25 million of debt owed by the Mexican government to U. S. citizens, Mexico acknowledged the loss of Texas and thereafter cited the Rio Grande as its national border with the United States. The territorial expansion of the United States toward the Pacific coast had been the goal of US President James K. Polk, at first, the war was highly controversial in the United States, with the Whig Party, anti-imperialists, and anti-slavery elements strongly opposed. Critics in the United States pointed to the casualties suffered by U. S. forces. The war intensified the debate over slavery in the United States, in Mexico, the war came in the middle of political turmoil, which increased into chaos during the conflict. Border left many Mexican citizens separated from their national government, for the indigenous peoples who had never accepted Mexican rule, the change in border meant conflicts with a new outside power. The northern area of Mexico was sparsely settled and not well controlled politically by the government based in Mexico City, after independence from Spain in 1821, Mexico contended with internal struggles that sometimes verged on civil war and the northern frontier was not a high priority. In the sparsely settled interior of northern Mexico, the end of Spanish rule was marked by the end of financing for presidios, there were conflicts between indigenous people in the northern region as well. The Comanche were particularly successful in expanding their territory in the Comanche–Mexico Wars, the Apache–Mexico Wars also made Mexicos north a violent place, with no effective political control. The Apache raids left thousands of people dead through out northern Mexico, when the United States Army entered northern Mexico in 1846 they found demoralized Mexican settlers. There was little resistance to US forces from the civilian population, hostile activity from indigenous people also made communications and trade between the interior of Mexico and provinces such as Alta California and New Mexico difficult
Mexican-American War
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Clockwise from top left U.S. soldiers engaging the retreating Mexican force during the
Battle of Resaca de la Palma, American victory
at Churubusco outside Mexico City, U.S. marines
storming Chapultepec castle under a large American flag,
Winfield Scott entering
Plaza de la Constitución after the
Fall of Mexico City.
Mexican-American War
Mexican-American War
Mexican-American War
24.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
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With the defeat of its army and the fall of its capital, Mexico entered into negotiations to end the war. The treaty called for the U. S. to pay $15 million to Mexico, Mexicans in those annexed areas had the choice of relocating to within Mexicos new boundaries or receiving American citizenship with full civil rights. Over 90% chose to become U. S. citizens, the U. S. Senate advised and consented to ratification of the treaty by a vote of 38–14. The opponents of this treaty were led by the Whigs, who had opposed the war and rejected Manifest destiny in general, and rejected this expansion in particular. The peace talks were negotiated by Nicholas Trist, chief clerk of the US State Department, Nicholas Trist negotiated with a special commission representing the collapsed government led by Don José Bernardo Couto, Don Miguel de Atristain, and Don Luis Gonzaga Cuevas of Mexico. Instead, Article V of the treaty simply described the new U. S. –Mexico border. Comparing the boundary in the Adams–Onís Treaty to the Guadalupe Hidalgo boundary, Mexico conceded about 55% of its pre-war, pre-Texas territorial claims, articles VIII and IX ensured safety of existing property rights of Mexican citizens living in the transferred territories. Despite assurances to the contrary, the property rights of Mexican citizens were not honored by the U. S. in accordance with modifications to. The U. S. also agreed to assume $3.25 million in debts that Mexico owed to United States citizens, the residents had one year to choose whether they wanted American or Mexican citizenship, Over 90% chose American citizenship, which included full voting rights. The others returned to Mexico, or in cases in New Mexico were allowed to remain in place as Mexican citizens. Article XII engaged the United States to pay, In consideration of the acquired,15 million dollars. Article XI of the treaty was important to Mexico. S, would return captives of the Indians to Mexico. Mexicans believed that the United States had encouraged and assisted the Comanche and Apache raids that had devastated northern Mexico in the years before the war and this article promised relief to them Article XI, however, proved unenforceable. Destructive Indian raids continued despite a heavy U. S. presence near the Mexican border, Mexico filed 366 claims with the U. S. government for damages done by Comanche and Apache raids between 1848 and 1853. In 1853, in the Treaty of Mesilla concluding the Gadsden Purchase, the remainder of New Mexico and Arizona were peacefully purchased under the Gadsden Purchase, which was carried out in 1853. In this purchase the United States paid an additional $10 million, however, the American Civil War delayed construction of such a route, and it was not until 1881 that the Southern Pacific Railroad finally was completed, fulfilling the purpose of the acquisition. Mexico had claimed the area in question since winning its independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence. About 80,000 Mexicans lived in the areas of California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas during the period of 1845 to 1850, and far fewer in Nevada, in southern and western Colorado, and in Utah
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
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Cover of the exchange copy of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
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"Mapa de los Estados Unidos de Méjico. The Distrunell map used during the negotiations.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
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Map of Mexico. S. Augustus Mitchell, Philadelphia, 1847.
Alta California shown including Nevada, Utah, Arizona.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
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A section of the original treaty.
25.
Mexico-United States border
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The Mexico–United States border is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, from California in the west to Texas in the east. The total length of the border is 3,201 kilometres. Thence it follows the middle of that river northward a distance of 38 km, the official border region extends 60 km north and south of the aforementioned boundaries and 60 km east into the Gulf of Mexico and 60 km west into the Pacific Ocean. The U. S. states along the border, from west to east, are California, Arizona, New Mexico, the Mexican states are Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. In the United States, Texas has the longest stretch of the border of any state, in Mexico, Chihuahua has the longest border, while Nuevo León has the shortest. Texas borders four Mexican states—Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Coahuila, New Mexico and Arizona each border two Mexican states. Texas is more adjacent to Mexico than California, three Mexican states border two U. S. states each, Baja California borders California and Arizona, Sonora borders Arizona and New Mexico, and Chihuahua borders New Mexico and Texas. Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, and Coahuila each border only one U. S. state, the border separating Mexico and the United States is the most frequently crossed international boundary in the world, with approximately 350 million legal crossings being made annually. There are 48 U. S. –Mexico border crossings, with 330 ports of entry, crossings include roads, pedestrian walkways, railroads and ferries. From west to east, below is a list of the border city twinnings, the total population of the borderlands—defined as those counties and municipios lining the border on either side—stands at some 12 million people. In the mid-16th century, with the discovery of silver, settlers from a variety of countries and this period of sparse settlement included colonizers from different backgrounds. The area technically was part of the Kingdom of New Spain, but due to the lack of population, the border itself was not clearly defined and remained so until the Mexican colony became independent from Spain and entered a period of political instability. Mexico attempted to create a zone at the border that would prevent possible invasion from the North. The influx of people did not provide the defense that Mexico had hoped for and that independence lasted until 1845 when the United States annexed Texas. The constant conflicts in the Texas region in the century eventually led to the Mexican–American War. In addition, all disputes over Texas and the territory between Rio Grande and Rio Nueces were abandoned. Five years later the Gadsden Purchase completed the creation of the current United States–Mexico border, the purchase was initially to accommodate a planned railway right-of-way. These purchases left approximately 300,000 people living in the disputed lands
Mexico-United States border
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The border between
Mexico and the
United States spans six Mexican states and four U.S. states, and has over twenty commercial railroad crossings.
Mexico-United States border
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To the right lies Tijuana, Baja California, and on the left is San Diego, California. The building in the foreground on the San Diego side is a sewage treatment plant built to clean the Tijuana River.
Mexico-United States border
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Border Patrol patrolling the
Rio Grande in an
airboat in
Laredo, Texas
Mexico-United States border
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The start of the border fence in the state of New Mexico—just west of El Paso, Texas
26.
Pacific Ocean
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The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the Earths oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, the Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 metres. Both the center of the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are in the Pacific Ocean, the oceans current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favourable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means peaceful sea, important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. Long-distance trade developed all along the coast from Mozambique to Japan, trade, and therefore knowledge, extended to the Indonesian islands but apparently not Australia. By at least 878 when there was a significant Islamic settlement in Canton much of trade was controlled by Arabs or Muslims. In 219 BC Xu Fu sailed out into the Pacific searching for the elixir of immortality, from 1404 to 1433 Zheng He led expeditions into the Indian Ocean. The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and he named it Mar del Sur because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific. Later, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the Pacific East to West on a Castilian expedition of world circumnavigation starting in 1519, Magellan called the ocean Pacífico because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn, the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until the eighteenth century, sailing around and east of the Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions discovered the Caroline Islands, the Aru Islands, and Papua New Guinea. In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan, in 1564, five Spanish ships consisting of 379 explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi and sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands. The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries linking Manila and Acapulco, in one of the longest trade routes in history, Spanish expeditions also discovered Tuvalu, the Marquesas, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific. In the 16th and 17th century Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a Mare clausum—a sea closed to other naval powers, as the only known entrance from the Atlantic the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western end of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines, Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled Polynesia, and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest, one of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific. Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by other European powers, and later, Japan, in Oceania, France got a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853 respectively. After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro managed to negotiate an incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888, by occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations
Pacific Ocean
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Maris Pacifici by
Ortelius (1589). One of the first printed maps to show the Pacific Ocean; see also
Waldseemüller map (1507).
Pacific Ocean
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The Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
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USS
Lexington under air attack on 8 May 1942 during the
Battle of the Coral Sea
Pacific Ocean
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Map of the Pacific Ocean during European Exploration, circa 1702–1707.
27.
Gulf of California
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The Gulf of California is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland. It is bordered by the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, rivers which flow into the Gulf of California include the Colorado, Fuerte, Mayo, Sinaloa, Sonora, and the Yaqui. The gulfs surface area is about 160,000 km2, the Gulf is thought to be one of the most diverse seas on the planet, and is home to more than 5,000 species of micro-invertebrates. Home to over a people, Baja California is one of the longest peninsulas in the world. Parts of the Gulf of California are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the southern limit of the Gulf of California as, A line joining Piastla Point in Mexico, and the southern extreme of Lower California. The Gulf of California is 1,126 km long and 48–241 km wide, with an area of 177,000 km2, a depth of 818.08 m. Transition zones exist between regions, and they usually vary for each individual species. The temperature of the water in the Gulf of California generally experiences lows of 16 °C in winter, but temperatures can vary greatly in the gulf, and the water is almost always warmer by the coast than the open ocean. For example, the waters surrounding La Paz reach 30 °C in August, while the waters in neighboring city Cabo San Lucas, occasionally, the northern Gulf of California will go through significantly cold winters. The water in the Northern Gulf can sometimes drop below 8 °C, the animals most susceptible to the large decrease in water temperature include macroscopic algae and plankton. As part of process, the East Pacific Rise propagated up the middle of the Gulf along the seabed. This extension of the East Pacific Rise is often referred to as the Gulf of California Rift Zone, the Gulf would extend as far as Indio, California, except for the tremendous delta created by the Colorado River. This delta blocks the sea from flooding the Mexicali and Imperial Valleys, volcanism dominates the East Pacific Rise. The island of Isla Tortuga is one example of ongoing volcanic activity. Furthermore, hydrothermal vents due to extension tectonic regime, related to the opening of the Gulf of California, are found in the Bahía de Concepción, the narrow sea is home to a unique and rich ecosystem. The unusual resident populations of fin whales and sperm whales do not migrate annually, the area near the delta of the Colorado river has a small remnant population of the totoaba fish. This region has historically been a magnet for world-class sport fishing activities, the region also has a rich history as a commercial fishery. However, the data vary wildly according to the species being studied, moreover, changes in terrestrial ecology, such as the vast reduction in flow from the Colorado River into the Gulf, have negatively affected fisheries, particularly in the northern region
Gulf of California
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The Gulf of California (highlighted)
Gulf of California
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Satellite picture of gulf.
Gulf of California
–
Giant Pacific
manta ray
Gulf of California
28.
Mountain range
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A mountain range is a geographic area containing numerous geologically related mountains. A mountain system or system of ranges, sometimes is used to combine several geological features that are geographically related. Mountain ranges are usually segmented by highlands or mountain passes and valleys, individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geologic structure or petrology. They may be a mix of different orogenic expressions and terranes, for example thrust sheets, uplifted blocks, fold mountains, most geologically young mountain ranges on the Earths land surface are associated with either the Pacific Ring of Fire or the Alpide Belt. The Andes is 7,000 kilometres long and is considered the worlds longest mountain system. The Alpide belt includes Indonesia and southeast Asia, through the Himalaya, the belt also includes other European and Asian mountain ranges. The Himalayas contain the highest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest, mountain ranges outside of these two systems include the Arctic Cordillera, the Urals, the Appalachians, the Scandinavian Mountains, the Altai Mountains and the Hijaz Mountains. If the definition of a range is stretched to include underwater mountains. The mountain systems of the earth are characterized by a tree structure, the sub-range relationship is often expressed as a parent-child relationship. For example, the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Blue Ridge Mountains are sub-ranges of the Appalachian Mountains, equivalently, the Appalachians are the parent of the White Mountains and Blue Ridge Mountains, and the White Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains are children of the Appalachians. The position of mountains influences climate, such as rain or snow, when air masses move up and over mountains, the air cools producing orographic precipitation. As the air descends on the side, it warms again and is drier. Often, a shadow will affect the leeward side of a range. Mountain ranges are constantly subjected to forces which work to tear them down. Erosion is at work while the mountains are being uplifted and long after until the mountains are reduced to low hills, rivers are traditionally believed to be the principle erosive factor on mountain ranges, with their ability of bedrock incision and sediment transport. The rugged topography of a range is the product of erosion. The basins adjacent to a mountain range are filled with sediments which are buried and turned into sedimentary rock. The early Cenozoic uplift of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado provides an example and this mass of rock was removed as the range was actively undergoing uplift
Mountain range
–
The
Himalayas, the highest mountain range on Earth, seen from space
Mountain range
–
Mountain range of
High Tatras in
Slovakia in 1865
Mountain range
–
The
Andes, the world's longest mountain range on the surface of a continent, seen from the air
Mountain range
–
Hillary and Norgay Montes on Pluto (14 July 2015)
29.
Peninsular Ranges
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Elevations range from 500 to 10,834 feet. Sierra San Francisco, Sierra de la Giganta, and Sierra de la Laguna in Baja California, Palomar Mountain, home to Palomar Observatory, is in the Peninsular Ranges in San Diego County, as is Viejas Mountain. The Peninsular ranges run predominantly north-south, unlike the Transverse Ranges to their north, rocks in the ranges are dominated by Mesozoic granitic rocks, derived from the same massive batholith which forms the core of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. They are part of a province known as the Salinian Block which broke off the North American Plate as the San Andreas Fault. Between this set of ranges and the Transverse Ranges is the complex Malibu Coast—Santa Monica—Hollywood fault, most of the Peninsular Ranges are in the Nearctic ecozone. Several terrestrial ecoregions cover portions of the Peninsular Ranges, on western-coast side of the southern portion of the ranges the Baja California desert ecoregion covers in the southern portion of the Peninsular Ranges in Baja California and Baja California Sur. On eastern side of northern ranges, the Sonoran Desert ecoregion covers southeastern California and northeastern Baja California as far south as the town of Loreto, Baja California Sur. On the eastern side of the Laguna Mountains in San Diego County the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is known for its profusion of Colorado Desert wildflowers. On eastern-Gulf of California side of the portion of the ranges the Gulf of California xeric scrub ecoregion covers the range in Baja California Sur. The higher portions of the Peninsular Ranges, especially the slopes, are home to coniferous. Cleveland National Forest covers much of the higher Southern California Peninsular Ranges, the vegetation includes oak woodlands and forests of Jeffrey Pine and Coulter Pine. The Sierra Juarez and San Pedro Martir pine-oak forests cover upper slopes of Sierra Juarez and these isolated forests, predominantly Tamarack Pine, Sugar Pine, Parry Pinyon, White Fir, California Incense Cedar, and junipers. Oak species include Coast Live Oak, Engelmann Oak, Canyon Live Oak and these higher portions of the Peninsular Ranges harbor many rare and endemic species. Southern Baja California Sur is part of the Neotropic ecozone and its flora and fauna share many affinities with southern Mexico and Central America. It includes three distinct ecoregions, the Sierra de la Laguna dry forests, Sierra de la Laguna pine-oak forests, Peninsular Ranges index Transverse Ranges List of mountain ranges
Peninsular Ranges
–
Sierra San Pedro Mártir and
Devils Peak
Peninsular Ranges
–
View from Inspiration Point in the
Laguna Mountains.
Chaparral in the foreground,
Anza Borrego Desert State Park on the right of the background.
United States
Mexico
.JPG)
