California

the second largest state in this land of ours is the state of California California the Golden State is bounded on the north by Oregon on the east by Nevada and Arizona on the south by the Republic of Mexico and on the west by the Pacific Ocean the state of California has a coastline almost 1,000 miles long and within an area larger than that the British Isles has a great diversity of physical characteristics Bob Whitney rising fourteen thousand four hundred ninety-six feet is the highest peak in the United States while barely sixty miles away in Death Valley is the lowest point in the United States two hundred seventy nine feet below sea level the romance of the development of California is inseparably linked with El Camino Real pathway of the historic Spanish mission these havens of breath used 21 in all were spaced today's journey apart from San Diego in the south to Sonoma in the north one of the most dramatic chapters in our country's history is the story of the gold rush that Kalama is a statue to the memory of James Marshall whose discovery of gold in 1848 started thousands of ports and seekers pouring westward for the gold rush has long since subsided there still remained the old-timer patiently panning the gravel of a wayside stream and the giant placer mining machines watching tons of Earth in search of the precious metal the capital of the state of California is at Sacramento California was the 35th state to be admitted into the Union and its capital building is one of the oldest and most beautiful in the country at the southern end of the state is San Diego oldest city in California San Diego is an important port and naval base and it has one of the finest zoos on the Pacific coast just to the south of San Diego is the California Mexican border one of the world's friendliest frontiers the entrance to the San Francisco Bay region is crossed by the Golden Gate Bridge the longest suspension span bridge in the world the largest city in the Bay region is San Francisco and metropolis of almost 1 million people San Francisco like Los Angeles to the south is one of the world's busiest ports San Francisco is a city of hills these cable cars daily carry thousands of passengers up such in climbs as Nob Hill where once lived the first families of early San Francisco the honour of the two most important cities in the state of California is Los Angeles in population it is one of the first six cities of the United States in area it is one of the largest cities in the world in addition to being widespread and a city of many fine residences for Sanctus is the home of several outstanding institutions of higher learning the University of California at Los Angeles is situated at Westwood and across the city is the University of Southern California form of the famous Trojan here USC is the Mo's Angeles Memorial Coliseum with a seating capacity of over 100,000 people on New Year's Day Massa Deena plays host to the world with its annual Tournament of Roses the flower bedecked floats are magnificent beyond the ability of words to describe [Music] California is one of the new states with sufficient diversity of Natural Resources to sustain itself as an isolated Empire if necessary from the Great Central Valley of the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers come fruits of every type and in quantities greater than from anywhere else in the world California is one of the nation's leading producers of citrus fruits oranges lemons and grapefruit in the center of citrus growing in the southern portion of the state [Music] and speaking of the southern part of the state and agriculture we cannot overlook Imperial Valley here the water of the all-american canal has transformed a desert wasteland into a rich agricultural empire almost every type of fruit and vegetable combined to create a yearly output valued in excess of 60 million dollars [Music] the raising of livestock is an important industry in California meat tone Domino xxiii thousands of dollars worth of champion beef on the hook mining ranked third among the basic industries of California and petroleum has far outstripped old as the state's major source of mineral wealth proven oil reserves in known fields total almost four billion barrels or more than one-fourth of the nation's supply next to land and climate one of California's greatest resources is abundant cheap hydroelectric power supplying the state steadily expanding madam actually enterprises [Music] from one end of the state to the other our industries of almost every type and description for example here are great shipyards some of the most productive in the nation a new and much-needed industry in the expansion of California's economy is the making of Steel the production of synthetic chemicals plastics and rubber is becoming increasingly important before the war California had already become the aircraft producing center of the country today it appears to be continuing in this important role providing pleasure craft and sky Giants for the Airways of the world but of all of California's vast and varied industries perhaps none is so widely known as the entertainment industry Hollywood the city of make-believe is the home of the motion picture you'll recognize the names of most of these great studios which produced by far the largest percentage of the world's celluloid entertainment [Music] almost 1/2 the land area of California is in national forests parks and monuments north of San Francisco the visitor travels over the famous redwood highway driving mile after mile through giant redwood trees which are among the oldest and largest of all living things [Music] one of California's most awe-inspiring national park areas is Yosemite with it's unforgettable views 70 falls out on the Southern California desert his world-famous Palm Springs where visitors bask in the warmth of the midwinter Sun [Music] we've seen and heard a lot about California one of the most prosperous states in the nation California has always been a vigorous force in America's progress a land of opportunity the Golden State in this land of ours [Music]