242 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES 
California, the largest of the three Pacific Coast States, has a 
length of 780 miles and width of about 250 miles. The area is 158,297 
square miles, nearly equal to New York, New Eng- 
California. land, and Pennsylvania combined. The population 
of California in 1930 was 5,677,251, or about one- 
fifth of that of the Eastern States named. This was a gain of nearly 
66 per cent in the 20 years from 1910 to 1930. The average number of 
persons per square mile was 36.5, as compared with 22 in 1920. 
The population is very unevenly distributed, however, the desert 
regions east of the Sierra Nevada being very sparsely occupied. 
The State has 1,264 miles of coast line, mostly bold and unbroken but 
indented by the fine harbors of San Diego and San Francisco. 
California has a great range in elevation, for some of its desert 
valleys are below sea level and much of the Sierra Nevada is more than 
10,000 feet above sea level, the highest peak, Mount Whitney, reach- 
ing 14,496 feet. The lowest places are Death Valley, the bottom of 
which is 276 feet below sea level, and the Salton Basin, the bottom of 
which (when dry) is 273.5 feet below sea level. Owing to its great 
range of elevation and latitude, California presents a wide diversity in 
climate, with corresponding variation in vegetation and animal life. 
Along the coast in southern California precipitation is low and tem- 
peratures are equable. Around San Francisco Bay themoderaterainfall 
comes almost wholly in the winter, and the seasonal range of tempera- 
ture is comparatively small, although from hour to hour the change is 
sometimes very marked. In parts of southern California typical desert 
conditions prevail. The great interior valley of the San Joaquin and 
Sacramento Rivers is characterized by moderate to scant winter 
rainfall and hot, dry summers. Snow rarely falls except on the 
adjoining high mountains. 
Forests cover 20 per cent of the State. They are notable for the 
large size of their trees, especially for the huge dimensions attained by 
been preserved against the inroads of the lumberman by the Govern- 
ment or through private generosity. The 21 national forests in 
California have a total area of 40,000 square miles, or about one-fourth 
of the State’s area. The national parks in the State are the Yosemite 
(1,124 square miles), Sequoia (252 square miles), General Grant 
(4 square miles), and Lassen Volcanic (124 square miles). 
Agriculture is an enormous industry in California, and its impor- 
tance is increasing. The following facts from the United States census 
‘Ter rest: Of the total land area of nearly 100,000,000 
Acres, about 30,442,581 acres is in farms and ranches, which with 
uldings and machinery have a value of nearly $4,000,000,000. 
