In June 1846, at the outset of the Mexican-American War, some 30 American settlers seized the Mexican-administered town of Sonoma, north of San Francisco. Declaring independence, they raised a makeshift flag featuring a crudely drawn bear. Though the California Republic lasted only 25 days, its flag endured, ultimately becoming the inspiration for the official state flag adopted in 1911. The bear featured on the official flag was modeled after “Monarch,” a California grizzly captured in Ventura County in 1889 on the orders of newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, and held captive in San Francisco for 22 years. Featuring the California flag’s grizzly, our cover is inspired by the 1913 sheet music cover of the state song, “I Love You, California.”
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons.)

In July 1933, just months after Adolf Hitler rose to power, Nazi-aligned supporters held their first public meeting in L.A. This sinister gathering —replete with brown shirts, swastikas and Nazi salutes — evolved into a movement that aimed to seize Southern California armories and murder influential Hollywood producers and actors. “The movement was stymied by a group of citizen-spies, led by Jewish attorney Leon Lewis, who thwarted their plots against democracy,” says Distinguished Professor Steve Ross, Dean’s Professor of History and an expert on the period. Ultimately, local Nazi sympathies dwindled as the nation united against fascism following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
(Photo: Alamy.)

A symbol of California’s beauty, the golden poppy became the state flower thanks to the persistence of botanist Sara Plummer Lemmon. A specialist in Western flora, Lemmon discovered 110 plant species and tirelessly worked with the legislature to introduce bills recognizing the golden poppy. After nearly a decade of advocacy, and overcoming opposition from two governors, the bill was finally signed into law in 1903. “Lemmon’s work reveals the interwoven strands of scientific wild-botanizing, women’s club culture, and efforts to craft the mythology of California during the era,” says Elizabeth Logan, co-director of the Huntington–USC Institute on California and the West
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons.)

While California is the birthplace of many iconic cultural exports, one stands out as having legs: good ol’ blue jeans. Patented in 1873 by business partners Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis, the denim pants reinforced with metal rivets were manufactured in San Francisco. They were originally designed for laborers who needed more durable clothing to withstand the rigors of mining, ranching and farming in the American West.
(Photo: Alamy.)

When the Hollywood Bowl opened on July 11, 1922, it was little more than a wooden platform with a canvas top. Over time, it grew into a legendary music venue, considered the largest natural outdoor amphitheater in the United States. The Bowl has hosted some of the most influential performances of the 20th century, from the Beatles’ 1964 Los Angeles debut to the Doors’ 1968 concert, released as a live album in 1987.
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons.)

In 1850, California joined the Union as a free state. But by 1858, many Southern California ranch owners pushed for the region to become a separate territory where slavery would be permitted. State Sen. Andrés Pico led the movement, and the California State Assembly passed a proposal to split the state at the 36th parallel, creating the “Territory of Colorado” from the southern counties. “This proposal was one of the earliest — and perhaps the most ignominious — of about 220 attempts to divide California,” says Alice Baumgartner, associate professor of history. Ultimately, the proposal never reached the U.S. Congress due to the outbreak of the American Civil War.
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons.)

Sacramento is now California’s established seat of political power, but in the state’s early years, its capital was surprisingly nomadic. Between 1849 and 1862, the capital moved frequently — from Monterey to San Jose, then to Vallejo, Benicia, and finally, Sacramento, chosen for its river network and proximity to the Gold Rush. However, flooding in 1862 temporarily forced the capital to relocate to San Francisco. The legislature returned to Sacramento and state officials settled permanently in the Capitol building in 1869, even though it was still under construction.
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons.)

California is home to both the highest and lowest elevations in the contiguous United States — and they’re practically neighbors. Just 80 miles apart, Mt. Whitney rises to 14,505 feet as the tallest mountain peak in the continental U.S., while Death Valley plunges 282 feet below sea level, making it the lowest elevation on the mainland.
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons.)

Earth scientists studying Death Valley’s rocks have uncovered evidence
of the most extreme ice age of all time, known as “Snowball Earth,” which occurred approximately 700 million years ago. The irony? They’re researching the coldest period in our planet’s history in what is now the hottest place on Earth.
(Photo: iStock.)

California is riddled with fault lines, making it one of the world’s most earthquake-prone regions. The San Andreas Fault, which runs 800 miles (nearly the length of the state), is the most infamous. While most of the thousands of small quakes that occur in California each year are too subtle for humans to feel, they offer scientists valuable insights. “These small earthquakes provide highly detailed information about the faults’ subsurface geometry, helping us map tectonic activity and assess seismic hazards,” says Yehuda Ben-Zion, professor of Earth sciences and director of the Statewide California Earthquake Center, based at USC Dornsife.
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons.)

Sedimentary rocks near Barstow in Southern California’s Mojave Desert hold one of the world’s densest concentrations of fossils from creatures like camels, pygmy running rhinos, and saber-toothed cats that roamed the Earth 13 million to 16 million years ago. Remarkably, fossils of at least 17 species found here have never been discovered anywhere else. The area is so fossil-rich that scientists named a geologic time period after it: the Barstovian North American Stage.
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons.)

California is often hailed as a leader in the green economy, but here’s the irony: To power clean energy and advance green technology, the state relies on rare Earth elements that are abundant in San Bernardino County’s Mountain Pass mine. This site has the highest concentration of these valuable materials in the Western Hemisphere, and their extraction requires mining — an activity that can conflict with environmental goals.
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons.)

San Francisco and Los Angeles are nearly 400 miles apart today, but in as little as
10 million years, they could be neighbors. San Francisco sits on the east side of the San Andreas Fault, while L.A. lies on the west. As the side to the west creeps northward, it is slowly dragging the City of Angels with it.
(Photo: iStock.)