California Trivia Quiz Questions and Answers
California is located on what coast of the United States?
A: West Coast.
Where does California rank in population compared to all the other states?
A:It is the most populous U.S. state.
Where does California rank in area compared to the rest of the states?
A: Third largest state by area.
What state borders California to the north?
A: Oregon.
What city is California's state capital?
A: Sacramento.
California was admitted as the 31st US state on what date?
A: September 9, 1850.
California's geography ranges from the Pacific Coast in the west, to the what in the east?
A: Sierra Nevada.
The center of California is dominated by what major
agricultural area
A: The Central Valley.
California contains both the highest and lowest points in the contiguous United States. What are they?
A: Mount Whitney and Death Valley.
How does California rank as far as the length of its coastline compared to the other states?
A: It has the 3rd longest coastline of all states.
What type of geological activity is a common occurrence due to the state's location along the Pacific Ring of Fire?
A: Earthquakes.
How much of the fresh fruit produced in the US comes from California?
A: At least half.
If California were a country, where would its economy rank in the world?
A: The 9th largest.
The name California is most commonly believed to have derived from a fictional paradise peopled by Black Amazons and ruled by Queen Calafial in a land inhabited by griffins and other
strange beasts, and rich in
what?
A: Gold.
In the middle of California lies the Central Valley, with coastal mountain ranges in the west, the Sierra Nevada mountains to the east, the Cascade Range mountains in the north and what mountains in the south?
A: the Tehachapi Mountains.
The northern portion of the valley, the Sacramento Valley, is the watershed of the Sacramento
River, and southern region, the San Joaquin Valley, is the watershed for what river?
A: The San Joaquin River
What is the highest peak in the contiguous 48 states?
A: Mount Whitney, at 14,505 feet .
California's Sequoia National Park is where you can find the largest living organisms on Earth, which are what?
A: Giant sequoia trees.
California's Clear Lake is the largest freshwater lake by area that is completely within California's what?
A: Borders.
About how much of California's area is covered by
forests?
A: 45 percent.
California has more forestland than any other state except what state?
A: Alaska.
In the California White Mountains many of the trees are the oldest trees on earth and there is an old Bristlecone pine that is how old?
A: Over 5,000 years.
In southern California is a large inland
salt lake called the what?
A: The Salton Sea.
What is the south-central desert is named?
A: The Mojave.
Northeast of the Mojave desert lies Death Valley, which has the lowest and hottest place in
North America which is called what?
A: The Badwater Basin at −282
Which river forms the border with
Arizona?
A: The Colorado River.
As part of the Ring of Fire, California sees numerous earthquakes due to several faults, including the most famous one called the what?
A: The San Andreas Fault.
Much of California has what type of climate, with cool,
rainy winters and dry
summers?
A: Mediterranean climate.
The highest temperature in the world of 134 °F was recorded in California's death valley on what date?
A: July 10, 1913.
California has the largest trees, the tallest trees, and the what of any state.
A: Oldest trees.
The state flower of California is what?
A: The poppy.
The vast majority of rivers in California are "what" as part of two huge water projects: the Central Valley Project, and the California State Water Project?
A: Dammed.
What does the California State Water project do?
A: Diverts water from northern to southern California.
What body regulates California's coasts, rivers, and other bodies of water?
A: The California Coastal Commission.
The In California, two most prominent rivers are the Sacramento River and what other river?
A: The San Joaquin River.
California's indigenous peoples included more than how many distinct groups of Native Americans?
A: 70.
In 1542, a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo was the first exploration of the coast as far north as the what?
A: Russian River.
In the 1820s, trappers and settlers from the U.S. and
Canada began to arrive in Northern California by way of the Siskiyou Trail, the California Trail, the Oregon Trail and what other trail?
A: Old Spanish Trail.
In the early 1800s imperial Russia established a trading post at what location?
A: Fort Ross.
In 1846 settlers rebelled against Mexican rule during what revolt?
A: The Bear Flag Revolt.
On September 9, 1850, California was admitted to the Union as a free state, thus denying the expansion of slavery to the what?
A: Pacific Coast.
Where was the seat of government for California located under Spanish and later Mexican rule?
A: Monterey from 1777 until 1845.
When did Pio Pico, the last Mexican governor of Alta California, move the capital to
Los Angeles?
A: In 1845.
In 1869 the first Transcontinental Railroad was completed through what pass in the Sierra Nevada mountains?
A: Donner Pass.
California has the largest population of White Americans in the U.S. with an estimated how many residents?
A: 22,200,000.
In the U.S., California has the 5th largest population of what group?
A: African Americans an estimated 2,250,000 residents.
California's interconnected water system is the world's largest, managing how many acre feet per annum?
A: Over 40,000,000 acre feet.
How many counties are there in California?
A: 58 counties.
What California city was the first to incorporate and did so on February 27, 1850?
A: Sacramento .