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California

California is a state in the Pacific Region of the United States. With over 39.3 million residents across a total area of approximately 163,696 square miles (423,970 km2), it is the most populous U.S. state and the third-largest by area, as well as the world's thirty-fourth-most-populous subnational entity. California is also the most populated subnational entity in North America, and has its state capital in Sacramento. The Greater Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second- and fifth-most-populous urban regions, with more than 18.7 million and 9.6 million residents respectively. Los Angeles is California's most populous city, and the country's second-most-populous, after New York City. California also has the nation's most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The City and County of San Francisco is both the country's second most densely populated major city after New York City and the fifth-most-densely populated county, behind only four of the five New York City boroughs.

California's economy, with a gross state product of $3.2 trillion as of 2019, is the largest sub-national economy in the world. If it were a country, California would be the fifth-largest economy in the world, and the 37th-most populous as of 2020. The Greater Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second- and third-largest urban economies ($1.3 trillion and $1.0 trillion respectively as of 2020), after the New York metropolitan area ($2.0 trillion). The San Francisco Bay Area Combined Statistical Area had the nation's highest gross domestic product per capita in 2018 ($106,757) among large primary statistical areas, and is home to four of the world's ten largest companies by market capitalization and four of the world's ten richest people.

California is considered a global trendsetter in popular culture, communication, information, innovation, environmentalism, economics, politics, and entertainment. As a result of the state's diversity and migration, California integrates foods, languages, and traditions from other areas across the country and around the globe. It is considered the origin of the hippie counterculture, beach and car culture, the Internet, and the personal computer, among others. The San Francisco Bay Area and the Greater Los Angeles Area are widely seen as centers of the global technology and entertainment industries, respectively. California's economy is very diverse: 58% of it is based on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific, and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5% of the state's economy, California's agriculture industry has the highest output of any U.S. state.

California shares a border with Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and the Mexican state of Baja California to the south. The state's diverse geography ranges from the Pacific Coast in the west to the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the east, and from the redwood and Douglas fir forests in the northwest to the Mojave Desert in the southeast. The Central Valley, a major agricultural area, dominates the state's center. Although California is well-known for its warm Mediterranean climate and monsoon seasonal weather, the large size of the state results in climates that vary from moist temperate rainforest in the north to arid desert in the interior, as well as snowy alpine in the mountains. All these factors lead to an enormous demand for water; in total numbers, California is the largest consumer of water in North America. Over time, drought and wildfires have become more frequent; further straining California's water security.

What is now California was first settled by various Native Californian tribes before being explored by a number of Europeans during the 16th and 17th centuries. The Spanish Empire then claimed and colonized it. In 1804 it was included in Alta California province, within the Viceroyalty of New Spain. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its successful war for independence but was ceded to the United States in 1848 after the Mexican–American War. The western portion of Alta California was then organized and admitted as the 31st state on September 9, 1850. 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.

California Media

161,823 media by topic ∙ page 1 of 1619
Stained glass in Neiman Marcus store, San Francisco, California

Stained glass in Neiman Marcus store, San Francisco, California

Title, date, and keywords provided by the photographer. This stain glass in Neiman Marcus on Union Square, was once in The City of Paris store. The architectural centerpiece of the building is the original rotu... More

Ruins of City Hall, [1906 earthquake, San Francisco, Calif.]

Ruins of City Hall, [1906 earthquake, San Francisco, Calif.]

Carefully trained women inspectors check and inspect cargo transport innerwings before they are assembled on the fuselage, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif.

Carefully trained women inspectors check and inspect cargo transport i...

American mothers and sisters, like these women at the Douglas Aircraft Company, give important help in producing dependable planes for their men at the front, Long Beach, Calif. Most important of the many types of aircraft made at this plant are the B-17F ("Flying Fortress") heavy bomber, the A-20 ("Havoc") assault bomber and the C-47 heavy transport plane for the carrying of troops and cargo

American mothers and sisters, like these women at the Douglas Aircraft...

Woman working on an airplane motor at North American Aviation, Inc., plant in Calif.

Woman working on an airplane motor at North American Aviation, Inc., p...

The Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, San Francisco, California

The Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, San Francisco, California

Title, date, and keywords provided by the photographer. Street names commemorate two early San Francisco leaders: Pioneer and exchange banker Henry Haight and Munroe Ashbury. The district is noted for its role ... More

Detail of a historic car with license plates from the 1940s. San Francisco, California

Detail of a historic car with license plates from the 1940s. San Franc...

Title, date, and keywords provided by the photographer. Credit line: The Jon B. Lovelace Collection of California Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith's America Project, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs... More

Memorial Church on the Stanford University campus in Palo Alto, California

Memorial Church on the Stanford University campus in Palo Alto, Califo...

Title, date and keywords based on information provided by the photographer. Credit line: The Jon B. Lovelace Collection of California Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith's America Project, Library of Congress, Pr... More

Mission San Juan Capistrano, Southern California

Mission San Juan Capistrano, Southern California

Title, date, and keywords provided by the photographer. Mission San Juan Capistrano was a Spanish mission in Southern California, located in present-day San Juan Capistrano. It was founded on All Saints Day Nov... More

Mural at Amargosa Opera House, a remarkable image from what is largely a ghost town: Death Valley Junction, just outside Death Valley National Park in Inyo County, California

Mural at Amargosa Opera House, a remarkable image from what is largely...

Title, date, and keywords provided by the photographer. The community, once a dusty mining, railroad, and mill town, was known as Amargosa, after the desert valley that surrounds it. A recreation hall at the no... More

Mural at Amargosa Opera House, a remarkable image from what is largely a ghost town: Death Valley Junction, just outside Death Valley National Park in Inyo County, California

Mural at Amargosa Opera House, a remarkable image from what is largely...

Title, date, and keywords provided by the photographer. The community, once a dusty mining, railroad, and mill town, was known as Amargosa, after the desert valley that surrounds it. A recreation hall at the no... More

Mural at Amargosa Opera House, a remarkable image from what is largely a ghost town: Death Valley Junction, just outside Death Valley National Park in Inyo County, California

Mural at Amargosa Opera House, a remarkable image from what is largely...

Title, date, and keywords provided by the photographer. The community, once a dusty mining, railroad, and mill town, was known as Amargosa, after the desert valley that surrounds it. A recreation hall at the no... More

Mural at Amargosa Opera House, a remarkable image from what is largely a ghost town: Death Valley Junction, just outside Death Valley National Park in Inyo County, California

Mural at Amargosa Opera House, a remarkable image from what is largely...

Title, date, and keywords provided by the photographer. The community, once a dusty mining, railroad, and mill town, was known as Amargosa, after the desert valley that surrounds it. A recreation hall at the no... More

Mural at Amargosa Opera House, a remarkable image from what is largely a ghost town: Death Valley Junction, just outside Death Valley National Park in Inyo County, California

Mural at Amargosa Opera House, a remarkable image from what is largely...

Title, date, and keywords provided by the photographer. The community, once a dusty mining, railroad, and mill town, was known as Amargosa, after the desert valley that surrounds it. A recreation hall at the no... More

Mural at Amargos Opera House, a remarkable image from what is largely a ghost town: Death Valley Junction, just outside Death Valley National Park in Inyo County, California

Mural at Amargos Opera House, a remarkable image from what is largely ...

Title, date, and keywords provided by the photographer. The community, once a dusty mining, railroad, and mill town, was known as Amargosa, after the desert valley that surrounds it. A recreation hall at the no... More

The Regent Showcase theater, an art deco former movie house on La Brea Avenue in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles, California

The Regent Showcase theater, an art deco former movie house on La Brea...

Title, date, and keywords provided by the photographer. The community, once a dusty mining, railroad, and mill town, was known as Amargosa, after the desert valley that surrounds it. A recreation hall at the no... More

Mural at Amargosa Opera House, a remarkable image from what is largely a ghost town: Death Valley Junction, just outside Death Valley National Park in Inyo County, California

Mural at Amargosa Opera House, a remarkable image from what is largely...

Title, date, and keywords provided by the photographer. The community, once a dusty mining, railroad, and mill town, was known as Amargosa, after the desert valley that surrounds it. A recreation hall at the no... More

Mural at Amargosa Opera House, a remarkable image from what is largely a ghost town: Death Valley Junction, just outside Death Valley National Park in Inyo County, California

Mural at Amargosa Opera House, a remarkable image from what is largely...

Title, date, and keywords provided by the photographer. The community, once a dusty mining, railroad, and mill town, was known as Amargosa, after the desert valley that surrounds it. A recreation hall at the no... More

Mural at Amargos Opera House, a remarkable image from what is largely a ghost town: Death Valley Junction, just outside Death Valley National Park in Inyo County, California

Mural at Amargos Opera House, a remarkable image from what is largely ...

Title, date, and keywords provided by the photographer. The community, once a dusty mining, railroad, and mill town, was known as Amargosa, after the desert valley that surrounds it. A recreation hall at the no... More

A new and finer crown for California / CH [monogram].

A new and finer crown for California / CH [monogram].

Illustration shows a female figure holding out a crown labeled "The New Frisco", fashioned after a city skyline; a bear sits on the ground next to her and, in the background, are 16th or 17th century sailing sh... More

The entrance to the "Amargosa Opera House," adjacent to the Amagosa Hotel in Death Valley Junction, just outside Death Valley National Park in Inyo County, California

The entrance to the "Amargosa Opera House," adjacent to the Amagosa Ho...

Title, date, and keywords provided by the photographer. The community, once a dusty mining, railroad, and mill town, was known as Amargosa, after the desert valley that surrounds it. A recreation hall at the no... More

The entrance to the "Amargosa Opera House," adjacent to the Amagosa Hotel in Death Valley Junction, just outside Death Valley National Park in Inyo County, California

The entrance to the "Amargosa Opera House," adjacent to the Amagosa Ho...

Title, date, and keywords provided by the photographer. The community, once a dusty mining, railroad, and mill town, was known as Amargosa, after the desert valley that surrounds it. A recreation hall at the no... More

The creator of this image, photographer Carol M. Highsmith, enjoys a moment on stage at a remarkable theater in what is largely a ghost town: Death Valley Junction, just outside Death Valley National Park in Inyo County, California

The creator of this image, photographer Carol M. Highsmith, enjoys a m...

Title, date, and keywords provided by the photographer. The community, once a dusty mining, railroad, and mill town, was known as Amargosa, after the desert valley that surrounds it. A recreation hall at the no... More

Bird's eye view of Azusa, Los Angeles Co. Cal., 1887 /

Bird's eye view of Azusa, Los Angeles Co. Cal., 1887 /

"Rare early view of the newly laid out town of Azusa. In 1887, Jonathan Slauson and a group of local developers laid out the town of Azusa. This plan was likely published by Slauson"--From the 16th-19th centuri... More

Mural at Amargosa Opera House, a remarkable image from what is largely a ghost town: Death Valley Junction, just outside Death Valley National Park in Inyo County, California

Mural at Amargosa Opera House, a remarkable image from what is largely...

Title, date, and keywords provided by the photographer. The community, once a dusty mining, railroad, and mill town, was known as Amargosa, after the desert valley that surrounds it. A recreation hall at the no... More

The Regent Showcase theater, an art deco former movie house on La Brea Avenue in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles, California

The Regent Showcase theater, an art deco former movie house on La Brea...

Title, date, and keywords provided by the photographer. The community, once a dusty mining, railroad, and mill town, was known as Amargosa, after the desert valley that surrounds it. A recreation hall at the no... More

[Map of California shown as an island].

[Map of California shown as an island].

Relief shown pictorially. Pen-and-ink and watercolor. Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as a raster image. Vault

DCM 1494: Raoul Fajardo Flute Head Joint

DCM 1494: Raoul Fajardo Flute Head Joint

Like DCM 1493, the head has a tapered pine wooden wedge or baffle but which is glued into a predetermined position. The head cap/cork unit does not utilize a rubber O-ring, but instead terminates with a piece o... More

DCM 1493: Raoul Fajardo Flute Head Joint

DCM 1493: Raoul Fajardo Flute Head Joint

The combination head joint cap and cork element appears to be formed from plastic tubing not unlike the embouchure plate and maintains a seal at the lower end by means of a standard rubber O-ring. Affixed to it... More

DCM 0880: Anonymous Vertical Whistle Flute

DCM 0880: Anonymous Vertical Whistle Flute

Instrument type: Vertical Whistle Flute Medium: Bamboo, painted black, bone mouthpiece and bottom ferrule, white and green design.; 38.7 cm. Key Holes System: 0/6 holes plus 2 tassel holes plus 2 vent holes. M... More

DCM 0881: Anonymous Kuan (Double Reed Pipe)

DCM 0881: Anonymous Kuan (Double Reed Pipe)

Instrument type: Kuan (Double Reed Pipe) Medium: Bamboo, stained dark brown, with incised red, white, green decoration.; 21 cm. Key Holes System: 1/7 holes. Mark Maximum: No mark. Provenance: Chinatown, San Fr... More

A new & exact map of the coast, countries and islands within ye limits of ye South Sea Company, from ye river Aranoca to Terra del Fuego, and from thence through ye South Sea, to ye north part of California &c. with a view of the general and coasting trade-winds and perticular draughts of the most important bays, ports &c.

A new & exact map of the coast, countries and islands within ye limit...

La Californie ou Nouvelle Caroline : teatro de los trabajos, Apostolicos de la Compa. e Jesus en la America Septe. /

La Californie ou Nouvelle Caroline : teatro de los trabajos, Apostolic...

Relief shown pictorially. McLaughlin, G. Mapping of California as an island, 196 Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as a raster image. Vault 2 copies; copy 2 is b&w

La Californie ou Nouvelle Caroline : teatro de los trabajos, Apostolicos de la Compa. e Jesus en la America Septe. /

La Californie ou Nouvelle Caroline : teatro de los trabajos, Apostolic...

Relief shown pictorially. Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as a raster image. Vault

An exact-plan of George-Town so named by Patrick Graham, Esqr., President of the Province of Georgia, in honr. to His Royal Highness George, Prince of Wales, &ca.

An exact-plan of George-Town so named by Patrick Graham, Esqr., Presid...

Scale ca. 1:4,700. Manuscript, pen-and-ink and watercolor. Imperfect: Margins torn. Oriented with north to the bottom. Cadastral map. Shows town laid out in lots in a bend of "Great Ogeche River" planned to bec... More

Plano del puerto de Acapulco situado en la latitud de 16⁰47ʹ y en la longd. de 133⁰30[ʹ] segun el meridiano de Sn. Bernardino en Filipinas : este puerto esta en la Mar Pacífica sobre la costa meridional de California.

Plano del puerto de Acapulco situado en la latitud de 16⁰47ʹ y en la l...

[Map of Pacific Ocean between the coast of California and Mexico and Japan, Philippines, and the coast of China].

[Map of Pacific Ocean between the coast of California and Mexico and J...

Watermark: PVL [Pieter van Ley] in 1 character. Pen-and-ink. Mounted on cloth backing. LC Luso-Hispanic World, 15 Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as a raster image. Includes text. Printe... More

Carta que contiene parte de la costa de la California.

Carta que contiene parte de la costa de la California.

Pen-and-ink and watercolor. Wagner, H. R. Cartography of the northwest coast, 708 LC Luso-Hispanic World, 81 Available also through the Library of Congress web site as a raster image. Magg's description on verso.

Presidential tally, Presented by the Firemans fund insurance company of California. [s. l.]

Presidential tally, Presented by the Firemans fund insurance company o...

Campaign. Available also through the Library of Congress web site in two forms: as facsimile page images and as full text in SGML. Printed Ephemera Collection; Portfolio 2, Folder 14.

Destruction of San Francisco by earthquake & fire

Destruction of San Francisco by earthquake & fire

This record contains unverified data from PGA shelflist card. Associated name on shelflist card: Kurz & Allison.

Mission San Carlos Borroméo del río Carmelo, Carmel Mission, Carmel California

Mission San Carlos Borroméo del río Carmelo, Carmel Mission, Carmel Ca...

Title, date, and keywords provided by the photographer. A Roman Catholic mission church in Carmel, California. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and a U.S. National Historic Landmark. Destroyed ... More

Map of the western & middle portions of North America : to illustrate the history of California, Oregon, and the other countries on the north-west coast of America /

Map of the western & middle portions of North America : to illustrate ...

Relief shown by hachures. Prime meridians: Greenwich and Washington, DC. Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as a raster image.

Artists Steve Della Maggiora and Susan Clifford produced this mural in downtown Napa, California, depicting Napa River activities in the 19th Century

Artists Steve Della Maggiora and Susan Clifford produced this mural in...

Title, date, and keywords provided by the photographer. Credit line: The Jon B. Lovelace Collection of California Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith's America Project, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs... More

The United States of America Panama-Pacific International Exposition San Francisco, MCMXV

The United States of America Panama-Pacific International Exposition S...

This record contains unverified data from PGA shelflist card. Associated name on shelflist card: Baldwin.

Sacramento - Print, Library of Congress collection

Sacramento - Print, Library of Congress collection

This record contains unverified data from PGA shelflist card. Associated name on shelflist card: Elliott.

Our father which art in heaven. San Francisco

Our father which art in heaven. San Francisco

This record contains unverified data from PGA shelflist card. Associated name on shelflist card: Brown, G.T.

Dance of the Indians of the Mission of St. Joseph in New California / engraved by Letitia & Elizh. Byrne.

Dance of the Indians of the Mission of St. Joseph in New California / ...

Six Native Americans with elaborate body markings and hairstyles, dancing.

Jeu des habitans de Californie

Jeu des habitans de Californie

Native women watching men play game, possibly related to gambling, at a mission near San Francisco, California.

Vista de puebla de Los Angeles C. Nebel del. ; lith. Mialhe Fesr. St. Honoré 357 ; Deroy lith

Vista de puebla de Los Angeles C. Nebel del. ; lith. Mialhe Fesr. St. ...

Print shows a distant view, looking east toward the Santa Anna Mountains, of the cityscape of Los Angeles with low stone or adobe buildings in the foreground and two snowcapped mountains in the background Title... More

4 Polkas - San Francisco, The Balloon, The Pleasure Train, The Storm

4 Polkas - San Francisco, The Balloon, The Pleasure Train, The Storm

James K. Polk Papers: Series 6: Notes, circa 1831-1847; Subject file; Banks in United States; States

James K. Polk Papers: Series 6: Notes, circa 1831-1847; Subject file; ...

San Francisco, Historic View, 1837, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA

San Francisco, Historic View, 1837, San Francisco, San Francisco Count...

Carta esférica de la costa de la Alta California : comprendida entre los paralelos de 32° y 38° norte.

Carta esférica de la costa de la Alta California : comprendida entre l...

Relief shown by hachures. Depths shown by soundings. Shows drainage, missions, pueblos, presidios, etc. Prime meridian: Cadiz. Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as a raster image.

Veduta di Ross stabilimento Russo vicino alla Bodega

Veduta di Ross stabilimento Russo vicino alla Bodega

Fort Ross, Calif., a Russian fur-trading post est. 1812.

Map of an exploring expedition to the Rocky Mountains in the year 1842 and to Oregon & north California in the years 1843-44 /

Map of an exploring expedition to the Rocky Mountains in the year 1842...

Relief shown by hachures. State 2: Does not include notes or Great Basin statement. Shows place name South Park below Bayou Salade; some place names differ from other states. LC Trails, no. 223 Available also t... More

Gold mines of California!! W. R. Andrews, having just returned from California, after having spent several months in the mines and mountains of that interesting country will deliver a lecture at on day of 1849, upon the gold mines of California

Gold mines of California!! W. R. Andrews, having just returned from Ca...

2366 E 1 Jy 46.; Rec. 7-11-46.; $40.00; On verso: 2366 E 1 Jy 46. Available also through the Library of Congress web site in two forms: as facsimile page images and as full text in SGML. Printed Ephemera Colle... More

Map of an exploring expedition to the Rocky Mountains in the year 1842 and to Oregon & north California in the years 1843-44 /

Map of an exploring expedition to the Rocky Mountains in the year 1842...

Relief shown by hachures. State 3: Includes notes, Great Basin statement, and place name South Park below Bayou Salade; some place names differ from other states. "Published in Report of the exploring expeditio... More

California guard / Kellogs & Thayer ; E.B. & E.C. Kellog ; D. Needham.

California guard / Kellogs & Thayer ; E.B. & E.C. Kellog ; D. Needham.

Print showing men in dress uniform. Identified as associated with the Mexican War, 1846-48, in Picturing Victorian America: Prints by the Kellogg Brothers of Hartford, by Nancy Finlay (2010), p. 83. No. 270.

A new map of Texas, Oregon and California.

A new map of Texas, Oregon and California.

Ultimatum on the Oregon question

Ultimatum on the Oregon question

In his typically jingoist view of Polk's handling of the Oregon question, the artist Edward Williams Clay belittles the self-interested attitudes of Europe toward the dispute. The issue of whether to settle the... More

California quick step

California quick step

From: Music Copyright Deposits, 1820-1860 (Microfilm M 3106) Also available through the Library of Congress Web Site as facsimile page images. (additional physical form) In bound volumes: Copyright Deposits 1820-1860

Mapa de los Estados Unidos de Méjico, California &c. : segun lo organizado y definido por las varias actas del congreso de dicha Républica y construido por las mejores autoridades.

Mapa de los Estados Unidos de Méjico, California &c. : segun lo organi...

Shows Mexico and the southern United States. Relief shown by hachures and spot heights. Prime meridian: Washington. Gift; Thomas W. Streeler; Dec. 28, 1937. Includes distance chart, distance list, and 2 profile... More

James K. Polk Papers: Series 8: Miscellaneous, 1827-1884; Chronological file, 1827-1849; 1847, Feb. 16

James K. Polk Papers: Series 8: Miscellaneous, 1827-1884; Chronologica...

Map of Upper & Lower California showing the military stations and distribution of troops.

Map of Upper & Lower California showing the military stations and dist...

Available also through the Library of Congress web site as a raster image.

Charge of Captain Reid, at Sacramento

Charge of Captain Reid, at Sacramento

Capt. John Wm. Reid. Battle of Sacramento, 28 Feb. 1847, Illus. in: John Taylor Hughes, Doniphan's Expedition. Cincinnati : U.P. James, 1847. Reference copy may bein LOT 4414N and/or 4414P. This record contains... More

Map of Oregon and upper California from the surveys of John Charles Frémont and other authorities /

Map of Oregon and upper California from the surveys of John Charles Fr...

Hand colored. LC copy sectioned and mounted on cloth backing. Annotated on verso in black ink: California & Oregon 1848. Millard Fillmore. Relief shown by hachures and spot heights. Shows area of U.S. west of t... More

Plan of Sacramento City, State of California

Plan of Sacramento City, State of California

Facsimile. Cadastral base map showing streets, lots, and some block numbers. LC copy: Signed on cover: No. 138. Sacramento City. 1849. Millard Fillmore. LC copy: Mounted on cloth backing, sheet sectioned into 1... More

Topographical sketch of the gold & quicksilver district of California.

Topographical sketch of the gold & quicksilver district of California.

Available also through the Library of Congress web site as a raster image. 4 copies, vary slightly.

James K. Polk Papers: Series 2, General Correspondence and Related Items, 1775-1849; 1848, Oct. 25-1849, Mar. 1

James K. Polk Papers: Series 2, General Correspondence and Related Ite...

Map of Oregon and upper California from the surveys of John Charles Frémont and other authorities /

Map of Oregon and upper California from the surveys of John Charles Fr...

Scale 1:3,000,000. Hand colored. Relief shown by hachures and spot heights. Shows area of U.S. west of the Continental Divide. Includes notes and "Profile of the travelling route from the South Pass of the Rock... More

[El Dorado, California. View of scattered log cabins]

[El Dorado, California. View of scattered log cabins]

Photograph shows four log cabins scattered along the hillside; prospectors stand near or atop piles of large rocks; a flume can be seen on the far left. Title devised by Library staff.

Mr. Golightly, bound to California

Mr. Golightly, bound to California

Caricature of man riding on rocket with items to sell to gold miners. Copyright by A. Donnely. Landauer Collection of Aeronautical Prints and Drawings.

Sunday morning ; Log cabin / / Lith. & published by Britton & Rey, San Francisco, Cal.

Sunday morning ; Log cabin / / Lith. & published by Britton & Rey, San...

Pictorial lettersheet with two images on one page shows (top) miners in camp eating and reading; and (bottom) miners standing in front of log cabin; with attached blank leaf. Title from item. Baird, California ... More

The place we hear about

The place we hear about

Another grim portrayal of violent goldfield life in California, similar to "Things as They Are" (no. 1849-3) and equally critical of the outgoing Polk administration. Here again mayhem erupts, as prospectors an... More

Iron Store-House for California - sent to San Francisco

Iron Store-House for California - sent to San Francisco

Built by John Walker, son of Richard Walker, orig. mfr. and patentee; of corrugated iron. Illus. in: The Illustrated London News, 1849, July 14, p. 20. This record contains unverified, old data from caption car... More

Official map of San Francisco.

Official map of San Francisco.

Scale 1:6,600; 550 English ft. to the in. Hand colored. Relief shown by hachures. Cadastral map. "Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1849 by Henry Reed." Available also through the Library of Cong... More

[View near San Francisco, Upper California]

[View near San Francisco, Upper California]

Two Spanish cowboys roping a bull. Wood engraving in Illustrated London News, 1949 January 13. This record contains unverified, old data from caption card.

Things as they are

Things as they are

Perkins's grim picture of conditions in the goldfields of California during the 1849 Gold Rush contains a backhanded swipe at the outgoing Polk administration. In the foreground, violence breaks out against a ... More

A prospecting party / Lith. & Pubd. by Britton & Rey, San Francisco.

A prospecting party / Lith. & Pubd. by Britton & Rey, San Francisco.

Pictorial lettersheet shows progression of optimistic to disappointed prospectors. Title from item. Baird, California pictorial letter sheets, no. 209 (variation) Accession box no. DLC/PP-2011:179.03

Grand patent India-rubber air line railway to California: competition defied

Grand patent India-rubber air line railway to California: competition ...

Currier & Ives : a catalogue raisonné / compiled by Gale Research. Detroit, MI : Gale Research, c1983, no. 2748

San Francisco in July 1849 from present site of S.F. Stock Exchange

San Francisco in July 1849 from present site of S.F. Stock Exchange

This record contains unverified data from PGA shelflist card. Associated name on shelflist card: Crocker (H.S.) & Co.

Flume ; Elevating water wheel / / Lith. & published by Britton & Rey, San Francisco, Cal.

Flume ; Elevating water wheel / / Lith. & published by Britton & Rey, ...

Pictorial lettersheet with two images on one page shows (top) miners working next to flume; and (bottom) miners working next to river with water wheel leading to sluice; with attached blank leaf. Title from ite... More

Monterey - Capitol of California

Monterey - Capitol of California

Bird's-eye view, with ships in harbor. Lithograph by Wm. Endicott & Co. after sketch by J.W. Revere. Illus. in: Joseph Warren Revere. A tour of duty in California. New York : C.S. Francis, 1849, frontispiece. R... More

Gold und Quecksilber-District von California, 1849

Gold und Quecksilber-District von California, 1849

Relief shown by hachures. Shows Sierra Nevada region. Includes distance chart from Monterey. Manuscript notation in ink on verso. Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as a raster image. Acqui... More

We, the undersigned, citizens of the United States, being about to leave our homes for California, for the purpose of mining and digging gold ... have agreed to unite together and form an association ... [Philadelphia 1849].

We, the undersigned, citizens of the United States, being about to lea...

Available also through the Library of Congress web site in two forms: as facsimile page images and as full text in SGML. Printed Ephemera Collection; Portfolio 155, Folder 20.

Official map of San Francisco, compiled from the field notes of the official re-survey made by William M. Eddy, surveyor of the town of San Francisco, California

Official map of San Francisco, compiled from the field notes of the of...

Scale 1:6,600. Cadastral map. LC copy designed to show by color land grant and claims. LC copy not colored. Vault AACR2

Map of the gold regions of California.

Map of the gold regions of California.

Map without title showing the railroad route to Santa Fe and San Diego; the central route through South Pass and on to San Francisco and "Puget's Sound," and connecting railroads east of the Mississippi.

Map without title showing the railroad route to Santa Fe and San Diego...

Outline map of North America showing proposed railroad routes within the present limits of the United States. This is one of the earliest promotional maps for a transcontinental railroad to come before the Uni... More

Map of the emigrant road from Independence Mo. to St. Francisco, California /

Map of the emigrant road from Independence Mo. to St. Francisco, Calif...

Official map of San Francisco compiled from the field notes of the official re-survey made by Wm. M. Eddy. surveyor of the town of San Francisco

Official map of San Francisco compiled from the field notes of the off...

Manuscript; pen-and-ink, watercolor, and pencil corrections. Sectioned and mounted on cloth backing. Cadastral map. "Presented to the Senators and Representatives from California by Wm. M. Eddy, city surveyor, ... More

San Francisco, Historic View, 1849, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA

San Francisco, Historic View, 1849, San Francisco, San Francisco Count...

Defense of the California Bank

Defense of the California Bank

A mildly jingoistic satire voicing American suspicions of foreign designs on California after the discovery of gold there in 1848. The bay and coastline of San Francisco are shown, menaced by foreign invaders ... More

San Francisco, Historic View, 1850, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA

San Francisco, Historic View, 1850, San Francisco, San Francisco Count...

Map of the mining district of California.

Map of the mining district of California.

[P. J. Espenscheid store, Nevada City, California]

[P. J. Espenscheid store, Nevada City, California]

Daguerreotype shows: P. J. Espenscheid's shoe store with an array of men in jackets with white shirts and ties, probably local merchants, standing in front of the store, a pile of litter beside the store, legib... More

For San Francisco with certain dispatch. the splendid, first class clipper ship George Green ... Cornelius Comstock & Co ... New York [185-?].

For San Francisco with certain dispatch. the splendid, first class cli...

Available also through the Library of Congress web site in two forms: as facsimile page images and as full text in SGML. Printed Ephemera Collection; Portfolio 122, Folder 44a.

General chart embracing surveys of the Farallones entrance to the Bay of San Francisco, Bays of San Francisco and San Pablo, Straits of Carquines and Suisun Bay, and the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers to the cities of Sacramento and San Joaquin, California

General chart embracing surveys of the Farallones entrance to the Bay ...

Relief shown by hachures and spot heights. Depths shown by soundings. Shows drainage, distancees, etc. "Constructed, projected and drawn by Fred D. Stuart, hydrographer, late of the U.S. Ex. Ex. ; assisted by ... More

Sketch of General Riley's route through the mining districts [of California] : July and Aug. 1849 /

Sketch of General Riley's route through the mining districts [of Calif...

Relief shown by hachures. LC Trails, 106 Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as a raster image.

A map illustrative of the route of the proposed railroad : from St. Louis to the Bay of San Francisco /

A map illustrative of the route of the proposed railroad : from St. Lo...

"The red line indicates the route of the Railroad. The green line is the route followed by Col. Fremont from the South Pass to Humboldt River."

James Marshall, discoverer of gold, at Sutter's Mill

James Marshall, discoverer of gold, at Sutter's Mill

Photomechanical reproduction of the 1850(?) daguerreotype by R. H. Vance shows James Marshall standing in front of Sutter's sawmill, Coloma, California, where he discovered gold. Title from item.

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