145-621: The Cactus Tour is an unofficial developmental golf tour, or mini-tour, for women golfers which operates in the American Southwest . It bills itself as "The Tour for Women Golf Professionals in the Western United States!". Golfweek termed it " an Arizona-based mini-tour for up-and-coming women’s professionals." It has lower entry requirements, and lower prizes, than the LPGA Tour , the U.S.-based professional women's golf tour, and
290-468: A Caliph) on their way to Guerrero, Mexico where they played a future role in the wars of independence . Sebastián Vizcaíno explored and mapped the coast of California in 1602 for New Spain , putting ashore in Monterey . Despite the on-the-ground explorations of California in the 16th century, Rodríguez's idea of California as an island persisted. Such depictions appeared on many European maps well into
435-459: A Spanish navigator." The name most likely derived from the mythical island of California in the fictional story of Queen Calafia , as recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo . Queen Calafia's kingdom was said to be a remote land rich in gold and pearls, inhabited by beautiful Black women who wore gold armor and lived like Amazons , as well as griffins and other strange beasts. Abbreviations of
580-575: A commodity until the 1849 California Gold Rush . From the 1820s, trappers and settlers from the United States and Canada began to arrive in Northern California. These new arrivals used the Siskiyou Trail , California Trail , Oregon Trail and Old Spanish Trail to cross the rugged mountains and harsh deserts in and surrounding California. The early government of the newly independent Mexico
725-605: A competitive environment, as well as an affordable one, for women golf professionals to use in developing or re-developing their game in preparation for competing on the Symetra [now the Epson] and LPGA tours. Elite amateur women players are also invited to play for the experience and exposure to professional play.'" Unlike the LPGA and Epson Tours, the Cactus Tour played on without interruption from
870-560: A free state, the "loitering or orphaned Indians", were de facto enslaved by their new Anglo-American masters under the 1850 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians . One of these de facto slave auctions was approved by the Los Angeles City Council and occurred for nearly twenty years. There were many massacres in which hundreds of indigenous people were killed by settlers for their land. Between 1850 and 1860,
1015-531: A large oasis at the western end of the El Paso-Tucson corridor. The region between the two cities is a major transportation trunk with settlements serving both highway and railway needs. There are also large mining operations, ranches, and agricultural oases. Both El Paso and Tucson have large military installations nearby; Fort Bliss and White Sands Missile Range north of El Paso in New Mexico, and, near Tucson,
1160-624: A modest home which in the 1960s cost $ 25,000 would cost half a million dollars or more in urban areas by 2005. More people commuted longer hours to afford a home in more rural areas while earning larger salaries in the urban areas. Speculators bought houses, expecting to make a huge profit in months, then rolling it over by buying more properties. Mortgage companies were compliant, as people assumed prices would keep rising. The bubble burst in 2007–8 as prices began to crash. Hundreds of billions in property values vanished and foreclosures soared, as financial institutions and investors were badly hurt. In
1305-463: A part of Mexico. In 1846, the total settler population of the western part of the old Alta California had been estimated to be no more than 8,000, plus about 100,000 Native Americans, down from about 300,000 before Hispanic settlement in 1769. In 1848, only one week before the official American annexation of the area, gold was discovered in California, this being an event which was to forever alter both
1450-573: A row by 14 strokes or more. Cactus Tour graduates include: American Southwest The Southwestern United States , also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest , is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico , along with adjacent portions of California , Colorado , Nevada , Oklahoma , Texas , and Utah . The largest cities by metropolitan area are Phoenix , Las Vegas , El Paso , Albuquerque , and Tucson . Before 1848, in
1595-522: A settlement in Arizona in 1599, but were turned back by inclement weather. In 1610, Santa Fe was founded, making it the oldest capital in United States. In 1664 Juan Archuleta led an expedition into what is now Colorado, becoming the first European to enter. A second Spanish expedition was led into Colorado by Juan Ulibarrí in 1706, during which he claimed the Colorado territory for Spain. From 1687 to 1691
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#17328485310801740-721: A short break in 1862 when legislative sessions were held in San Francisco due to flooding in Sacramento . Once the state's Constitutional Convention had finalized its state constitution, it applied to the U.S. Congress for admission to statehood . On September 9, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 , California became a free state and September 9 a state holiday . During the American Civil War (1861–1865), California sent gold shipments eastward to Washington in support of
1885-596: A state Constitutional Convention was first held in Monterey. Among the first tasks of the convention was a decision on a location for the new state capital. The first full legislative sessions were held in San Jose (1850–1851). Subsequent locations included Vallejo (1852–1853), and nearby Benicia (1853–1854); these locations eventually proved to be inadequate as well. The capital has been located in Sacramento since 1854 with only
2030-454: A sub-region of the South , which some consider southwestern in the general framework of the original application, meaning the "Western South." This is an area containing the basic elements of Southern history , culture , politics , religion , and linguistic and settlement patterns, yet blended with traits of the frontier West. While this particular Southwest is notably different in many ways from
2175-537: A third of Colorado, and small portions of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. Texas current borders were set in the Compromise of 1850 , where Texas ceded land to the federal government in exchange for $ 10 million, which would go to paying off the debt Texas had accumulated in its war with Mexico. Following the Mexican Cession, the lands of what had been the Mexican territory of Alta California were in flux: portions of what
2320-427: A winner-take-all exhibition event, in which four of the Cactus Tour's top money winners of the year competed for a $ 10,000 prize. The club put up the prize; the four would play a single round of 18 holes and the low scorer would take the prize. Brittany Yada , Haley Moore , Mina Harigae , and Savannah Vilaubi competed, and it was won by Haley Moore. 2020 was the fourth year that Longbow Golf Club had participated in
2465-600: Is Sacramento . The state's diverse geography ranges from the Pacific Coast and metropolitan areas in the west to the Sierra Nevada mountains in the east, and from the redwood and Douglas fir forests in the northwest to the Mojave Desert in the southeast. Two-thirds of the nation's earthquake risk lies in California. The Central Valley , a fertile agricultural area, dominates the state's center. The large size of
2610-791: Is bordered to the south by the Mogollon Rim and the Sonoran Desert, to the west by the Mojave Desert, and to the east by the Rocky Mountains , the Rio Grande Rift valley, and the Llano Estacado . The Plateau is characterized by a series of plateaus and mesas, interspersed with canyons. The most dramatic example is the Grand Canyon . But that is one of many dramatic vistas included within
2755-529: Is now New Mexico were claimed, but never controlled, by Texas. With the Compromise of 1850, the states of Texas and California were created (Texas as a slave state, and California as a free state), as well as the Utah Territory and New Mexico Territory . The New Mexico Territory consisted of most of Arizona and New Mexico (excluding a strip along their southern borders), a small section of southern Colorado, and
2900-680: Is the saguaro cactus , which is unique to the desert. It is bounded on the northwest by the Mojave Desert, to the north by the Colorado Plateau and to the east by the Arizona Mountains forests and the Chihuahuan Desert. Aside from the trademark saguaro, the desert has the most diverse plant life of any desert in the world, and includes many other species of cacti, including the organ-pipe, senita, prickly pear, barrel, fishhook, hedgehog, cholla, silver dollar, and jojoba. The portion of
3045-517: Is the home of Hollywood , the oldest and one of the largest film industries in the world, profoundly influencing global entertainment. The San Francisco Bay and the Greater Los Angeles areas are seen as the centers of the global technology and U.S. film industries, respectively. The Spaniards gave the name Las Californias to the peninsula of Baja California (in modern-day Mexico). As Spanish explorers and settlers moved north and inland,
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#17328485310803190-405: Is the smallest, driest and hottest desert within the United States. The Mojave gets less than 6 in (150 mm) of rain annually, and its elevation ranges from 3,000 to 6,000 feet (900 to 1,800 meters) above sea level. The most prolific vegetation is the tall Joshua tree , which grow as tall as 40 ft (12 m), and are thought to live almost 1000 years. Other major vegetation includes
3335-690: The Ancestral Pueblo people , the Hohokam , and the Mogollon , all of which existed among other surrounding cultures including the Patayan . Maize began to be cultivated in the region sometime during the early first millennium BC, but it took several hundred years for the native cultures to be dependent on it as a food source. As their dependence on maize grew, Pre-Columbian Indians began developing irrigation systems around 600 CE . According to archeological finds,
3480-599: The Arizona Organic Act , which officially created the U.S. Territory of Arizona , splitting the New Mexico Territory at the 107th meridian. Utah, as shown above, evolved out of the Utah Territory, as pieces of the original territory created in 1850 were carved out: parts were ceded to Nevada, Wyoming, and Colorado in 1861; another section to Nevada in 1862; and the final section to Nevada in 1866. In 1890,
3625-500: The Battle of Providencia near Los Angeles, he convinced each side that they had no reason to be fighting each other. As a result of Marsh's actions, they abandoned the fight, Micheltorena was defeated, and California-born Pio Pico was returned to the governorship. This paved the way to California's ultimate acquisition by the United States. In 1846, a group of American settlers in and around Sonoma rebelled against Mexican rule during
3770-631: The Bear Flag Revolt . Afterward, rebels raised the Bear Flag (featuring a bear, a star, a red stripe and the words "California Republic") at Sonoma. The Republic's only president was William B. Ide , who played a pivotal role during the Bear Flag Revolt. This revolt by American settlers served as a prelude to the later American military invasion of California and was closely coordinated with nearby American military commanders. The California Republic
3915-610: The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Its scheduled events continued, although a number of COVID prevention policies were put in place. There was praise and criticism for this. In fact the tour added events, and the year ended with the Cactus Tour having held 38 events, in contrast to the Epson Tour having held 10 before it shut down. In December 2020, after the tour concluded, the Longbow Golf Club and its general manager Bob McNichols organized
4060-695: The California Master Plan for Higher Education in 1960 to develop an efficient system of public education. Meanwhile, attracted to the mild Mediterranean climate, cheap land, and the state's variety of geography, filmmakers established the studio system in Hollywood in the 1920s. California manufactured 9% of US armaments produced during World War II , ranking third behind New York and Michigan . California easily ranked first in production of military ships at drydock facilities in San Diego, Los Angeles, and
4205-538: The Davis-Monthan Air Force Base . About 70 miles (110 km) to the southeast are the research facilities at Fort Huachuca . These military installations form a kind of hinterland around the El Paso-Tucson region, and are served by scientific and residential communities such as Sierra Vista , Las Cruces , and Alamogordo . El Paso's influence extends north into the Mesilla Valley , and southeast along
4350-529: The Epson Tour , formerly the "Futures Tour" and then the "Symetra Tour", which in 1999 became the official development tour for the LPGA. There are no connections like the automatic qualifying for the LPGA Tour by those finishing high on the Epson Tour's money list for a season. Tour membership is open to professional and amateur women golfers. Minimum age for participation is 12, lower than the age 17 requirement for
4495-579: The Gadsden Purchase in 1853. In 1851, San Luis became the first European settlement in what is now Colorado. Of the states of which at least a portion make up the Southwest, Texas was the first to achieve statehood. On December 29, 1845, the Republic of Texas was annexed, bypassing the status of becoming a territory, and immediately became a state. Initially, its borders included parts of what would become several other states: almost half of New Mexico,
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4640-504: The Graham Affair , which was resolved in part with the intercession of Royal Navy officials. One of the largest ranchers in California was John Marsh . After failing to obtain justice against squatters on his land from the Mexican courts, he determined that California should become part of the United States. Marsh conducted a letter-writing campaign espousing the California climate, the soil, and other reasons to settle there, as well as
4785-541: The Indigenous people of California had not yet developed a natural immunity. Under its new American administration, California's first governor Peter Hardeman Burnett instituted policies that have been described as a state-sanctioned policy of elimination of California's indigenous people. Burnett announced in 1851 in his Second Annual Message to the Legislature: "That a war of extermination will continue to be waged between
4930-554: The Mexican state of Baja California to the south. With nearly 39 million residents across an area of 163,696 square miles (423,970 km ), it is the most populous U.S. state, the third-largest by area, and most populated subnational entity in North America . Prior to European colonization , California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America . European exploration in
5075-658: The Narváez expedition (1528–36) who had crossed eastern Texas on their way to Mexico City, led an expedition to discover the Seven Golden Cities of Cíbola. The 1582–3 expedition of Antonio de Espejo explored New Mexico and eastern Arizona; and this led to Juan de Oñate 's establishment of the Spanish province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México in 1598, with a capital founded near Ohkay Oweenge Pueblo , which he called San Juan de los Caballeros. Oñate's party also attempted to establish
5220-518: The Phoenix metropolitan area . The city of Phoenix is the largest urban center, and located in the approximate center of the area that includes Tempe , Mesa , and many others. Meinig calls the third subregion "El Paso, Tucson, and the Southern Borderlands." While El Paso and Tucson are distinctly different cities, they serve as anchor points to the hinterland between them. Tucson occupies
5365-552: The Presidio of San Diego , the first religious and military settlements founded by the Spanish in California. By the end of the expedition in 1770, they would establish the Presidio of Monterey and Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo on Monterey Bay. After the Portolà expedition, Spanish missionaries led by Father-President Serra set out to establish 21 Spanish missions of California along El Camino Real ("The Royal Road") and along
5510-745: The Route 66 . From 1900 to 1965, the population grew from fewer than one million to the greatest in the Union. In 1940, the Census Bureau reported California's population as 6% Hispanic, 2.4% Asian, and 90% non-Hispanic white. To meet the population's needs, engineering feats like the California and Los Angeles Aqueducts ; the Oroville and Shasta Dams ; and the Bay and Golden Gate Bridges were built. The state government adopted
5655-536: The San Luis Valley of southern Colorado to south of Socorro and including the Sandia-Manzano Mountains , with an east–west breadth in the north stretching from the upper Canadian River to the upper San Juan River . The area around Albuquerque is sometimes called Central New Mexico . "Central Arizona" is a vast metropolitan area spread across one contiguous sprawling oasis, essentially equivalent to
5800-518: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (February 2, 1848) that ended the war, the westernmost portion of the annexed Mexican territory of Alta California soon became the American state of California, and the remainder of the old territory was then subdivided into the new American Territories of Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Utah . The even more lightly populated and arid lower region of old Baja California remained as
5945-653: The coast of California were the members of a Spanish maritime expedition led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo in 1542. Cabrillo was commissioned by Antonio de Mendoza , the Viceroy of New Spain , to lead an expedition up the Pacific coast in search of trade opportunities; they entered San Diego Bay on September 28, 1542, and reached at least as far north as San Miguel Island . Privateer and explorer Francis Drake explored and claimed an undefined portion of
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6090-636: The core Southwestern U.S. includes only the states of Arizona and New Mexico; others focus on the land within the old Spanish and Mexican borders of the Nuevo México Province or the later American New Mexico Territory . Distinct elements of the Western lifestyle thrive in the region, such as Western wear and Southwestern cuisines , including Native American , New Mexican , and Tex-Mex , or various genres of Western music like Indigenous , New Mexico , and Tejano music styles. Likewise with
6235-537: The 16th and 17th centuries led to the colonization by the Spanish Empire . 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 California gold rush started in 1848 and led to social and demographic changes, including depopulation of Indigenous tribes. The western portion of Alta California
6380-513: The 18th century. The Portolá expedition of 1769–70 was a pivotal event in the Spanish colonization of California, resulting in the establishment of numerous missions, presidios , and pueblos . The military and civil contingent of the expedition was led by Gaspar de Portolá , who traveled over land from Sonora into California, while the religious component was headed by Junípero Serra , who came by sea from Baja California . In 1769, Portolá and Serra established Mission San Diego de Alcalá and
6525-537: The 1930s and 1940s, many definitions of the Southwest included all or part of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Colorado, and Utah. As time has gone on, the definition of the Southwest has become more solidified and more compact. For example, in 1948 the National Geographic Society defined the American Southwest as all of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico, and
6670-482: The 1992 Rodney King riots. California was the hub of the Black Panther Party , known for arming African Americans to defend against racial injustice. Mexican, Filipino, and other migrant farm workers rallied in the state around Cesar Chavez for better pay in the 1960s and 70s. During the 20th century, two great disasters happened: the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and 1928 St. Francis Dam flood remain
6815-403: The 21st century, droughts and frequent wildfires attributed to climate change have occurred. From 2011 to 2017, a persistent drought was the worst in its recorded history. The 2018 wildfire season was the state's deadliest and most destructive. One of the first confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States occurred in California on January 26, 2020. A state of emergency was declared in
6960-477: The American Southwest as parts of Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. From this perspective, almost all of the region's physiographical traits, geological formations, and weather are contained within a box between 26° and 38° northern latitude, and 98° 30' and 124° western longitude. When looking at the fauna of the region, there is a broader definition of the American Southwest. The Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research defines
7105-404: The Ancestral Pueblo people, also known as the "Anasazi" (although that term is viewed by modern Pueblo people as derogatory and is becoming more and more disused), began settling in the area in approximately 1500 BC. Eventually, they would spread throughout the entire northern section of the Southwest. This culture would go through several different eras lasting from approximately 1500 BC through
7250-441: The Ancestral Puebloans, while the Akimel O'odham and Tohono O'odham claim descent from Hohokam. The area previously occupied by the Mogollon was taken over by an unrelated tribe, the Apache . While it is unclear whether any of the modern Indian tribes are descended from the Mogollon, some archeologists and historians believe that they mixed with Ancestral Puebloans and became part of the modern Hopi and Zuni tribes. Prior to
7395-451: The California coast in 1579, landing north of the future city of San Francisco . The first Asians to set foot on what would be the United States occurred in 1587, when Filipino sailors arrived in Spanish ships at Morro Bay . Coincidentally the descendants of the Muslim Caliph Hasan ibn Ali in formerly Islamic Manila and had converted, then mixed Christianity with Islam, upon Spanish conquest, transited through California (Named after
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#17328485310807540-473: The California coast, 16 sites of which having been chosen during the Portolá expedition. Numerous major cities in California grew out of missions, including San Francisco ( Mission San Francisco de Asís ), San Diego ( Mission San Diego de Alcalá ), Ventura ( Mission San Buenaventura ), or Santa Barbara ( Mission Santa Barbara ), among others. Juan Bautista de Anza led a similarly important expedition throughout California in 1775–76, which would extend deeper into
7685-480: The California government in 2022. These groups were also diverse in their political organization, with bands, tribes, villages, and, on the resource-rich coasts, large chiefdoms , such as the Chumash , Pomo and Salinan . Trade, intermarriage, craft specialists, and military alliances fostered social and economic relationships between many groups. Although nations would sometimes war, most armed conflicts were between groups of men for vengeance . Acquiring territory
7830-443: The California state government paid around 1.5 million dollars (some 250,000 of which was reimbursed by the federal government) to hire militias with the stated purpose of protecting settlers, however these militias perpetrated numerous massacres of indigenous people. Indigenous people were also forcibly moved to reservations and rancherias, which were often small and isolated and without enough natural resources or funding from
7975-545: The Canyonlands section just to its north; the Navajo section is bordered to the south by the Grand Canyon section, which of course is dominated by the Grand Canyon; and the southeasternmost portion of the Plateau is the Datil section, consisting of valleys, mesas, and volcanic formations. Albuquerque is the most populous city often considered at the edge of this portion contained in the Southwest region, but Santa Fe, New Mexico and Flagstaff, Arizona, are also significant population centers. Phoenix , Tucson, and Las Vegas dominate
8120-541: The City of Tucson was founded when the Presidio San Augustin del Tucson was created, relocating the presidio from Tubac. In 1776, two Franciscan priests, Francisco Atanasio Domínguez and Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, led an expedition from Santa Fe heading to California. After passing through Colorado, they became the first Europeans to travel into what is now Utah. Their journey was halted by bad weather in October, and they turned back, heading south into Arizona before turning east back to Santa Fe. In 1804 Spain divided
8265-415: The Epson Tour. The tour is operated by Mike Brown. Around 2010, Brown "purchased the rights to the Cactus Tour and [around 2019 was] staging about 30 events a year at desert locales in Arizona, California and Nevada." In 2022, the entry fees are $ 595 for pros and $ 295 for amateurs (with discount taken at checkout). In 2019, prize purses ranged from a high $ 28,515 purse and a first prize of $ 4,000, down to
8410-411: The Exploration of the Columbia River of the West and Its Tributaries , which was later republished as The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons . In 1877 silver was discovered in southeastern Arizona. The notorious mining town of Tombstone, Arizona was born to service the miners. The town would become immortalized as the scene of what is considered the greatest gunfight in the history of
8555-423: The Jesuit priest Eusebio Kino established several missions in the Santa Cruz River valley; and Kino further explored southern and central Arizona in 1694, during which he discovered the ruins of Casa Grande. Beginning in 1732, Spanish settlers began to enter the region, and the Spanish started bestowing land grants in Mexico and the Southwest US. In 1751, the O'odham rebelled against the Spanish incursions, but
8700-437: The LDS church issued the 1890 Manifesto , which officially banned polygamy for members of the church. It was the last roadblock for Utah entering the Union, and on January 4, 1896, Utah was officially granted statehood, becoming the 45th state. In 1869, John Wesley Powell led a 3-month expedition which explored the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River. In 1875, he would publish a book describing his explorations, Report of
8845-601: The Mojave Desert. Bordered on the south by the Sonoran Desert and the east by the Colorado Plateau, its range within the region makes up the southeast tip of Nevada, the southwestern corner of Utah and the northwestern corner of Arizona. In terms of topography, the Mojave is very similar to the Great Basin Desert, which lies just to its north. Within the region, Las Vegas is the most populous city; other significant population centers include Laughlin and Pahrump in Nevada, St. George and Hurricane in Utah, and Lake Havasu City , Kingman , and Bullhead City in Arizona. The Mojave
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#17328485310808990-434: The Mojave and Colorado deserts in California. Other individuals who focus on Southwest studies who favored a more limited extent of the area to center on Arizona and New Mexico, with small parts of surrounding areas, include Erna Fergusson , Charles Lummis (who claimed to have coined the term, the Southwest), and cultural geographer Raymond Gastil , and ethnologist Miguel León-Portilla . Geographer D. W. Meinig defines
9135-429: The Native American (especially Apache , Pueblo , and Navajo ), Hispano , Mexican American , and frontier cowboy . The geography of the region is mainly made up of four features: the Mojave , Sonoran , and Chihuahuan Deserts , and the Colorado Plateau ; although there are other geographical features as well, such as a portion of the Great Basin Desert . The deserts dominate the southern and western reaches of
9280-427: The Old West, the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral . Copper was also discovered in 1877, near Bisbee and Jerome in Arizona, which became an important component of the economy of the Southwest. Production began in 1880 and was made more profitable by the expansion of the railroad throughout the territory during the 1880s. The early 1880s also saw the completion of the second transcontinental railroad, which ran through
9425-406: The Parry saltbush and the Mojave sage, both only found in the Mojave, as well as the creosote bush. The Colorado Plateau varies from the large stands of forests in the west, including the largest stand of ponderosa pine trees in the world, to the Mesas to the east. Although not called a desert, the Colorado Plateau is mostly made up of high desert. Within the Southwest U.S. region, the Colorado
9570-471: The Pecos, north of the [Mexican] Border, south of the Mesa Verde and the Grand Canyon, and east of the mountains which wall off Southern California and make it a land in itself." Texas has long been the focal point of this dichotomy, and is often considered, as such, the core area of "the South's Southwest." While the Trans-Pecos area is generally acknowledged as part of the desert Southwest , most of Texas and large parts of Oklahoma are often placed into
9715-466: The Plateau, which includes spectacular lava formations, "painted" deserts, sand dunes, and badlands. One of the most distinctive features of the Plateau is its longevity, having come into existence at least 500 million years ago. The Plateau can be divided into six sections, three of which fall into the Southwest region. Beginning with the Navajo section forming the northern boundary of the Southwestern United States, which has shallower canyons than those in
9860-427: The Provincia de las Californias, creating the province Alta California , which consisted primarily of what would become California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. In 1821 Mexico achieved its independence from Spain and shortly after, in 1824, developed its constitution , which established the Alta California territory, which was the same geographic area as the earlier Spanish province. In 1825, Arizona
10005-404: The Rio Grande into the Trans-Pecos region of Texas. The fourth subregion Meinig calls the "Northern Corridor and Navajolands," a major highway and railway trunk which connects Albuquerque and Flagstaff . Just north of the transportation trunk are large blocks of American Indian land. As the US expanded westward , the country's western border also shifted westward, and consequently, so did
10150-494: The San Francisco Bay Area. Due to the hiring opportunities California offered during the conflict, the population multiplied from the immigration it received due to the work in its war factories, military bases, and training facilities. After World War II, California's economy expanded due to strong aerospace and defense industries, whose size decreased following the end of the Cold War . Stanford University began encouraging faculty and graduates to stay instead of leaving
10295-411: The Sonora Desert which lies in the Southwestern United States is the most populated area within the region. Six of the top ten major population centers of the region are found within its borders: Phoenix, Tucson , Mesa , Chandler , Glendale , and Scottsdale , all in Arizona. Also within its borders are Yuma and Prescott, Arizona . The most northwest portion of the American Southwest is covered by
10440-454: The Sonoran Desert to the west. The Chihuahuan Desert spreads across the southeastern portion of the region, covering from southeastern Arizona, across southern New Mexico, and the portion of western Texas included in the Southwest. While it is the second largest desert in the United States, only a third of the desert is within the United States, with the rest in Mexico. El Paso and Albuquerque are
10585-410: The Southwest as being only the states of Arizona, New Mexico, with parts of California, Nevada, Texas, and Utah; although they include all of those six states in their map of the region, solely for ease of defining the border. Lawrence Clark Powell, a major bibliographer whose emphasis is on the Southwest, defined the American Southwest in a 1958 Arizona Highways article as, "the lands lying west of
10730-477: The Southwest became embroiled in the Mexican–American War , partly as a result of the United States' annexation of Texas. On August 18, 1846, an American force captured Santa Fe, New Mexico. On December 16 of the same year, American forces captured Tucson, Arizona, marking the end of hostilities in the Southwest United States. When the war ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on February 2, 1848,
10875-501: The Southwest began to decline for unknown reasons, although severe drought and encroachment from other peoples have been postulated. By the end of the 15th century, all three cultures had disappeared. The modern Puebloan tribes of the Isleta , Sandia , Cochiti , Kewa , Santa Ana , Taos , Jemez , Acoma , Laguna , and Zia , as well as the Hopi and Zuni peoples , trace their ancestry back to
11020-591: The Southwest in a very similar fashion to Reed: the portion of New Mexico west of the Llano Estacado and the portion of Arizona east of the Mojave - Sonoran Desert and south of the "canyon lands" and also including the El Paso district of western Texas and the southernmost part of Colorado. Meinig breaks the Southwest down into four distinct subregions. He calls the first subregion " Northern New Mexico ," and describes it as focused on Albuquerque and Santa Fe . It extends from
11165-548: The Southwest. Around AD 1100 their culture began to develop in the Four Corners area of the region. The Navajos migrated from northwestern Canada and eastern Alaska , where the majority of Athabaskan speakers reside. The Ute were found over most of modern-day Utah and Colorado, as well as northern New Mexico and Arizona. The Paiutes roamed an area which covered over 45,000 square miles of southern Nevada and California, south-central Utah, and northern Arizona. The Hopi settled
11310-490: The U.S. Army. In the 20th century, thousands of Japanese people migrated to California. The state in 1913 passed the Alien Land Act , excluding Asian immigrants from owning land. During World War II, Japanese Americans in California were interned in concentration camps; in 2020, California apologized. Migration to California accelerated during the early 20th century with the completion of transcontinental highways like
11455-454: The Union . However, due to the existence of a large contingent of pro-South sympathizers within the state, the state was not able to muster any full military regiments to send eastwards to officially serve in the Union war effort. Still, several smaller military units within the Union army, such as the "California 100 Company" , were unofficially associated with the state of California due to a majority of their members being from California. At
11600-515: The United States gained control of all of present-day California, Nevada and Utah, as well as the majority of Arizona, and parts of New Mexico and Colorado (the rest of present-day Colorado, and most of New Mexico had been gained by the United States in their annexation of the Republic of Texas). The final portion of the Southwestern United States came about through the acquisition of the southernmost parts of Arizona and New Mexico through
11745-667: The ancestral Puebloans. The modern-day Zuni established a culture along the Zuni River in far-eastern Arizona and western New Mexico. Both major tribes of the O'odham tribe settled in the southern and central Arizona, in the lands once controlled by their ancestors, the Hohokam. The first European intrusion into the region came from the south. In 1539, a Jesuit Franciscan named Marcos de Niza led an expedition from Mexico City which passed through eastern Arizona. The following year Francisco Vázquez de Coronado , based on reports from survivors of
11890-613: The area, namely the Animas , San Andres , and Doña Ana Mountains in New Mexico; and the Franklin , Hueco , and Davis Mountains in Texas. It also reaches up into the foothills of the higher ranges such as the Black Range and Oscura Mountains in New Mexico. High above the desert, these forest-covered and sometimes snow-capped mountains form sky islands , with radically different flora and fauna than
12035-570: The area, while the plateau (which is largely made up of high desert) is the main feature north of the Mogollon Rim . The two major rivers of the region are the Colorado River , running in the northern and western areas, and the Rio Grande , running in the east, north to south. Formed approximately 8000 years ago, the Chihuahuan Desert is a relatively dry desert, although it is slightly wetter than
12180-481: The area. The Chihuahuan Desert is considered the "most biologically diverse desert in the Western Hemisphere and one of the most diverse in the world," and includes more species of cacti than any other desert in the world. The most prolific plants in this region are agave , yucca and creosote bushes , in addition to the ubiquitous presence of various cacti species. When people think of the desert southwest,
12325-498: The arrival of Europeans, the Southwestern United States was inhabited by a very large population of American Indian tribes. The area once occupied by the ancestral Puebloans became inhabited by several American Indian tribes, the most populous of which were the Navajo , Ute , Southern Paiute , and Hopi. The Navajo, along with the Hopi, were the earliest of the modern Indian tribes to develop in
12470-454: The best land in the state, were secularized by 1834 and became the property of the Mexican government. The governor granted many square leagues of land to others with political influence. These huge ranchos or cattle ranches emerged as the dominant institutions of Mexican California. The ranchos developed under ownership by Californios (Hispanics native of California) who traded cowhides and tallow with Boston merchants. Beef did not become
12615-464: The best route to follow, which became known as "Marsh's route". His letters were read, reread, passed around, and printed in newspapers throughout the country, and started the first wagon trains rolling to California. After ushering in the period of organized emigration to California, Marsh became involved in a military battle between the much-hated Mexican general, Manuel Micheltorena and the California governor he had replaced, Juan Bautista Alvarado. At
12760-560: The classic "Old South" or Southeast , these features are strong enough to give it a separate southwestern identity quite different in nature from that of the interior southwestern states to the west. California California is a state in the Western United States , lying on the American Pacific Coast . It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares an international border with
12905-570: The command of Lt. Colonel John Robert Baylor forced the surrender of the small Union garrison stationed at Fort Fillmore , near Mesilla, New Mexico . On August 1, 1861, Baylor declared the creation of the Arizona Territory , and claimed it for the Confederacy, with Mesilla as its capital. The territory, which had been formed by the portion of the existing New Mexico Territory below the 34th parallel, became official on February 14, 1862. Nevada
13050-536: The conquest include the Battle of San Pasqual and the Battle of Dominguez Rancho in Southern California, as well as the Battle of Olómpali and the Battle of Santa Clara in Northern California. After a series of defensive battles in the south, the Treaty of Cahuenga was signed by the Californios on January 13, 1847, securing a censure and establishing de facto American control in California. Following
13195-535: The deadliest in U.S. history. Although air pollution has been reduced, health problems associated with pollution continue. Brown haze known as " smog " has been substantially abated after federal and state restrictions on automobile exhaust. An energy crisis in 2001 led to rolling blackouts , soaring power rates, and the importation of electricity from neighboring states. Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric Company came under heavy criticism. Housing prices in urban areas continued to increase;
13340-530: The establishment of Alta Ski Area , Utah's skiing began to be developed. Due to the ski conditions in the state, during WWII, the 10th Mountain Division established Camp Hale in Colorado to train elite ski troops. While this article deals with the core definition for the American Southwest, there are many others. The various definitions can be broken down into four main categories: Historical/Archeological; Geological/Topographical; Ecological; and Cultural. In
13485-618: The government to adequately sustain the populations living on them. As a result, settler colonialism was a calamity for indigenous people. Several scholars and Native American activists, including Benjamin Madley and Ed Castillo , have described the actions of the California government as a genocide , as well as the 40th governor of California Gavin Newsom . Benjamin Madley estimates that from 1846 to 1873, between 9,492 and 16,092 indigenous people were killed, including between 1,680 and 3,741 killed by
13630-650: The heart of the Southwest, called the "Santa Fe Route." It ran from Chicago, down through Topeka, then further south to Albuquerque, before heading almost due west through northern Arizona to Los Angeles. The repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in 1893 led to the decline of the silver mining industry in the region. In 1901, the Santa Fe Railroad reached the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, opening
13775-456: The highest output of any U.S. state, and is led by its dairy , almonds , and grapes . With the busiest port in the country ( Los Angeles ), California plays a pivotal role in the global supply chain, hauling in about 40% of goods imported to the US. Notable contributions to popular culture , ranging from entertainment , sports , music , and fashion , have their origins in California. California
13920-428: The historical region of Santa Fe de Nuevo México as well as parts of Alta California and Coahuila y Tejas , settlement was almost non-existent outside of Nuevo México's Pueblos and Spanish or Mexican municipalities . Much of the area had been a part of New Spain and Mexico until the United States acquired the area through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 and the smaller Gadsden Purchase in 1854. While
14065-410: The indigenous peoples developed complex forms of ecosystem management, including forest gardening to ensure the regular availability of food and medicinal plants . This was a form of sustainable agriculture . To mitigate destructive large wildfires from ravaging the natural environment, indigenous peoples developed a practice of controlled burning . This practice was recognized for its benefits by
14210-556: The interior and north of California. The Anza expedition selected numerous sites for missions, presidios, and pueblos, which subsequently would be established by settlers. Gabriel Moraga , a member of the expedition, would also christen many of California's prominent rivers with their names in 1775–1776, such as the Sacramento River and the San Joaquin River . After the expedition, Gabriel's son, José Joaquín Moraga , would found
14355-699: The lands of the central and western portions of northern Arizona. Their village of Oraibi , settled in approximately AD 1100, is, along with Acoma Sky City in New Mexico, one of the oldest continuously occupied settlements in the United States. The Mogollon area became occupied by the Apaches and the Zuni. The Apache migrated into the American Southwest from the northern areas of North America at some point between 1200 and 1500. They settled throughout New Mexico, eastern Arizona, northern Mexico, parts of western Texas, and southern Colorado. The Zuni count their direct ancestry through
14500-413: The landscape of the Sonoran Desert is what mostly comes to mind. The Sonoran Desert makes up the southwestern portion of the Southwest; most of the desert lies in Mexico, but its United States component lies on the southeastern border of California, and the western 2/3 of southern Arizona. Rainfall averages between 4 and 12 in (100 and 300 mm) per year, and the desert's most widely known inhabitant
14645-524: The largest dam removal and river restoration project in US history was announced for the Klamath River , as a win for California tribes. Covering an area of 163,696 sq mi (423,970 km ), California is the third-largest state in the United States in area, after Alaska and Texas . California is one of the most geographically diverse states in the union and is often geographically bisected into two regions, Southern California , comprising
14790-407: The last of the 48 contiguous United States on February 14, 1912. The 1930s saw the beginning of the ski industry in the Southwest. Resorts were established in Colorado in areas such as Estes Park , Gunnison , and on Loveland Pass . New Mexico's oldest ski area is Sandia Peak Ski Area at the eastern edge of Albuquerque , which opened to skiers in 1936. At the end of the decade, in 1939, with
14935-694: The location of the Southwestern and Northwestern United States . In the early years of the United States, newly colonized lands lying immediately west of the Appalachian Mountains were detached from North Carolina and given the name Southwest Territory . During the decades that followed, the region known as "the Southwestern United States" covered much of the Deep South east of the Mississippi River. However, as territories and eventual states to
15080-465: The lowest purse of $ 2,700 with first prize $ 1,800. In 2020, purses were "decidedly mini—usually $ 2,000 to $ 3,000 to the winner of a 54-hole tournament, with about half the players in pro field getting at least their $ 577 entry fee back." The Outlaw Tour, also in the Phoenix area, is the equivalent tour for men golfers. The Cactus Tour was "founded in 2005 for women professionals with the charter 'to present
15225-645: The major US cities in this desert, with other smaller cities being Las Cruces and Roswell in New Mexico and Willcox in Arizona. The elevation in the Chihuahuan varies from about 1,750 to 6,000 feet (500 to 1,800 meters), as there are several larger mountain ranges, such as the Organ Mountains , the Guadalupe Mountains , and the Chiracahua Mountains , plus many smaller mountain ranges contained in
15370-689: The middle of the 15th century AD: the Basketmaker I , II , and III phases followed by the Pueblo I , II , III , and IV . As the Puebloans transitioned from a nomadic lifestyle to one based on both dry land and irrigated agriculture, their first domiciles were pithouses. The Mogollon culture developed later than the Puebloan, arising in the eastern area of the region at around 300 BC. Their range would eventually extend deep into what would become Mexico, and dominate
15515-788: The middle of the state lies the California Central Valley , bounded by the Sierra Nevada in the east, the coastal mountain ranges in the west, the Cascade Range to the north and by the Tehachapi Mountains in the south. The Central Valley is California's productive agricultural heartland. Divided in two by the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta , the northern portion, the Sacramento Valley serves as
15660-414: The population of San Francisco increased from 500 to 150,000. The seat of government for California under Spanish and later Mexican rule had been located in Monterey from 1777 until 1845. Pio Pico, the last Mexican governor of Alta California, had briefly moved the capital to Los Angeles in 1845. The United States consulate had also been located in Monterey, under consul Thomas O. Larkin . In 1849,
15805-710: The pueblo of San Jose in 1777, making it the first civilian-established city in California. During this same period, sailors from the Russian Empire explored along the northern coast of California. In 1812, the Russian-American Company established a trading post and small fortification at Fort Ross on the North Coast . Fort Ross was primarily used to supply Russia's Alaskan colonies with food supplies. The settlement did not meet much success, failing to attract settlers or establish long term trade viability, and
15950-465: The races until the Indian race becomes extinct must be expected. While we cannot anticipate the result with but painful regret, the inevitable destiny of the race is beyond the power and wisdom of man to avert." As in other American states, indigenous peoples were forcibly removed from their lands by American settlers , like miners, ranchers, and farmers. Although California had entered the American union as
16095-403: The region known as California , or Las Californias , grew. Eventually it included lands north of the peninsula, Alta California , part of which became the present-day U.S. state of California. A 2017 state legislative document states, "Numerous theories exist as to the origin and meaning of the word 'California, ' " and that all anyone knows is the name was added to a map by 1541 "presumably by
16240-499: The region's boundaries are not officially defined, there have been attempts to do so. One such definition is from the Mojave Desert in California in the west (117° west longitude) to Carlsbad, New Mexico , in the east (104° west longitude); another says that it extends from the Mexico–United States border in the south to the southern areas of Colorado, Utah, and Nevada in the north (39° north latitude). In another definition,
16385-527: The revolt was unsuccessful. In fact, it had the exact opposite effect, for the result of the rebellion was the establishment of the presidio at Tubac , the first permanent European settlement in Arizona. In 1768, the Spanish created the Provincia de las Californias , which included California and the Southwest US. Over approximately the next 50 years, the Spanish continued to explore the Southwest, and in 1776
16530-402: The sought-after Southwestern architectural styles in the region inspired by blending Pueblo and Territorial styles, with Mediterranean Revival , Spanish Colonial architecture , Mission Revival architecture , Pueblo Deco , and Ranch-style houses in the form of the amalgamated Pueblo Revival and Territorial Revival architectures. This is due to the region's caballero heritage of
16675-460: The south the 37th parallel . In 1862 Nevada's eastern border shifted to the 38th meridian west from Washington , and finally to its current position at the 37th meridian west from Washington in 1866. The boundary modification in 1866 also included adding the southern triangular tip of the present-day state, taken from the Arizona Territory. From July 24–27, 1861 a Confederate force under
16820-402: The southeastern portion of the Southwest. Their settlements would evolve over time from pit-dwellings through pueblos and finally also incorporating cliff-dwellings. The Hohokam were the last of these ancestral cultures to develop, somewhere around AD 1, but they would grow to be the most populous of the three by AD 1300, despite being the smallest of the three in terms of area, covering most of
16965-487: The southernmost sections of Oregon, Idaho, and Wyoming, as well as parts of southwest Nebraska, western Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. By 1977, the Society's definition had narrowed to only the four states of Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico; and by 1982 the portion of the Southwest in the United States, as defined by the Society, had shrunk to Arizona and New Mexico, with the southernmost strip of Utah and Colorado, as well as
17110-512: The southwest portion. Beginning in approximately AD 600, the Hohokam began to develop an extensive series of irrigation canals; of the three major cultures in the Southwest, only the Ancestral Puebloans of the Chaco culture and the Hohokam developed irrigation as a means of watering their agriculture. Not long after the Hohokam reached the height of their culture, all three major cultures in
17255-644: The state as part of the Gold Rush or to seek work. Even though the Chinese proved indispensable in building the transcontinental railroad from California to Utah, perceived job competition with the Chinese led to anti-Chinese riots in the state, and eventually the US ended migration from China partially as a response to pressure from California with the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act . Under earlier Spanish and Mexican rule, California's original native population had precipitously declined, above all, from Eurasian diseases to which
17400-511: The state on March 4, 2020, and remained in effect until Governor Gavin Newsom ended it in February 2023. A mandatory statewide stay-at-home order was issued on March 19, 2020, which was ended in January 2021. Cultural and language revitalization efforts among indigenous Californians have progressed among tribes as of 2022. Some land returns to indigenous stewardship have occurred. In 2022,
17545-430: 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 . Droughts and wildfires are an ongoing issue. California's economy is the largest of any U.S. state, with a $ 4.0 trillion gross state product as of 2024 . It is the largest sub-national economy in the world. California's agricultural industry has
17690-515: The state's demographics and its finances. Soon afterward, a massive influx of immigration into the area resulted, as prospectors and miners arrived by the thousands. The population burgeoned with United States citizens, Europeans, Middle Easterns, Chinese and other immigrants during the great California gold rush . By the time of California's application for statehood in 1850, the settler population of California had multiplied to 100,000. By 1854, more than 300,000 settlers had come. Between 1847 and 1870,
17835-522: The state's name include CA, Cal., Calif., Califas , and US-CA . California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America . Historians generally agree that there were at least 300,000 people living in California prior to European colonization. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct ethnic groups , inhabiting environments ranging from mountains and deserts to islands and redwood forests. Living in these diverse geographic areas,
17980-614: The state, and develop a high-tech region, now known as Silicon Valley . As a result of this, California is a world center of the entertainment and music industries, of technology, engineering, and the aerospace industry, and as the US center of agricultural production. Just before the Dot Com Bust , California had the fifth-largest economy in the world. In the mid and late twentieth century, race-related incidents occurred. Tensions between police and African Americans, combined with unemployment and poverty in inner cities, led to riots, such as
18125-591: The surrounding desert below. The sky islands also supply the surrounding desert foothills with flowing water during the spring runoff and after the summer storms of the New Mexican monsoon season . The Chihuahuan is a "rain shadow" desert, formed between two mountain ranges (the Sierra Madre Occidental on the west and the Sierra Madre Oriental on the east) which block oceanic precipitation from reaching
18270-504: The ten southernmost counties, and Northern California , comprising the 48 northernmost counties. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east and northeast, Arizona to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the south (with which it makes up part of The Californias region of North America , alongside Baja California Sur ). In
18415-407: The time of California's admission into the Union, travel between California and the rest of the continental United States had been a time-consuming and dangerous feat. Nineteen years later, and seven years after it was greenlighted by President Lincoln, the first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869. California was then reachable from the eastern States in a week's time. Much of the state
18560-436: The tour, hosting one or more tour events. In 2021, Longbow Golf Club hosted a second Longbow Cactus Cup Championship, again a single-round season-ending exhibition. The Cactus Tour's top money winners who competed for a $ 10,000 prize were: Kendra Dalton, who finished first in 2021 tour winnings, Nishtha Madan (second), Gabriella Then (fourth), and Elizabeth Wang] (fifth). Spectators were invited to attend, free. Elizabeth Wang
18705-557: The transition from Spanish colonial rule to independent Mexican rule. In 1821, the Mexican War of Independence gave the Mexican Empire (which included California) independence from Spain. For the next 25 years, Alta California remained a remote, sparsely populated, northwestern administrative district of the newly independent country of Mexico, which shortly after independence became a republic. The missions , which controlled most of
18850-519: The very southern tip of Nevada; while the Utah Territory consisted of Utah, most of Nevada, and portions of Wyoming and Colorado. The New Mexico Territory was expanded along its southern extent, to its current border, with the signing of the Gadsden Purchase Treaty on December 30, 1853, which was ratified by the U.S. Congress, with some slight alterations, in April 1854. The Colorado Territory
18995-474: The very southernmost part of Utah, southwestern Colorado, the very tip of west Texas, and triangle formed by the southern tip of Nevada. This will be the defined scope that is used in this article unless otherwise specified in a particular area. Parts of the other states make up the various areas that can be included in the Southwest, depending on the source. The Learning Center of the American Southwest (LCAS) does not rely on current state boundaries, and defines
19140-448: The way for a tourism boom, a trend led by restaurant and hotel entrepreneur Fred Harvey . The last two territories within the Southwest to achieve statehood were New Mexico and Arizona. By 1863, with the splitting off of the Arizona Territory, New Mexico reached its modern borders. They became states within forty days of one another. On January 6, 1912, New Mexico became the 47th state in the Union. Arizona would shortly follow, becoming
19285-564: The west to Las Vegas, New Mexico in the East. Reed's definition is roughly equivalent to the western half of the Learning Center of the American Southwest's definition, leaving out any portion of Kansas and Oklahoma, and much of Texas, as well as the eastern half of New Mexico. Since this article is about the Southwestern United States, the areas of Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico will be excluded. The portion left includes Arizona and western New Mexico,
19430-477: The west were added after the Mexican–American War , the geographical "Southwest" expanded, and the relationship of these new acquisitions to the South itself became "increasingly unclear." However, archeologist, Erik Reed, gives a description which is the most widely accepted as defining the American Southwest, which runs from Durango, Colorado in the north, to Durango, Mexico, in the south, and from Las Vegas, Nevada in
19575-506: The westernmost metropolitan areas in the Southwest, while Albuquerque - Santa Fe and El Paso - Las Cruces dominate the easternmost metropolitan areas. Human history in the Southwest begins with the arrival of the Clovis culture , a Paleo-Indian hunter-gatherer culture which arrived sometime around 9000 BC. This culture remained in the area for several millennia. At some point they were replaced by three great Pre-Columbian Indian cultures:
19720-541: Was abandoned by 1841. During the War of Mexican Independence , Alta California was largely unaffected and uninvolved in the revolution, though many Californios supported independence from Spain , which many believed had neglected California and limited its development. Spain's trade monopoly on California had limited local trade prospects. Following Mexican independence, California ports were freely able to trade with foreign merchants. Governor Pablo Vicente de Solá presided over
19865-423: Was admitted to the Union on October 31, 1864, becoming the 36th state. This was followed by the admittance to the Union of Colorado, which became the 38th state on August 1, 1876. Confederate Arizona was short-lived, however. By May 1862, Confederate forces had been driven out of the region by union troops. That same month a bill was introduced into the U.S. Congress, and on February 24, 1863 Abraham Lincoln signed
20010-536: Was extremely well suited to fruit cultivation and agriculture in general. Vast expanses of wheat, other cereal crops, vegetable crops, cotton, and nut and fruit trees were grown (including oranges in Southern California), and the foundation was laid for the state's prodigious agricultural production in the Central Valley and elsewhere. In the nineteenth century, a large number of migrants from China traveled to
20155-607: Was highly unstable, and in a reflection of this, from 1831 onwards, California also experienced a series of armed disputes, both internal and with the central Mexican government. During this tumultuous political period Juan Bautista Alvarado was able to secure the governorship during 1836–1842. The military action which first brought Alvarado to power had momentarily declared California to be an independent state, and had been aided by Anglo-American residents of California, including Isaac Graham . In 1840, one hundred of those residents who did not have passports were arrested, leading to
20300-714: Was not usually the purpose of these small-scale battles. Men and women generally had different roles in society. Women were often responsible for weaving, harvesting, processing, and preparing food, while men for hunting and other forms of physical labor. Most societies also had roles for people whom the Spanish referred to as joyas , who they saw as "men who dressed as women". Joyas were responsible for death , burial , and mourning rituals , and they performed women's social roles. Indigenous societies had terms such as two-spirit to refer to them. The Chumash referred to them as 'aqi. The early Spanish settlers detested and sought to eliminate them. The first Europeans to explore
20445-528: Was organized on February 28, 1861, created out of lands then currently in the Utah, Kansas, Nebraska, and New Mexico territories. The Nevada Territory was also organized in 1861, on March 2, with land taken from the existing Utah Territory. Initially, only the western 2/3 of what is currently the State of Nevada was included in the territory, with its boundary to the east being the 39th meridian west from Washington , and to
20590-494: Was short-lived; the same year marked the outbreak of the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). Commodore John D. Sloat of the United States Navy sailed into Monterey Bay in 1846 and began the U.S. military invasion of California , with Northern California capitulating in less than a month to the United States forces. In Southern California, Californios continued to resist American forces. Notable military engagements of
20735-429: Was the winner. LPGA professional players sometimes play in the Cactus Tour, as did Anna Nordqvist of Sweden, already a two-time LPGA winner, when she played in and won the last 2020 Cactus Tour event (at Moon Valley in the Phoenix, Arizona area). During the LPGA's suspension of play in mid-2020, LPGA veteran Mina Harigae "stunned" the Cactus Tour, winning four out of six events she competed in, and winning two in
20880-399: Was then organized and admitted as the 31st state in 1850 , as a free state , following the Compromise of 1850 . The Greater Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas are the nation's second- and fifth-most populous urban regions , with 19 million and 10 million residents respectively. Los Angeles is the state's most populous city and the nation's second-most ; California's capital
21025-484: Was visited by its first non-Spanish Europeans, English trappers. In 1836, the Republic of Texas , which contained the easternmost of the Southwest United States, won its independence from Mexico. In 1845 the Republic of Texas was annexed by the United States and immediately became a state, bypassing the usual territory phase. The new state still contained portions of what would eventually become parts of other states. In 1846,
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