This week the topic is California. As most people know, California is located on the western coast of the United States, and is the 3rd largest State. California became a state shortly after gold was found within its borders. Today, California is an extremely diverse state, and is at the forefront of a lot of issues and pop-culture in the United States. Geographically, California can be divided into 3 large areas: mountains that parallel the coast, interior valleys, and higher mountain ranges to the east. Additionally, people often divide California into Northern and Southern California. Earthquakes are very common in California. In fact, they are happening all the time, but the vast majority are so small we don't really feel them. Earthquakes in California are the result of strike-slip faults along the Coast where the North American Plate and the Pacific plate are sliding past each other. California has multiple faults, but the most famous and well know is the San Andreas Fault. California's location on the western coast is opposite to Rehoboth Beach's location on the Eastern Coast. We will take a look at the two locations by comparing the climates and also making note of other similarities and differences.
Throughout the United States, California is often considered to be a cool and exciting state to live in. California, southern California specifically, has a highly desirable climate that contributes to the states popularity. Most of California features a Mediterranean climate, with cool and occasionally rainy winters and long summers with warm to hot temperatures and little or no precipitation. Spatial variations in precipitation and temperature in California are driven by latitude, altitude, and distance from the ocean. Typically, along the coast and mountains in Northern California the climate is wetter and cooler than other parts of California. The coastal mountains soak up most of the precipitation on the western side, leaving the eastern side and interior valleys increasingly dry as you move inland. Coastal California and the lowland valleys are generally frost-free year round, but mountainous areas receive heavy snow.
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| Carson Peak, Sierra Nevada Mountains |
Some areas of the Sierra Nevadas experience as much as 300 inches of snow each winter, which melts in the spring/summer and provides vital water for Californian cities. Rehoboth Beach shares similarities with California's climate. It is not a perfect match, but there are similarities between the two regions. For example, portions of California (more northern) have warm summer temperatures similar to Rehoboth Beach. Also, the Pacific Ocean moderates the weather in coastal areas of California like the Atlantic Ocean does to the weather in Rehoboth Beach. Additionally, the moisture from the ocean air results in the occurrence of rain in coastal regions of California and in Rehoboth Beach. Despite the similarities, there are plenty of differences. First, southern California experiences hotter summers than Rehoboth Beach does. Personally, I always enjoyed being able to leave the 100+ degree weather behind for the mid 80 degree weather in Rehoboth Beach. Second, California does not have rain evenly distributed throughout the year like in Rehoboth Beach. Lastly, California does not experience humid weather like Rehoboth Beach does. This is a major difference between California's mediterranean climate and Rehoboth Beach's mild humid subtropical climate. Overall, both places share several similarities, but also several key differences in terms of climate.
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| The earthquake "Ring of Fire" |
California is very well known for having more than a few faults, and being in the "Ring of Fire". Earthquakes are a common occurrence in California, but most are so small residents do not feel a thing. Rehoboth Beach, and Delaware at large are not in the "Ring of Fire". Earthquakes are not nearly as significant of a concern in Rehoboth Beach as they are in California. Continental Plates are not sliding past each other on the Rehoboth Beach coast as is the case in California. This is a major difference between the two regions.
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| Miners during the California Gold Rush |
California is also very famous for the Gold Rush. In 1848, Gold was discovered within the Californian border. By 1849, the rush was on. A year later, California officially became a state. California experienced a massive population spike as people from all over flocked to California in hopes of striking it rich. The frenzy that the Gold Rush sparkled in terms of people flocking to the state is similar to the summertime frenzy Rehoboth Beach experiences each year. Of course there are differences between the two events, but the increase in overall population, and frenzy sparked by both events is a similarity for the two regions.
Overall, we were able to identify many similarities, as well as differences between Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and California. Next week we will discuss The Pacific Northwest, and once again compare and contrast the region to Rehoboth Beach.
Until Next time,
William
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