California has historically been one of the most linguistically diverse areas in the world, with more than 70 indigenous languages derived from 64 root languages in six language families. [250] [251] A survey conducted between 2007 and 2009 identified 23 different indigenous languages among California farmworkers. [252] All of California's indigenous languages are endangered, although there are now efforts toward language revitalization. [note 6] California has the highest concentration nationwide of Chinese, Vietnamese and Punjabi speakers. Prior to European colonization, California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America, and the indigenous peoples of California constituted the highest Native American population density north of what is now Mexico. European exploration in the 16th and 17th centuries led to the colonization of California by the Spanish Empire. 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 California Gold Rush started in 1848 and led to dramatic social and demographic changes, including the depopulation of indigenous peoples in the California genocide. The western portion of Alta California was then organized and admitted as the 31st state on September 9, 1850, as a free state, following the Compromise of 1850. a b c Elassar, Alaa (April 3, 2022). "California once prohibited Native American fire practices. Now, it's asking tribes to use them to help prevent wildfires". CNN . Retrieved January 4, 2023. ABC has the least amount of owned-and-operated TV stations with three: KABC-TV in Los Angeles, KGO-TV in San Francisco, and KFSN-TV in Fresno.

MLS has three teams in the state: the Los Angeles Galaxy, San Jose Earthquakes, and Los Angeles Football Club. The California Republic was short-lived; [79] the same year marked the outbreak of the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). [80] GDP by Metropolitan Area | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)". Bea.gov . Retrieved September 19, 2018.

See also: List of amusement parks in the Americas § California, List of newspapers in California, and List of radio stations in California Disney, headquartered in Burbank, is one of the world's largest media and entertainment companies. 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 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. [95] One of these de facto slave auctions was approved by the Los Angeles City Council and occurred for nearly twenty years. [96] There were many massacres in which hundreds of indigenous people were killed by settlers for their land. [97]

As of 2011 [update], 75.1% of California's population younger than age 1 were minorities, meaning they had at least one parent who was not non-Hispanic white (white Hispanics are counted as minorities). [224] Matthew Kachur; Jon Sterngass (July 1, 2006). The Mexican-American War. World Almanac Library. pp. 25–26. ISBN 978-0-8368-7290-3.California has long had many respected collegiate sports programs. California is home to the oldest college bowl game, the annual Rose Bowl, among others. Eargle, Dolan H. Jr. (2008). Native California guide: an introduction to the original peoples from earliest to modern times. Fred Dodsworth (Ed. 2008 ed.). San Francisco: Trees Co. Press. ISBN 978-0-937401-11-8. OCLC 212858363. Estimates of the Native population in 1776 range from 300,000 to one million. The seat of government for California under Spanish and later Mexican rule had been located in Monterey from 1777 until 1845. [66] 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. The California Gold Rush of the 1850s is still seen as a symbol of California's economic style, which tends to generate technology, social, entertainment, and economic fads and booms and related busts. a b "Elevations and Distances in the United States". United States Geological Survey. 2001. Archived from the original on October 15, 2011 . Retrieved October 21, 2011.