Happy 165th Birthday, California!

california_state_flag

The State of California is celebrating its 165th birthday on September 9, 2015. On that date in 1850, California was formally admitted to the union as the 31st state. Our state has had quite a run so far, with major gold strikes, oil, military battles, population growth, water “wars”, technological innovations, and scientific achievements. Today, we are the most populous state with nearly 39 million people. Despite it all, we as a state persevere. We have the 8th largest economy in the world despite the general economic downturn.

California State Capitol Building in Sacramento, CA.
California State Capitol Building in Sacramento, CA.

So, Happy Birthday, California!

State Flag graphic courtesy of the California Department of Parks and Recreation.

Image of the Week – 8/30/15

1st Avenue Bridge over Maple Canyon in San Diego, California. Built 1931.
1st Avenue Bridge over Maple Canyon in San Diego, California. Built 1931.

Website Polls

Over the next month, I will be running a series of polls to determine what sections of the website need updating and expansion. As there are many sections that I can work on and limited time to do so, I am asking you, the readers, to help me decide what to update first. Irregular updates will still continue as usual, but special attention will be given to those sections that are most popular. Please, use the polls in the left sidebar to give us some feedback. You can also use the comments page in addition should you wish to give any additional feedback. We’d love to hear from you.

Image of the Week – 8/15/15

Former North Burbank UP, now removed, along old US 99 in the San Fernando Valley. Built 1941.
Former North Burbank UP, now removed, along old US 99 in the San Fernando Valley. Built 1941.

Southern California – Defined?

This website started off covering a small area, the Santa Clarita Valley. I later started a second website for the San Diego area. Both sites were somewhat limited in scope. Now, with those sites combined, I’ve also increased the area that the website covers. The new name for the site, Southern California Regional Rocks and Roads seems to state a much larger area. What really is Southern California and what does part of it does this website really cover?

The region, Southern California, or So Cal by some, varies by definition. My definition isn’t exactly a standard one either but I think it is the best fitting one. Southern California is usually defined as the whole of Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, western Riverside, and San Diego Counties. This constitutes much of the populated section as well as the area west (or south) of major mountain ranges. This definition leaves out quite a large area, however. It really should be “Coastal Southern California”. How do I then define Southern California and what area I plan to cover with this website? I personally define Southern California as the area south of the 119 degree line, which tends to define the northern boundaries of San Luis Obispo, Kern, and San Bernardino Counties. This site, however, will cover a smaller portion of that region. This website will cover, eventually, the region encompassing all of Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, southern Kern, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, Imperial, and San Diego Counties.

I’ve sometimes termed this website to be a “monster”. Why do I? Every time I think it is “done”, I come up with more projects to expand the site. There is a lot to cover here in Southern California and I intend to do the best job that I can for the scope of the site. Defining those boundaries will help to at least partially limit the site’s growth.

Your Resource For Highways, Geology, Railroads, History, Bicycling, And More Throughout Southern California Since 1995.