GCU322 Reading Quiz 15

In terms of its degree of urbanism, California is:

second behind Megalopolis

The world-famous giant sequoias occur in about _____ scattered groves at middle elevations along the western side of the Sierra Nevada.

seventy-five

In terms of the bad air quality frequently (but not always) observed in the Los Angeles area, its _____ condition in terms of air movement enables air pollution to build up with annoying frequency.

stagnant

It hardly ever rains in California in the _____ months.

summer

There are three broad topographical complexes within the region:

the coastal mountains and valleys, the Central Valley, and the Sierra Nevada

Eventually, _____ continuing missions were established in California, the last in 1823.

twenty-one

It appears that in California perhaps three-fourths of the near-term population growth and nearly all the long-term growth will be among Hispanics and _____.

Asians

It appears that between Los Angeles and San Diego it will be unbroken conurbation except for the _____ in San Diego County.

Camp Pendleton Marine base

The annual total amount of precipitation increases northward from _____ inches in San Diego to _____ inches in San Francisco.

10/ 20

Since 2010, California has grown less than a percentage point faster than the country as a whole. About _____ states (and DC) have been growing more quickly, almost all of them western and southern states.

15

The first California land boom started slowly but grew abruptly in the:

1880s

Since _____, more people have moved out of California to other parts of the US than have moved into California from the rest of the US.

1990

The Central Valley averages about _____ miles in width but is more than 400 miles long.

50

Silicon Valley includes San Jose and other cities in its vicinity. Which of the following is not one of those other cities?

Alameda

In California, almost all of the deserts and dry plateaus of the southeastern and northeastern portions of the state are in the Intermountain West, except for _____ which are functionally integrated with the southern California conurbation.

Antelope Valley and Palm Springs

About a third of the people in the US of _____ descent are in California.

Asian

_____ is the characteristic vegetation of most of the valleys and lower mountain slopes of southern and central California.

Chaparral

Population density is significantly higher in San Francisco than in any other big city west of:

Chicago

In the San Joaquin Valley are three prominent urban centers, roughly spaced equally apart. They are:

Fresno, Stockton, and Bakersfield

The ethnic composition of Los Angeles County in 2009 was 49 percent:

Hispanic

The Transverse ranges run east-west (hence, transverse) from Santa Maria (near the coast) to the eastern edge of the _____ Basin, near Redlands. Just south of that eastern edge, across the San Gorgonio Pass, the Peninsular ranges run north-south to the Mexican border and into the Baja Peninsula.

Los Angeles

The twin ports of _____ dominate the United States end of Pacific Rim trade. They are the first and second busiest ports in the US.

Los Angeles and Long Beach

Pueblos, established during the mission period, were three in number, and were planned farming villages. _____ survived as future major cities.

Los Angeles and San Jose

_____ plants cultivated in California are worth more, on an annual basis, than the state's top five other crops combined.

Marijuana

In terms of tourism to California's central coast, principal focus is on the _____ Peninsula where spectacular scenery, marine fauna, and a reputation for glamour exist in close conjunction.

Monterey

_____ of the ten most productive agricultural counties in the nation are in California.

Nine

The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim population node is the largest and most prominent in southern California; the other major nuclei, in descending rank-order of population, are Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario (the Inland Empire), San Diego-Carlsbad, _____, and Santa Maria-Santa Barbara-Lompoc.

Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura

_____ is currently the fastest growing large city in California.

Sacramento

The _____ Valley, south of _____, has some of the richest farmland in the nation, and specializes in sensitive and expensive vegetables.

Salinas/ Monterey

While _____ has been the traditional banking center of the West, the financial role of Los Angeles has been increasing.

San Francisco

There was a costly and controversial offshore petroleum leak in 1969 in the _____ Channel.

Santa Barbara

San Francisco was the largest city in the western United States from the time of the Gold Rush until:

World War I

California's Native American populations were relatively dense and culturally diverse, with something like _____ different languages from several language families spoken there.

a hundred

California is not only responsible for all _____ grown commercially in the US but a large majority of the world's output of this crop.

almonds

Los Angeles had fewer than 5,000 people at the time of the gold strike further north. The influence of the gold rush was much less significant in the "_____ counties" of southern California.

cow

The bold escarpment that is the _____ front of the Sierra Nevada marks one of the most definite geographical boundaries on the continent.

eastern

In southern California it is estimated that some 90 percent of all pollutants contributing to the bad air quality come from:

motor vehicles

Almost _____ of all foreign-born persons in the United States live in California.

one-fourth

Despite decentralization, about _____ of America's total employment in film production and distribution is in southern California.

one-third

The basic characteristics of California's climate is abundant sunshine, absolutely dry summers, mild winter temperatures, and relatively dry winters. No other type of climate is so conducive to:

outdoor living