In 1925 a giant sequoia located in California's Kings Canyon National Park was named the nation's national Christmas tree. The tree is over 300 feet in height.

More turkeys are raised in California than in any other state in the United States.
 
Pacific Park, on the venerable Santa Monica Pier, re-creates the amusement parks once dotting the ocean areas along the Pacific Coast. Featured are 11 amusement rides including the 1910-vintage hand-carved merry-go-round appearing in the movie "The Sting."

Fallbrook is known as the Avocado Capital of the World and hosts an annual Avocado Festival. More avocados are grown in the region than any other county in the nation.

In the late 1850s, Kennedy Mine, located in Jackson, served as one of the richest gold mines in the world and the deepest mine in North America.

An animal called the riparian brush rabbit calls Caswell Memorial State Park (near Manteca) its home. Endemic only to the state's park system, the critter lives in approximately 255 acres stretching along the area's once-vast hardwood forest.

In Pacific Grove there is a law on the books establishing a $500 fine for molesting butterflies.

The largest three-day rodeo in the United States is held on the Tehama County Fairgrounds in Red Bluff.

Demonstrations on making toothpaste from orange by-products were popular attractions at the Los Angeles County fair in 1922. The fair is held in Pomona.

Located in Sacramento, the California State Railroad Museum is the largest museum of its kind in North America.

Several celebrities are buried at Hillside Cemetery in Culver City. Included gravesites are those of Al Jolson, George Jessel, Eddie Canter, Jack Benny, and Percy Faith.

California Caverns claims the distinction of being the most extensive system of caverns and passageways in the Mother Lode region of the state.

On Catalina Island in 1926, American author Zane Grey built a pueblo-style home on the hillside overlooking Avalon Bay. He spent much of his later life in Avalon. The home is now a hotel.

Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge is credited with the largest winter population of bald eagles in the continental United States.

Author Richard Dana (1851-1882) wrote the novel "Two Years Before the Mast." He inspired the name for the beach community of Dana Point.

The largest display of military aircraft in the state is in the Castle Air Museum, Atwater.

Reputed to be the most corrupt politician in Fresno County history, Vice-leader Joseph Spinney was mayor for only ten minutes.

The Iron Door Saloon in Groveland claims to be the oldest drinking establishment in the state. It was constructed in 1852.

The Hollywood Bowl is the world's largest outdoor amphitheater.

The first person to personally receive a star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood was actress Joanne Woodward. She received it in 1960.

Death Valley is recognized as the hottest, driest place in the United States. It isn't uncommon for the summer temperatures to reach more than 115 degrees.

The first motion picture theater opened in Los Angeles on April 2, 1902.

Inyo National Forest is home to the bristle cone pine, the oldest living species. Some of the gnarled trees are thought to be over 4,600 years old.

San Francisco Bay is considered the world's largest landlocked harbor.

Sequoia National Park contains the largest living tree. Its trunk is 102 feet in circumference.

The Coachella Valley is nicknamed The Date Capital of the world and The Playground of Presidents.

California is the first state to ever reach a trillion dollar economy in gross state product.

It is estimated there are approximately 500,000 detectable seismic tremors in California annually.

During his engagement at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, Otis Redding stayed on a houseboat in Sausalito. While there he wrote his last song and greatest hit: "The Dock of the Bay."

There are more than 300,000 tons of grapes grown in California annually. California produces more than 17 million gallons of wine each year.

California holds two of the top ten most populous cities: Los Angeles and San Diego.

Fresno proclaims itself the Raisin Capital of the World.

Castroville is known as the Artichoke Capital of the World. In 1947 a young woman named Norma Jean was crowned Castroville's first Artichoke Queen. She went on to become actress Marilyn Monroe.

California's Proposition 215 (1996) was the first statewide medical marijuana initiative to pass in the USA - keeping attorneys busy for years.