1.

After which U.S. war did California become a part of the United States?

a.

Spanish-American War

b.

Mexican-American War

c.

War for Independence

Answer 1:

d.

none of the above

2.

Which city suffered through an 8.3 magnitude earthquake in 1906?  It destroyed much of the downtown.

a.

Los Angeles

b.

San Francisco

c.

San Jose

Answer 2:

d.

Sacramento

3.

In what year did the Gold Rush really take off?

a.

1801

b.

1849

c.

1865

Answer 3:

d.

1869

4.

Who wrote the famous California novel Grapes of Wrath?

a.

Margaret Meade

b.

Ernest Hemingway

c.

Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

Answer 4:

d.

John Steinbeck

5.

Where did the oil industry develop in California?

a.

Los Angeles-Long Beach

b.

San Francisco

c.

San Diego

Answer 5:

d.

The oil industry was not very important in California

6

Which of these major public works was NOT completed during the Great Depression?

a.

Golden Gate Bridge

b.

Hoover Dam

c.

The Santa Fe railroad's L.A. line

Answer 6:

d.

San Francisco Bay Bridge

7.

When did California become a state?

a.

1801

b.

1850

c.

1865

Answer 7:

d.

1901

8

Which of these factors accounted for the greatest number of deaths to Native Americans once Europeans began arriving in the North America?

a.

European military weaponry

b.

Inter-tribal warfare as available land shrunk

c.

Famine

Answer 8:

d.

European diseases

9.

Hydraulic Mining was a technique used to:

a.

force oil from underground using water

b.

help clear rivers in preparation for dams along several California rivers

c.

blast gold from hillsides

Answer 9:

d.

remove water from underground lakes

10.

Which of these countries has not controlled the territory that is now California?

a.

Spain

b.

Mexico

c.

United States

Answer 10:

d.

England

11.

This Franciscan padre is credited with establishing the mission system in California during the late 1700s:

a.

Saint Juan Cabrello

b.

Junipero Serra

c.

Juan Capistano

Answer 11:

d.

Luis Obispo

12.

This famous character is associated with the "Bear Flag Republic" and the Mexican-American war in California:

a.

John Fremont

b.

John C. Calhoun

c.

Jefferson Davis

Answer12:

d.

Miles Standish

13.

Which of these locations became famous because it was where Gold was first discovered in California?

a.

Tehachapi Pass

b.

Sutter's Mill

c.

Potter's Dam on the Sacramento River

Answer 13:

d.

Yosemite Valley

14.

Why were the Spanish interested in the California (Mexico) territory initially?

a.

Fur trading

b.

Piracy

c.

Gold

Answer 14:

d.

Defense

15.

This treaty marked the end of the Mexican American war:

a.

Treaty of Versailles

b.

The Baja Accords

c.

The Mexico City Agreement

Answer 15:

d.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

16

The Donner Party is most associated with:

a.

The Manson murders during the late 1960s.

b.

They were the earliest Anglo settlers to come to Los Angeles

c.

Cannibalism in the mid-1800s

Answer 16:

d.

It was the social affair that accidentally started the Great San Francisco fire of 1906.

17.

Which of these explorers is most associated with the discovery of the Californias?

a.

Cortes (with Jimenez)

b.

Columbus

c.

Amerigo Vespucci

Answer 17:

d.

Sir Francis Drake

18

This man might well be considered the founder of the American environmental movement:

a.

Stonewall Jackson

b.

John Muir

c.

John C. Calhoun

Answer 18:

d.

Jedidiah Pinkett

19.

California was admitted to the United States in:

a.

1846

b.

1850

c.

1860

Answer 19:

d.

1865

20.

What city is the state capital of California?

a.

Los Angeles

b.

San Francisco

c.

San Jose

Answer 20:

d.

Sacramento

21.

What ethnic group was outlawed from coming to the U.S. in the late 1800s as a result of racist fears in the U.S.?

a.

Japanese

b.

Chinese

c.

Germans

Answer 21:

d.

Mexicans

22.

Which of these ethnic groups were interred during World War II in camps?

a.

Japanese

b.

Chinese

c.

Germans

Answer 22:

d.

Mexicans

23.

What derisive name was given to the major rail company during the height of their power in the late 1800s?

a.

the elephant

b.

the octopus

c.

the wolf pack

Answer 23:

d.

the dinosaur

24.

This historical figure proclaimed that he "won California" from Mexico as he made a failed bid for the Presidency of the US.

a.

Robert Mulholland

b.

David C. Mulholland

c.

John Fremont

Answer 24:

d.

John C. Calhoun

25.

Where did the west-bound and east-bound rail lines meet, completing the first transcontinental railroad?

a.

St. Louis, Missouri

b.

Promontory Point, Utah

c.

Phoenix, Arizona

Answer 25:

d.

Dodge City, Kansas

PART II: GEOGRAPHY QUESTIONS

26

Which of these areas had great oil production in California?

a.

Los Angeles Basin

b.

Modoc Plateau

c.

Sierra Nevadas

Answer 26:

d.

Colorado Desert

27.

Which of these mountain ranges is the highest in the United States?

a.

Cascades

b.

Yosemite Mountains

c.

Sierra Nevadas

Answer 27:

d.

Rockies

28

Which of these ethnic groups is most populous in California?

a.

Chinese-Americans

b.

African-Americans

c.

Jewish-Americans

Answer 28:

d.

Mexican-Americans

29.

What is the name of the most famous fault in California?

a.

The San Matea

b.

The Girlock

c.

The Tehachapi

Answer 29:

d.

The San Andreas

30.

Which region of California is most dominant in agricultural production?

a.

Great Central Valley

b.

Imperial Valley

c.

Basin and Range

Answer 30:

d.

Modoc Plateau

31.

Typically, Southern California weather is largely a result of:

a.

Dry winds coming out of the desert

b.

Washington and Oregon "taking" all the rain

c.

dry winds blowing in from Mexico

Answer 31:

d.

prevailing high pressure situated over the eastern Pacific Ocean

32.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, many Americans drifted west on Route 66 to California.  These migrants were associated most closely with what state(s)?

a.

Mississippi/Alabama

b.

Oklahoma

c.

New Mexico

Answer32:

d.

Indiana/Ohio/Iowa

33.

Which of these ethnic groups formed the source of much of the labor on the first transcontinental railroad to be built from California eastward?

a.

Irish

b.

Chinese

c.

Mexicans

Answer 33:

d.

American Indians

34.

Which of these is NOT a California desert?

a.

Colorado

b.

Mojave

c.

Kalahari

Answer 34:

d.

Basin and Range

35.

What industrial pursuit made Silicon Valley famous?

a.

automobile manufacturing

b.

breast implants and other similar products

c.

chemicals and pharmaceuticals

Answer 35:

d.

computer electronics

36

Which of these trees would you least likely find in a coniferous forest?

a.

Jeffery Pine

b.

Giant Sequoia

c.

Douglas Fir

Answer 36:

d.

Coastal Oak

37.

Which of these housing types would one find in California before Europeans arrived?

a.

Adobe House

b.

Ranch Style

c.

California Bungalow

Answer 37:

d.

Tee Pee (tipi)

38

Which of these energy sources does California rely upon most heavily?

a.

fossil fuels

b.

nuclear

c.

hydro-power

Answer 38:

d.

wind-energy

39.

Gentrification involves what process?

a.

the building of large estates in the countryside

b.

middle class redevelopment of poor areas of the city

c.

its basically the same a suburbanization

Answer 39:

d.

It’s a term that describes the destruction of inner city neighborhoods in the 1970s.

40.

The California Current is considered a _______ current and it flows _______.

a.

cold, southward

b.

warm, northward

c.

cold, northward

Answer 40:

d.

cold, eastward

41.

Which of these factors was most crucial in the explosion of suburbs in the 1950s?

a.

racism drove whites to the suburbs

b.

interstate highways were beginning to pop up

c.

the government finally sold off much of its landholdings in suburban regions

Answer 41:

d.

agriculture became less profitable, making suburban lands cheaper

42.

What is California's rank among the US states in terms of agricultural output?

a.

bottom 5

b.

near the average

c.

above average, but not in the top 10

Answer 42:

d.

We’re number 1!

43.

The Joshua Tree is a good indicator of what climate type?

a.

High Desert

b.

Low Desert

c.

Continental Tropical

Answer 43:

d.

Mediterranean

44.

Where and when does California get most of its rain?

a.

In the Modoc plateau during Winter and Fall

b.

Northern 1/2 of the state during Autumn

c.

Northern 1/3 of the state during Winter

Answer 44:

d.

Rain is scattered evenly throughout the state, but is least in the summer.

45.

Which of these is not a common environmental threat in Malibu?

a.

earthquakes

b.

mudslides

c.

hurricanes

Answer 45:

d.

wildfires

46

The el nino phenomenon is caused by a reversal in the _________ in the Southeastern Pacific Ocean

a.

prevailing water temperature

b.

prevailing wind direction

c.

prevailing tidal bore

Answer 46:

d.

all of the above

47.

Which mountain in California is most often associated with mythology, mysticism and the supernatural?

a.

Mt. Shasta

b.

Mt. Lassen

c.

Mt. Saint Helen's

Answer 47:

d.

Mt. Whitney

48

Which of these industries would you most likely find accused of engaging in "sweatshop labor"?

a.

microprocessing

b.

teaching (outside the teachers' lounge only)

c.

housekeeping (motels/janitorial)

Answer 48:

d.

textiles

49.

What is the name of the climate type that characterizes much of Northern California?

a.

Mediterranean

b.

Humid Subtropical

c.

Humid Continental

Answer 49:

d.

Maritime

50.

Which of these historic Indian culture groups could not be found in California?

a.

Chumash

b.

Gabrielino

c.

Sioux

Answer 50:

d.

Modoc