The other Bay State

We had to include a short note about “the other bay state”, as California is sometimes — and mistakenly — referred to. However, to set the record straight, California’s official nickname is the Golden State.

According to the Swedish idiom, “kärt barn har många namn”, all US states have nicknames, sometimes more than one! If you’d like to peruse the list, check out List of US State Nicknames.

California, the most populous (35,484,453 residents as of 2003, 12% of the US population) and third largest state (410,000 km2) in the U.S., is both physically and demographically diverse. The term “Golden State” may refer either to the discovery of gold in California in 1848 and the subsequent gold rush, or to the golden brown color of much of the state during the summer.

California generates 14% of the US’ gross domestic product. The predominant industry is agriculture, which includes fruit, vegetables, dairy and wine. At half the size of agriculture follows the aerospace industry. Entertainment comes in at third place, and that’s primarily due to television, by dollar volume, although movies are certainly still make in California. Light manufacturing such as computer hardware and software, and the mining of borax constitute the next significant revenue-generating industries.