Over 20 shark species have been observed in California’s Monterey Bay, including white, basking, thresher, blue, mako, and salmon sharks. Great white shark sightings in nearshore waters are not uncommon during summer and early fall when they return to feed on young elephant seals. Shark attacks on humans are rare in Monterey Bay, and the last fatal attack occurred near Read more...
The Farallon Islands lie some 28 miles off the west coast of San Francisco in the Pacific Ocean’s Gulf of the Farallones. On clear days, the group of rocky islands and sea stacks are visible from the mainland as jagged peaks on the horizon, and despite their distance offshore, they are formally part of the City and County of San Read more...
The Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield, California offers free self-guided tours, personal guided tours for $39 for groups of up to 6 people, and an in-depth Jelly Belly University tour costing $59 per person for groups of up to 6 people. Tours are available daily, except the Jelly Belly University tour, which is only offered Monday though Friday when the Read more...
Petaluma was branded The World’s Egg Basket during the first half of the 20th century when it was arguably the center of California’s poultry industry. Peaking in the mid 1940s, the region’s poultry ranches produced over 600 million eggs annually. The industry developed here in part due to climate and proximity to river and rail links, but the main catalyst Read more...
The giant electrical wall outlet, plug and cord sculpture is on the side of the PG&E substation on 1st Street and D Street in Petaluma. When the 1920s building was refurbished in 2015, the utility company commissioned Joel Jones of Basal Ganglia Studio to design the sculptural installation for the outside wall which was made from steel and fiberglass by Read more...
The city of Vacaville, California, was named after Juan Manuel Vaca, whose family was one of the first to settle in the area. Vaca had acquired a share in a substantial portion of land in the area through a Mexican land grant. He sold nine square miles of land to William McDaniel in 1850, with a condition that a township Read more...
Some of the best times to observe bioluminescence in northern California’s Tomales Bay inlet are on completely dark, moonless nights in late summer or fall. The bioluminescence is caused by tiny marine plankton known as dinoflagellates, which emit blue-green light when the water is agitated by wave action or a boat cutting through the surface. It is thought that the Read more...
Dress code at The French Laundry restaurant in Yountville is jackets for gentlemen, with ties optional, and jeans are permitted provided they are not distressed. Shorts, sportswear, sandals and sneakers are not appropriate. Read more...
Pfeiffer Beach at Big Sur, California, has distinctive areas of purple sand, which are mostly grains of reddish-purple manganese garnet crystals. Garnet is a commonly-found mineral in beach sand, but usually at relatively low quantities. Pfeiffer Beach is notable because of the abundance of garnet minerals in the sand which give it a distinctive purple color. These garnets likely originated Read more...
The capital city of California is Sacramento. It is home to the state seat of government, the California State Capitol, which houses the chambers of the California State Legislature, and the office of the Governor of California. When gold-rush era California joined the Union in 1850 as the 31st state, it had yet to establish a permanent location for the Read more...
A person who is a long-time resident or native of Sacramento is called a Sacramentan. It is the commonly used demonym for someone from Sacramento. Read more...
