The romance of Route 66 continues to captivate people around the world. Running between Chicago and Los Angeles, “over two thousand miles all the way” in the words of the popular R&B anthem, this legendary old road passes through the heart of the United States on a diagonal trip that takes in some of the country’s most archetypal roadside scenes. If you’re looking for great displays of neon signs, rusty middle-of-nowhere truck stops, or kitschy Americana, do as the song says and “get your kicks on Route 66.”
I'd like to tell you some interesting facts about California - the state where Route 66 starts or finishes.
The first Spanish missionaries arrived in California in the 1700s, but California didn't become a U.S. territory until 1847, as part of the treaty ending the Mexican-American War. Shortly thereafter, the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in 1848 inspired a wave of settlers to head to the west coast in search of fortune. In 1850 California became the 31st state, and is now the third largest state behind Alaska and Texas. With millions of acres of farmland, California leads the U.S. in agricultural production. The state is also home to famous cultural institutions and national parks including: Hollywood, Disneyland, Yosemite National Park, Alcatraz, Angel Island and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Interesting Facts

• Following James Marshall’s discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma in 1848, California's population leaped from 14,000 to 250,000 in only four years. Between 1850 and 1859, miners extracted 28,280,711 fine ounces of gold.

• California has the largest economy in the United States and, in 1997, was the first state to reach the trillion-dollar benchmark in gross state product. In 2012, California was ranked the ninth largest economy in the world.

• California grows more than 3.3 million tons of winegrapes on over 540,000 acres each year and produces roughly 90 percent of all U.S. wine.

• The highest and lowest points in the continental United States are located within 100 miles of one another in California: Mount Whitney measures 14,505 feet and Badwater Basin in Death Valley is 282 feet below sea level.

• Considered to be the hottest, driest place in the United States, Death Valley often reaches temperatures greater than 120 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer and averages only around two inches of rain each year.

• With a trunk slightly greater than 102 feet in circumference, the General Sherman in Sequoia National Park is the largest living tree (by volume) in the world. It is estimated to be somewhere between 1,800 to 2,700 years old.

• Southern California has about 10,000 earthquakes each year, although only 15 to 20 of them have a magnitude greater than 4.0. 

 Ronald Reagan (1911-2004), was a typical representative California. Former actor and California governor, served as the 40th U.S. president from 1981 to 1989. Raised in small-town Illinois, he became a Hollywood actor in his 20s and later served as the Republican governor of California from 1967 to 1975. Dubbed the Great Communicator, the affable Reagan became a popular two-term president. He cut taxes, increased defense spending, negotiated a nuclear arms reduction agreement with the Soviets and is credited with helping to bring a quicker end to the Cold War. Reagan, who survived a 1981 assassination attempt, died at age 93 after battling Alzheimer’s disease.

 

The Mississippi River


The Mississippi River, 3,779 km (2,348 mi) long, is the second longest river, after the Missouri, in the United States. Its triangular drainage area, covering about 40% of the country and including all or part of 31 states, is approximately 3,250,000 sq km (1,250,000 sq mi), the third largest in the world. The Mississippi rises in Minnesota and then flows south, following the boundaries between the states of Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana on the west, and Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi on the east. The river, whose name means "father of waters" in the Algonquian language, has long been an important transportation artery of North America.
Course of the River

Rising at an elevation of 446 m (1,463 ft) in Lake Itasca, Minn., the Mississippi flows through several glacial lakes to Minneapolis-Saint Paul, where it passes over a series of rapids and is joined by the Minnesota River. After this confluence, the Mississippi is fringed by 60-90-m-high (200-300-ft) bluffs on both sides.
Between Minneapolis and Saint Louis, Mo., the most important tributaries are the ILLINOIS, Chippewa, Black, Wisconsin, Saint Croix, Iowa, Des Moines, and Rock rivers, some of which drain the nation's most fertile agricultural areas. The MISSOURI RIVER, draining the Great Plains to the west, joins the Mississippi at Saint Louis. It is the longest tributary, and constitutes more than 40% of the Mississippi system drainage area, while furnishing about 20% of the total discharge. At Cairo, Ill., the Mississippi is joined from the east by the OHIO RIVER.
South of Cairo the Mississippi enters a wide (64-113 km/40-70 mi), low valley that was once an embayment of the Gulf of Mexico. Sediment has filled this area, and through the centuries the river has extended its mouth to the present location 966 km (600 mi) downstream. This lower part of the Mississippi's course, characterized by geographers as a typical example of an "old-age" river, is contained within natural levees formed by flood-deposited sediments. Beyond the levees lie low floodplains often at a lower elevation than the river itself. Another feature of the river is its meandering. The channel route from Cairo to New Orleans is almost three times as long as the valley. Major tributaries in the lower section are the ARKANSAS, RED, and White rivers, all flowing from the west.

The Mississippi enters the Gulf of Mexico (see MEXICO, GULF OF) about 160 km (100 mi) downstream from New Orleans, through a 26,150-sq km (10,100-sq mi) delta. Because almost 550 million metric tons (500 million U.S. tons) of sediment are deposited annually, the delta extends about 91 m (300 ft) each year.