California is the most populous state in the nation, with 39.5 million residents—more than the smallest 21 states combined. It is also a huge state, ranking third in area, and an incredibly diverse place, with climates that range from desert to rain forest. From the Los Angeles metropolitan area to Yosemite National Park, from Death Valley to Mount Shasta, here are a few glimpses of the landscape of California, and some of the wildlife and people calling it home.
This photo story is part of Fifty, a collection of images from each of the United States.
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A summertime view of Yosemite Valley, in California’s Yosemite National Park, at sunrise #
Bill45 / Shutterstock -
The downtown–Los Angeles skyline, seen with the snow-covered San Gabriel Mountains in the background, on February 7, 2019 #
Chris Delmas / AFP / Getty -
An organic vineyard with a yellow-mustard cover crop, photographed in Mendocino County #
N. F. Photography / Shutterstock -
A light coating of snow dusts the mountains around Emerald Bay in South Lake Tahoe, following a fast-moving storm the day before, on March 3, 2020. #
George Rose / Getty -
A surfer rides a wave on December 13, 2019, in Venice Beach. #
Bruce Bennett / Getty -
A view of San Francisco behind the “Painted Ladies,” a group of colorful Victorian houses near Alamo Square #
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The small Danish community of Solvang, on California’s Central Coast, with its windmills and old-world architecture, celebrates an all-American Fourth of July with a parade on July 4, 2017. #
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A view of the Sacramento skyline and Old Sacramento, its historic riverfront district, from the Sacramento River #
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Snow geese take off from wetlands in the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area. #
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A small group of elk rests in Redwood National Park. #
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Giant-sequoia trees stand in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. #
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Fog and wind roll over the coastal village of Mendocino in Northern California. #
Kcbermingham / iStockphoto / Getty -
Wind turbines operate in the Altamont Pass wind farm in Alameda County. #
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An aerial view shows pumpjacks in the South Belridge Oil Field, near McKittrick, California, on April 24, 2020. #
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Shipping containers stand stacked at the Port of Long Beach, the nation’s second-busiest container port, on September 18, 2018, in Long Beach, California. #
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An aerial view of Redondo Beach, part of greater Los Angeles #
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Darrin Indart from Reno, Nevada, rides to place second overall in the sprint race at the XTERRA Tahoe City on June 24, 2017, in Tahoe City, California. #
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Rustic wooden buildings, part of the gold-mining ghost town of Bodie, stand in Bodie State Historic Park. #
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The Sundial Bridge crosses the Sacramento River in Redding. The cantilever cable-stayed suspension bridge was designed by the architect Santiago Calatrava and completed in 2004. #
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The San Francisco Giants play the Chicago Cubs at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco on June 3, 2012. #
Carol M. Highsmith / Library of Congress -
Spring showers roll through Santa Barbara County’s wine country on March 27, 2019, near Santa Ynez. #
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An evening view of the Fox Theater along H Street in the downtown district of Bakersfield, California, on April 15, 2019 #
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Ripples on the dunes are visible at sunrise in the Mesquite Flat Dunes in Death Valley National Park. #
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Morning light on the Cholla Cactus Garden in Joshua Tree National Park #
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The ornate Carson Mansion (now a private club) stands in Old Town, Eureka, photographed on July 3, 2015. The structure was originally built as a residence for the lumber baron William Carson in 1886. #
Victoria Ditkovsky / Shutterstock -
Rocky Creek Bridge carries California State Route 1 along the Pacific Coast, south of Carmel. #
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Hotel del Coronado stands on Coronado Island, across San Diego Bay from the city of San Diego, photographed on February 4, 2018. The historic beachfront hotel originally opened in 1888. #
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The Cabazon dinosaurs, roadside attractions, photographed in the town of Cabazon, near Palm Springs #
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An unusual bloom of wildflowers appears after a period of rain on the Carrizo Plain in San Luis Obispo County. #
Jon Farmer / iStockphoto / Getty -
A view of the crowd during the Alabama Shakes’ performance on day one of the 2015 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival (Weekend 2) at the Empire Polo Club in Indio on April 17, 2015 #
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Houses and palm trees, photographed in a neighborhood near downtown San Jose #
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A young California sea lion sweeps through the kelp forest at Anacapa Island in Channel Islands National Park. #
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A view of Avalon, the only incorporated city on Santa Catalina Island #
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Mount Shasta, in Northern California, viewed from Shasta Lake at dawn #
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Justus Henkes of the United States rides a rail during a warm-up run in the men’s snowboard slopestyle finals at the 2020 U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain, in Mammoth Lakes, California, on February 1, 2020. #
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Battery Point Lighthouse stands in Crescent City. The lighthouse first opened in 1856. #
Mitch Diamond / Getty -
A monument honoring the dead stands in the cemetery at Manzanar National Historic Site, near Independence, California, on December 9, 2015. The Manzanar War Relocation Center was one of 10 internment camps where Japanese American citizens and resident Japanese aliens were incarcerated from 1942 to 1945, during World War II. #
Justin Sullivan / Getty -
Griffith Observatory, located on Griffith Park’s Mount Hollywood, seen with a view of downtown Los Angeles #
S. Greg Panosian / iStockphoto / Getty -
Randy’s Donuts’ iconic sign is repainted in bright yellow to support the Los Angeles Rams’ Super Bowl bid on January 29, 2019, in Inglewood, California. #
Jae C. Hong / AP -
The Compton High School contingent leads the start of the 34th annual Kingdom Day Parade on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 21, 2019, in Los Angeles. #
Robyn Beck / AFP / Getty -
Beachgoers are seen along the shore in the Pacific Beach area of San Diego on July 4, 2020. #
Sandy Huffaker / AFP / Getty -
The sun sets behind the San Francisco skyline on January 7, 2015. #
Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP -
A couple get married at Taft Point, overlooking Yosemite Valley, in Yosemite National Park on September 27, 2018. #
Amanda Lee Myers / AP
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