California for Kids Trivia Quiz

From around 1842, small deposits of gold were found near San Francisco, but the really big find was in 1848 when James Marshall discovered a big lode at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, on the land of his employer. Though they tried to keep it quiet, the find caused a huge influx of people from all over the country and from other parts of the world.

It is estimated that 118 million oz (that's 7,375,000 lb or 3,345,244 kg) were extracted during the California gold rush.

California was once home to many grizzly bears that made life a little difficult for the early settlers. The tale is told that newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst asked for one to be caught to add to his menagerie in San Francisco. The one that was caught was given the name Monarch; he became known as the last surviving bear in California, and was later added to the list of the symbols of California.

It was even included on the state flag. When he died in 1911, his taxidermied pelt was placed on display at the Academy of Sciences at Golden Gate Park (no longer there).

The actual last grizzly died in 1922.

The Golden Gate bridge is one of the most famous icons of California. The suspension bridge, completed in 1937, is named for the strait it spans. Uniting San Francisco and Sausalito, it measures 1,280 metres (4,200 feet) in length. It is 27 meters wide and at its midpoint, the roadway is 81 metres (265 feet) above average high water.

Apart from vehicular traffic, it provides for pedestrian and cycle transit. It is orange vermilion in colour, which architect Irving Morrow suggested would allow it to fit in with the local scenery and be clearly visible to ships, even in fog.

The California quail (Callipepla Californicus) was designated the official state bird of California in 1931. It is a small, plump, flightless bird with a jaunty black plume of six feathers on its head. It sports a black bib with a bright white stripe under its beak. California quails live in groups called coveys and each spring, females lay 6 to 28 eggs per clutch, in small hollows in the ground.

It is also known as the California partridge, Catalina quail, topknot quail and valley quail. Their population numbers in the millions; pairs of California quail, the male and female mate alternate (antiphonal) calls.

California joined as the thirty-first state of the United States on September 9th, 1850 during the presidency of Millard Fillmore.

Just days before gold was discovered in California in 1848, land that included California, Utah, New Mexico and Nevada was ceded by Mexico to the United States. At that stage its population was under 7,000. At the time of its accession just two years later, the population had reached 60,000, due in great part to the gold rush. Its annual GDP exceeds Malaysia, Colombia, and Finland, among others.

California's Hollywood sign is a landmark located on Mount Lee, in the Beachwood Canyon area of the Santa Monica Mountains. Originally 'Hollywoodland', it is written in 15.2m tall (50-foot) white upper-case letters, erected in 1923 as a temporary advertisement for a local real estate development. It is possible to hike to see the sign close up at Griffith Park or the Griffith Observatory.

It was constructed in 1923 and scheduled for removal after 18 months, but its association with California cinema and the wider American film industry has meant that the sign remains in place and has been restored as necessary over the past 100 years.

Castroville California calls itself the Artichoke Capital of the World, and celebrates the state vegetable by growing it year round. Growers suggest that they should be steamed for 30-40 minutes before dipping the leaves in melted butter or aioli for the yummiest experience.

According to Greek myth, Zeus turned Cynara (with whom he was having an affair when his wife, Hera, was away from home), into an artichoke. That's how it got its scientific name, Cynara cardunculus. The state's first artichokes were grown near San Francisco in the late 1800s, probably brought to the USA by Spanish, French, or Italian immigrants.

California poppies are a cheerful addition to any garden. In mine, they have to be planted initially, but once there, I'll have them a few years because they naturalise fairly easily. In California, however, they are wild flowers and pop up in great numbers.

They will flower most of the summer even in dry conditions, mostly due to a long tap root that draws water from deep below the surface. They close up at night, and on cloudy days. The species was discovered and named by Adelbert von Chamisso, who was a naturalist on the Russian exploring ship "Rurick".

The Sequoiadendron giganteum (giant sequoia) is a species of tree that grows big. REALLY big. The one nicknamed the General Sherman Tree is the largest in the world at 1,487 cubic meters (52,508 cubic feet). It is thought that it was planted or seeded between 700 - 300 BC, making it around 2500 years old!

The General Sherman tree was named after the American Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman, possibly by naturalist James Wolverton, who served as a lieutenant in the 9th Indiana Cavalry under Sherman. It is located in the Sequoia National Park, and is visited by thousands annually.

The Great Seal of California includes sailing vessels, a bear, a sheaf of grain, grapes, and a gold miner on the design. Most prominent on the seal though, is the figure of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and war. She is the same as Minerva in Roman mythology.

The seal also includes 31 stars representing the number of states in the Union when California joined. In the background is a depiction of the bay of San Francisco.