What Is The Capital Of California?
Sacramento is the state capital of California. The city of Sacramento is the county seat of Sacramento County, and is located in the northern part of California’s vast Central Valley, known as the Sacramento Valley. The current population of the city of approximately 493,025, which is the sixth largest city in California. Sacramento is the economic and cultural center of the Greater Sacramento metropolitan area.
History of the capital of California
Native Americans left insufficient evidence of their existence in the area where they likely lived for thousands of years. The Sacramento Valley, as well as the Sacramento River, was named by Gabriel Moraga, a Spanish explorer who reached the area in 1808. John Sutter, with help from his exploration party, established Sutter’s Fort in 1840 and founded a Mexican colony called New Helvetia.
The fort became popular with immigrants passing through the Valley, and in 1847 Sutter contracted James Marshall to build a sawmill. The reception of 2,000 fruit trees allowed Sutter to grow an agricultural industry in the region. The discovery of gold in 1848 bolstered the settlement’s population, and Sutter initiated the development of the city of Sacramento, which was incorporated on February 27, 1850, making it the state’s oldest incorporated city. Chinese immigrants came to the city en masse during the 1840s and 1850s and contributed to the city’s labor pool. Sacramento became California’s capital in 1850, a status that brought about the city’s prosperity.
Geography of Sacramento
Sacramento sits on an area of 100.1 square miles. 2.19% of this total area is water and the remaining 97.81% is land. Sacramento’s location is strategically located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American rivers, and a canal through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, connecting the city’s deepwater port to San Francisco Bay.
Most of the land west of Sacramento is permanently set aside for an extensive flood plain due to the city’s historical susceptibility to flooding.
Demographics of Sacramento
The capital of California is often ranked as one of the most diverse areas of the country and is recognized for its high racial and ethnic integration. The 2010 census reported a population of 466,488 and a racial makeup of white (45%), African American (14.6%), Asian (17.8%), Pacific Islander (1.4%), Native American (1.1%), and other races ( 12.3%).
The Latino or Hispanic community of any race was 26.9% of the population, 22.6% had Mexican heritage and 0.7% and 0.5% of the population had Puerto Rican and Salvadoran ancestry respectively. An LGBT population of about 10% makes Sacramento one of the top cities with the highest LGBT populations per capita.