California, a western U.S. state, stretches from the Mexican border along the Pacific for nearly 900 miles.
Its terrain includes cliff-lined beaches, redwood forest, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Central Valley farmland and the Mojave Desert.
Explore and learn about the wonders of California's diverse landscape through the National Parks.
Although California is well-known for its warm Mediterranean climate and monsoon seasonal weather,
the large size of the state results in climates that vary from moist temperate rainforest in the north to arid desert in the interior,
as well as snowy alpine in the mountains. All these factors lead to an enormous demand for water; in total numbers,
California is the largest consumer of water in North America.
Over time, drought and wildfires have become more frequent; further straining California's water security and safety of national parks.
Click here to see what you can do to help the national parks today.