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Map of California topography and geomorphic provinces California's major mountain ranges. California is a U.S. state on the western coast of North America. Covering an area of 163,696 sq mi (423,970 km 2), California is among the most geographically diverse states.
Essentially, the mountain ranges separate southern California into two distinct climatic regions: The heavy-populated coastal area west of these mountains is the one most associated with the term "southern California" and is characterized by pleasant weather all-year round, without frequent heat spells in the summer and without low temperatures ...
Coastal California is heavily influenced by east–west distances to the dominant cold California Current as well as microclimates.Due to hills and coast ranges having strong meteorological effects, summer and winter temperatures (other than occasional heat waves) are heavily moderated by ocean currents and fog with strong seasonal lags compared to interior valleys as little as 10 mi (16 km) away.
Satellite view of the Southern California Bight in California, including the Channel Islands. The Southern California Bight stretches for about 692 km (430 mi) along the Pacific coast of North America, of which about 456 km (283 mi) is located within the United States and 236 km (147 mi) is located within Mexico.
The Central Valley is a broad, elongated, flat valley that dominates the interior of California, United States.It is 40–60 mi (60–100 km) wide and runs approximately 450 mi (720 km) from north-northwest to south-southeast, inland from and parallel to the Pacific coast of the state.
Approximate boundaries of the Big Sur region. Big Sur is not an incorporated town but a region without formal boundaries in California's Central Coast region. [17] The region is often confused with the small community of buildings and services 26 miles (42 km) south of Carmel in the Big Sur River valley, sometimes referred to by locals as Big Sur Village, but officially known as Big Sur. [17 ...
The climate of California varies widely from hot desert to alpine tundra, depending on latitude, elevation, and proximity to the Pacific Coast. California 's coastal regions, the Sierra Nevada foothills, and much of the Central Valley have a Mediterranean climate , with warmer, drier weather in summer and cooler, wetter weather in winter.
Ignoring the influence of other Solar System bodies, Earth's orbit, also called Earth's revolution, is an ellipse with the Earth–Sun barycenter as one focus with a current eccentricity of 0.0167. Since this value is close to zero, the center of the orbit is relatively close to the center of the Sun (relative to the size of the orbit).