Every Lake
California
From 14,505 feet on Whitney to 282 below in Death Valley, and less than a hundred miles between them.
California in relief
The land itself, cut in six steps of birch from the lowlands to the high ground — the cities starred, the summit and rise on the title block. No counties, no roads: just the shape of California.
About California
California runs about 800 miles north to south and holds the widest range of ground in the country. The Coast Ranges rise straight from the Pacific, broken only at the Golden Gate; behind them the Central Valley lies flat and farmed for 400 miles; and the Sierra Nevada walls the eastern side, topping out at Mount Whitney, 14,505 feet — the highest point in the lower 48, less than a hundred miles from Badwater in Death Valley at 282 feet below sea level. The Colorado River draws the southeastern border. Fifty-eight counties, from tiny Alpine to Inyo's deserts.
California entered on September 9, 1850 as the 31st state, admitted under the Compromise of 1850 without ever passing through the usual territorial stage — the gold rush had put a hundred thousand people there in two years. Sacramento became the capital in 1854, at the confluence of the Sacramento and American rivers where Sutter's Fort and the gold country met the riverboats. The board's best line is Highway 1 along the coast at Big Sur, with I-5 running the valley the whole length of the state.
- Six layers of birch — the land in elevation steps
- The summit and total rise on the title block
- The major cities, starred and named
- Title block with the admission date and capital
- A double rule engraved around the edge
- Every county line and the state border
- The interstates with their shields — 10 on this board
- The major cities, starred and named
- Title block with the admission date and capital
- A mile ruler engraved around the frame
