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This article is written in American English, which has its own spelling conventions (center, color, defense, realize, traveled) and some terms may be different or absent from other varieties of English. According to the relevant style guide, this should not be changed without broad consensus.

California was a good articles nominee, but did not meet the good article criteria at the time. There may be suggestions below for improving the article. Once these issues have been addressed, the article can be renominated. Editors may also seek a reassessment of the decision if they believe there was a mistake.

Article milestones Date Process Result January 6, 2006 Peer review Reviewed March 16, 2007 Good article nominee Not listed November 11, 2016 Good article nominee Not listed March 4, 2022 Good article nominee Not listed Facts from this article were featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "On this day..." column on July 7, 2004, September 9, 2007, September 9, 2008, September 9, 2009, and September 9, 2010. Current status: Former good article nominee

This  level-4 vital article is rated B-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects:

California Top‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject California, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of the U.S. state of California on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.CaliforniaWikipedia:WikiProject CaliforniaTemplate:WikiProject CaliforniaCalifornia Top This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale. United States Top‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject United States, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of topics relating to the United States of America on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the ongoing discussions. Template Usage Articles Requested! Become a Member Project Talk Alerts United StatesWikipedia:WikiProject United StatesTemplate:WikiProject United StatesUnited States Top This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale. Former countries This article is within the scope of WikiProject Former countries, a collaborative effort to improve Wikipedia's coverage of defunct states and territories (and their subdivisions). If you would like to participate, please join the project.Former countriesWikipedia:WikiProject Former countriesTemplate:WikiProject Former countriesformer country

Section sizes Section size for California (58 sections) Section name Byte count Prose size (words) Header Total Header Total (Top) 17,455 17,455 528 528 Etymology 2,952 2,952 170 170 History 248 59,188 14 3,440 Indigenous tribes 6,488 6,488 286 286 Spanish period 7,500 7,500 504 504 Mexican period 6,674 6,674 475 475 U.S. conquest and the California Republic 3,911 3,911 231 231 Early American period 8,202 13,664 706 1,098 California genocide 5,462 5,462 392 392 1900–present 20,703 20,703 832 832 Geography 10,569 51,337 3 2,004 Climate 8,573 8,573 491 491 Ecology 1,411 1,411 123 123 Flora and fauna 15,832 15,832 974 974 Rivers 1,713 1,713 217 217 Regions 2,228 2,228 67 67 Cities and towns 11,011 11,011 129 129 Demographics 56 52,454 0 1,814 Population 16,761 16,761 644 644 Race and ethnicity 16,216 16,216 342 342 Languages 13,945 13,945 539 539 Religion 5,476 5,476 289 289 Culture 1,591 14,823 146 1,035 Media and entertainment 5,436 5,436 428 428 Sports 7,796 7,796 461 461 Education 4,629 10,771 174 287 Higher education 6,142 6,142 113 113 Economy 6,226 37,388 374 2,208 Agriculture 2,423 2,423 149 149 Income 7,283 7,283 235 235 State finances 3,693 3,693 214 214 Energy 6,907 6,907 385 385 Transportation 274 9,070 20 727 Highways 4,865 4,865 353 353 Air travel 750 750 67 67 Railroads 2,936 2,936 259 259 Busses 245 245 28 28 Water 1,786 1,786 124 124 Government and politics 303 36,725 19 2,138 State government 3,918 10,649 207 609 Executive branch 2,164 2,164 108 108 Legislative branch 862 862 45 45 Judicial branch 3,705 3,705 249 249 Local government 904 6,057 91 487 Counties 1,583 1,583 98 98 City and town governments 1,331 1,331 163 163 School districts and special districts 2,239 2,239 135 135 Federal representation 2,825 2,825 120 120 Armed forces 3,392 3,392 169 169 Politics 11,124 11,124 696 696 Foreign relations 2,375 2,375 38 38 See also 193 193 0 0 Notes 24 24 0 0 References 15 726 0 0 Citations 30 30 0 0 Works cited 681 681 0 0 Further reading 1,582 1,582 0 0 External links 2,377 2,377 0 0 Total 287,995 287,995 13,624 13,624

The section 'Indigenous' needs to change. In the start of the section, current understand of the demographics of native people says "greater than 300,000 people" in "more then 70 distinct ethnic groups". Yet the very next paragraph goes into detail with one theory of "men in women's clothing have traditional roles" and declares it to be "common". No one knows that those gender roles were "common" in California. This wording is directly misleading. It is not intellectually honest to put forward one particular theory as "common", without admitting the context or considering other theories, if not equally even in passing at all. Secondly, there were warrior tribes, and practices of slavery among some tribes. The implication is that the tribes really were diverse, including savage and cruel behavior associated with dominant hunter clans with territory. This portion of history is not mentioned at all. This section shows obvious bias, does not meet standards of fairness, accuracy and rigor.

What I was doing was adding infromation to the article. I never denied or removed the genocide. I even said the Natives were displaced and depopulated. I added important events how the rush began, where gold was discovered, and how California was won, but Cristiano Thomas won't let me. My version was more direct and to the point that his,. TheHistorianEditor (talk) 14:29, 1 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You literally REMOVED California genocide from the lead section. That's why people here are having major problems with your edits. Binksternet (talk) 16:34, 1 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Okay. Is there a way I can add these new details without removing it from the main discussion? TheHistorianEditor (talk) 19:28, 1 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

It is requested that an edit be made to the semi-protected article at California. (edit · history · last · links · protection log) This template must be followed by a complete and specific description of the request, that is, specify what text should be removed and a verbatim copy of the text that should replace it. "Please change X" is not acceptable and will be rejected; the request must be of the form "please change X to Y". The edit may be made by any autoconfirmed user. Remember to change the |answered=no parameter to "yes" when the request has been accepted, rejected or on hold awaiting user input. This is so that inactive or completed requests don't needlessly fill up the edit requests category. You may also wish to use the {{ESp}} template in the response. To request that a page be protected or unprotected, make a protection request.

Please add

State Song I Love You, California

to the State Symbols of California, List of State Symbols, Inanimate Insignia section.

Nikatine (talk) 21:57, 1 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]