California National Parks

California lakes: California Lakes

Bass Lake, Big Bear Lake,Clear Lake, Gold Lake
Huntington Lake,Lake
Arrowhead, Lake Tahoe

About Big Bear & Big Bear Lake, the San Bernardino National Forest,
100 miles from Los Angeles

Located almost 7000 feet above the Pacific Ocean in the San Bernardino Mountains, Big Bear Lake is just a short drive from most major Southern California locations. Big Bear Lake is an ultimate mountain get a way providing over 300 days of sunshine, a beautiful blue mountain lake and pure winter snowfall.

Big Bear''s environment is dominated by pine and oak forest. It sits in a mecca of sunshine and clear air. Average annual temperatures range from a pleasant 56 to 80 degrees in the summer months to 30 degrees in the winter. Precipitation averages about 20 inches per year and snowfall is common during winter months. Big Bear provides habitat for 30 wintering Bald Eagles and 29 species of rare plants.

History: Big Bear Valley was first occupied by the Serrano Indians approximately 3,000 years ago. In 1845, while in pursuit of Indians, Benjamin D. Wilson discovered and named Bear Valley because: "the place was alive with bears!" In 1860, William Holcomb went bear hunting - and discovered gold instead. What followed was Southern California''s largest gold rush. Big Bear''s first dam, completed in 1884, was soon followed by the Valley''s first hotel in 1888. In 1949 the first ski resort opened and Big Bear Lake soon became Southern California''s favorite mountain getaway. Hollywood also has a history in Big Bear. Since the filming of: "The Call of the North" in 1914, so many motion pictures have been shot in Big Bear Valley that it has been
called "Hollywood''s back lot." "Paint Your Wagon," "The Parent Trap," "Bonanza," "Kissin'' Cousins," "Yukon Gold" and "Dr. Dolittle" are just a few of the memorable films that have been shot on location in Big Bear Valley

California 38 is an oddly-shaped route that begins at California 18 near the Big Bear Lake Dam, heads north and then east along the northshore of the lake, then heads south through Big Bear City (on a duplex with California 18) before turning east and then south to descend out of the mountains near Angelus Oaks. California 38 then turns due west along Mill Creek before meeting its terminus at Interstate 10 in Redlands. The mountain topography makes this route look more indirect than it really is, since it traverses some very high elevations between California 18 and Interstate 10.

Haiway 18 - Arrowhead is a popular place name (toponym) in and near the western San Bernardino Mountains of the U.S. state of California. The name is derived from a natural geographic formation of bare rock on the side of the mountains near San Bernardino. The city of Lake Arrowhead, California and the adjacent lake, Lake Arrowhead Reservoir, take their names from the formation as does Arrowhead Water. The Native Americans of the San Bernardino Valley thought the Arrowhead pointed to the artesian hot springs below (which became the site of the Arrowhead Springs Hotel (which is currently not open); the Mormon settlers thought it pointed to the site which became San Bernardino, California; and Brazilian writer Carlos Casteneda refused to visit San Bernardino because he thought it pointed to an entrance to Hell - http://www.answers.com/topic/arrowhead-california.

An ancient prophet believed to have compiled a sacred history of the Americas, which were translated and published by Joseph Smith as the Book of Mormon in 1830.
Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or of a sect closely related to it (e.g., the Community of Christ). The Mormon religion was founded by Joseph Smith, who claimed to have received an angelic vision telling him of the location of golden plates containing God''s revelation; this he published in 1830 as the Book of Mormon. Smith and his followers accepted the Bible as well as the Mormon sacred scriptures but diverged significantly from orthodox Christianity, especially in their assertion that God exists in three distinct entities as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Mormons also believe that faithful members of the church will inherit eternal life as gods. Other unique doctrines include the belief in preexisting souls waiting to be born and in salvation of the dead through retroactive baptism. The church became notorious for its practice of polygamy, though it was officially sanctioned only between 1852 and 1890. Smith and his followers migrated from Palmyra, N.Y., to Ohio, Missouri, and finally Illinois, where Smith was killed by a mob in 1844. In 1846 – 47, under Brigham Young, the Mormons made a 1,100-mi (1,800-km) trek to Utah, where they founded Salt Lake City. In the early 21st century, the church had a worldwide membership of nearly 10 million, swelled yearly by the missionary work that church members, both men and women, are encouraged to perform - http://www.answers.com/topic/mormon?cat=entertainment.

Raised a Christian in Vermont and New York, Joseph Smith was the founding prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon church. Joseph Smith(1790-1877) Union naval officer, born in Massachusetts. In 1861 President Abraham Lincoln named Smith, then head of the Bureau of Yards and Docks, to the commission that was designing the Union ironclad Monitor. The Monitor arrived in Hampton Roads the day after Smith''s son had been killed in battle when his ship was burned by the Confederate ironclad Virginia, formerly the Merrimack. In the ensuing battle, the Virginia eventually withdrew. Smith was promoted to the rank of admiral in recognition of his contribution to the successful design of the Monitor - http://www.answers.com/topic/joseph-smith?cat=entertainment


Geo Eye - http://www.geoeye.com/gallery/2003_fires/default.htm#devore



Пыльные горы Панаминт. Национальный лес Секвойя. Porterville, CA.


Национальный парки Кингс Каньон и Секвойя. Прогулка по роще Гранта, где растет секвойя "Генерал Грант" - третий долгожитель в мире среди деревьев, "Генерал Шерман" - самоe староe в мире деревo. Fresno, CA


Национальный парк Йосемити. Внутреняя долина c знаменитым йосемитским водопадам. Страна золота и калифорнийская дорога "Фортинайнерс". Manteca, CA

Сакраменто. Капитолий и старый Сакраменто. Старательский Пласервилл. Озеро Тахо, Изумрудный залив. Столица зимней Олимпиады 1960 года Скво Вэлли.


Национальный парк Лассен Вулканик, представляющий термально и вулканический активный север Калифорнии. Маунт Шаста Сити у подножия мистической горы. Klamath Falls, OR.


Один из красивейших национальных парков страны Крэйтер Лейк. Национальный парк Рэдвуд - место, где растут самые высокие в мире деревья. Arcata, CA.


Калисога. Виноградные долины Напа и Сонома знаменитых калифорнийских вин. Глен Эллен, место, где провел последние годы своей жизни, умер и был похоронен Джек Лондон.Santa Rosa.

California State Parks - http://www.parks.ca.gov/lat_long_map/default.asp?lvl_id=41

California 38
highway 18 - Solar Observatory at Lake Arrowhead