What the heck are these things?

[the_yellow_dart]

Google maps sat photo

[Hudson]

I'm gonna say farmland.

[Camino LS6]

Irrigated farmland. That's why they are round.

[the_yellow_dart]

Why farm the desert though? Aren't there cheaper places to farm?

[AAS]

Why farm the desert though? Aren't there cheaper places to farm?

198889[/snapback]

Aren't they right next to a river bed?

[the_yellow_dart]

Maybe a dry river bed... it's right next to Death Valley.

[Northstar]

If they're right next to a river then that'd make it pretty cheap to farm, since they can just build some sort of cannal or something to their land and get free water constantly.

[capriceman]

Crop circles caused by Aliens that play trippy music when kids are having rave's in the Desert.

[Justin Bimmer]

All of California is considered a desert basically. The motto "The Golden State" comes from the fact that the grass dies every year and turns golden. If it was not for canals and federal water projects, nobody would be enjoying all the wonderful food and raw textiles California's central valley produces.

Most people don't know that ag is a 30 BILLION dollar industry in California, and it is DOUBLE the size of any other industry...... #2 is aerospace and #3 is media/entertainment

[loki]

isn't lake meade (or something else) piped out immensly to support this type of stuff, lasvegas, and tons of other areas in eastern Ca?

[trinacriabob]

isn't lake meade (or something else) piped out immensly to support this type of stuff, lasvegas, and tons of other areas in eastern Ca?

198929[/snapback]

Yep, Lake Mead is the damming up of the Colorado and it does provide irrigation. Southern Nevada is very dry (and, look, Las Vegas is full of country clubs) and Northern Nevada has substantial amounts of farmland on the downward slope from Lake Tahoe and all along the backside of the Sierra Nevada which runs up and down the Cal-Neva border.

Edited September 29, 2006 by trinacriabob

[trinacriabob]

All of California is considered a desert basically. The motto "The Golden State" comes from the fact that the grass dies every year and turns golden.

198913[/snapback]

True and not true. What put Cali on the map? The Gold Rush of 1849. Statehood followed soon thereafter.

And, since we're talking state nicknames, California was sought out for its gold and Nevada, "The Silver State," has a substantial mining industry and there have been numerous silver mines.

[Justin Bimmer]

True and not true.  What put Cali on the map?  The Gold Rush of 1849.  Statehood followed soon thereafter.

And, since we're talking state nicknames, California was sought out for its gold and Nevada, "The Silver State," has a substantial mining industry and there have been numerous silver mines.

198985[/snapback]

From the state's website

""The Golden State" has long been a popular designation for California and was made the official State Nickname in 1968. It is particularly appropriate since California's modern development can be traced back to the discovery of gold in 1848 and fields of golden poppies can be seen each spring throughout the state."

[scharmer05]

Maybe a dry river bed... it's right next to Death Valley.

198892[/snapback]

If this is a dry river bed, that would make the soil quite fertile.

[trinacriabob]

From the state's website

""The Golden State" has long been a popular designation for California and was made the official State Nickname in 1968. It is particularly appropriate since California's modern development can be traced back to the discovery of gold in 1848 and fields of golden poppies can be seen each spring throughout the state."

199024[/snapback]

OK...a year off....but, damn, it is BROWN for a good chunk of the year. Nothing like driving through the coastal range in late March and early April when all the oak-studded hills are GREEN!

[scharmer05]

From the state's website

""The Golden State" has long been a popular designation for California and was made the official State Nickname in 1968. It is particularly appropriate since California's modern development can be traced back to the discovery of gold in 1848 and fields of golden poppies can be seen each spring throughout the state."

199024[/snapback]

Gold may have been discovered in 48, but I beleive the rush was in 49, hence the San Francisco 49ers

Edited September 29, 2006 by scharmer05

[the_yellow_dart]

Gold may have been discovered in 48, but I beleive the rush was in 49, hence the San Francisco 49ers

199143[/snapback]

Interesting. I always thought that had something to do with latitude or longitude, but as this map shows, that doesn't make sense.

[Justin Bimmer]

Gold was discovered in 1848 near Sutter's Fort and the rush of people that came to California was in 1849.