Alta California

Alta California was a special place a long time ago. It was part of a big country called New Spain and later became part of Mexico. It started in 1804 when a place called Las Californias was split into two parts: Alta (upper) California and Baja (lower) California.

Today, Alta California is the place we now call the U.S. state of California. It also includes parts of Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, and Colorado. In 1848, after a difficult time between the United States and Mexico, most of Alta California became part of the United States. In 1850, California joined the U.S. as a state.

When Spanish people arrived, they met many local people who already lived there. Many cities today still have Spanish names, like Monterey, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego. These names remind us of the history of Alta California.

Early Days

People first started planning to live in Alta California in the late 1600s. In 1697, a priest named Eusebio Kino helped people in a place called Pimería Alta. The first mission, called Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó, was built in 1697. It was very hard to get to Alta California because of big deserts and strong ocean currents.

Spanish Time

In 1769, an explorer named Gaspar de Portolá led the first group of Europeans to travel through Alta California. They met local people and started building missions. The first mission was Mission San Diego de Alcalá, built in 1769 by a priest named Junípero Serra. These missions were important places where people lived and worked.

The Spanish also created big areas called ranchos where people raised cattle and sheep. The first rancho was Rancho San Pedro, created in 1784. These ranchos became very important for the area.

Mexico’s Time

In 1821, Mexico became independent from Spain. Alta California became a territory of Mexico. In 1824, it was called a “territory” because it did not have enough people to be a state.

Moving to the United States

In the 1840s, more people from the United States began to arrive in Alta California. In 1846, after Texas joined the United States, some American settlers in Northern California declared independence as the California Republic. Soon after, the United States and Mexico went into a difficult time. United States forces took control of cities like Monterey and San Francisco. In 1848, with a treaty, California became part of the United States.

Fun Facts

A newspaper in San Francisco called The Daily Alta California was where famous writer Mark Twain wrote some of his first stories.
A movie from 1998 called The Mask of Zorro has a character who wanted to start his own country in the area that was once Alta California.
There is a fun comic book called Donald Duck in Old California! that shows what life was like for people called the Californios.