How to Use
the Map

Table of
Contents

Map 1: California.

Alta, or Upper, California stretched from San Diego in the south to San Francisco in the north. From San Diego south, the region was known as Baja, or Lower, California. The peninsula south of what is today the state of California is the only section still known as Baja California and is part of Mexico.

Questions for Map 1

1. Locate the main Spanish settlements of San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Monterey, San Jose, and San Francisco. What do these locations have in common? Why would they have been important to the Spanish?

2. Find the city of Long Beach where Rancho Los Alamitos Historic Ranch and Gardens is located today. How would you describe its location?

* The map on this screen has a resolution of 72 dots per inch (dpi), and therefore will print poorly. You can obtain a high quality version of Map 1, but be aware that the file may take as much as 10 seconds to load with a 28.8K modem.