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1San Francisco’s Chinese diaspora began in the 1800s as thousands of immigrants sought work in the railroads and mines. A distinct community emerged known as Chinatown that became a major force in shaping the city’s cultural and political character. Today, it’s the oldest Chinatown in North America and the largest Chinese enclave outside Asia. A…

Indigenous groups were once spread like a galaxy of stars across the Western wilderness, speaking more than 100 languages and flourishing independently for thousands of years. Their collapse was swift. California’s tribal population fell from perhaps more than 300,000 to as little as 25,000 by the end of the 19th century, a result of disease,…

All at once in the mid-19th century, the Mexican-American war ended and the Gold Rush began. California swelled with a sense of both optimism and foreboding. Young men from all over the world were pouring into the western lands ceded by Mexico. Even soldiers deserted their posts to try their luck in the gold fields.…

Off a country road in Woodside, amid the new wealth of Silicon Valley, is one of the finest remaining country estates of the early 20th century. Filoli Gardens was built by William Bowers Bourn II, heir to a Gold Rush fortune, and his wife Agnes as a lavish refuge 30 miles south of San Francisco. The…

There’s a town in the Mojave Desert named Zzyzx that was founded by a legendary huckster. Curtis Howe Springer was an Alabama-born radio evangelist and medical quackery salesman who grew restless during his retirement in Depression-era Los Angeles. He decided to create a retreat center dedicated to healthy living and filed a mining claim on 20…

People paid 25 cents to watch actors pose as “nudists” at San Diego’s Balboa Park in 1935. Yes, it was controversial. The Zoro Garden nudist colony was an attraction at the 1935-36 Pacific International Exposition designed to demonstrate the ideals of the “natural outdoor life.” The public was invited to watch topless women and bearded…

1Wards Ferry Bridge spans the Tuolumne River just outside Yosemite. It’s been a popular hangout spot for teenagers, who have left almost none of the deck’s surface untouched by spray paint. Letter writers to the local newspaper have complained that the renegade artwork spoils the area’s natural beauty. But seen from the sky, it looks…

1. A herd of about 100 wild zebras wanders a stretch of the Central Coast. At pretty much any given moment, motorists who have pulled over along Highway 1 can be seen squinting at what looks like a scene out of the African savannah in the golden pastures near San Simeon. The zebras are descendants…

“I, Robot” is the theme for this year’s edition of Burning Man, the world famous, week-long participatory festival held in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. Kicking off this Sunday, the temporary city will feature worthy heirs to the storied history of Burning Man art installations, with grandiose, kooky, thought-provoking, and interactive work. So if you want…

Tim Palmer loves rivers so much that he lived out out of a van for 22 years so he could be near them. Aged 70, the photographer and naturalist has published 26 books, including “Field Guide to California Rivers” and “Rivers of California.” “California is unique in every way, and rivers are no exception,” Palmer…

The Frisbee was invented in the Golden State. As a teenager in 1930s Los Angeles, Fred Morrison had tossed around cake pans for fun. Later, after serving as a pilot in World War II, he created a series of flying disc prototypes. He sold a plastic version called the Pluto Platter to Wham-O, which rolled…

The Los Angeles Dodgers invented the high five. That’s at least according to one of the most widely cited origin stories of the now-commonplace gesture. It was Oct. 2, 1977, when the Dodgers outfielder Dusty Baker sent his 30th home run of the season over the fence during a game against the Astros. That made…

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is among the world’s most diverse marine ecosystems. The so-called “Serengeti of the Sea” spreads across thousands of square miles from north of San Francisco to the southern end of the Big Sur coast. Established in 1992, the waters abound with dozens of species of marine mammals — including whales, dolphins,…

1The Los Angeles Dodgers invented the high five. That’s at least according to one of the most widely cited origin stories of the now-commonplace gesture. It was Oct. 2, 1977, when the Dodgers outfielder Dusty Baker sent his 30th home run of the season over the fence during a game against the Astros. That made…

A couple weeks ago, the N.Y. Times published an addictive precinct-level map of results from the 2016 presidential election. Statewide, California voters resoundingly favored Hillary Clinton, giving her 61.5 percent of the vote to Donald Trump’s 31.5 percent. But viewed in granular detail, the Times map powerfully demonstrated how many of us really do live…

The legend of Bigfoot turns 60 this month. It was in August of 1958 that Jerry Crew, a tractor operator working in the remote wilderness of Northern California’s Six Rivers National Forest, spotted giant footprints in the mud. They were 16 inches long and, to his eye, manlike. The news media pounced. Writing about the…

John Orr, a former Glendale arson investigator, was uncannily close at hand when fires broke out in Southern California in the 1980s. Colleagues thought he might have a sixth sense. The area was being terrorized at the time by the so-called Pillow Pyro, an arsonist who sometimes targeted linen shops. As chronicled in Joseph Wambaugh’s…

In the 19th century, California’s grizzly bears were commonly regarded as menaces. But settlers did see some value in the mighty beasts — as gladiatorial combatants. Among the pastimes popular at the time were fights to the death between grizzly bears and bulls staged as Sunday entertainment for the after-church crowd. “A bull and bear…