Located on the western coast of the United States, California extends along the Pacific Ocean from the Mexican border in the south for nearly 900 miles to its northern border with the state of Oregon. The state is approximately 200 miles wide from its western beaches to its eastern deserts adjoining the states of Nevada and Arizona.

Unique geological features of California extend north to south along nearly the entire length of the state. It also generates a variety of scenery and climates to make California a great place to visit.

Tropical Beaches to Rugged Coast
The Californian coastline extends from the sandy tropical beaches of San Diego near the Mexican border to the northern coasts near Oregon. In the southern part, warm Pacific waters and that famous California surf has some of the beautiful palm shaded beaches. In northern California, hiking and beaches with seals, sea otters or whales are more popular than swimming.

The coastal mountains widen western border of the entire state. These low volcanic peaks form a shielding barrier for the inner lands from the full force of the Pacific Ocean weather. At Big Sur just south of Monterey, the mountains fall right into the ocean to form stunning scenery. A gap in the mountains near San Francisco allows the Pacific Ocean to flow into a large protected bay behind the coastal range.

Central Valley, the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the desert
The Central Valley runs down the center of the state east of the Coastal Mountains and west of the higher Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. Once dry desert plain, it is now some of the richest farmlands in the USA. The Central Valley is 50 to 100 miles wide, covered with farms, orchards and vineyards.

The Sierra Nevada Mountain Range forms a 400-mile long north-south wall of snow-capped peaks approximately 100 miles east of the Pacific shoreline. From Bakersfield, just east of Los Angeles, to Yosemite, nearly 200 miles north, there is no road crossing this range from east to west. Approaching the mountains from the west, it takes through 50 miles of rising hills and wooded slopes before it reaches the snow capped ridges. From the east, the snowcapped peaks rise directly from the floor to form a magnificent wall of granite extending from horizon to horizon.

A narrow strip of California lies east of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range in a burnt rain-shadow desert with waterless mountains and dried valleys.

Los Angeles and San Francisco
Multi-ethnic metropolis of Los Angeles is the major city in California. It is home to Hollywood movie stars, business moguls, California surfers and four million residents. It is a mass of several dozen communities combined into the largest city on the west coast of the US. From its hot beaches and international shopping malls, it is only a few hours to the giant redwood forests of the Sierra Nevada wilds.

Located nearly 400 miles (600 km) to the north, San Francisco is another great California city. It hugs the slopes of a hilly peninsula on the shores of a vast blue bay among the coastal mountains. Much more picturesque, it is less urban than Los Angeles and lacks the warm sandy beaches. Yosemite National Park with its spectacular alpine vistas is only four hours drive to the east. The California Wine Country of Sonoma and Napa Valley is less than an hour to the north.

Many wonderful attractions
Between these two major cities, lay many beautiful coastal towns like Monterey and Santa Barbara plus the spectacular coastline of Big Sur. Forests of giant redwoods, and snowcapped mountain peaks are easily available in the Sierra Nevada high country just a few hours to the east. The Mojave Desert and the resort city of Palm Springs are not far from Los Angeles. California is much more interesting place just the scenic places.  

Madonna, a 49 years old American singer and song writer, came in to music industry in 1982 and has been active since then. She was born in Bay City, Michigan on 16 August, 1958 with the name of Madonna Louise Ciccone. She released her first self titled debut album on July, 27 1983 in US. The album included 8 tracks. Madonna’s lyrics that she penned herself, were seen in 5 tracks out of 8. In 2001 the re-mastered version of the album was released by Warner bros. that included 2 bonus tracks both of them were composed by Madonna herself.