It might seem like California has been known as “The Golden State” since the discovery of gold in 1848, but it was not made the official state nickname until 50 years ago in 1968.
To celebrate the golden anniversary of becoming the “Golden State,” let’s test your knowledge of the nicknames for California cities and other states.
Name that city
Try to match the cities in the map to their nicknames. Note: Some cities may share a nickname. Not all city nicknames in California are listed and some are not officially adopted.
A. Almond capital of the world: Chico or Corning?
Answer: Chico, Sacramento is also considered the Almond capital.
B. Garlic capital of the world: Salinas or Gilroy?
Answer: Gilroy, they will celebrate their 40th garlic festival this year in late July.
C. Olive city: Fallbrook or Corning?
Answer: Corning is about 115 miles north of Sacramento and you could call it an olive pitstop off the I-5.
D. Poison Oak capital of the world: McCloud or Forestville?
Answer: Forestville has not adopted the title officially. It is a small town (3,000 people) in Sonoma County with the motto, “Forestville, The Good Life.” It was named not for a forest but for a saloon owner, Andrew Jackson Forrester. It’s other claim to fame is being the home of the state’s first powered sawmill.
E. Blackberry capital of the world: Willow Creek or McCloud?
Answer: McCloud is a town with about 1,000 people in Siskiyou County.
F. Horseradish capital of the world: Tulelake or Bishop?
Answer: Tulelake is one of several cities to make this claim. It’s production of horseradish has declined in the past 20 years.
G. America’s farm-to-fork capital: Sacramento or Bakersfield?
Answer: Sacramento takes pride in the regional production of food and supplying not just the U.S. but the world with California crops.
H. Fog capital of California: Pacifica or Pacific Grove
Answer: Pacifica does not boast of its fog with a city motto, but being on the coast and 12 miles south of San Francisco you can see why the name applies. Pacific Grove, also on the California coast, gets its share of fog, but it takes pride in another title.
I. Artichoke center of the world: Salinas or Castroville?
Answer: Castroville’s 58th annual artichoke festival is coming up in June and will be celebrated at the Moterey County Fair and Event Center.
J. Mule packer capital of the world: Bishop or Bakersfield?
Bishop will celebrate its mule packer history with Mule Days, May 22-28. There is an effort to build a mule-packer museum in Bishop. You can learn more about it here.
K. California’s country music capital: Bakerfield or Bishop?
Bakersfield is so country it even has its own sound. The “Bakersfield sound” is a genre of country music that is mostly attributed to Buck Owens and Merle Haggard.
L. Flower seed capital of the world: Oxnard or Lompoc?
Answer: Lompoc was once famous for its flower seed production but its output has declined.
M. Strawberry capital of the world: Oxnard or Salinas?
Answer: Oxnard will celebrate its 35th Strawberry Festival, May 19 and 20. The fields around the city of Oxnard are said to produce one-third of the state’s strawberries.
N. Media capital of the world: Burbank or Santa Monica?
Answer: Burbank proudly touts the claim because several huge media companies such as Warner Bros. Entertainment, Warner Music Group, Nickelodeon, NBC, Insomniac Games, and The Walt Disney Company have offices there.
O. Surf City USA: Santa Cruz or Huntington Beach?
Answer: It took a legal battle to prove it but Huntington Beach is officially known as Surf City USA. You can read about the lawsuit and result here.
P. Golf capital of the world: Palm Springs or Pebble Beach?
Answer: With more than 20 golf courses in the city of Palm Springs it welcomes golfers of all handicaps.
Q. Date capital of the world: Indio or Fallbrook?
Answer: Indio calls itself the city of festivals but before the huge music festivals came along it was know for its date production. Its annual Date Festival will be Feb. 16-25.
R. Avocado capital of the world: Corona or Fallbrook?
Answer: The city of Fallbrook must think guacamole helps people cope with tax deadlines because the annual Avocado Festival will be held April 15th this year.
S. The International City: Long Beach or San Francisco?
Answer: “The International City” is the official motto of Long Beach. It is on the city’s flag.
T. Bigfoot capital of the world: Willow Creek or Eureka?
Answer: Bigfoot is big business in Willow Creek. It has a museum with a lot of Bigfoot items in addition to historical artifacts from the area.
U. Butterfly town, U.S.A.: Pacific Grove or Corona?
Answer: Pacific Grove will have its annual Butterfly Parade celebrating the return of migrating Monarch Butterflies on Oct. 6.
V. Lettuce capital of the world: Salinas or Watsonville?
Answer: The city of Salinas has not adopted “Lettuce capital” officially, nor its other unofficial nickname, “The Salad Bowl of the World.” The Salinas Valley could supply as much as 80 percent of the lettuce in the U.S.
W. Dogtown: Santa Monica or Corona?
Answer: Santa Monica was known as Dogtown to the teenage surf and skate team that helped shape skateboarding into an international sensation. Here’s a link to an article by the National Museum of American History that describes the 1970s innovation.
X. Circle City: Riverside or Corona?
Corona’s Grand Blvd. is a 4.4 mile circular street in the heart of the city.
Y. The Crown City: Riverside or Pasadena?
Answer: Pasadena is known as the “City of Roses,” and “Crown City” for the annual Rose Parade.
Z. What other city is known as Crown City?:
Answer: Coronado
A list of many more California city nicknames can be found here.
State nickname game
California’s nickname is fitting since its statehood can be traced back to the discovery of gold in 1848 and golden poppy-covered fields that bloom every spring. But how well do you know other states?
Some states have multiple nicknames such as Nevada, known as the Silver State and Sagebrush State. See if you can match the state to their nicknames:
1. Louisiana
2. New Jersey
3. Montana
4. New Hampshire
5. Utah
6. Delaware
7. Kansas
ANSWERS: 1-C (Louisiana the pelican state)
2-F (New Jersey the garden state)
3-B (Montana the treasure state)
4-A (New Hampshire the granite state)
5-G (Utah the beehive state)
6-E (Delaware the diamond state)
7-D (Kansas the sunflower state)
Sources: Library of Congress, SeeCalifornia.com, California State Library
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