Eastern California - Culture and History

Culture and History

Most of Eastern California does not fit the stereotypes of California, and is more related in culture to southeastern Oregon, northwestern Nevada and western Arizona. Eastern California is very sparsely populated (except for the area around Lake Tahoe), and tends to be politically conservative, much like the rest of the rural Western United States. However, the counties of San Bernardino and Riverside are part of the Greater Los Angeles area and the counties of El Dorado, Placer and Nevada are part of the Greater Sacramento area and are culturally influenced by their respective metropolitan areas.

Historically, Eastern California has had strong ties to Nevada, with the exact boundary between the two states in some dispute. Residents of portions of near Susanville, California tried to break away from California in 1856, first by declaring themselves part of the Nataqua Territory, and then through annexation to Nevada. The two states further squabbled over ownership of Susanville in 1863. The town of Aurora, Nevada was temporarily the county seat of both Mono County, California and Esmeralda County, Nevada. Finally, the line between the two states was settled by a survey in 1872.

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