The search term "California" is almost always used by people who are looking for general information about the State of California. However, California is an ambiguous search term, even in a geographic context, because there are many cities and towns named California in the United States of America, Canada, and the United Kingdom: California City, California; California, Kentucky; California, Maryland; California, Michigan; California, Missouri; California, North Carolina; California, Ohio; California, Pennsylvania; California, New Brunswick; Lower California, New Brunswick; California, Lanark County, Ontario; California, Leeds and Greenville County, Ontario; New California, Ontario; and California, Buckinghamshire, England. Moreover, because of the strong online presence of various California colleges and universities, and the strong online presence of certain businesses and organizations that are located in California, people who are looking for geographic information are well-advised to target their searches with additional keywords that are relevant to their queries.

Are you looking for the Web site of "California" museum or library?

• California Digital Library
  A collaborative effort of the nine University of California campuses to provide online access to scholarly materials, databases of journal articles and abstracts and citations, electronic journals, publishing tools, and reference databases for the University of California community.

• California Academy of Sciences
  A private non-profit institution located in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California and consisting of a Natural History Museum, Planetarium, and Aquarium open to the public. However, the Academy in Golden Gate Park will be closed to the public until it re-opens in 2008. Meanwhile, the Academy will be opening at 875 Howard Street in downtown San Francisco on May 1, 2004.

• Oakland Museum of California
  Dedicated to presenting the natural science, history, and art of the Golden State.

• California State Railroad Museum Foundation
  Home of the California State Railroad Museum, located in Old Sacramento, and the Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, located in Jamestown, California. The museum is a complex of historic facilities and unique attractions, including several historic railroad cars curated in mint condition, and is widely regarded as one of North America's finest railroad museums, whereas Railtown 1897 provides an authentic backdrop for filming on location.

• California Science Center
  The West Coast's largest hands-on science center, just south of downtown Los Angeles.

Are you looking for one of the University of "California" Web sites?

• The University of California, Office of the President
  The Office of the President is the systemwide headquarters of the University of California. Its eight divisions oversee UC's academic mission, budget, community affairs, and business and financial activities as well as management of three national labs and its statewide agricultural and natural resources services.

• University of California Press
  Established in 1893 to distribute research papers of the University of California faculty, the press is now the nonprofit publishing arm of the University of California.

• University of California, Berkeley
  Berkeley is the oldest of the UC campuses and serves as the flagship of California's public university system.

• University of California, Davis
  Starting out in 1908 as the University Farm, Davis is now ranked among the top fifteen research universities nationwide with three colleges and five professional schools.

• University of California, Hastings College of the Law
  Founded in 1878 by Serranus Clinton Hastings (the first Chief Justice of California) as the sole law school for the University of California, Hasting College of the Law is now the only stand-alone law school in the UC system.

• University of California, Irvine
  Founded in 1965, Irvine is the first public university with faculty who received Nobel prizes in two different fields in the same year.

• University of California, Los Angeles
  Beginning as the Los Angeles State Normal School in 1882, the campus became a Teachers College, then the southern branch of the University of California in 1919, and finally a separate campus in 1927.

• University of California, Riverside
  The Riverside campus began as the Citrus Experiment Station back in 1907, later blossoming into the College of Letters and Science, and then into a general campus in 1959.

• University of California, San Diego
  Since its founding as a UC campus four decades ago, San Diego has rapidly achieved the status of one of the top ten ranked institutions in the nation for higher education and research.

• University of California, San Francisco
  The only UC campus dedicated solely to graduate and professional study in the health sciences, UCSF's schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and dentistry, as well as the graduate division programs, consistently rank in the top of their fields.

• University of California, Santa Barbara
  Originally a small, independent Teachers College, Santa Barbara joined the UC system in 1944 and relocated from a small campus near the center of town after World War II, and today Santa Barbara is home to eight National Research Centers.

• University of California, Santa Cruz
  Highly ranked as both a research university and for its commitment to undergraduate education, Santa Cruz is actually a confederation of ten discrete colleges, each with their own buildings and administration.

Are you looking for one of the "California" State University Web sites?

• The California State University
  Offical Home Page of the 23 campus California State University system headquarters.

• California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
  Established in 1901 as the California State Polytechnic School, becoming a California State University in 1972.

• California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
  Established in 1938 as the southern campus of the California State Polytechnic School, becoming an independent campus in 1966, and a California State University in 1972.

• California State University, Bakersfield
  Established 1965 as a State College, becoming a California State University in 1987.

• California State University, Channel Islands
  Established at the site of the former Camarillo State Hospital, the campus Californi State University, Channel Islands opened in 2002 and welcomed its first class of freshmen in Fall 2003.

• California State University, Chico
  First established as a State Normal School in 1887, became a Teachers College in 1921, a State College in 1935, and a California State University in 1972.

• California State University, Dominguez Hills
  Established in 1960 as a State College, became a California State University in 1977.

• California State University, Fresno
  First established as a State Normal School in 1911, becoming a Teachers College in 1921, a State College in 1935, and a California State University in 1972.

• California State University, Fullerton
  Established in 1957 as a State College, becoming a California State University in 1972.

• California State University, Hayward
  Established in 1957 as a State College, becoming a California State University in 1972.

• California State University, Long Beach
  Established in 1949.

• California State University, Los Angeles
  Established in 1947.

• California State University, Maritime
  Founded in 1929 as the California Maritime Academy, becoming a California State University in 1995.

• California State University, Monterey Bay
  Established in 1995 at the former Fort Ord military base.

• California State University, Northridge
  Established in 1958 as San Fernando Valley State College, becoming a California State University in 1972.

• California State University, Sacramento
  Established in 1947 as a State College, becoming a California State University in 1972.

• California State University, San Bernardino
  Established in 1960 as a State College, becoming a California State University in 1984.

• California State University, San Marcos
  The twentieth California State University campus, established in 1988.

• California State University, Stanislaus
  Established in 1957 as a State College, becoming a California State University in 1985.

• Humboldt State University
  Established in 1913 as a State Normal School, becoming a Teachers College in 1921, a State College in 1935, and a California State University in 1972.

• Sonoma State University
  Established in 1960 as California State College, Sonoma>, became a California State University in 1978.

• San Francisco State University
  First established as a State Normal School in 1899, after the first California State Normal School moved to San Jose, became a Teachers College in 1921, a State College in 1935, and a California State University in 1972.

• San José State University
  First established as the Weekly Normal School (a training school for elementary teachers) by the San Francisco Board of Education in 1857, becoming the California State Normal School in 1862, the first institution of higher education established by the State of California, and moving to San Jose in 1871, then becoming a Teachers College in 1921, a State College in 1935, and a California State University in 1972.

Are you looking for the Web site of a private "California" college or university?

• Google Directory - California Private Colleges and Universities
  A comprehensive collection of annotated links.

• University of Southern California (USC)
  Established in the frontier town of Los Angeles in 1880, USC is the oldest independent teaching and research university in the West.

• California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
  Established in 1891 as Throop University, the university was transformed over the next thirty years by astronomer George Ellery Hale, chemist Arthur A. Noyes, and physicist Robert A. Millikan into a first-class institution for engineering and scientific research and education.

• California Institute of the Arts
  By virtue of the merger of the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music, founded in 1883, and the Chouinard Art Institute, founded in 1921, the California Institute of the Arts was established in 1961 by Walt and Roy Disney as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the performing arts.

• California Lutheran University
  A private parochial, liberal arts university, originally established in 1959.

• California Institute of Integral Studies
  Since its founding in 1968, the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco has become recognized worldwide as a unique leader in higher education, preparing students to work in the areas of psychology, religion, philosophy, and the humanities.