SFO → IND
I’ve been at Purdue a couple months, and today was the first day of 20 degree weather. There are many things in Indiana which sharply contrast life in Cali. I’ve grown up in California all my life, and being out here in Indiana really puts into perspective my experience of home. The twisting mountains, flowing valleys and tropical Mediterranean climate are just a few of things I will never find in Indiana.
Foothills Park in Los Altos Hills
Topography
In fact California’s unique geography affords it all three of these unique features. California has an abdunance of tall mountains cascading into deep valleys. This is a result of its location on a fault line. As the Earth’s crust folds into the mantle, tall mountains are formed. While one result of this is beauty beyond belief, it also results in the Achilles’ heal of California. Earthquakes. The shifting tectonic plates actively cause earthquakes. These earthquakes can cause extreme devastation as highlighted in Hollywood box office San Andreas starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Geography
However one great feature of California is its climate. Situated on one of the Earth’s harmonic points dubbed mediterranean climate, California features dry summers and mild winters. In short, most of the planet has cold winters and hot summers. California, though, has a climate identical to coastal regions of the Mediterranean. This pleasant weather being one of California’s most attractive features. Consequently there are many crops that can be grown in California, that cannot be grown (well) in the rest of the United States. For example, grapes for wine are either grown in the Mediterranean, France, or California in the Napa Valley. All of these place share a similar if not identical climate, and California is the only place with this climate in the United States. The Achilles’ heel of this remarkable feature - is extremely dry summers responsible for yearly forest fires, which range in devastation from mild to severe.