Here is something I've been working on
California (2025)
Population: 15.3 million (45% urban 55% rural)
Principal Cities (San Francisco 1.1 Million, San Diego 300,000, Fresno 175,000, Portland 160,000 Ulysses 115,000)
Principal Exports: Grain, Textiles, Gold, Silver, Wine, Timber products, Petrochemicals, Small Arms, Machine tools, Chemicals, Fertilizer
Pre-fall California was one of America’s fastest growing states. Its rich soil and long growing season attracted frontiersmen from all around the country. Its relative isolation and temperate climate had much to do with its survival following the disasters of the Fall. Although the America’s government was decapitated following the meteor strike, quick thinking on the part of General Ulysses S Grant, returning from a trip of Nippon, and governor William Irwin, order was quickly restored both in California and along the west coast. The Eastern united states found itself under marshal law, with General Sherman acting as the head of its emergency government. Both he and grant quickly understood the importance of evacuating as many civilians as possible from the rapidly cooling Midwest to California. As well as to provide relief to America’s recently displaced citizens. In the coming months hundreds of thousands of Americans, ranging from Wisconsin wheat farmers to Pittsburgh steel workers, to Ohio industrialists were relocated to California via the transcontinental railroad. These evacuations were viewed with the utmost importance, and were done under great hardship and danger. However when the snow’s of the long winter blocked the mountain passes; so too did it sever California’s ties to the eastern united states.
California’s population was swelled enormously by the refugees. There was some concern over providing for them, but with rationing, the short term doubling of the Pacific fishing fleet, and the speedy cultivation of wilderness, California was able to avoid the worst of the Famine years. The rest of the American West wasn’t so lucky, with civilization being preserved only along the temperate region of the Pacific Coast. Both the Rocky Mountains, and Pacific Northwest had become no mans lands, uninhabited except for scattered and isolated settlements. Expeditions were launched up and down the pacific coast, restoring contact with these communities and bringing them back into the fledgling Californian nation. By 1900 California stretched the full length of the pacific coast, incorporating the survivors of both Vancouver and Columbia into California via democratic referendum. Though this came with some protests from the Raj, distance, and continued unrest in India did much to dissuade any further actions. With the Pacific secured, California began expanding eastwards, reopening the gold and silver mines abandoned by the Fall, and setting up a vibrant series of frontier cities throughout the south east. Nevada (1920), Arizona (1930) and Idaho (1960) were all reincorporated in the Californian union via resettlement. This process of eastern homesteading has continued to this very day, with the borders of California now touching those of Texas and Deseret. California has also expanded into the former territories of Mexico, joining Texas in defeating the northern caudillos and annexing their territories, leading towards the founding of the city of Ulysses at the mouth of the gulf of California.
Economy
California’s economy has long centered around agriculture. Its warm climate and long growing seasons contributed towards its speedy recover from the cataclysm of the Fall. California is a major exporter of wheat, canned fruits and vegetables, beef, poultry and seafood. The Californian government has long supported its agricultural industry through the creation of massive irrigation projects. These have allowed formerly arid regions to blossom and enjoy astounding productivity. California also enjoys the worlds second largest wine making industry. Californian Vintages are particularly popular throughout the Americas and Raj although they enjoy fierce competition from Australian vintners. Timber and wood products, largely stemming from the pacific northwest are another major export, with much of the production being shipped to Nippon.
Industrially, California has in recent decades began to shift away from extraction industries. Silver and gold mining were long the staples of Californian industry. They contributed to the strong Californian dollar, and helped insure a healthy balance of trade. The recent discoveries of Oil in Southern California have provided yet another export product. Though California has traditionally possessed a sizable textiles industry centered in San Francisco and supported by small machine shops, it has generally lacked heavy industry. The development of heavy industry has been hampered by a scarcity of domestic coal reserves, leading to a situation where California has been forced to import most of its steel from mills in Australia. California’s coal shortage has been remedied by trade with Desert, which has quickly become California’s primary source for coal. This has lead to a rapid development of a fledgling steel and machine tools industry, the latter’s development being driven on largely by the demands of the oil industry. Perhaps the largest recent development with Californian industry is the wide spread process of electrification, brought on by the construction of a pair of hydro electric dams. Already factories are shifting away from steam power to electric, and California's hydroelectric potential remains enormous.
