California is a U. S. state.
Alta California . The region included all of the modern American states of California , Nevada , and Utah , and parts of Arizona , Wyoming , Colorado and New Mexico . California ( [ kælᵻˈfɔːrnjə , _ - ni.ə ] , ) is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area . The Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony . Sacramento ( [ ˌsækrəˈmɛntoʊ ] [ sakɾaˈmento ] ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County .