California is a study in contrasts. Its landscape is so diverse, in fact, that you can travel from the highest point in the continental U.S. (Mount Whitney) to the lowest (Death Valley). Best known for its western border hugging the Pacific, it boasts the ubiquitous beaches and mild climate, but it’s also home to redwood forests housing the world’s tallest trees and some of the richest agricultural soil in the country. Its cities are equally as varied. Los Angeles and San Diego are two of the nation’s largest, with places like San Francisco and San Jose not far behind, but there are just as many areas where the population is much smaller.