Sacramento, the capital of the state of California, began its life as a Gold Rush city when thousands of prospectors descended upon Captain John Sutter's settlement, New Helvetia, in hopes of striking the mother lode. Today Sacramento is a city of gracious tree-lined streets and, famous for flowers that bloom all year, it is known as the "Camellia Capital of the World." A significant percentage of the food that America consumes is produced in Sacramento, which is at the center of the fruitful Sacramento Valley. Since the nineteenth century the city has been a major transportation hub for the West Coast.

Sacramento has a Mediterranean climate that is characterized by cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers (Koppen climate classification Csa).

The area usually has high humidity during winter but low during summer.Rain typically falls only between Mid October to April, with the rainy season tapering off almost completely by the end of April. The average temperature throughout the year is 61°F (16°C), with the daily average ranging from 46°F (8°C) in December and January to 76°F (24°C). Average daily high temperatures range from 55°F (13°C) in December and January to 93°F (34°C) in July and August.. Daily low temperatures range from 41 to 61°F (5 to 16°C).

Sacramento, the major urban center of California's Central Valley, is located at the confluence of the American and Sacramento Rivers. The region has been a crossroads of trade and commerce since its earliest habitation. John A. Sutter, a German-speaking Swiss adventurer, arrived in Sacramento in 1839 and built a fort as a frontier outpost for the Mexican government. The gold rush that began in 1848 led the following year to the platting of the city of Sacramento, which became the state capital in 1854. It was the western terminus of the Oregon Trail and of the first transcontinental railroad (completed 1869). By the late 1850s, agriculture had begun to supplant mining as the city's primary economic venture.