Alta California

American  

[ahl-tuh] / ˈɑl tə /

noun

1. a former Spanish colony of New Spain, in the modern-day states of California, Nevada, and N Arizona: ceded by Mexico to the United States 1848.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Alta California

It’s 1821 in Alta California, in the twilight of Spanish rule.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

While doing more research on the history of the estate, the brothers discovered an 1872 news clipping from the Alta California, a daily newspaper published in San Francisco.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 22, 2022

Headed to Oregon again without explicit orders to either assault or avoid California, he made an intrusion into the Mexican region called Alta California.

From The New Yorker ● Jan. 20, 2020

Cattle ranches later took shape on huge private land grants, but Alta California still grew slowly, with a Hispanic population that did not reach 1,000 until 1790.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018

He died in 1830—and was the first Governor of Alta California after Mexico threw off the yoke of Spain.

From The Spinner's Book of Fiction by Various