Shasta

Shasta is the northwesternmost province of Sierra, located along the western coast of North America on the. Composed of 7 counties, Shasta is home to 984,221 people spread over 27,607 square miles, making it the 14th most populous and 3rd largest province of Sierra. The capital of Shasta is Apfelhain, which is the principle city of the Apfelhain-Mondsichelhafen metropolitan area, while the largest city is. Admitted into the Kingdom on November 28, 1858, it is the 9th province in order of admission to Sierra. It is the only second-level administrative region to have as one of its official languages.

Shasta borders Rainier to the north, Washumko to the east, Plumas to the south, and the Pacific to the west. It is officially a part of the Sierran Pacific Northwest region, although it is sometimes considered an extended part of the Styxie due to historical and political connections. During the Sierran Civil War, Shasta formed an integral part of the self-declared Second California Republic. Its heavily German-influenced culture, progressive politics, and relative geographical separation from most of Sierra has made the province particularly unique amongst the Kingdom.

Shasta is an environmentally and geographically diverse province typical of the northern fringes of Sierra which can be divided into two unique geographic areas. The eastern portion of the province possesses the southernmost edges of the and is covered by both s and fields of short grasses on top of hilly highlands and in mountain valleys. The western portion of the province in mainly covered in hills and highlands and is almost completely made up of dense forests. The world-renowned s of Sierra, which draw tens of thousands of visitors every year, are located on Shasta's Pacific coast.

Prior to European discovery and exploration of Sierra, Shasta was mainly inhabited by a diverse group of Amerindians that included the, the , the , and the. The natives' way of life was left undisturbed for about a century longer than their southern counterparts further down in present-day Plumas. The first recorded European presence in Shasta was an accidental landing by a Spanish crew, who were part of the, near in 1775. By the 19th century, the Russians had begun colonization of northern Sierra through the establishment of active seafaring and sea lion hunting along Shasta's coast. Small parties of New Hollander colonists also explored parts of southern Shasta in their expansion northward, averting Spanish detection. Although Shasta was nominally claimed by New Spain and later, its successor Mexico, it did not see any significant development or attention until California gained independence as a republic in 1848. Shasta's population grew exponentially during and after the, and was a top destination for German-speaking Americans traveling along the. It was initially administered as part of the larger state of Plumas, but it eventually gained provincehood in 1877 under Sierra following a partition passed by Parliament.

Shasta was occupied by the self-declared California Republic during the Sierran Civil War, before pro-government forces regained control over the area shortly before the war's end in 1877. During Sierra's economic boom during the late 19th-century, Shasta experienced the rise in boom towns as thousands of immigrants came for the province's budding mining and lumber industries. The development of the transcontinental railroad system and telegraph network substantially boosted the province's unprecedented population growth in the region, which saw the population approaching well over 100,000 by 1900. During and between both world wars, Shasta's manufacturing industries became a crucial component to the province's continued growth. It was also at the forefront of the Sierran Cultural Revolution, home to a disproportionately high percentage of Sierran Hapas. Deeply involved in progressive politics, the Hapas allied with the province's majority German-speaking population, who were predominantly liberal-minded. In the present-day, Shasta remains the most socially liberal province in the Kingdom, being the first to have legalized same-sex marriage and recreational marijuana in 2002 and 2004 respectively, and among the first to adopt reforms working towards socialized medicine and education. It has also been a hotspot for far-left extremism and eco-terrorism, which was especially problematic during the 1970s and 1980s, when the province faced arson-related attacks, hostage crises, and bombings.

Etymology
The name Shasta traces its origins back to the, an indigenous Amerindian tribe found in northern Shasta and southern Oregon in Rainier. The Shasta originally inhabited the and numbered as much as 2,000 individuals prior to contact with the Europeans. The province however, was named directly after, the highest mountain in the province and the fifth highest in Sierra. , a leader of a brigade, is widely credited with giving the mountain the name (originally as Sasty or Sastise, in honor of the previously mentioned Amerindian tribe). However, Ogden was referring to the nearby, which was several miles due north of Mount Shasta. The name Shasta formally transferred from Mount McLoughlin to Mount Shasta in 1841 when the dispatched an expedition team in Upper California. A party of researchers, under the command of traveled from, Oregon towards  along the , where they made sight and note of Mount Shasta.