California isn't western?????
What is western then?
California:
We have the biggest farms in the world. Produce, fruit, nuts, dairy and animal farms etc...
There are many cattle ranches with "real" cowboys that ride horses and use lassos and also brand animals.
Many "western" movies were filmed in California. Your image of the "west" has been shaped in a large part by these films.
Mt. Whitney (14,505 feet) located in the Sierra Nevada range is the highest peak in the lower 48.
The Mojave Desert has the lowest point in the US located in California. Plus its a desert. Nothing says western like a Joshua tree.
You can hunt Mule Deer and Blacktail deer here. Also - Black bear, Bighorn sheep, Elk, Wild pig, Antelope, Turkeys and bigfoot. Plus various waterfowl and upland game birds as well.
PBR and Pro rodeo circuit here.
There are FFA clubs here.
Too much to continue now.
It doesn't get much more western than California.