A surfer rides a wave as the sun sets over the Pacific Ocean off Ocean Beach, in San Diego, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
CALIFORNIA — From the 'Slap Seen Around the World' to the $2.04 billion Powerball ticket and the return of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, 2022 served up unforgettable moments in the Golden State.
You could be forgiven for forgetting California's biggest 2022 headlines, so we've compiled a photo gallery of some of the year's most memorable Golden State moments.
Click the photos below to read more about the stories behind the images.
Find out what's happening in Temeculafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Snow Finally Arrives In Mammoth
Storm clouds over the eastern sierra in southern Mono County, California, on Tuesday, February. 22, 2022, near Mammoth Lakes. A cold storm brought snow and rain to California and forecasters warned that freezing temperatures would follow. (AP Photo/Christopher Weber)
Record-High Gas Prices
Find out what's happening in Temeculafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Gas prices are advertised at over eight dollars a gallon at a gas station Thursday, October 6, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Fentanyl Crisis
Anthony Delio, 36, falls asleep standing up in an alley after smoking fentanyl in Los Angeles, Tuesday, August 23, 2022. For too many people strung out on the drug, the sleep that follows a fentanyl hit is permanent. The highly addictive and potentially lethal drug has become a scourge across America and is taking a toll on the growing number of people living on California streets. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Birch Aquarium Opens Exhibit For World's Smallest Penguins
The world's smallest penguins — blue penguins — made their big debut in July at Birch Aquarium in La Jolla. (Photo/Birch Aquarium)
Los Angeles City Hall Rocked By Scandal
Protestors demonstrate as L.A. City Council holds its first in-person meeting since voting in new president Paul Krekorian in the aftermath of the release of a profanity-laced recording that revealed racist comments amid a discussion of redistricting. Embattled L.A. City Council member Kevin de Leon was not in attendance in person for the meeting. October 25, 2022, in Los Angeles, Calif. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
California's Stark Water Reality
An aerial view of a golf course and homes next to undeveloped desert on December 7, 2022, near Palm Desert, Calif. According to the U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook, a fourth consecutive year of drought is likely in California in spite of recent storms that resulted in precipitation across much of the state. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Slap Seen Around The World
Will Smith, right, hits presenter Chris Rock on stage while presenting the award for best documentary feature at the Oscars on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
San Diego Padres Defeat Los Angeles Dodgers In Big NLDS Upset
The San Diego Padres celebrate defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 in game four of the National League Division Series at PETCO Park on October 15, 2022, in San Diego, Calif. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
Bay Area Housing
At Atmaa Das, 28, who is homeless from Alabama, strums his guitar singing parts of Woody Guthrie's anthem, "This Land Is Your Land," while sitting in a piece of construction equipment left behind at People's Park in Berkeley, Calif., on August 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Wildfire Recovery
One year after a wind-fed wildfire charged across a craggy mountainside above Lone Pine, Calif., flashes of new vegetation growth can be seen emerging in this still-charred corner of the Inyo National Forest on Wednesday, July 27, 2022. Tiny clusters of white and purple wildflowers stand out against denuded trees, many stripped of their bark in the fire. (AP Photo/Michael Blood)
California Becomes First State With Constitutional Right To Abortion
Abortion-rights activists march outside the First Street U.S. Courthouse, Central District of California, in downtown Los Angeles, Monday, June 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Elon Musk Buys Twitter, Tech Sector Lays Off Workers
Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, Thursday, December 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
Coachella Returns To California Desert After Pandemic Hiatus
Festival-goers get attention with their bold outfits during the second weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival held April 15-24 in Indio, Calif. (Emily Rahhal/Patch)
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Husband Attacked With Hammer Inside San Francisco Home
Police tape blocks a street outside the home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her husband Paul Pelosi in San Francisco, Friday, Oct. 28, 2022. Paul Pelosi, was attacked and severely beaten by an assailant with a hammer who broke into their home. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Golden State Food Prices Surge Amid U.S. Inflation
A customer looks at refrigerated items at a Grocery Outlet store in Pleasanton, Calif., September 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Terry Chea, File)Record-Setting $2.04 Billion Powerball Ticket Sold In AltadenaBusiness owner Joe Chahayed smiles as he holds a check with his sons, Joe Chahayed, Jr., left, and Daniel Chahayed, right, outside his Joe's Service Center in Altadena, northeast of Los Angeles, Tuesday, November 8, 2022. CA Lottery officials presented a CA Lottery's retailer selling bonus check for "One Million US Dollars," for selling the lottery ticket that won a record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Mudslides Ravage Burn Scar Communities
Buried under several feet of mud, rocks and debris, the body of missing Forest Falls resident Doris Jagiello was found Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. (Photo/Joie Rush)
Tropical Storm Kay Finally Breaks Brutal Southern California Heat Wave
Swimmers prepare to take off as rain and wind batter the coast due to tropical storm Kay on September 9, 2022, in La Jolla, Calif. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images) 48,000 University of California Unionized Workers StrikeUnion academic workers and supporters march and picket at the UCLA campus amid a statewide strike by nearly 48,000 University of California unionized workers on November 15, 2022, in Los Angeles, Calif. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Saga Of Hollywood's Famous P-22 Mountain Lion Ends With Heartbreak
This photo provided by The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) shows the mountain lion known as P-22 being transported to a wild animal care facility for a full health evaluation on Monday, Dec. 12, 2022, in the Hollywood Hills. P-22, the celebrated mountain lion that took up residence in the middle of Los Angeles and became a symbol of urban pressures on wildlife, was euthanized after dangerous changes in his behavior led to examinations that revealed poor health and an injury likely caused by a car. (The California Department of Fish and Wildlife, via AP, File) California's Rep. Kevin McCarthy Eyes U.S. House SpeakershipRep. Kevin McCarthy of Calif., speaks at an election event, November 9, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Magnitude 6.4 Earthquake Hits Northern California
This image posted by Caltrans District 1 shows a road closure on California State Route 211 at Fernbridge, a 1,320-foot-long (402.3 m) concrete arch bridge that spans the Eel River near Fortuna, California, in Humboldt County. The bridge was closed while officials conducted a safety inspection checking for possible seismic damage. Officials said a strong earthquake in Northern California cut off power to thousands and damaged roads and homes. (Caltrans District 1 via AP)
California December Dreamin'
A surfer rides a wave as the sun sets over the Pacific Ocean off Ocean Beach, Sunday, December 18, 2022, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
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