Italy was once called the cradle of civilization.
true or false?

 It was called that, but that is wrong. Actually, what is now called the Middle East was where the first Civilizations started. Sumer, Akkadia, and Babylon were the first three and they existed long before the area of Italy was civilized. It is even possible that Greece was civilized earlier than Rome. If you ask a Greek, they will say it is so anyway.

Sequoia national park  /  inyo national forest, california, u.s. mount whitney is the tallest mountain in california, as well as the highest summit in the contiguous united states and thesierra nevada—with an elevation of 14,505 feet (4,421 m).