SoCal Premier League on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and
Within Southern California are two major cities, 
The counties of
Southern California is generally considered the area of California south of the latitude 35°45', approximately one-third of the state, formed by the northern boundaries of 
Following the acquisition of the territory of California by the United States, several pro-slavery politicians attempted to arrange the division of Alta California at 36 degrees, 30 minutes, the line of the Missouri Compromise. Instead, the passing of the
Southern California consists of a heavily developed urban environment, home to some of the largest
Most of Southern California has a
Southern California consists of one of the more varied collections of geologic, topographic, and natural ecosystem landscapes in a diversity outnumbering other major regions in the state and country. The region spans from Pacific Ocean
*
As of the 2020 United States Census, Southern California has a population of 23,762,904. Despite a reputation for high growth rates, Southern California's population has grown slower than the state average since the 2000s. This is due to California's growth becoming concentrated in the northern part of the state as result of a stronger, tech-oriented economy in the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area and an emerging Greater Sacramento region.
Southern California consists of one Combined Statistical Area, eight Metropolitan Statistical Areas, one international metropolitan area, and multiple metropolitan divisions. The region is home to two extended metropolitan areas that exceed five million in population. These are the Greater Los Angeles Area at 17,786,419, and San Diego–Tijuana at 5,105,768. Of these metropolitan areas, the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana metropolitan area, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area, and Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura metropolitan area form Greater Los Angeles; while the El Centro metropolitan area and San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos metropolitan area form the Southern Border Region. North of Greater Los Angeles are the Santa Barbara,
Southern California is home to many major business districts. Central business districts (CBD) include Downtown Los Angeles, Downtown Riverside, Downtown San Bernardino, Downtown San Diego, and the South Coast Metro. Within the Los Angeles Area are the major business districts of Pasadena, California, Downtown Pasadena, Burbank, California, Downtown Burbank, Santa Monica, California, Downtown Santa Monica, Glendale, California, Downtown Glendale and Downtown Long Beach. Los Angeles itself has many business districts, such as Downtown Los Angeles and those lining Wilshire Boulevard including Mid-Wilshire, the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, Miracle Mile, Downtown Beverly Hills and Westwood, Los Angeles, Westwood; others include Century City, Los Angeles, Century City and Warner Center, Los Angeles, Warner Center in the San Fernando Valley. The area of Santa Monica and Venice (and perhaps some of Culver City) is informally referred to as "Silicon Beach" because of the concentration of financial and marketing technology-centric firms located in the region.
The San Bernardino-Riverside Area maintains the business districts of Downtown San Bernardino, Hospitality Lane District, San Bernardino, California, Hospitality Business/Financial Centre, University District, San Bernardino, University District which are in the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside.
In Orange County, has highly developed suburban business centers (also known as edge cities) including the Anaheim–Santa Ana edge city along I-5; and another, the South Coast Plaza–John Wayne Airport edge city that stretches from the South Coast Metro to the Irvine Business Complex; Newport Center, Newport Beach, California, Newport Center; and Irvine Spectrum. Downtown Santa Ana is an important government, arts and entertainment, and retail district.
Downtown San Diego is the CBD of San Diego, though the city is filled with business districts. These include Carmel Valley, San Diego, Carmel Valley, Del Mar Heights, San Diego, Del Mar Heights, Mission Valley, Rancho Bernardo, Sorrento Mesa, and University City, San Diego, University City. Most of these districts are located in Northern San Diego and some within North County regions.
Los Angeles
* Dry Town Water Park
* Pacific Park
* Raging Waters San Dimas
* Six Flags Hurricane Harbor
* Six Flags Magic Mountain
* Universal Studios Hollywood
Orange County
* Disney California Adventure
* Disneyland Park
* Knott's Berry Farm
* Knott's Soak City
* Wild Rivers (water park)
Riverside & San Bernardino
* Castle Park (amusement park), Castle Park
* Wet'n'Wild Palm Springs
San Diego
* Sesame Place San Diego
* Belmont Park (San Diego), Belmont Park
* Legoland California
* Legoland Waterpark
* San Diego Zoo
* San Diego Zoo Safari Park
* SeaWorld San Diego
Sections of the Southern California freeway system are often referred to by names rather than by the official numbers.
:''See: :Public transportation in Southern California, Public transportation in Southern California''
*Antelope Valley Transit Authority
*Big Blue Bus (Santa Monica)
*Gold Coast Transit (Ventura County)
*Golden Empire Transit (Bakersfield)
*Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
*Metrolink (California), Metrolink
*North County Transit District (northern San Diego County)
*Omnitrans (southwestern San Bernardino County)
*Orange County Transportation Authority
*Riverside Transit Agency (western Riverside County)
*San Diego Coaster (Oceanside to San Diego)
*San Diego Metropolitan Transit System
*San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority
*Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara MTD
The Tech Coast is a moniker that has gained use as a descriptor for the region's diversified technology and industrial base as well as its multitude of prestigious and world-renowned research universities and other public and private institutions. Amongst these include five University of California campuses (University of California, Irvine, Irvine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, and University of California, San Diego, San Diego), 12 California State University campuses (California State University, Bakersfield, Bakersfield, California State University, Channel Islands, Channel Islands, California State University, Dominguez Hills, Dominguez Hills, California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, California State University, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California State University, Long Beach, Long Beach, California State University, Northridge, Northridge, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Pomona, California State University, San Bernardino, San Bernardino, San Diego State University, San Diego, California State University, San Marcos, San Marcos, and California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo); and private institutions such as the California Institute of Technology, Azusa Pacific University, Chapman University, the Claremont Colleges (Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College, Pitzer College, Pomona College, Scripps College, Claremont Graduate University and Keck Graduate Institute), Loma Linda University, Loyola Marymount University, Occidental College, Pepperdine University, University of Redlands, University of San Diego and the University of Southern California.
online
*
excerpt and text search
covers military and industrial roles. *
* * * , a historical geography *
in JSTOR
* , covers 1880s–1940 * *
California Historical Society Collection, 1860–1960
– University of Southern California Libraries, USC Libraries Digital Collections
Historical Society of Southern California
{{coord, 34, 00, N, 117, 00, W, region:US-CA_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Southern California, Megapolitan areas of California Regions of California
cultural region
In anthropology and geography, a cultural region, cultural sphere, cultural area or culture area refers to a geography with one relatively homogeneous human activity or complex of activities (culture). Such activities are often associated ...
that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino C ...
, the second most populous urban agglomeration
An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...
in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. The region generally contains ten of California's 58 counties: Imperial, Kern
KERN (1180 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Wasco, California, Wasco-Greenacres, California, and serving the Bakersfield metropolitan area. The station is owned by American General ...
, Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
, Riverside, San Bernardino
San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...
, San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly hal ...
and Ventura counties.
The Colorado Desert and the Colorado River
The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...
are located on Southern California's eastern border with Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, and San Bernardino County shares a border with Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
to the northeast. Southern California's southern border with Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
is part of the Mexico–United States border
The Mexico–United States border ( es, frontera Estados Unidos–México) is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border trave ...
.
Constituent metropolitan areas
Southern California includes the heavily built-up urban area which stretches along the Pacific coast from Ventura throughGreater Los Angeles
Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...
down to Greater San Diego
San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the fi ...
(the contiguous urban area in fact continuing into Tijuana, Mexico
Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...
), and inland to the Inland Empire and Coachella Valley ((US) and < ...
Palm Springs
Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...
area). It encompasses eight metropolitan areas (MSAs), three of which together form the Greater Los Angeles Combined Statistical Area
Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...
(CSA) with over 18 million people, the second-biggest CSA after the New York CSA. These three MSAs are: the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino C ...
(Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
and Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
counties, with 13.3 million people), the Inland Empire ( Riverside and San Bernardino
San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...
counties, including the Coachella Valley cities, with 4.3 million people), and the Oxnard–Thousand Oaks–Ventura metropolitan area
Ventura County () is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura.
Ventura County comprises the Oxna ...
(0.8 million people). In addition, southern California contains the San Diego metropolitan area with 3.3 million people, Bakersfield metro area with 0.9 million, and the Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly hal ...
, and El Centro (Imperial County) metropolitan areas.
The Southern California Megaregion
A megalopolis () or a supercity, also called a megaregion, is a group of metropolitan areas which are perceived as a continuous urban area through common systems of transport, economy, resources, ecology, and so on. They are integrated enoug ...
(or megalopolis
A megalopolis () or a supercity, also called a megaregion, is a group of metropolitan areas which are perceived as a continuous urban area through common systems of transport, economy, resources, ecology, and so on. They are integrated enoug ...
) is larger still, extending northeast into Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
and south across the Mexican border into Tijuana
Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...
.
(US) and < ...
Significance
Within Southern California are two major cities, Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
and San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
, as well as three of the country's largest metropolitan areas. With a population of approximately 4 million, Los Angeles is the most populous city in California and the second most populous in the United States. South of Los Angeles and with a population of approximately 1.4 million is San Diego, the second most populous city in the state and the eighth most populous in the nation.
The counties of Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
, Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
, Riverside, and San Bernardino
San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...
are the five most populous in the state, and are among the top 15 most populous counties in the United States.
The motion picture, television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
and music industry are centered in the Los Angeles area in Southern California. Hollywood, a district of Los Angeles, gives its name to the American motion picture industry, which is synonymous with the neighborhood name. Headquartered in Southern California are The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...
(which owns ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
), Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
, MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
. Universal, Warner Bros. and Sony also run major record companies.
Southern California is also home to a large homegrown surf and skateboard culture. Companies such as Vans
Vans is an American manufacturer of skateboarding shoes and related apparel, established in Anaheim, California, and owned by VF Corporation. The company also sponsors surf, snowboarding, BMX, and motocross teams. From 1996 to 2019, the comp ...
, Volcom
Volcom is a lifestyle brand that designs, markets, and distributes boardsports-oriented products. Volcom is headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, U.S. The brand is known for its trademark ''stone'' logo, its slogan ''True to This'', and the ' ...
, Quiksilver, No Fear
No Fear is an American lifestyle clothing brand that was created in 1989 by Mark Simo, Brian Simo, Boris Said, and Marty Moates. No Fear Inc. products are sold at various retail stores ancompany owned stores It also offers No Fear energy drin ...
, Stüssy
Stüssy ( ) is an American privately held fashion house founded in the early 1980s by Shawn Stussy. It benefited from the surfwear trend originating in Orange County, California, but was later adopted by the skateboard and hip hop scenes.
Hist ...
, RVCA and Body Glove
Body Glove is an American brand of watersports apparel and accessories that was founded in 1953 by twin brothers Bill and Bob Meistrell. The brothers are often credited with inventing the first practical wetsuit in the early 1950s at the back o ...
are all headquartered here. Skateboarder Tony Hawk
Anthony Frank Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed Birdman, is an American professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, and the owner of the skateboard company Birdhouse. A pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding, Hawk completed the first documen ...
; surfers Rob Machado
Robert Edward Machado (born October 16, 1973) is an Australian-born American professional surfer.
Early life
Machado attended San Dieguito High School. He describes himself in interviews, vlogs and social media as a "soul surfer," or fre ...
, Timmy Curran, Bobby Martinez
Bobby Martinez (born May 26, 1982) is a professional surfer from Santa Barbara, California.
Career
Martinez began surfing at age 6. When he was old enough, he joined the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA) where he went on to win a ...
, Pat O'Connell, Dane Reynolds
Dane Reynolds (born September 7, 1985 in Long Beach, California) is an American professional surfer from Ventura, California. He is known for his "go for broke" style of surfing that includes many experimental and aerial maneuvers.
Biography ...
, and Chris Ward live in Southern California. Some of the most famous surf locations are in Southern California as well, including Trestles
ATLAS-I (Air Force Weapons Lab Transmission-Line Aircraft Simulator), better known as Trestle, was a unique electromagnetic pulse (EMP) generation and testing apparatus built between 1972 and 1980 during the Cold War at Sandia National Labora ...
, Rincon, The Wedge, Huntington Beach
Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 duri ...
and Malibu. Some of the world's largest action sports
Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extreme tourism overl ...
events, including the X Games
The X Games are an annual extreme sports event organized, produced and broadcast by ESPN. Coverage is also shown on ESPN's sister network, ABC. The inaugural X Games were held during the summer of 1995 in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, ...
, Boost Mobile Pro, and the U.S. Open of Surfing, are held in Southern California. The region is also important to the world of yachting
Yachting is the use of recreational boats and ships called ''yachts'' for racing or cruising. Yachts are distinguished from working ships mainly by their leisure purpose. "Yacht" derives from the Dutch word '' jacht'' ("hunt"). With sailboats, ...
with premier events including the annual Transpacific Yacht Race
The Transpacific Yacht Race (Transpac) is a biennial offshore yacht race held in odd-numbered years starting off the Pt. Fermin buoy in San Pedro, California and ending off Diamond Head in Hawaii, a distance of around . In even-numbered years the P ...
, or ''Transpac'', from Los Angeles to Hawaii. The San Diego Yacht Club
San Diego Yacht Club is a yacht club located in San Diego Bay. It is located in Point Loma across from a spit of land known as Shelter Island.
Facilities
The San Diego Yacht Club facility has a main dining room and outdoor deck seating, a b ...
held the America's Cup, the most prestigious prize in yachting, from 1988 to 1995 and hosted three America's Cup races during that time. The first modern-era triathlon
A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...
was held in San Diego's Mission Bay in 1974. Since then, Southern California, and San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
in particular, have become a mecca for triathlon
A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...
and multi-sport racing, products, and culture.
Southern California is home to many sports franchises and networks such as Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by The Walt Disney Company on Mar ...
.
Many locals and tourists frequent the Southern California coast for its beaches. Some of southern California's most popular beaches are Malibu, Laguna Beach
Laguna Beach (; ''Laguna'', Spanish for "Lagoon") is a seaside resort city located in southern Orange County, California, in the United States. It is known for its mild year-round climate, scenic coves, environmental preservation efforts, and a ...
, La Jolla
La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781.
La Jolla is surrounded on ...
, Manhattan Beach, and Hermosa Beach
Hermosa Beach (''Hermosa'', Spanish for "Beautiful") is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California, United States. Its population was 19,728 at the 2020 U.S. Census. The city is located in the South Bay region of th ...
. Southern California is also known for its mountain resort communities, such as Big Bear Lake, Lake Arrowhead, and Wrightwood
Wrightwood is a census-designated place in San Bernardino County, California. It sits at an elevation of . The population was 4,525 at the 2010 census, up from the population of 3,837 at the 2000 census. Wrightwood is located northeast of Lo ...
, and their ski resorts, like Bear Mountain, Snow Summit
Snow Summit is a ski resort that was established in 1952 and is in the San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California. It is located by Big Bear Lake along with its sister resort Bear Mountain; these two resorts which operate under the same man ...
, Snow Valley Mountain Resort
Snow Valley Mountain Resort is a ski resort located in Running Springs, California, United States. It is the oldest continually operating ski resort in Southern California and is also one of four ski resorts in the San Bernardino National Fore ...
, and Mountain High
Mountain High resort is a winter resort in the San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles County in California. Mountain High is one of the most-visited resorts in Southern California. The resort is located along State Route 2 west of Wrightwood, Cali ...
. The inland desert city of Palm Springs
Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...
is also popular.
Northern boundary
Southern California is generally considered the area of California south of the latitude 35°45', approximately one-third of the state, formed by the northern boundaries of San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly hal ...
, Kern
KERN (1180 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Wasco, California, Wasco-Greenacres, California, and serving the Bakersfield metropolitan area. The station is owned by American General ...
, and San Bernardino
San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...
counties, which are not exactly a straight line. Another definition for Southern California uses Point Conception
Point Conception (Chumash: ''Humqaq'') is a headland along the Gaviota Coast in southwestern Santa Barbara County, California. It is the point where the Santa Barbara Channel meets the Pacific Ocean, and as the corner between the mostly north ...
and the Tehachapi Mountains
The Tehachapi Mountains (; Kawaiisu: ''Tihachipia'', meaning "hard climb") are a mountain range in the Transverse Ranges system of California in the Western United States. The range extends for approximately in southern Kern County and northwe ...
as geographical landmarks for the northern boundary.
Following the acquisition of the territory of California by the United States, several pro-slavery politicians attempted to arrange the division of Alta California at 36 degrees, 30 minutes, the line of the Missouri Compromise. Instead, the passing of the Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850 that defused a political confrontation between slave and free states on the status of territories acquired in the Mexican–Am ...
enabled California to be admitted to the Union as a free state, preventing the southern half California from becoming its own separate slave state
In the United States before 1865, a slave state was a state in which slavery and the internal or domestic slave trade were legal, while a free state was one in which they were not. Between 1812 and 1850, it was considered by the slave states ...
.
Subsequently, Californians (dissatisfied with inequitable taxes and land laws) and pro-slavery Southerners in the lightly populated "cow counties" of southern California attempted three times in the 1850s to achieve a separate statehood or territorial status separate from Northern California. The last attempt, the Pico Act of 1859, was passed by the California State Legislature and signed by State Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
John B. Weller
John B. Weller (February 22, 1812August 17, 1875) was the fifth governor of California from January 8, 1858 to January 9, 1860 who earlier had served as a congressman from Ohio and a U.S. senator from California, and minister to Mexico.
Lif ...
. It was approved overwhelmingly by nearly 75 percent of voters to form the proposed Territory of Colorado
The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado.
The territory was organized in the ...
. This territory was to include a portion of the much larger Tulare County
Tulare County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 473,117. The county seat is Visalia. The county is named for Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lakes. ...
and all of San Luis Obispo County
San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo.
Junípero Serra founded the Miss ...
. The proposal was sent to Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
with a strong advocate in Senator Milton Latham
Milton Slocum Latham (May 23, 1827 – March 4, 1882) was an American politician, who served as the sixth governor of California and as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator. Latham holds the distinction of having the shortest governorship i ...
. However, the secession crisis following the election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
in 1860 and the subsequent American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
led to the proposal never coming to a vote.
In 1900, the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' defined Southern California as including "the seven counties of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura and Santa Barbara." This definition left out San Luis Obispo and Kern counties.
Southern California was the name of a proposed new state which failed to get on the 2018 California ballot. The ballot measure proposed splitting the existing state into three parts.
In December 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, the state government led by Governor Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California f ...
divided the state into five regions for the purpose of issuing stay-at-home orders. The Southern California region consists of the following counties: Imperial, Inyo, Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, Mono
Mono may refer to:
Common meanings
* Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease"
* Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono
* Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single
Music Performers
* Mono (Japanese b ...
, Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
, Riverside, San Bernardino
San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...
, San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
, San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly hal ...
, Santa Barbara and Ventura. Kern County was grouped with other counties of the San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...
, California's central agricultural valley.
Urban landscape
Southern California consists of a heavily developed urban environment, home to some of the largest urban areas
An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, ...
in the state, along with vast areas that have been left undeveloped. It is the third most populated megalopolis in the United States, after the Great Lakes Megalopolis and the Northeast Megalopolis. Much of Southern California is famous for its large, spread-out, suburban communities and use of automobiles and highways. The dominant areas are Los Angeles, Orange County
Orange County most commonly refers to:
*Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Orange County may also refer to:
U.S. counties
*Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando
*Orange County, Indiana
*Orange County, New ...
, San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
, and Riverside-San Bernardino
San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...
, each of which are the centers of their respective metropolitan areas, composed of numerous smaller cities and communities. The urban area is also host to an international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan region, created by the urban area spilling over into Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
.
Travelling south on Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...
, the main barrier to continued urbanization is Camp Pendleton
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by O ...
. The cities and communities along Interstate 15
Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexican border in San Diego County and stretches north to Alberta, Cana ...
and Interstate 215 are so interrelated that Temecula
Temecula (; es, Temécula, ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a ...
and Murrieta
Murrieta is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The population of Murrieta was 110,949 as of the 2020 census. Murrieta experienced a 133.7% population increase between 2000 and 2010, making Murrieta one of the ...
have as much connection with the San Diego metropolitan area as they do with the Inland Empire. To the east, the United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
considers the San Bernardino and Riverside County areas, Riverside-San Bernardino area
The Inland Empire (IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County to the west. It includes the cities ...
as a separate metropolitan area from Los Angeles County. Newly developed exurbs formed in the Antelope Valley
The Antelope Valley is located in northern Los Angeles County, California, and the southeast portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert. It is situated between the Tehachapi, Sierra Pelona, and t ...
, north of Los Angeles, the Victor Valley
The Victor Valley is a valley in the Mojave Desert and subregion of the Inland Empire, in San Bernardino County in Southern California.
It is located east of the Mojave's Antelope Valley, north of the Cajon Pass and the San Bernardino Valley, ...
, and the Coachella Valley with the Imperial Valley
, photo = Salton Sea from Space.jpg
, photo_caption = The Imperial Valley below the Salton Sea. The US-Mexican border runs diagonally across the lower left of the image.
, map_image = Newriverwatershed-1-.jpg
, map_caption = Map of Imperial ...
. Also, population growth was high in the Bakersfield-Kern County, Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly hal ...
areas.
Climate
Most of Southern California has a Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
-like climate, with warm and dry summers, mild and wet winters, where cool weather and freezing temperatures are rare. Southern California contains other types of climates, including semi-arid
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi- ...
, desert and mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...
, with infrequent rain and many sunny days. Summers are hot or warm, and dry, while winters are mild, and rainfall is low to moderate depending on the area. Rain is infrequent, but is often heavy when it does occur, making flash floods an aspect of living in Southern California. This climatic pattern was alluded to in the hit song " It Never Rains (In Southern California)". While snow is very rare in lower elevations, mountains above receive plentiful snowfall in the winter.
Since the first decade of the 21st century, droughts
A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
and wildfires
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...
have increased in frequency as a result of climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
.
Natural landscape
Southern California consists of one of the more varied collections of geologic, topographic, and natural ecosystem landscapes in a diversity outnumbering other major regions in the state and country. The region spans from Pacific Ocean islands
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
, shoreline
A shore or a shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In physical oceanography, a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past a ...
s, beaches, and coastal plain
A coastal plain is flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and a piedmont area. Some of the largest coastal plains are in Alaska and the southeastern United States. The Gulf Co ...
s, through the Transverse
Transverse may refer to:
*Transverse engine, an engine in which the crankshaft is oriented side-to-side relative to the wheels of the vehicle
*Transverse flute, a flute that is held horizontally
* Transverse force (or ''Euler force''), the tangen ...
and Peninsular Ranges with their peaks, and into the large and small interior valleys, to the vast deserts of California
The Deserts of California, collectively known as the California Deserts, are a region of California made up of distinct deserts that each have unique ecosystems and habitats. The region is home to a sociocultural and historical "Old West" collecti ...
.
:Introductory categories include:
* Beaches of southern California
* Mountain ranges of Southern California
* Rivers of Southern California
* Deserts of California
* Parks in Southern California
Geography
Geographic features
* Angeles National Forest
The Angeles National Forest (ANF) of the U.S. Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains, primarily within Los Angeles County in southern California. The ANF manages a majority of the San Gabriel Mounta ...
(Los Angeles, San Bernardino, & Ventura Counties)
* Antelope Hills (Kern County)
* Antelope Valley
The Antelope Valley is located in northern Los Angeles County, California, and the southeast portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert. It is situated between the Tehachapi, Sierra Pelona, and t ...
(Los Angeles & Kern Counties)
* Arroyo Seco (Los Angeles County)
* Bacon Hills
The Bacon Hills are a low mountain range of the Transverse Ranges System, located in western Kern County, California.
They are on the southwestern edge of the San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the ...
(Kern County)
* Baldwin Hills (Los Angeles County)
* Ballona Wetlands (Los Angeles County)
* Big Bear Lake (San Bernardino County)
* Bissell Hills
The Bissell Hills are a mountain range in the Mojave Desert, in southeastern Kern County, California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area ...
(Kern County)
* Black Hills
The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black ...
(Kern County)
* Bolsa Chica Estuary (Orange County)
* Buena Vista Hills (Kern County)
* Buena Vista Lake
Buena Vista Lake was a fresh-water lake in Kern County, California, in the Tulare Lake Basin in the southern San Joaquin Valley, California.
Buena Vista Lake was the second largest of several similar lakes in the Tulare Lake basin, and was fed ...
(Kern County)
* Cajon Pass
Cajon Pass (; Spanish: ''Puerto del Cajón'' or ''Paso del Cajón'') is a mountain pass between the San Bernardino Mountains to the east and the San Gabriel Mountains to the west in Southern California. Created by the movements of the San Andr ...
(San Bernardino County)
* Calico Mountains (San Bernardino County)
* Channel Islands
The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
(Santa Barbara, Ventura & Los Angeles Counties)
* Castaic Lake
Castaic Lake (Chumash: ''Kaštiq'') is a reservoir formed by Castaic Dam on Castaic Creek, in the Sierra Pelona Mountains of northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, near the town of Castaic.
The California Office of Enviro ...
(Los Angeles County)
* Chino Hills (Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside & San Bernardino Counties)
* Coachella Valley (Riverside County)
* Colorado Desert (San Bernardino, Riverside, Imperial, & San Diego Counties)
* Colorado River
The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...
(San Bernardino, Riverside & Imperial Counties, Baja California & Sonora)
* Conejo Valley
The Conejo Valley is a region spanning both southeastern Ventura County and northwestern Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States. It is located in the northwestern part of the Greater Los Angeles Area.
Communities in the Conejo ...
(Los Angeles & Ventura Counties)
* Cucamonga Valley (San Bernardino & Riverside Counties)
* Cuyamaca Mountains (San Diego County)
* Death Valley
Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the Highest temperature recorded on Earth, hottest place on Earth.
Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the ...
(San Bernardino & Inyo Counties)
* Diablo Range
The Diablo Range is a mountain range in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Coast Ranges in northern California, United States. It stretches from the eastern San Francisco Bay area at its northern end to the Salinas Valley are ...
(Kern County)
* Elk Hills
The Elk Hills are a low mountain range in the Transverse Ranges, in western Kern County, California.
They are near and east of the Elkhorn Hills in San Luis Obispo County, California
San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San ...
(Kern County)
* Elkhorn Hills
The Elkhorn Hills are a low mountain range in the Transverse Ranges, in eastern San Luis Obispo County, California.
They are near the Elk Hills on the east in Kern County, California
Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of Califor ...
(San Luis Obispo County)
* El Mirage Lake
El Mirage Lake is a dry lake bed in the northwestern Victor Valley of the central Mojave Desert, within San Bernardino County, California.
The lake is located about west-northwest of the town of Adelanto and north of Highway 18 in San Bernar ...
(San Bernardino County)
* El Paso Mountains
The El Paso Mountains are located in the northern Mojave Desert, in central Southern California in the Western United States.
Geography
The range lies in a southwest-northeasterly direction east of Highway 14, and north of the Rand Mountains and ...
(Kern County)
* Greenhorn Mountains
The Greenhorn Mountains are a mountain range of the Southern Sierra Nevada, in California. They are protected within the Sequoia National Forest.
Geography
The range is located in eastern Kern County and Tulare County. They are east of the S ...
(Kern County)
* High Desert (Los Angeles, Kern, Inyo, & San Bernardino Counties)
* Horned Toad Hills (Kern County)
* Imperial Valley
, photo = Salton Sea from Space.jpg
, photo_caption = The Imperial Valley below the Salton Sea. The US-Mexican border runs diagonally across the lower left of the image.
, map_image = Newriverwatershed-1-.jpg
, map_caption = Map of Imperial ...
(Imperial County)
* Irish Hills
Irish Hills is an area of land located roughly in southeastern Jackson County and northwest Lenawee County in Southeast Michigan. It was named after the numerous Irish immigrants who settled there from 1830 until 1850.
Today it is known thro ...
(San Luis Obispo County)
* In-Ko-Pah Mountains
The In-Ko-Pah Mountains are one of the Peninsular Ranges located near the U.S. border with Mexico in southern California, west of the Jacumba Mountains. The range, which lies in a north-south direction, is located just north of Interstate 8, and ...
(San Diego County)
* Inland Empire (Riverside & San Bernardino Counties)
* Jacumba Mountains
The Jacumba Mountains are a mountain range of the Peninsular Ranges system, located in eastern San Diego County, Southern California, near the U.S. border with Mexico.
The mountain range lies in a northwest-southeasterly direction, east of the I ...
(San Diego County)
* Jawbone Canyon
Jawbone Canyon is a geographic feature in the Mojave Desert and a Bureau of Land Management area located in Kern County, California, north of Mojave on CA 14 near Cantil, CA. The area is a popular destination for hikers and off road vehicle e ...
(Kern County)
* Kern River (Kern County)
* La Jolla Cove (San Diego County)
* Laguna Mountains (San Diego County)
* Lake Arrowhead (San Bernardino County)
* Lake Casitas (Ventura County)
* Lake Elsinore (Riverside County)
* Lake Isabella (Kern County)
* Lake Perris (Riverside County)
* Lake Piru (Ventura County)
* Lakeview Mountains (Riverside County)
* Lake Webb (Kern County)
* Little San Bernardino Mountains (Riverside & San Bernardino Counties)
* Little Signal Hills (Kern County)
* Los Angeles Basin (Los Angeles & Orange Counties)
* Los Angeles River (Los Angeles County)
* Los Padres National Forest (Kern, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, & Ventura Counties)
* Lost Hills (Kern County)
* Low Desert (Imperial, San Diego, Riverside & San Bernardino Counties)
* Mojave Desert (Los Angeles, Kern & San Bernardino Counties)
* Mojave River (San Bernardino County)
* Mount San Antonio (Los Angeles County)
* New River (Mexico–United States), New River (Imperial County, Mexicali Municipality)
* Nine Sisters (San Luis Obispo County)
* Ojai Valley (Ventura County)
* Orange Coast (Orange County)
* Oxnard Plain (Ventura County)
* Palomar Mountain (San Diego County)
* Palo Verde Valley (Riverside & Imperial Counties)
* Palos Verdes Hills, Palos Verdes Peninsula (Los Angeles County)
* Panamint Range (Inyo County)
* Peninsular Ranges (San Diego, Riverside, & Orange Counties)
* Pleito Hills (Kern County)
* Point Loma (San Diego County)
* Point Mugu (Ventura County)
* Point of Rocks (Kern County, California), Point of Rocks (Kern County)
* Pomona Valley (Los Angeles & San Bernardino Counties)
* Providence Mountains (San Bernardino County)
* Puente Hills (Los Angeles County)
* Pyramid Lake (Los Angeles County, California), Pyramid Lake (Los Angeles County)
* Rand Mountains (Kern County)
* Rio Hondo (California), Rio Hondo (Los Angeles County)
* Rosamond Hills (Kern County)
* Saddleback Valley (Orange County)
* Salton Sea (Imperial & Riverside Counties)
* San Andreas Fault (All Counties)
* San Bernardino Mountains (San Bernardino County)
* San Bernardino National Forest (Riverside & San Bernardino Counties)
* San Bernardino Valley (San Bernardino County)
* San Diego Bay (San Diego County)
* San Diego River (San Diego County)
* San Emigdio Mountains (Los Angeles, Ventura, & Kern Counties)
* San Fernando Valley (Los Angeles County)
* San Gabriel Mountains (Los Angeles & San Bernardino Counties)
* San Gabriel River (California), San Gabriel River (Los Angeles County)
* San Gabriel Valley (Los Angeles County)
* San Jacinto Mountains (Riverside County)
* San Jacinto River (California), San Jacinto River (Riverside County)
* San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...
(Kern County)
* San Luis Rey River (San Diego County)
* San Pedro Bay (California), San Pedro Bay (Los Angeles County)
* San Rafael Mountains (Santa Barbara County)
* Santa Ana Mountains (Orange & Riverside Counties)
* Santa Ana River (San Bernardino, Riverside & Orange Counties)
* Santa Ana Valley (Orange County)
* Santa Catalina Island, California, Santa Catalina Island (Los Angeles County)
* Santa Clara River (California), Santa Clara River (Ventura County)
* Santa Clara River Valley (Ventura County)
* Santa Clarita Valley (Los Angeles County)
* Santa Margarita River (Riverside, Orange & San Diego Counties)
* Santa Monica Bay (Los Angeles County)
* Santa Monica Mountains (Los Angeles & Ventura Counties)
* Santa Rosa Mountains (California), Santa Rosa Mountains (Riverside, Imperial & San Diego Counties)
* Santa Susana Mountains (Los Angeles & Ventura Counties)
* Santa Ynez Mountains (Santa Barbara & Ventura Counties)
* Santa Ynez Valley (Santa Barbara County)
* Scodie Mountains (Kern County)
* Sequoia National Forest (Kern County)
* Shale Hills (Kern County)
* Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada (Kern County)
* Sierra Pelona Mountains (Los Angeles & Kern Counties)
* Simi Hills (Los Angeles & Ventura Counties)
* Simi Valley (valley), Simi Valley (Ventura County)
* Sweetwater River (California), Sweetwater River (San Diego County)
* Tehachapi Mountains
The Tehachapi Mountains (; Kawaiisu: ''Tihachipia'', meaning "hard climb") are a mountain range in the Transverse Ranges system of California in the Western United States. The range extends for approximately in southern Kern County and northwe ...
(Kern & Los Angeles Counties)
* Tejon Hills (Kern County)
* Temescal Mountains (Riverside County)
* Telephone Hills (Kern County)
* Temblor Range (Kern & San Luis Obispo Counties)
* Tijuana River (San Diego County)
* Topatopa Mountains (Ventura County)
* Turtle Mountains (California), Turtle Mountains (San Bernardino County)
* Ventura River (Ventura County)
* Verdugo Mountains (Los Angeles County)
* Victor Valley
The Victor Valley is a valley in the Mojave Desert and subregion of the Inland Empire, in San Bernardino County in Southern California.
It is located east of the Mojave's Antelope Valley, north of the Cajon Pass and the San Bernardino Valley, ...
(San Bernardino County)
Geology
List of major fault zones
Note: Plate boundary faults are indicated with a (#) symbol. * Brawley Seismic Zone * Chino Fault * Elsinore Fault Zone * Elysian Park Fault * Garlock Fault * Hosgri Fault * Imperial Fault Zone * Laguna Salada Fault * Newport–Inglewood Fault * Peninsular Ranges * Puente Hills Fault * Raymond Fault * Rose Canyon Fault * Salton Trough * Salinian Block * San Andreas Fault # * San Cayetano Fault * San Felipe Fault Zone * San Gabriel Fault * San Jacinto Fault Zone * Santa Maria River Fault * Santa Ynez Fault * Shoreline Fault * Ventura Fault * White Wolf Fault * Whittier Fault * Yorba Linda Fault
Earthquakes
Each year, Southern California has about 10,000 earthquakes. Nearly all of them are so small that they are not felt. Only several hundred have been greater than Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 3.0, and only about 15–20 have been greater than magnitude 4.0. The magnitude 6.7 1994 Northridge earthquake was particularly destructive, causing a substantial number of deaths, injuries, and structural collapses as well as the most property damage of any earthquake in U.S. history at an estimated $20 billion. Many Fault (geology), faults are able to produce a magnitude greater than 6.7 earthquake, such as the San Andreas Fault, which can produce a magnitude 8.0 event. Other faults include the San Jacinto Fault, the Puente Hills Fault, and the Elsinore Fault Zone. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has released a California earthquake forecast, which models earthquake occurrence in California.=List of earthquakes
= This is a partial list of earthquakes in Southern California. For a full list, see List of earthquakes in California. Note: Earthquakes with epicenters in the Los Angeles Metro Area are marked with the (#) symbol. Other earthquakes mentioned means shaking was felt. * 1812 San Juan Capistrano earthquake * 1812 Ventura earthquake * 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake * 1892 Laguna Salada earthquake * 1899 San Jacinto earthquake * 1918 San Jacinto earthquake * 1933 Long Beach earthquake # * 1940 El Centro earthquake * 1948 Desert Hot Springs earthquake * 1971 San Fernando earthquake # * 1979 Imperial Valley earthquake * 1968 Borrego Mountain earthquake * 1986 North Palm Springs earthquake * 1987 Superstition Hills earthquakes * 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake # * 1991 Sierra Madre earthquake # * 1992 Big Bear earthquake # * 1992 Landers earthquake * 1994 Northridge earthquake # * 2008 Chino Hills earthquake # * 2010 Baja California earthquake * 2019 Ridgecrest earthquakesPopulation
As of the 2020 United States Census, Southern California has a population of 23,762,904. Despite a reputation for high growth rates, Southern California's population has grown slower than the state average since the 2000s. This is due to California's growth becoming concentrated in the northern part of the state as result of a stronger, tech-oriented economy in the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area and an emerging Greater Sacramento region.
Southern California consists of one Combined Statistical Area, eight Metropolitan Statistical Areas, one international metropolitan area, and multiple metropolitan divisions. The region is home to two extended metropolitan areas that exceed five million in population. These are the Greater Los Angeles Area at 17,786,419, and San Diego–Tijuana at 5,105,768. Of these metropolitan areas, the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana metropolitan area, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area, and Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura metropolitan area form Greater Los Angeles; while the El Centro metropolitan area and San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos metropolitan area form the Southern Border Region. North of Greater Los Angeles are the Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly hal ...
, and Bakersfield metropolitan areas.
Cities
Los Angeles (with a population of approximately 3.9 million people) and San Diego (at nearly 1.4 million people) are the two largest cities in all of California and are among the top eight largest cities in the United States. In Southern California, there are also 14 cities with more than 200,000 residents and 48 cities over 100,000 residents. Many of Southern California's most developed cities lie along or in close proximity to the coast, with the exception of San Bernardino and Riverside.Counties
* Imperial *Kern
KERN (1180 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Wasco, California, Wasco-Greenacres, California, and serving the Bakersfield metropolitan area. The station is owned by American General ...
*Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
*Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
* Riverside
*San Bernardino
San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...
*San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
*San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly hal ...
* Santa Barbara
* Ventura
Literature
Southern California is home to most popular and famous literature in the region. These books include California by Kevin Starr, Malibu Farm Cookbook by Helene Henderson, L.A. Noir by John Buntin, The Mountains of California by John Muir, The New California Wine by Jon Bonné, and My Hollywood by Mona Simpson. Most of them are well received and nominated for rewards.Economy
Industries
Southern California has a diverse economy and is one of the largest economies in the United States. It is dominated by and heavily dependent upon the abundance of petroleum, as opposed to other regions where automobiles are not nearly as dominant, due to the vast majority of transport that runs on this fuel. Southern California is famous for tourism and the entertainment industry. Other industries include software, automotive, ports, finance, biomedical, and regional logistics. The region was a leader in the housing bubble from 2001 to 2007 and has been heavily impacted by the housing crash. Since the 1920s, motion pictures, petroleum, and aircraft manufacturing have been major industries. In one of the richest agricultural regions in the U.S., cattle and citrus were major industries until farmlands were turned into suburbs. Although military spending cutbacks have had an impact, aerospace continues to be a major factor.Major central business districts
Southern California is home to many major business districts. Central business districts (CBD) include Downtown Los Angeles, Downtown Riverside, Downtown San Bernardino, Downtown San Diego, and the South Coast Metro. Within the Los Angeles Area are the major business districts of Pasadena, California, Downtown Pasadena, Burbank, California, Downtown Burbank, Santa Monica, California, Downtown Santa Monica, Glendale, California, Downtown Glendale and Downtown Long Beach. Los Angeles itself has many business districts, such as Downtown Los Angeles and those lining Wilshire Boulevard including Mid-Wilshire, the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, Miracle Mile, Downtown Beverly Hills and Westwood, Los Angeles, Westwood; others include Century City, Los Angeles, Century City and Warner Center, Los Angeles, Warner Center in the San Fernando Valley. The area of Santa Monica and Venice (and perhaps some of Culver City) is informally referred to as "Silicon Beach" because of the concentration of financial and marketing technology-centric firms located in the region.
The San Bernardino-Riverside Area maintains the business districts of Downtown San Bernardino, Hospitality Lane District, San Bernardino, California, Hospitality Business/Financial Centre, University District, San Bernardino, University District which are in the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside.
In Orange County, has highly developed suburban business centers (also known as edge cities) including the Anaheim–Santa Ana edge city along I-5; and another, the South Coast Plaza–John Wayne Airport edge city that stretches from the South Coast Metro to the Irvine Business Complex; Newport Center, Newport Beach, California, Newport Center; and Irvine Spectrum. Downtown Santa Ana is an important government, arts and entertainment, and retail district.
Downtown San Diego is the CBD of San Diego, though the city is filled with business districts. These include Carmel Valley, San Diego, Carmel Valley, Del Mar Heights, San Diego, Del Mar Heights, Mission Valley, Rancho Bernardo, Sorrento Mesa, and University City, San Diego, University City. Most of these districts are located in Northern San Diego and some within North County regions.
Theme parks and waterparks
Los Angeles
* Dry Town Water Park
* Pacific Park
* Raging Waters San Dimas
* Six Flags Hurricane Harbor
* Six Flags Magic Mountain
* Universal Studios Hollywood
Orange County
* Disney California Adventure
* Disneyland Park
* Knott's Berry Farm
* Knott's Soak City
* Wild Rivers (water park)
Riverside & San Bernardino
* Castle Park (amusement park), Castle Park
* Wet'n'Wild Palm Springs
San Diego
* Sesame Place San Diego
* Belmont Park (San Diego), Belmont Park
* Legoland California
* Legoland Waterpark
* San Diego Zoo
* San Diego Zoo Safari Park
* SeaWorld San Diego
Vineyard-Winery American Viticultural Area (AVA) districts
:California wine AVA-American Viticultural Areas in southern California: *South Coast AVA **Cucamonga Valley AVA **Malibu-Newton Canyon AVA **Ramona Valley AVA **Saddle Rock-Malibu AVA **Temecula Valley AVA *Leona Valley AVA *Central Coast AVA **Arroyo Grande Valley AVA **Edna Valley AVA **San Pasqual Valley AVA **Santa Maria Valley AVA **Santa Ynez Valley AVA **Sta. Rita Hills AVA **York Mountain AVAShopping malls
* South Coast Plaza * Westfield Century City * Citadel Outlets * Fashion Valley Mall, Fashion Valley * Westfield Topanga & The Village * Ontario Mills * Glendale Galleria * FIGat7thTransportation
:''See: :Transportation in Southern California, Transportation in Southern California'' Southern California is home to Los Angeles International Airport, the second-busiest airport in the United States by passenger volume (see World's busiest airports by passenger traffic) and the third-busiest by international passenger volume (see Busiest airports in the United States by international passenger traffic); San Diego International Airport, the busiest single-runway airport in the world; Van Nuys Airport, the world's busiest general aviation airport; major commercial airports at San Bernardino International Airport, San Bernardino, John Wayne Airport, Orange County, Meadows Field, Bakersfield, LA/Ontario International Airport, Ontario, Hollywood Burbank Airport, Burbank and Long Beach Airport, Long Beach; and numerous smaller commercial and general aviation airports. Six of the seven lines of the commuter rail system, Metrolink (California), Metrolink, run out of Downtown Los Angeles, connecting Los Angeles, Ventura, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, and San Diego counties with the other line connecting San Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange counties directly. Southern California is also home to the Port of Los Angeles, the country's busiest commercial port; the adjacent Port of Long Beach, the country's second busiest container port; and the Port of San Diego.Airports
The following table shows all airports listed by the Federal Aviation Association (FAA) as a hub airport:Freeways and highways
Sections of the Southern California freeway system are often referred to by names rather than by the official numbers.
Public transportation
:''See: :Public transportation in Southern California, Public transportation in Southern California''
*Antelope Valley Transit Authority
*Big Blue Bus (Santa Monica)
*Gold Coast Transit (Ventura County)
*Golden Empire Transit (Bakersfield)
*Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
*Metrolink (California), Metrolink
*North County Transit District (northern San Diego County)
*Omnitrans (southwestern San Bernardino County)
*Orange County Transportation Authority
*Riverside Transit Agency (western Riverside County)
*San Diego Coaster (Oceanside to San Diego)
*San Diego Metropolitan Transit System
*San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority
*Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara MTD
Communication
Telephone area codes
*Area code 213, 213 – Central Los Angeles *Area code 310, 310 – Westside (Los Angeles County), West Los Angeles, Inglewood, California, Inglewood, Santa Monica, South Bay, Los Angeles, South Bay and Santa Catalina Island, California, Catalina Island *Area code 323, 323 – Overlay with 213 *Area code 424, 424 – Overlay with 310 *Area code 442, 442 – Overlay with 760 *Area code 562, 562 – Long Beach, Gateway Cities, and parts of northernOrange County
Orange County most commonly refers to:
*Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Orange County may also refer to:
U.S. counties
*Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando
*Orange County, Indiana
*Orange County, New ...
*Area code 619, 619 – most of San Diego County including San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
*Area code 626, 626 – most of San Gabriel Valley including Pasadena
*Area code 657, 657 – Overlay with 714
*Area code 661, 661 – Bakersfield, Santa Clarita, and Antelope Valley
The Antelope Valley is located in northern Los Angeles County, California, and the southeast portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert. It is situated between the Tehachapi, Sierra Pelona, and t ...
*Area code 714, 714 – Northern Orange County (including Anaheim, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana, and Huntington Beach)
*Area code 760, 760 – Northern San Diego County (including Oceanside, California, Oceanside and Escondido, California, Escondido), Imperial County, Coachella Valley, Blythe, California, Blythe, Twentynine Palms, Victor Valley
The Victor Valley is a valley in the Mojave Desert and subregion of the Inland Empire, in San Bernardino County in Southern California.
It is located east of the Mojave's Antelope Valley, north of the Cajon Pass and the San Bernardino Valley, ...
, Barstow, California, Barstow, and Ridgecrest, California, Ridgecrest
*Area code 805, 805 – Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly hal ...
Counties
*Area code 818, 818 – Eastern Conejo Valley
The Conejo Valley is a region spanning both southeastern Ventura County and northwestern Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States. It is located in the northwestern part of the Greater Los Angeles Area.
Communities in the Conejo ...
, Crescenta Valley, San Fernando Valley including Glendale, California, Glendale and Burbank, California, Burbank
*Area code 820, 820 – Overlay with 805
*Area code 840, 840 – Overlay with 909
*Area code 858, 858 – Overlay with 619
*Area code 909, 909 – Southwestern San Bernardino County, eastern Los Angeles County, and portions of northwestern Riverside County
*Area code 949, 949 – Southern Orange County
Orange County most commonly refers to:
*Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Orange County may also refer to:
U.S. counties
*Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando
*Orange County, Indiana
*Orange County, New ...
(including Irvine, California, Irvine, Newport Beach, Laguna Niguel, and San Clemente)
*Area code 951, 951 – Western Riverside County including Riverside and Temecula
Temecula (; es, Temécula, ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a ...
Colleges and universities
The Tech Coast is a moniker that has gained use as a descriptor for the region's diversified technology and industrial base as well as its multitude of prestigious and world-renowned research universities and other public and private institutions. Amongst these include five University of California campuses (University of California, Irvine, Irvine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, and University of California, San Diego, San Diego), 12 California State University campuses (California State University, Bakersfield, Bakersfield, California State University, Channel Islands, Channel Islands, California State University, Dominguez Hills, Dominguez Hills, California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, California State University, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California State University, Long Beach, Long Beach, California State University, Northridge, Northridge, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Pomona, California State University, San Bernardino, San Bernardino, San Diego State University, San Diego, California State University, San Marcos, San Marcos, and California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo); and private institutions such as the California Institute of Technology, Azusa Pacific University, Chapman University, the Claremont Colleges (Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College, Pitzer College, Pomona College, Scripps College, Claremont Graduate University and Keck Graduate Institute), Loma Linda University, Loyola Marymount University, Occidental College, Pepperdine University, University of Redlands, University of San Diego and the University of Southern California.
Parks and recreation areas
Numerous parks provide recreation opportunities and open space. Locations include: *National Park Service **Cabrillo National Monument **Carrizo Plain National Monument **Castle Mountains National Monument **Cesar E. Chavez National Monument **Channel Islands National Park **Death Valley National Park **Joshua Tree National Park **Mojave National Preserve **Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area *Major State park, State Parks – ''including:'' **Anza-Borrego Desert State Park **Crystal Cove State Park **Cuyamaca Rancho State Park **Chino Hills State Park **Fort Tejon State Historic Park **Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area **Mount San Jacinto State Park **Malibu Creek State Park **Red Rock Canyon State Park (California) **Topanga State Park *Major State Historic Parks – ''including:'' **California Citrus State Historic Park **Presidio of Santa Barbara, El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park **La Purísima Mission State Historic Park **Los Encinos State Historic Park **Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa **Old Town San Diego State Historic Park **Rancho Los Encinos **Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park **Tule Elk State Natural Reserve **Watts Towers **Will Rogers State Historic ParkSports
Major professional sports teams in Southern California include: *NFL (American football) Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers *NBA (Basketball) Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers *MLB (Baseball) Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, San Diego Padres *NHL (Ice hockey) Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks *MLS (Soccer) LA Galaxy, Los Angeles FC *NWSL(Soccer) Angel City FC, San Diego Wave FC *WNBA(Basketball) Los Angeles Sparks Southern California also is home to a number of popular NCAA sports programs such as the UCLA Bruins, the USC Trojans, and the San Diego State Aztecs. The Bruins and the Trojans both field football teams in NCAA Division I in the Pac-12 Conference, and there is a longtime UCLA–USC rivalry, rivalry between the schools.See also
*:History of Southern California, History of Southern California *:California ranchos, California ranchos – ''Southern California Counties categories'' *:Public transportation in Southern California, Public transportation in Southern California *California earthquake forecast *California megapolitan areas *Geography of Southern California *Largest cities in Southern California *List of regions of California#Southern California *Megaregions of the United States *San Angeles *South Coast (California), South Coast *Southern California Association of GovernmentsReferences
Further reading
* * * , focus on planning, infrastructure, water and business. * , on Henry Edwards Huntington (1850–1927), railroad executive and collector, who helped build LA and southern California through the Southern Pacific railroad and trolleys. * *online
*
excerpt and text search
covers military and industrial roles. *
* * * , a historical geography *
in JSTOR
* , covers 1880s–1940 * *
External links
California Historical Society Collection, 1860–1960
– University of Southern California Libraries, USC Libraries Digital Collections
Historical Society of Southern California
{{coord, 34, 00, N, 117, 00, W, region:US-CA_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Southern California, Megapolitan areas of California Regions of California