SoCal Film Festival 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 List of urbanized areas in California (by population), urban areas 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, California, Orange County,
Most of Southern California has a Mediterranean climate, Mediterranean-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, desert climate, desert and mountain climate, mountain, 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 in California, droughts and List of California wildfires, wildfires have increased in frequency as a result of climate change.
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 Channel Islands of California, islands, shorelines, beaches, and coastal plains, through the Transverse Ranges, Transverse and Peninsular Ranges with their peaks, and into the large and small interior valleys, to the vast deserts of California.
:Introductory categories include:
*:Beaches of Southern California, Beaches of southern California
*:Mountain ranges of Southern California, Mountain ranges of Southern California
*:Rivers of Southern California, Rivers of Southern California
*:Deserts of California, Deserts of California
*:Parks in Southern California, Parks in Southern California
* Angeles National Forest (Los Angeles, San Bernardino, & Ventura Counties)
* Antelope Hills, California, Antelope Hills (Kern County)
* Antelope Valley (Los Angeles & Kern Counties)
* Arroyo Seco (Los Angeles County), Arroyo Seco (Los Angeles County)
* Bacon Hills (Kern County)
* Baldwin Hills (mountain range), Baldwin Hills (Los Angeles County)
* Ballona Wetlands (Los Angeles County)
* Big Bear Lake (San Bernardino County)
* Bissell Hills (Kern County)
* Black Hills (Kern County)
* Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, Bolsa Chica Estuary (Orange County)
* Buena Vista Hills (Kern County), Buena Vista Hills (Kern County)
* Buena Vista Lake (Kern County)
* Cajon Pass (San Bernardino County)
* Calico Mountains (California), Calico Mountains (San Bernardino County)
* Channel Islands of California, Channel Islands (Santa Barbara, Ventura & Los Angeles Counties)
* Castaic Lake (Los Angeles County)
* Chino Hills (Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside & San Bernardino Counties)
*
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 U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. 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 Coun ...
, 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, t ...
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 territorie ...
. The region generally contains ten of California's 58 counties: Imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, Texa ...
, Kern
KERN (1180 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Wasco-Greenacres, California, and serving the Bakersfield metropolitan area. The station is owned by American General Media. The radio studios and offices are in the American General Me ...
, Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, 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
Riverside may refer to:
Places Australia
* Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania
Canada
* Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon
* Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta
* Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...
, San Bernardino
San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "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 ...
, 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 List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
, 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 halfwa ...
and Ventura counties.
The Colorado Desert
California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella and Imperial valleys. It is home to many unique flora and fauna.
Geography and geology
The Colorado De ...
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 drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...
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 U.S. state, state in the Western United States, 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. N ...
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 traver ...
.
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 (US) and < ...
Inland Empire
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 o ...
and Coachella Valley
, map_image = Wpdms shdrlfi020l coachella valley.jpg
, map_caption = Coachella Valley
, location = California, United States
, coordinates =
, width =
, boundaries = Salton Sea (southeast), Santa Rosa Mountains (southwest), San Jacint ...
(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 Coun ...
(Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
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
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 o ...
(Riverside
Riverside may refer to:
Places Australia
* Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania
Canada
* Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon
* Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta
* Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...
and San Bernardino
San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "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 ...
counties, including the Coachella Valley
, map_image = Wpdms shdrlfi020l coachella valley.jpg
, map_caption = Coachella Valley
, location = California, United States
, coordinates =
, width =
, boundaries = Salton Sea (southeast), Santa Rosa Mountains (southwest), San Jacint ...
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 Oxnar ...
(0.8 million people). In addition, southern California contains the San Diego metropolitan area
San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinbu ...
with 3.3 million people, Bakersfield
Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...
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 halfwa ...
, 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 U.S. state, state in the Western United States, 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. N ...
and south across the Mexican
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
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 largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
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 List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
, 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 largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, 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 List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
, 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
Riverside may refer to:
Places Australia
* Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania
Canada
* Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon
* Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta
* Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...
, and San Bernardino
San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "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 ...
are the five most populous in the state, and are among the top 15 most populous counties in the United States.
The motion picture
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
, 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
The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...
are centered in the Los Angeles area in Southern California. Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* 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 conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
(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
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...
, 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
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
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. Di ...
. 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
Quiksilver is a brand of surf-inspired apparel and accessories that was founded in 1969 in Torquay, Australia, but is now based in Huntington Beach, California. It is one of the world's largest brands of surfwear and boardsport-related equipm ...
, 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 drink ...
, 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.
Histo ...
, RVCA
RVCA is a Costa Mesa, California–based clothing company owned by Boardriders.
Etymology
The logotype for RVCA portrays the letter A without a crossbar, resembling an uppercase lambda (Λ). The 'V' character is really a "U". Occasionally "RVC ...
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 free ...
, Timmy Curran
Tim Curran (born August 14, 1977) is a musician and retired professional surfer. During his successful surfing career, he was one of the best surfers on the World Championship Tour, and was consistently in contention for the world championship. ...
, 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
A wedge is a triangular-shaped simple machine.
Wedge, The Wedge, or Wedges may also refer to:
Common meanings
* Wedge (footwear), a type of shoe
* Wedge (golf), a type of golf club
Culture Fictional characters
* Wedge (''Transformers''), an ...
, Huntington Beach
Huntington Beach is a seaside city in 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 during the 2020 census, maki ...
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
The Hurley Pro at Trestles is a World Surf League Men's Championship Tour event held in Trestles, California. It debuted in the 2000 ASP World Tour, initially sponsored by Billabong,U.S. Open of Surfing
The U.S. Open of Surfing is a week-long surfing competition held annually during the summer in Huntington Beach, California. Generally held on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier, the U.S. Open is part of the qualification process for the ...
, 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, t ...
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 ba ...
held the America's Cup
The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...
, 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 (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the t ...
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 List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
in particular, have become a mecca for triathlon
A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the t ...
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
Big Bear Lake is a reservoir in the San Bernardino Mountains, in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is a snow and rain fed lake, having no other means of tributaries or mechanical replenishment. At a surface elevation of , it ...
, 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 Fores ...
, 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 halfwa ...
, Kern
KERN (1180 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Wasco-Greenacres, California, and serving the Bakersfield metropolitan area. The station is owned by American General Media. The radio studios and offices are in the American General Me ...
, and San Bernardino
San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "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 ...
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-s ...
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 northwest ...
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–Ame ...
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
The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legisla ...
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 r ...
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 w ...
. 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 Mission ...
. 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 in ...
. 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 th ...
led to the proposal never coming to a vote.
In 1900, the ''Los Angeles Times'' 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 Cal 3, 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 state government led by Governor Gavin Newsom 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
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, Texa ...
, Inyo County, California, Inyo, Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, Mono County, California, Mono, 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
Riverside may refer to:
Places Australia
* Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania
Canada
* Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon
* Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta
* Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...
, San Bernardino
San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "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 ...
, 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 List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
, 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 halfwa ...
, Santa Barbara and Ventura. Kern County was grouped with other counties of the San Joaquin Valley, California's central agricultural valley.
Urban landscape
Southern California consists of a heavily developed urban environment, home to some of the largest List of urbanized areas in California (by population), urban areas 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, California, Orange County, 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 List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
, and Riverside, California, Riverside-San Bernardino, 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 in California, Interstate 5, the main barrier to continued urbanization is Camp Pendleton. The cities and communities along Interstate 15 in California, Interstate 15 and Interstate 215 (California), Interstate 215 are so interrelated that Temecula and Murrieta have as much connection with the San Diego metropolitan area
San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinbu ...
as they do with the Inland Empire
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 o ...
. To the east, the United States Census Bureau considers the San Bernardino and Riverside County areas, Riverside-San Bernardino area as a separate metropolitan area from Los Angeles County. Newly developed exurbs formed in the Antelope Valley, north of Los Angeles, the Victor Valley, and the Coachella Valley
, map_image = Wpdms shdrlfi020l coachella valley.jpg
, map_caption = Coachella Valley
, location = California, United States
, coordinates =
, width =
, boundaries = Salton Sea (southeast), Santa Rosa Mountains (southwest), San Jacint ...
with the Imperial Valley. Also, population growth was high in the Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield-Kern County, Santa Maria, California, Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo areas.
Climate
Most of Southern California has a Mediterranean climate, Mediterranean-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, desert climate, desert and mountain climate, mountain, 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 in California, droughts and List of California wildfires, wildfires have increased in frequency as a result of climate change.
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 Channel Islands of California, islands, shorelines, beaches, and coastal plains, through the Transverse Ranges, Transverse and Peninsular Ranges with their peaks, and into the large and small interior valleys, to the vast deserts of California.
:Introductory categories include:
*:Beaches of Southern California, Beaches of southern California
*:Mountain ranges of Southern California, Mountain ranges of Southern California
*:Rivers of Southern California, Rivers of Southern California
*:Deserts of California, Deserts of California
*:Parks in Southern California, Parks in Southern California
Geography
Geographic features
* Angeles National Forest (Los Angeles, San Bernardino, & Ventura Counties)
* Antelope Hills, California, Antelope Hills (Kern County)
* Antelope Valley (Los Angeles & Kern Counties)
* Arroyo Seco (Los Angeles County), Arroyo Seco (Los Angeles County)
* Bacon Hills (Kern County)
* Baldwin Hills (mountain range), Baldwin Hills (Los Angeles County)
* Ballona Wetlands (Los Angeles County)
* Big Bear Lake (San Bernardino County)
* Bissell Hills (Kern County)
* Black Hills (Kern County)
* Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, Bolsa Chica Estuary (Orange County)
* Buena Vista Hills (Kern County), Buena Vista Hills (Kern County)
* Buena Vista Lake (Kern County)
* Cajon Pass (San Bernardino County)
* Calico Mountains (California), Calico Mountains (San Bernardino County)
* Channel Islands of California, Channel Islands (Santa Barbara, Ventura & Los Angeles Counties)
* Castaic Lake (Los Angeles County)
* Chino Hills (Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside & San Bernardino Counties)
* Coachella Valley
, map_image = Wpdms shdrlfi020l coachella valley.jpg
, map_caption = Coachella Valley
, location = California, United States
, coordinates =
, width =
, boundaries = Salton Sea (southeast), Santa Rosa Mountains (southwest), San Jacint ...
(Riverside County)
* Colorado Desert
California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella and Imperial valleys. It is home to many unique flora and fauna.
Geography and geology
The Colorado De ...
(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 drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...
(San Bernardino, Riverside & Imperial Counties, Baja California & Sonora)
* Conejo Valley (Los Angeles & Ventura Counties)
* Cucamonga Valley (San Bernardino & Riverside Counties)
* Cuyamaca Mountains (San Diego County)
* Death Valley (San Bernardino & Inyo Counties)
* Diablo Range (Kern County)
* Elk Hills (Kern County)
* Elkhorn Hills (San Luis Obispo County)
* El Mirage Lake (San Bernardino County)
* El Paso Mountains (Kern County)
* Greenhorn Mountains (Kern County)
* High Desert (California), High Desert (Los Angeles, Kern, Inyo, & San Bernardino Counties)
* Horned Toad Hills (Kern County)
* Imperial Valley (Imperial County)
* Irish Hills (California), Irish Hills (San Luis Obispo County)
* In-Ko-Pah Mountains (San Diego County)
* Inland Empire (CA), Inland Empire (Riverside & San Bernardino Counties)
* Jacumba Mountains (San Diego County)
* Jawbone Canyon (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 (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 northwest ...
(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 (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 halfwa ...
, and Bakersfield
Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...
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
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, Texa ...
*Kern
KERN (1180 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Wasco-Greenacres, California, and serving the Bakersfield metropolitan area. The station is owned by American General Media. The radio studios and offices are in the American General Me ...
*Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
*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
Riverside may refer to:
Places Australia
* Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania
Canada
* Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon
* Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta
* Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...
*San Bernardino
San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "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 ...
*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 List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
*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 halfwa ...
* 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 northern Orange County, California, Orange County *Area code 619, 619 – most of San Diego County includingSan 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 List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
*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
*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
, map_image = Wpdms shdrlfi020l coachella valley.jpg
, map_caption = Coachella Valley
, location = California, United States
, coordinates =
, width =
, boundaries = Salton Sea (southeast), Santa Rosa Mountains (southwest), San Jacint ...
, Blythe, California, Blythe, Twentynine Palms, Victor 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 halfwa ...
Counties
*Area code 818, 818 – Eastern Conejo Valley, 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, California, Orange County (including Irvine, California, Irvine, Newport Beach, Laguna Niguel, and San Clemente)
*Area code 951, 951 – Western Riverside County including Riverside, California, Riverside and Temecula
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