1934 San Gabriel Ca Train Wreck Photo Vintage Original 7X9

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Seller: memorabilia111 ✉️ (807) 100%, Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, US, Ships to: US & many other countries, Item: 176277810636 1934 SAN GABRIEL CA TRAIN WRECK PHOTO VINTAGE ORIGINAL 7X9. [56] These areas are sparsely developed and are part of the Mojave and Colorado Deserts. To the east, lie the Mojave National Preserve and Joshua Tree National Park along with the towns of Needles and Blythe on the California-. A VINTAGE ORIGINAL 7X9 INCH PHOTO OF A SAN GABRIEL CALIFORNIA TRAIN WRECK FROM 1934
San Gabriel (Spanish for "St. Gabriel") is a city located in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California. At the 2010 census, the population was 39,718. San Gabriel was founded by the Spanish in 1771, when Mission San Gabriel Arcángel was established by Saint Junípero Serra. Through the Spanish and Mexican periods, San Gabriel played an important role in the development of Los Angeles and Californio society. Owing to the prominence of Mission San Gabriel in the region's history, it is often called the "birthplace of the Los Angeles region".[10] History San Gabriel was established by the Spanish in 1771, when Junípero Serra founded Mission San Gabriel Arcángel. Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in 1832, painted by Ferdinand Deppe San Gabriel Mission Fiesta, 1962 Tongva Prior to the arrival of the Spanish to Alta California, the area that is San Gabriel were inhabited by the Tongva, whom the Spanish called the Gabrieleño. The Tongva village of Shevaanga was located at the original site of Mission San Gabriel, before being moved to the site of another village, Toviscanga in 1776 after being destroyed by a flood. These villages were part of an extensive trade network and were interconnected by a series of trails.[11][12] Spanish period Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, founded by Father Junípero Serra in 1771, is the fourth of twenty-one California Missions, and is known as the "Pride of the California Missions."[13] Dissidence and rebellions against the mission by the Tongva, who were forced to labor at the mission, were common.[14] After the Spanish missionaries banned converts to Christianity from dancing and participating in ceremony, a major rebellion of eight villages was staged against the mission in 1785 led by Toypurina and Nicolás Josè.[15] Mexican period The Mission San Gabriel Arcángel served a pivotal role in the Californio society, with many of the area's first Mexican settlers being baptized at the mission, including future governor Pio Pico, who was born in 1801 at the mission and baptized there the same year. He was appointed as California's governor twice, serving briefly in 1832 and again from 1845 through the Mexican–American War. Later in life, he was elected as a Los Angeles City councilman.[16] The city of Pico Rivera was named to honor him as the last governor of California to be born in Mexico.[17] American period In 1853, a company of Army Engineers, which included the geologist William P. Blake, passed by the mission in search of the best route for an intercontinental railroad. Blake observed that the once great vineyards had fallen into wild disarray. Fences were in disrepair and animals roamed freely through the property. But the mission bells were ringing and the church was still in use. Blake predicted, "I believe that when the adaptation of that portion of California to the culture of the grape and the manufacture of wine becomes known and appreciated, the state will become celebrated not only for its gold and grain, but (also) for its fruits and wines."[18] In the first United States census made in California in 1860, 586 people lived in the San Gabriel township, an area encompassing the mission lands and several adjacent ranchos stretching north to what is now Pasadena. By 1870, the population had shrunk to 436.[19][20] San Gabriel incorporated as a city April 24, 1913, with a population of 1,500.[18] Geography Laguna de San Gabriel, designed by Benjamín Domínguez, at Lugo Park According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.1 square miles (11 km2), virtually all of it land. The city is located in the San Gabriel Valley and is bordered on the north by San Marino, on the east by Temple City and Rosemead, to the south by Rosemead and to the west by Alhambra. Parks View of the San Gabriel Mountains from the city of San Gabriel The Parks and Recreation Department offers an after school sports program and a summer playground program for San Gabriel youth. Along with these programs, the department provides a variety of trips and special events throughout the year for youth of all ages. Parks include: Adult Recreation Center and Senior Center, 324 South Mission Drive Bovard-Wilson-Hayes House and Jail Grapevine Park and Arbor, 324 South Mission Drive Smith Park and Pool, 232 West Broadway, Vincent Lugo Park, Corner of Wells and Ramona Streets Climate According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, San Gabriel has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps. Summers are hot and very dry, and winters are mild. Climate data for San Gabriel, California, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1939–2015 Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °F (°C) 94 (34) 94 (34) 101 (38) 106 (41) 106 (41) 111 (44) 108 (42) 112 (44) 112 (44) 108 (42) 101 (38) 96 (36) 112 (44) Mean maximum °F (°C) 84.8 (29.3) 85.6 (29.8) 87.4 (30.8) 93.2 (34.0) 92.5 (33.6) 95.2 (35.1) 98.7 (37.1) 100.7 (38.2) 102.5 (39.2) 98.0 (36.7) 90.1 (32.3) 82.9 (28.3) 106.2 (41.2) Average high °F (°C) 68.6 (20.3) 68.2 (20.1) 70.9 (21.6) 73.8 (23.2) 75.6 (24.2) 80.8 (27.1) 85.5 (29.7) 87.6 (30.9) 86.7 (30.4) 80.7 (27.1) 74.0 (23.3) 67.8 (19.9) 76.7 (24.8) Daily mean °F (°C) 57.4 (14.1) 57.7 (14.3) 60.7 (15.9) 63.2 (17.3) 66.6 (19.2) 71.2 (21.8) 75.4 (24.1) 76.6 (24.8) 75.1 (23.9) 69.0 (20.6) 62.3 (16.8) 56.6 (13.7) 66.0 (18.9) Average low °F (°C) 46.1 (7.8) 47.1 (8.4) 50.5 (10.3) 52.7 (11.5) 57.6 (14.2) 61.5 (16.4) 65.2 (18.4) 65.5 (18.6) 63.6 (17.6) 57.4 (14.1) 50.6 (10.3) 45.3 (7.4) 55.3 (12.9) Mean minimum °F (°C) 33.9 (1.1) 35.7 (2.1) 38.5 (3.6) 41.8 (5.4) 48.1 (8.9) 52.8 (11.6) 57.1 (13.9) 56.1 (13.4) 54.2 (12.3) 47.0 (8.3) 38.6 (3.7) 33.3 (0.7) 31.8 (−0.1) Record low °F (°C) 22 (−6) 25 (−4) 31 (−1) 34 (1) 38 (3) 43 (6) 46 (8) 47 (8) 42 (6) 33 (1) 30 (−1) 24 (−4) 22 (−6) Average precipitation inches (mm) 3.56 (90) 4.22 (107) 2.53 (64) 0.61 (15) 0.48 (12) 0.13 (3.3) 0.04 (1.0) 0.00 (0.00) 0.13 (3.3) 0.61 (15) 0.92 (23) 2.44 (62) 15.67 (398) Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 6.5 7.1 5.1 2.2 1.9 0.5 0.5 0.0 0.4 1.6 2.7 4.7 33.2 Source 1: NOAA[21] Source 2: National Weather Service (mean maxima/minima 1981–2010)[22] Demographics Historical population Census Pop. Note %± 1900 737 — 1920 2,640 — 1930 7,224 173.6% 1940 11,867 64.3% 1950 20,343 71.4% 1960 22,561 10.9% 1970 29,336 30.0% 1980 30,072 2.5% 1990 37,120 23.4% 2000 39,804 7.2% 2010 39,718 −0.2% 2019 (est.) 39,899 [7] 0.5% U.S. Decennial Census[23] 2010 Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, designed by Antonio Cruzado The 2010 United States Census[24] reported that San Gabriel had a population of 39,718. The population density was 9,581.5 inhabitants per square mile (3,699.4/km2). The racial makeup of San Gabriel was 24,091 (60.7%) Asian, 10,076 (25.4%) White (11.4% Non-Hispanic White), 388 (1.0%) African American, 220 (0.6%) Native American, 43 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 3,762 (9.5%) from other races, and 1,138 (2.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10,189 persons (25.7%). The Census reported that 39,266 people (98.9% of the population) lived in households, 34 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 418 (1.1%) were institutionalized. There were 12,542 households, out of which 4,542 (36.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 6,668 (53.2%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,961 (15.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 965 (7.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 481 (3.8%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 76 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,121 households (16.9%) were made up of individuals, and 800 (6.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.13. There were 9,594 families (76.5% of all households); the average family size was 3.47. The population was spread out, with 7,866 people (19.8%) under the age of 18, 3,555 people (9.0%) aged 18 to 24, 11,335 people (28.5%) aged 25 to 44, 11,388 people (28.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 5,574 people (14.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males. There were 13,237 housing units at an average density of 3,193.3 per square mile (1,232.9/km2), of which 6,168 (49.2%) were owner-occupied, and 6,374 (50.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.7%. 19,974 people (50.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 19,292 people (48.6%) lived in rental housing units. 2000 San Gabriel City Hall St. Sava Orthodox Church As of the census[25] of 2000, there were 39,804 people, 12,587 households, and 9,566 families residing in the city. The population density was 9,639.3 inhabitants per square mile (3,721.8/km2). There were 12,909 housing units at an average density of 3,126.2 per square mile (1,207.0/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 33.40% White, 1.06% African American, 0.83% Native American, 48.91% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 12.36% from other races, and 3.34% from two or more races. Those identifying as Hispanic or Latino (of any race) were 30.71% of the population. There were 12,587 households, out of which 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.0% were non-families. 18.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.10 and the average family size was 3.52. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.5% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $56,720, and the median income The per capita income for the city was $24,816. About 9.5% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.4% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over. These were the ten neighborhoods in Los Angeles County with the largest percentage of Asian residents, according to the 2000 census:[26] Chinatown, 70.6% Monterey Park, 61.1% Cerritos, 58.3% Walnut, 56.2% Rowland Heights, 51.7% San Gabriel, 48.9% Rosemead, 48.6% Alhambra, 47.2% San Marino, 46.8% Arcadia, 45.4% Economy Top employers Businesses on Valley Blvd. Shops near the intersection of Abbot Ave and Valley Blvd. According to the city's 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:[27] # Employer # of Employees 1 AHMC San Gabriel Valley Medical 1062 2 Landwin Hospitality LLC 150 3 Ivy Creek Healthcare & Wellness Centre 147 4 SGV Healthcare Inc. 147 5 99 Ranch Market #208 143 6 Royal Vista Care Center, LLC 123 7 San Gabriel Country Club 120 8 Pine Grove Healthcare & Wellness Centre 116 9 Five Star Seafood Restaurant 105 10 San Gabriel Superstore 105 Government San Gabriel City Hall on Mission Dr. In the state legislature San Gabriel is located in the 21st Senate District, represented by Democrat Anthony Portantino, and in the 49th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Ed Chau. In the United States House of Representatives, San Gabriel is in California's 28th congressional district, represented by Democrat Judy Chu.[28] View of San Gabriel City Hall from the Plaza de San Gabriel City Five Councilmembers are elected by the voters to serve a four-year term. The Mayor is appointed annually by the Council in a rotation among its members. The City Council is also the Redevelopment Agency Board of Directors. The current members are Tony Ding (D), John R. Harrington (L), Denise Menchaca (D), Carina Rivera, and John Wu.[3] The city's first Chinese American mayor was Chi Mui in 2006. He symbolized San Gabriel's rise as the new center of the region's Chinese community. He died of cancer three months later.[29] Mui was replaced by Albert Y. M. Huang, who served as mayor during his term. Huang submitted his resignation October 19, 2010 following a late-night domestic dispute with his girlfriend and subsequent arrest. Huang has since been cleared of all charges.[30] Education San Gabriel Mission Playhouse Gabrielino High School The city of San Gabriel is served by the San Gabriel Unified School District. The 2009 API school reports has recognized the San Gabriel Unified school district as one of the top school districts in California. Gabrielino High School consistently ranks with some of the highest scores possible among public high schools in California.[31] All five of the public elementary schools in San Gabriel have been honored as a California Distinguished School.[32] Jefferson Middle School is also recognized as a California Distinguished School.[33] Two elementary schools that exist within the city limits are operated by the Garvey School District, in the southern portion of San Gabriel. Gabrielino High School has been named by U.S. News & World Report as one of "America's Best Public High Schools".[34] Del Mar High School, which opened in 2010, is an alternative high school.[35] San Gabriel High School is located in the Alhambra Unified School District. San Gabriel Mission High School is a Catholic, all girls school. Media San Gabriel community news are covered by the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, a paid daily newspaper, as well as by Mid-Valley News and San Gabriel Sun, which are community weeklies. Culture Shopping near the intersection of Del Mar Ave. and Valley Blvd in 2025 The city has a mixture of Asian, European, and North American cultures.[36] Second- and third-generation Chinese Americans patronize its diverse array of stores and eateries.[29] There is the 12-acre (49,000 m2) "San Gabriel Square" mall, sometimes referred to as the "Chinese Disneyland".[36] It was also nicknamed by the Los Angeles Times as "the great mall of China."[37][38] This stretch of Chinese shops and bold architecture, with roofs of Spanish-style tile, is the model for the new ethnoburbs recently recognized in places like Las Vegas and Houston.[36][39] Transportation The Mission District A streetcar of the Pacific Electric Railway makes a stop at Mission San Gabriel Arcángel c. 1905. San Gabriel is currently served by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. In 2008, voters approved the measure, proposition 1A for the California High Speed Rail Project from San Diego to San Francisco.[40] The project will be constructed in two segments. The San Francisco to Los Angeles/Anaheim project is scheduled to be built first, at a cost of $43 billion, with a completion date in 2029.[40] The second phase of the proposed railway, from Los Angeles to stations in San Diego will not begin construction until after phase one is completed. The California High-Speed Rail Authority is responsible for planning, designing, and building the system. Conceptually, the voters were very enthusiastic about a high speed railway. The reality of the possibility that it could impact their neighborhood and their homes is being met with steadfast disapproval. When the California High-Speed Rail Authority recently met with the city councils and residents of San Gabriel, El Monte, Rosemead[41] and Alhambra, to discuss the four proposed routes for phase two, the members of the three city councils expressed that residents were very concerned that the railway could possibly end up in their backyards.[40] Mayor David Gutierrez said "We made a promise to the community that the city of San Gabriel will never allow anything like this to happen if there is any consideration that people might lose their home."[40] No decisions will be made until environmental impact and evaluation of the various proposed routes are completed in 2014.[40] Notable people Rick Aguilera, Major League Baseball pitcher, was born in San Gabriel Hank Aguirre, Major League Baseball pitcher[42] Susan Atkins, convicted murderer, associate of Charles Manson Judge Roy Bean, notorious Wild West figure Jesse Chavez, Major League Baseball pitcher Francisco Dumetz, missionary Mike Garcia, Major League Baseball pitcher[42] Curly Howard, comedian and actor Ward Kimball, animator for Disney Mike Krukow, Major League Baseball pitcher and TV commentator[42] Billy Laughlin, child actor Dee Luong, poker player Gary McCord, pro golfer and TV commentator Angela Morales, writer Bill Mumy, actor[43] Danny Patterson, Major League Baseball pitcher General George S. Patton, World War II general Pio Pico, last Mexican Governor of California Luis J. Rodriguez, poet and writer Allan Sandage, astronomer Tex Schramm, original general manager of the Dallas Cowboys; born in San Gabriel[44] Laurence Trimble, silent film actor Louis Vitale, priest and peace activist Kurt Vollers, pro football player Joanna Wang, singer-songwriter[45] The San Gabriel Valley (Spanish: Valle de San Gabriel), often referred to by its initials as SGV, is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, lying immediately to the east of the eastern limits of the city of Los Angeles and occupying the vast majority of the southeastern part of Los Angeles County. Surrounding landforms and other features include the following: the San Gabriel Mountains to the north;[1] the San Rafael Hills to the west,[2] with the Los Angeles Basin beyond; the Crescenta Valley to the northwest; the Puente Hills to the south,[3] with the coastal plain of Orange County beyond; the Chino Hills and San Jose Hills to the east, with the Pomona Valley and Inland Empire beyond; and the city limits of Los Angeles, bordering its western edge. The San Gabriel Valley derives its name from the San Gabriel River that flows southward through the center of the valley, which itself was named for the Spanish Mission San Gabriel Arcángel originally built in the Whittier Narrows in 1771. Once predominantly agricultural, the San Gabriel Valley today is almost entirely urbanized and is an integral part of the Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. It is one of the most ethnically diverse regions in the country. Covering about 200 sq mi (520 km2) in area, the valley includes 31 cities and five unincorporated communities.[4] It is located entirely within Los Angeles County. Pasadena is the largest city in the San Gabriel Valley. Pasadena was incorporated in 1886, making it the fourth city incorporated in Los Angeles County, California, following Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and Anaheim (Santa Ana and Anaheim are both now located in Orange County, which broke off in 1889). More recently, statewide droughts in California have further strained the San Gabriel Valley's and Los Angeles County's water security.[5] Cities and communities Los Angeles River, highlighted in red (on the left). The San Gabriel River is highlighted in red on the right. The incorporated cities and unincorporated neighborhoods of the San Gabriel Valley include: Altadena Alhambra Arcadia Avocado Heights Azusa Baldwin Park Bassett Bradbury Charter Oak Citrus City of Industry Covina Diamond Bar Duarte East Pasadena El Monte Glendora Hacienda Heights Hillgrove Irwindale La Puente Los Angeles (El Sereno) Mayflower Village Monrovia Monterey Park North El Monte Pasadena Pomona Ramona Rosemead Rowland Heights Rose Hills San Dimas San Gabriel San Marino San Pasqual Sierra Madre South El Monte South Pasadena South San Gabriel South San Jose Hills Temple City Valinda Vincent Walnut West Covina West Puente Valley Whittier, California, late 19th century Whittier, like Montebello, is considered a part of the Gateway Cities region.[6] An unincorporated portion of Whittier, Rose Hills, sits below the Puente Hills. While Montebello is considered to be part of the Gateway Cities region, the northern portion of Montebello is part of the San Gabriel Valley.[7] Claremont, Diamond Bar, La Verne, Pomona, San Dimas and Walnut are adjacent to the San Gabriel Valley, and though they are properly considered part of the Pomona Valley, they are also commonly considered[6] part of the San Gabriel Valley. The 57 Freeway (Orange Freeway) is generally considered[6] the dividing line between the Pomona and San Gabriel valleys. However, for statistical and economic development purposes, the County of Los Angeles generally includes these six cities as part of the San Gabriel Valley.[6] The community of El Sereno, in the city of Los Angeles, is situated at the westernmost edge of the Valley. Unofficial estimates[6] place the combined population of the San Gabriel Valley at around 2 million—roughly a fifth of the population of Los Angeles County. Early history Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the land along the Rio Hondo River, a branch of the San Gabriel River, was populated by the Tongva people.[8] The Tongva occupied much of the Los Angeles basin and the islands of Santa Catalina, San Nicolas, San Clemente and Santa Barbara. In the northern part of the valley were the Hahanog-na[9] Indian tribe, a branch of the Tongva Nation (part of the Shoshone language group) who lived in villages scattered along the Arroyo Seco and the canyons from the mountains down to the South Pasadena area. In 1542, when the explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo arrived off the shores of San Pedro and Santa Catalina.[10] The Tongva were the people who rowed the remarkable Ti'ats (plank canoes) out to meet Cabrilho.[8] The language of the Tongva was different from the neighboring Indian tribes and it was called Gabrielino by the Spanish. The Tongva also provide the origin of many current names; Piwongna – Pomona, Pasakeg-na – Pasadena, Cucomog-na – Cucamonga. The Gabrielinos lived in dome-like structures with thatched exteriors. Both sexes wore long hair styles and tattooed their bodies. During warm weather the men wore little clothing, but the women would wear minimal skirts made of animal hides. During the cold weather they would wear animal skin capes. European diseases killed many of the Tongva and by 1870 the area had few remaining native inhabitants. Today, several bands of Tongva people live in the Los Angeles area.[8] The first Europeans to see inland areas of California were the members of the 1769 Portolà expedition, which traveled north by land after establishing the first Spanish settlement in today's state of California at San Diego. On July 30, the expedition crossed the San Gabriel River and continued north toward what is now the city of Los Angeles. To cross the river, the expedition built a rough bridge, which gave the name La Puente to today's San Gabriel Valley city, and hills to the south are called the Puente Hills. A few years later, a mission was established near the river crossing. Mission San Gabriel Arcángel circa 1900. The trail in the foreground is part of the original El Camino Real. Mission San Gabriel Arcangel was founded by Franciscan Father Junipero Serra, first head of the Spanish missions in California, on September 8, 1771. Its original location, called Mission Vieja, was near where San Gabriel Boulevard now crosses the Rio Hondo, which is also near the present day Juan Matias Sanchez Adobe.[11] Angel Somera and Pedro Cambon were the first missionary priests at the new mission, which marked the beginning of the Los Angeles region's settlement by Spaniards. The San Gabriel mission was the third of twenty-one[12] missions that would ultimately be established along California's El Camino Real. The San Gabriel mission did well in establishing cattle ranching and farming, but six years after its founding a destructive flood led the mission fathers to relocate the establishment to its current location farther north in present-day city of San Gabriel. The original mission site is now marked by a California Historical Landmark.[13] During the early years of the mission, the region operated under a Rancho system. The lands which now compose the city of Montebello were originally parts of Rancho San Antonio, Rancho La Merced, and Rancho Paso de Bartolo. The Juan Matias Sanchez Adobe, built in 1844, remains standing at the center of old Rancho La Merced in Eastern Montebello in the La Merced area. Recently restored, it is the city's oldest structure. Mission San Gabriel Arcángel served a central role in Spanish colonial society, with many of the area's first Mexican settlers being baptized at the mission, including Pio Pico, who was born and baptized at the mission in 1801. He became governor of California twice, in 1832 and in 1845 and the city of Pico Rivera was named honoring him as the last Mexican governor of California. The Battle of Rio San Gabriel took place in Montebello on January 8, 1847, on the banks of the Rio Hondo.[14] This battle gave the control of Los Angeles and Alta California to the United States, and was a decisive battle in the Mexican-American war. Two days later, after several battle losses and defeats, Mexico was forced to cede Alta California to the United States. By 1852, after American occupation, San Gabriel became one of the first townships in the County of Los Angeles. Today the battle site is California State Historical Landmark #385, and there are two old cannons and a plaque commemorating the battle overlooking the river on Bluff Rd. and Washington Blvd.[15] In 1853, with a contingent of Army Engineers passing through searching for the best route to build a railroad, Geologist William P. Blake observed that the once-extensive vineyards were falling to decay, with fences broken down and animals roaming freely through it. But the bells were ringing, and the church was in use. Prophetically, he wrote, "I believe that when the adaptation of that portion of California to the culture of the grape and the manufacture of wine becomes known and appreciated, the state will become celebrated not only for its gold and grain, but for it fruits and wines.[16] Following the American Civil War, some 5,000 acres (20 km2) of the East Los Angeles region were owned by an Italian settler from Genoa, Alessandro Repetto. After Repetto's death in 1885, his brother sold his rancho to a consortium of five Los Angeles businessmen including banker Isaias Hellman and wholesale grocer/historian Harris Newmark for $60,000, about $12 an acre.[14] Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, and South Asian pioneers and settlers first came to the San Gabriel Valley in the mid-19th century. These pioneers worked the fields, picked the grapes and citrus fruit, and built part the infrastructure of today's San Gabriel Valley.[17] In the 1920s Japanese immigrants arrived in Monterey Park to work as farmhands. The discovery of oil by Standard Oil Company in the Montebello hills, in 1917, brought about a revolutionary change to the locality. The agricultural hills soon became a major contributor to oil production. By 1920, its oil fields were producing one-eighth of California's crude oil. For several decades, the hills were dotted with active oil wells.[14] The cities of Whittier, Covina and Pasadena were formerly the sites of the citrus industry. In addition, the oil, dairy and cattle industries used to flourish in the southern region of the SGV. Many equestrian trails in the San Gabriel Valley—specifically, in Covina and Walnut—have disappeared or fallen into disuse. The remaining rural countryside-like areas include the area between eastern West Covina and Cal Poly Pomona and in Walnut and Diamond Bar and La Puente. Timeline Japanese-American woman held at Santa Anita Park during World War II, with the statue of Seabiscuit, 1942 1769: First Europeans pass through in the Spanish Portola Expedition. 1771: Mission San Gabriel established. The entire valley eventually becomes mission-controlled ranch and agricultural land. Native tribes are absorbed into the mission system. 1774: First Europeans reach the valley from the east, an expedition led by Juan Bautista de Anza. 1834: With the secularization of the missions, former mission lands are divided into large land grants called ranchos. 1886: Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad opens. 1890: The first Tournament of Roses Parade is presented in Pasadena. 1914: Erection of the first two tents which were the first building blocks of today's City of Hope National Medical Center 1920: The California Institute of Technology or Caltech opens in Pasadena (previously Throop College of Technology, est. 1891). 1941: The first freeway in the United States, Arroyo Seco Parkway (now part of California 110, north of downtown Los Angeles), opens. 1942–1944 Japanese American citizens were sent to a Japanese internment camp at Santa Anita Park during World War II, with up to 17,000 people living in horse stables. 1940s–1950s: San Gabriel Valley changes from acres of farmland to suburban bedroom community. 1957: San Bernardino Freeway (Interstate 10) opens. 1970s–1980s: Taiwanese immigrants began settling in Monterey Park and its neighborhoods. 1980s–present Chinese and Hong Kong immigrants began to settle in Alhambra, Arcadia, El Monte, Monterey Park, Rosemead, San Gabriel, and San Marino. Demographics and ethnic diversity This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) The total population of the San Gabriel Valley in the 2000 Census was 1,510,378 people, of which 1,425,596 were living in the 30 incorporated cities. The average size of a household in the San Gabriel Valley according to the 2000 Census was 3.28 persons compared with 2.98 persons for Los Angeles County as a whole. Eight cities in the Valley have average household sizes of over four persons, while an unincorporated area, the South San Jose Hills, was at a significant 5.07 persons per household. (Most addresses do not use South San Jose Hills as the city but use La Puente, West Covina, or Valinda.) At the other end of this scale is Sierra Madre, at 2.20 persons per household.[18] The age distribution in the San Gabriel Valley was a little unusual when compared with the county. A larger share of the population was aged 10–19, 15.5% versus 14.8% for the county. Also, the Valley had a higher share of people over 45 years of age. The income ranges in the San Gabriel Valley area are also quite wide. The highest median household income was found in San Marino ($117,267), followed by Bradbury ($100,454). At the other end of the scale was El Monte with a median household income of $32,439. Four other cities in the Valley had household incomes of less than $40,000.[19] Significant percentages of all major ethnic groups reside in San Gabriel Valley communities, and the area is in general one of the most ethnically diverse regions in the country. The majority of people residing in the San Gabriel Valley are Hispanics and Asian Americans.[17][20][21] The communities of Glendora, La Verne, Claremont, Monrovia, Sierra Madre, Pasadena, South Pasadena, and San Dimas have significant Caucasian populations. The Gabrieleno/Tongva of San Gabriel are headquartered in San Gabriel.[8] A small Native American population is also located in Arcadia, Rowland Heights, Walnut, and Diamond Bar. Despite the European influx they remained an integral part of the Southern California community, and continue to in the present day.[8] The African American population in the San Gabriel Valley is relatively low. However, there are sizable, long-established African American communities in the western Altadena area and in northwest Pasadena, as well as in Monrovia.[22] Montebello is home to the oldest Armenian community in Los Angeles County and home to Holy Cross Armenian Apostolic Cathedral, which was the only Armenian cathedral in California until Saint Leon Cathedral was built in Burbank in 2012.[23] The Armenian Martyrs Monument at Bicknell Park commemorating the victims of the Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman Turks is the largest monument of the genocide found on public property in the world.[24] The Armenian community of Pasadena has its roots in the 1890s. The Pashgian Bros. Oriental Rugs and Fine Carpets was established in 1889. Hispanics, predominately Mexican Americans, are concentrated in Alhambra, Baldwin Park, City of Industry, El Monte, Hacienda Heights, La Puente, Montebello, Rosemead, San Gabriel, South El Monte, West Covina, Covina, Pomona, and Whittier, with significant populations in Pasadena and South Pasadena.[citation needed] Asian American influx This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "San Gabriel Valley" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Main article: Chinese enclaves in the San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley has the largest concentration of Asian American communities in the United States.[25] Eight of the ten cities in the United States with the largest proportion of Chinese Americans are located in the San Gabriel Valley.[25] The cities and communities of Monterey Park, Walnut, Alhambra, San Gabriel, San Marino, Rowland Heights, Hacienda Heights, Diamond Bar, and Arcadia form a large Asian American community. There are many Filipino Americans, residing in West Covina and Walnut. Vietnamese Americans tend to be concentrated in San Gabriel, Rosemead, and El Monte. Many Korean Americans live in Hacienda Heights, Rowland Heights, and Diamond Bar. A longstanding Japanese American community exists in Monterey Park.[citation needed] Early Chinese pioneers settled into the Valley mostly as laborers.[26] They packed oranges, picked walnuts, did construction, owned or worked in laundries, and worked as cooks and servants in the homes of the wealthy. Mostly a bachelor society, the early Chinese did not leave many descendants. By the late 1880s, there was a growing Japanese pioneer population. Filipinos and Asian Indians also served as laborers in the valley. Almost a century later, in the wake of the San Gabriel Valley's burgeoning population of Asian Americans, they have become a dominant cultural force.[27] Several business districts developed to serve their needs creating a collection of Southern California Chinatowns loosely connected along the Valley Boulevard Corridor. This trend began in the city of Monterey Park during the late 1970s when many well-to-do Taiwanese professionals began settling in the area. Initially, many Chinese restaurateurs and business owners used primarily Traditional Chinese script and not English names on their business signs. This changed in 1986, when the city council of Monterey Park enacted an ordinance requiring all businesses to translate their business signs and describe the nature of their businesses in English, deemed a matter of public safety. Monterey Park is a microcosm of changing demographics, highlighting Asian American history and evolution in the San Gabriel Valley. Rosemead has a smaller group of Vietnamese and Chinese business districts. There are also small pockets of Chinese American businesses that are scattered throughout San Gabriel Valley cities. In Rowland Heights, a handful of Korean American strip malls co-exist with Chinese American businesses. Another ethnic enclave is the Filipino American business district of Little Manila, in West Covina along with an Asian indoor and outdoor shopping center. Small Chinatowns have sprung up in many cities throughout the valley. By the 2010 census there were more than half a million Asian Americans living in San Gabriel Valley.[28] While smaller than the Latino population in the valley, it outnumbered the White population, and had a faster growth rate.[29] More than a quarter of the population in the region are Asian American.[30] The largest populations of Asian Americans in San Gabriel Valley were Chinese, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Korean, Taiwanese, and Japanese.[29] Arts and culture The San Gabriel Valley is home to the annual Tournament of Roses Parade, which is broadcast live on television on New Year's Day from Pasadena. After the parade, the Rose Bowl game between two rival college football teams is also televised live.[31] The Jet Propulsion Laboratory complex in La Cañada Flintridge. Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech. As the oldest incorporated community in the valley, the City of Pasadena serves as a cultural center for the San Gabriel Valley.[32] Several art-house film and play theatres are located in Pasadena, including the Pasadena Playhouse.[33] In addition, the local news/talk National Public Radio station KPCC 89.3 FM broadcasts from Pasadena City College, although it is operated by Minnesota Public Radio.[34] Old Pasadena, which has been restored and rejuvenated, remains highly popular.[35] Old Pasadena has an active nightlife, a shopping mall, boutiques, outdoor cafés, nightclubs, comedy clubs, and varied restaurants. Other communities hope to emulate its successes through commercial redevelopment and reviving their own downtown areas or "Main Streets". The city of Azusa has attempted to encourage redevelopment of its once-dilapidated downtown section by using a Route 66 theme. Covina has had moderate success with its nostalgic Downtown Covina, with emphasis placed on a small-town America atmosphere and mom-and-pop merchants rather than big-box retail chains; Monrovia has also embraced this theme for their "Old Town."[36] Alhambra has also worked to renovate its downtown along Main St.[37] San Gabriel Mission is the center of Historical Culture in SGV. The California Institute of Technology is located in Pasadena. The university is ranked in the top 10 universities worldwide by metrics such as citation index, Nobel Prizes, and general university rankings. Caltech is also responsible for the well-known Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which designs and engineers many of NASA's spacecraft.[38] The city of Baldwin Park is the birthplace of the popular hamburger fast food chain In-N-Out Burger. Its first location opened in the city in 1948.[39] Huy Fong's Sriracha sauce, the ubiquitous Sriracha sauce found at Vietnamese restaurants across the western world, manufactures and is headquartered in Irwindale.[40] Naked Juice, now a division of PepsiCo, is headquartered in Monrovia. Panda Express was launched as a fast food version of the Panda Inn restaurant in Pasadena in 1983. The company's headquarters are in Rosemead. Trader Joe's opened its first location in Pasadena in 1967. The company's headquarters are now in Monrovia. Politics and government Most cities have their own local mayor, city council, police and fire departments. Unincorporated areas such as Hacienda Heights and Rowland Heights are governed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has jurisdiction in these areas. In many unincorporated areas, advisory town councils guide the decisions, made by a supervisor or city manager. Often these groups began as collaborations of local homeowner associations. The Hacienda Heights Improvement Association, Rowland Heights Coordinating Council, and Altadena Town Council are examples of advisory bodies that are officially sanctioned by the county supervisor representing that community. In 2003, voters in the unincorporated community of Hacienda Heights defeated a proposal to incorporate as a city. It remains an unincorporated district governed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors rather than by a locally elected mayor and city council. Transportation Foothill Freeway (I-210) as seen from the Metro Gold Line Sierra Madre Villa Station Gold Line Memorial Park Station. Foothill Transit and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority provide bus transit services throughout the valley. El Monte Station, a large regional bus station, provides transportation to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles via the El Monte Busway, an 11-mile (18 km) shared-use bus corridor (transitway).[18] The Metrolink San Bernardino Line commuter train runs westward to Downtown Los Angeles and eastward to San Bernardino through the valley. On March 5, 2016, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority opened the Metro Gold Line foothill extension, expanding the current light rail service that previously traveled from East LA to Pasadena through Downtown LA to a new Northern terminus in Azusa.[41] Several cities provide their own in-city transportation shuttles. Cities known to provide such service are: Alhambra[42] Arcadia[43] Baldwin Park[44] Duarte[45] Glendora[46] La Puente[47] Monrovia[48] Montebello[49] Monterey Park[50] Pasadena[51] Temple City[52] West Covina[53] The San Gabriel Valley is served by several major freeways: the Foothill Freeway (Interstate 210 (California) and State Route 210) the Ventura Freeway (State Route 134) the San Bernardino Freeway (Interstate 10) the Pomona Freeway (State Route 60) the Pasadena Freeway (State Route 110) the Long Beach Freeway (Interstate 710) the San Gabriel River Freeway (Interstate 605) the Orange Freeway (State Route 57) I-710 ends abruptly at the western border of Alhambra, near California State University, Los Angeles, with an unsigned spur of I-710 starting again in Pasadena at California Boulevard and ending at the junction of I-210 and SR 134. Efforts to complete the freeway were met with fierce opposition, including the possibility of using advanced tunneling technologies to overcome objections by South Pasadena.[54] The gap will no longer be constructed, and both Pasadena and Alhambra are exploring options on the future of their respective spurs. At the eastern end of the San Gabriel Valley, the eastern freeway segment of SR 210 (formerly designated SR 30 and still signed as such in some places in San Bernardino County) between SR 57 and I-15 had been a source of similar contention in the bordering community of La Verne, but was finally constructed and added to the Foothill Freeway in 2002. State Route 39 leads north into the San Gabriel Mountains to the Crystal Lake Recreation Area.[55] The portion connecting the recreation area to the Angeles Crest Highway (State Route 2) has been closed to the public since the early 1970s due to massive damage and rockslides. General aviation is served by San Gabriel Valley Airport (EMT) in El Monte, and Brackett Field (POC) in Pomona. Commercial aviation is served by the five major Southern California airports: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR), Ontario International Airport (ONT), Long Beach Airport (LGB), and John Wayne Airport (SNA). See also: List of streets in the San Gabriel Valley Media See also: Los Angeles Times suburban sections The local daily English-language newspapers are The Los Angeles Times, which includes a real estate and automotive advertising section for the San Gabriel Valley/Inland Empire, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, and the Pasadena Star-News, which operates from its Monrovia office. The Pasadena Star-News covers the Pasadena/Arcadia area and the Tribune covers the central and eastern San Gabriel Valley communities. Business news is covered by the San Gabriel Valley Business Journal. Other San Gabriel Valley-wide publications include the weekly Mountain Views News, San Gabriel Valley NOW, and the San Gabriel Valley Examiner that serve the foothill communities, the Mid Valley News which serves the central San Gabriel Valley, and the Beacon Media weekly newspaper chain, whose weekly newspapers cover several San Gabriel Valley cities. The South Pasadena Review serves South Pasadena and the San Marino Tribune serves San Marino. Additionally, the cities of Alhambra, Glendora, Azusa, San Dimas and La Verne have monthly community newspapers that are published on the first Friday of every month. These papers include Around Alhambra, Glendora Community News, Azusa Community News, San Dimas Community News and the La Verne Community News, all distributed directly to each mailing address. The Alhambra Source[56] is a USC Annenberg-backed community news site founded in 2010. The site is based on research into local information need, and includes a multilingual cadre of volunteer and young adult contributors. It is published online every weekday and includes select content in Spanish and Chinese as well as English. In the eastern part of the valley, Claremont has its own community newspaper called the Claremont Courier. Several large newspaper publishing companies serve the large Chinese-speaking readership in the Greater Los Angeles Area; a number of them are based in the San Gabriel Valley. The national daily Chinese-language newspapers Chinese Daily News (Los Angeles edition of the World Journal newspaper) and International Daily News are both printed in Monterey Park. The Los Angeles edition of the Hong Kong-based Sing Tao is printed in Alhambra and the newspaper is specifically tailored to the Cantonese-speaking readership. The Epoch Times (大纪元) is based in New York City and has its Los Angeles office in San Gabriel. These newspapers are circulated and distributed throughout Chinese American communities in the San Gabriel Valley, Chinatown, San Diego, and in Las Vegas, Nevada (where the latter two cities generally receive the Los Angeles editions due to a relatively lower population density of Chinese-speaking Americans). In popular culture Many films have been filmed on location in the San Gabriel Valley. Chantry Flats above Arcadia is featured as the landing site of aliens in the original film "War of the Worlds". South Pasadena and Alhambra served as the gloomy backgrounds of a fictional Illinois town of Haddonfield in John Carpenter's 1978 horror film Halloween. Some areas of Pasadena and South Pasadena have a distinctly Midwestern look.[citation needed] Pasadena's distinctive domed City Hall has doubled as a courthouse or capitol building in countless television commercials and movies, and its South Lake shopping district filled in for Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills Ninja. Pasadena City Hall The city of San Marino has acted as a backdrop for a number of films and television shows. Major studio motion pictures filmed in San Marino include Mr. & Mrs, Smith, Disturbia, Enough, Monster-in-Law, Memoirs of a Geisha, Frailty, Men in Black II, The Hot Chick, One Hour Photo, Anger Management, The Wedding Planner, Starsky & Hutch, Intolerable Cruelty, Mystery Men, Legally Blonde 2, The Nutty Professor, Beverly Hills Ninja, The Sweetest Thing, S1m0ne, Charlie's Angels, Indecent Proposal, and American Wedding. Prime time television programs filmed within city borders include Felicity, The Office, The West Wing, and Alias. In addition, San Marino High School students in the graduating classes of 2004 and 2005 were documented in two separate reality television programs by MTV, which aired on the cable television network in 2005. The cities of Temple City and Rosemead served as the backdrop for the Emmy Award-winning television series The Wonder Years (1988 to 1993). While Temple City's Las Tunas Drive served as the downtown for the Arnold Family's fictitious hometown, Rosemead High School stood in for the town's high school. Downtown Covina was used in the show "Roswell." The city of Whittier also hosts film crews for various motion picture, television and feature films. In Robert Zemeckis' Back to the Future trilogy of time travel adventure movies (1985, 1989, 1990), Whittier High School was used as Hill Valley High School. Michael J. Fox's character travels back in time on the huge parking lot of the Puente Hills Mall in the City of Industry that served as the location of the fictitious Twin Pines Mall/Lone Pine Mall. The Gamble House in Pasadena provided the exterior of Christopher Lloyd's character's 1950s mansion. The city of El Monte served as a dilapidated future neighborhood. Another movie starring Fox, Teen Wolf. was largely filmed in Arcadia. The Pasadena Chapter building of the Red Cross served as JAG Headquarters for the TV series JAG, and the Caltech campus is regularly seen as the "Cal Sci" campus in the TV series Numb3rs. The actual house used as the residence of the main characters is also located in the southern end of Pasadena. Uptown Whittier was a principal location for the 1987 release Masters of the Universe, and many scenes of the film show the buildings of the neighborhood as they appeared before most of them were damaged or destroyed by the Whittier Narrows earthquake of that year. Forrest Gump (1994), starring Tom Hanks, was partially filmed at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park. The downtown portion of Myrtle Avenue in Monrovia has been used in many movies and television commercials. Multiple locations throughout Monrovia also played the role of the fictitious Rome, WI in the TV series Picket Fences.Pinky's Record Store in Friday; The 90s television show Roswell filmed in Covina, most noticeably the downtown area. Most recently, the former location of a now closed IKEA in the City of Industry was used to film scenes in the movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), starring Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Across the street from the defunct IKEA is Speed Zone, an amusement center with 4 race tracks, it has been featured in the films Guess Who and Clerks 2 and on TV in Melrose Place (2009 TV series), CSI: Miami, Hell's Kitchen, Attack of the Show!, Freaks And Geeks, and more.[57] Climate Like much of the Los Angeles region, the San Gabriel Valley enjoys a warm, sunny year-round Mediterranean climate. Rain is sporadic. Due to the Eastern San Gabriel Valley, (East of State Route 57) being more inland, the area is subject to hotter summers and colder winters. Light snow is extremely rare in the Valley but can often be viewed on the nearby San Gabriel Mountains. Climate data for Baldwin Park, California: one of the cities in the San Gabriel Valley Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Average high °F (°C) 70 (21) 71 (22) 72 (22) 77 (25) 79 (26) 84 (29) 89 (32) 90 (32) 88 (31) 83 (28) 76 (24) 71 (22) 75 (24) Average low °F (°C) 43 (6) 45 (7) 47 (8) 50 (10) 55 (13) 59 (15) 62 (17) 63 (17) 61 (16) 55 (13) 46 (8) 42 (6) 50 (10) Source: weather.com[58] Institutions of higher learning The San Gabriel Valley is home to a number of post-secondary educational institutions, including the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), the Claremont Colleges, and California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona)."[59] Alliant International University, private (for-profit) – Alhambra Art Center College of Design, private, nonprofit – Pasadena Azusa Pacific University (APU), private university – Azusa California Institute of Advanced Management (CIAM), private, not-for-profit graduate school located in EL Monte California Institute of Technology (Caltech), private university – Pasadena California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona), public university – Pomona California State University, Los Angeles, public university – Los Angeles Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences, private, not-for-profit graduate school located at the City of Hope in Duarte Claremont Graduate University, private graduate university – Claremont Claremont McKenna College, private college – Claremont Citrus College, community college – Glendora Digital Business & Design College (DBD), private (for-profit) college – El Monte East Los Angeles College (ELAC), community college – Monterey Park Fuller Theological Seminary, private college – Pasadena Harvey Mudd College, private college – Claremont ITT Technical Institute (ITT Tech), private (for-profit) college – San Dimas Keck Graduate Institute, private graduate university – Claremont Life Pacific College, private Bible college – San Dimas Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC), community college – Walnut Occidental College, private college – Eagle Rock Pasadena City College (PCC), community college – Pasadena Pitzer College, private college – Claremont Pomona College, private college – Claremont Rio Hondo College, community college – Whittier Scripps College, private college – Claremont University of La Verne, private college – La Verne University of Phoenix, adult education (for-profit) – Diamond Bar and Pasadena University of the West (UWest), private university – Rosemead Western University of Health Sciences (WU), private university – Pomona Whittier College (WC), private college – Whittier William Carey International University, private (for-profit) university – Pasadena Local sites of interest Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, second largest Buddhist temple and monastery in the Western hemisphere. Descanso Gardens – La Cañada Flintridge Galster Wilderness Park – West Covina Devil's Gate Reservoir – Pasadena Downtown Covina – Covina Frank G. Bonelli Regional County Park, man-made park – San Dimas Pomona Fox Theater – Pomona Westfield Santa Anita – Arcadia (largest mall in San Gabriel Valley) Homestead Museum, site of Pío Pico's burial – City of Industry Hsi Lai Temple – Hacienda Heights Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens – San Marino Fairplex, annual Los Angeles County Fair – Pomona Auto Club Raceway at Pomona – Pomona Toyota Speedway at Irwindale – Irwindale Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden – Arcadia Mission San Gabriel Arcángel – San Gabriel Montclair Plaza (Mall that serves the Eastern San Gabriel Valley) – Montclair Norton Simon Museum – Pasadena Old Town Pasadena – Pasadena Pio Pico State Historic Park – Whittier Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden – Claremont Raging Waters – San Dimas Rose Bowl – Pasadena Rubel Castle – Glendora Santa Anita Park, horse racing – Arcadia Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area – Irwindale Vroman's Bookstore, oldest independent bookstore – Pasadena The Ice House, Pasadena comedy club Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier Pio Pico House, Whittier Company headquarters Avery Dennison Corporation (packaging products) – Pasadena Community Bank – Pasadena East West Bank (large Chinese American bank) – Pasadena Edison International (large energy provider) – Rosemead Huy Fong Foods (leader in Asian hot sauce) – Irwindale OneWest Bank – Pasadena Viewsonic (computer monitors) – Walnut Panda Restaurant Group (Largest Chinese Restaurant chain) – Rosemead Trader Joe's (food market) – Monrovia Western Asset (investment firm) – Pasadena Area codes Most of the San Gabriel Valley lies within the 626 area code. Montebello, Whittier, and portions of its valley neighbors are in the 323 and 562 area codes. Some of northwestern Pasadena is also serviced by the 818 area code. Most of the communities in the Eastern San Gabriel Valley which lie east of State Route 57 are located in the 909 area code. See also photo Los Angeles portal flag Greater Los Angeles portal flag California portal Category: San Gabriel Valley Greater Los Angeles Area Pomona Valley San Gabriel Mountains Regional Conservancy San Fernando Valley ]Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area (the second most populous urban agglomeration in the United States)[3][4] and also the Inland Empire (another large metropolitan area). The region generally contains ten of California's 58 counties: Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties. Although geographically smaller than Northern California in land area, Southern California has a higher population, with 23.76 million residents as of the 2020 census. The sparsely populated desert region of California occupies a significant portion of the region: the Colorado Desert, along with the Colorado River, is located on Southern California's eastern border with Arizona, and the Mojave Desert shares a border with Nevada to the northeast. Southern California's southern border with Baja California is part of the Mexico–United States border. Constituent metropolitan areas Southern California encompasses eight metropolitan areas (MSAs), three of which together form the Greater Los Angeles Combined Statistical Area (CSA) with over 18 million people, the second-biggest CSA after the New York CSA. These three MSAs are: the Los Angeles metropolitan area (Los Angeles and Orange counties, with 13.3 million people), the Inland Empire (Riverside and San Bernardino counties, including the Coachella Valley cities, with 4.3 million people), and the Oxnard–Thousand Oaks–Ventura metropolitan area (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, and El Centro (Imperial County) metropolitan areas. The Southern California Megaregion (or megalopolis) is larger still, extending northeast into Las Vegas, Nevada and south across the Mexican border into Tijuana.[5] Significance San Diego Marina district Sunset in Venice, a neighborhood in Los Angeles Within Southern California are two major cities, Los Angeles and San Diego, as well as three of the country's largest metropolitan areas.[6] 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. Three Arch Bay in Laguna Beach The counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino are the five most populous in the state, and are among the top 15 most populous counties in the United States.[7] The motion picture, television 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 (which owns ABC), Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, MGM, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. 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, Volcom, Quiksilver, No Fear, Stüssy, RVCA and Body Glove are all headquartered there. Skateboarder Tony Hawk; surfers Rob Machado, Timmy Curran, Bobby Martinez, Pat O'Connell, Dane Reynolds, and Chris Ward live in Southern California. Some of the most famous surf locations are in Southern California as well, including Trestles, Rincon, The Wedge, Huntington Beach and Malibu. Some of the world's largest action sports events, including the X Games,[8] Boost Mobile Pro,[9] and the U.S. Open of Surfing, are held in Southern California. The region is also important to the world of yachting with premier events including the annual Transpacific Yacht Race, or Transpac, from Los Angeles to Hawaii. The San Diego Yacht Club 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 was held in San Diego's Mission Bay in 1974. Since then, Southern California, and San Diego in particular, have become a mecca for triathlon and multi-sport racing, products, and culture. Southern California is home to many sports franchises and networks such as Fox Sports Net. Many locals and tourists frequent the Southern California coast for its beaches. Some of southern California's most popular beaches are Malibu, Laguna Beach, La Jolla, Manhattan Beach, and Hermosa Beach. Southern California is also known for its mountain resort communities, such as Big Bear Lake, Lake Arrowhead, and Wrightwood, and their ski resorts, like Bear Mountain, Snow Summit, Snow Valley Mountain Resort, and Mountain High. The inland desert city of Palm Springs is also popular. Northern boundary California counties below the 36th standard parallel Southern California is generally considered the area of California south of the latitude 35°45',[10] approximately one-third of the state, formed by the northern boundaries of San Luis Obispo, Kern, and San Bernardino counties, which are not exactly a straight line. Another definition for Southern California uses Point Conception and the Tehachapi Mountains as geographical landmarks for the northern boundary.[11][better source needed] Topography of the border region 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 enabled California to be admitted to the Union as a free state, preventing the southern half California from becoming its own separate slave state. 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 John B. Weller. It was approved overwhelmingly by nearly 75 percent of voters to form the proposed Territory of Colorado. This territory was to include a portion of the much larger Tulare County and all of San Luis Obispo County. The proposal was sent to Washington, D.C., with a strong advocate in Senator Milton Latham. However, the secession crisis following the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and the subsequent American Civil War led to the proposal never coming to a vote.[12][13] 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.[14] 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.[15] 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, Inyo, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura. Kern County was grouped with other counties of the San Joaquin Valley, California's central agricultural valley.[16] Population, land area & population density (2020) County Ref. Population Land mi2[17] Land km2 Pop. /mi2 Pop. /km2 Los Angeles County[18] 10,014,009 4,059.28 10,513.49 2,466.94 952.49 San Diego County[19] 3,298,634 4,210.23 10,904.45 783.48 302.50 Orange County[20] 3,186,989 792.84 2,053.45 4,019.71 1,552.02 Riverside County[21] 2,418,185 7,209.27 18,671.92 335.43 129.51 San Bernardino County[22] 2,181,654 20,068.01 51,975.91 108.71 41.97 Kern County[23] 909,235 8,134.65 21,068.65 111.77 43.15 Ventura County[24] 843,843 1,840.79 4,767.62 458.41 176.99 Santa Barbara County[25] 448,229 2,733.94 7,080.87 163.95 63.30 San Luis Obispo County[26] 282,424 3,300.85 8,549.16 85.56 33.03 Imperial County[27] 179,702 4,175.54 10,814.60 43.04 16.62 Southern California 23,762,904 56,525.40 146,400.11 420.39 162.31 California 39,538,223 155,959.34 403,932.84 253.52 97.88 Urban landscape This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Southern California" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Percentage of households with incomes above $150,000 across LA County census tracts Southern California consists of a heavily developed urban environment, home to some of the largest urban areas in the state, along with the Deserts of California 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, San Diego, and 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. Travelling south on Interstate 5, the main barrier to continued urbanization is Camp Pendleton. The cities and communities along Interstate 15 and Interstate 215 are so interrelated that Temecula and Murrieta 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 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 with the Imperial Valley. Also, population growth was high in the Bakersfield-Kern County, Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo areas. The skyline of Downtown Los Angeles as seen at sunset in October 2006. Standing 1,018 ft (310 m) high, with 73 floors, the U.S. Bank Tower was the West Coast's tallest building when it was built in 1989, until the neighboring Wilshire Grand Center surpassed it in 2017. Climate Köppen climate types of southern California Most of Southern California has a 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 and 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 5,000 feet (1,500 m) receive plentiful snowfall in the winter. Since the first decade of the 21st century, droughts and wildfires have increased in frequency as a result of climate change.[28][29] Natural landscape Proctor Valley in Chula Vista Autumn of 2008 in Southern California Main article: Geography of Southern California 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, shorelines, beaches, and coastal plains, through the Transverse and Peninsular Ranges with their peaks, and into the large and small interior valleys, to the vast deserts of California. Introductory categories include: Category: Beaches of southern California Category: Mountain ranges of Southern California Category: Rivers of Southern California Category: Deserts of California Category: Parks in Southern California Geography Geographic features View from La Jolla Cove in San Diego Peaks in the eastern San Gabriel Mountains, Angeles National Forest, San Bernardino County Yucca Valley with Visitor Center in Background in June 2017 Ocean Beach Sunset in San Diego Algodones Dunes (Imperial County) Angeles National Forest (Los Angeles, San Bernardino, & Ventura Counties) Antelope Hills (Kern County) Antelope Valley (Los Angeles & Kern Counties) Arroyo Seco (Los Angeles County) Bacon Hills (Kern County) 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 Estuary (Orange County) Buena Vista Hills (Kern County) Buena Vista Lake (Kern County) Cajon Pass (San Bernardino County) Calico Mountains (San Bernardino County) Channel Islands (Santa Barbara, Ventura & Los Angeles Counties) Castaic Lake (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 (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) Diamond Valley Lake (Riverside County) Elk Hills (Kern County) Elkhorn Hills (San Luis Obispo County) El Mirage Lake (San Bernardino County) El Paso Mountains (Kern County) Gaviota Coast (Santa Barbara County) Greenhorn Mountains (Kern County) High Desert (Los Angeles, Kern, Inyo, & San Bernardino Counties) Horned Toad Hills (Kern County) Imperial Valley (Imperial County) Irish Hills (San Luis Obispo County) In-Ko-Pah Mountains (San Diego County) 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, Riverside & San Bernardino Counties) Mojave River (San Bernardino County) Mount San Antonio (Los Angeles County) 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 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) Pomona Valley (Los Angeles & San Bernardino Counties) Providence Mountains (San Bernardino County) Puente Hills (Los Angeles County) Pyramid Lake (Los Angeles County) Rand Mountains (Kern County) 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 (Los Angeles County) San Gabriel Valley (Los Angeles County) San Jacinto Mountains (Riverside County) San Jacinto River (Riverside County) San Joaquin Valley (Kern County) San Luis Rey River (San Diego County) 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 (Los Angeles County) 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 (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 (Kern County) Sierra Pelona Mountains (Los Angeles & Kern Counties) Simi Hills (Los Angeles & Ventura Counties) Simi Valley (Ventura County) Sweetwater River (San Diego County) Tehachapi Mountains (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 (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 Northridge earthquake shake map Earthquakes Each year, Southern California has about 10,000 earthquakes. Nearly all of them are too small to be felt. Only several hundred have been greater than magnitude (Mw ) 3.0, and only about 15–20 have been greater than Mw  4.0.[30] California as a whole enacted the Alquist Priolo Special Studies Zone Act in the wake of the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. The act prohibits new construction of residential buildings closer than 50 feet from a surface rupturing active fault zone. In addition, the act improved safety by requiring new structures (both residential and commercial) to be seismically retrofitted. It also required existing infrastructure to comply. Since 1972, numerous large magnitude earthquakes have struck Southern California with little widespread damage in part due to act. However, exceptions can be noted for epicenters that lie directly on top of densely populated regions such as the Mw  6.7 1994 Northridge Earthquake and, to a lesser extent, the smaller Mw  5.5 2008 Chino Hills earthquake. The Northridge earthquake occurred on a blind-thrust fault directly underneath the San Fernando Valley, which until the earthquake was previously undiscovered. Seismic retrofitting of existing and new construction is aimed to prevent damage and save lives in the aftermath of a major quake, but it cannot guarantee that buildings will be unscathed if the epicenter is relatively close-by. Despite the act already in law, the 1994 Northridge earthquake was particularly destructive, causing a substantial number of deaths, injuries, and structural collapses. The quake caused the most property damage of any earthquake in U.S. history at an estimated $20 billion.[31] Many Southern California faults are able to produce a Mw  6.7 earthquake or greater, such as the San Andreas Fault, which can produce Mw  8.0 or greater. The largest known earthquake in California was the 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake that ruptured 200+ miles of the San Andreas Fault from Parkfield to Wrightwood. With a recurrence interval of roughly 150 years, this part of the San Andreas fault is well within its window to produce another large earthquake. Along with the southern section of the San Andreas (in the Palm Springs region, which has not ruptured in ~400 years), the entire Southern California portion of the San Andreas Fault is ready to produce a powerful earthquake in the near future. While the San Andreas Fault is the most well known major earthquake producing fault in California, it is not the only one that can produce large magnitude events. Notable examples include the San Jacinto Fault (a splay of the San Andreas that runs directly under the I-10 & I-215 interchange), the Newport–Inglewood-Rose Canyon Fault (located adjacent to Sofi Stadium and responsible for Signal Hill), the Elsinore Fault (created Lake Elsinore), the Garlock Fault (which marks boundary between of the Sierra Nevada and the Mojave Desert), and the Hollywood fault (which is within feet of Capitol Records and is roughly parallel to Hollywood Boulevard. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has released a California earthquake forecast,[32] 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 indicates shaking was felt in the region. 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 earthquakes Population See also: Greater Los Angeles § Demographics Historical population Census Pop. Note %± 1850 6,492 — 1860 33,280 412.6% 1870 44,158 32.7% 1880 91,916 108.2% 1890 251,770 173.9% 1900 337,328 34.0% 1910 808,408 139.7% 1920 1,423,786 76.1% 1930 3,044,978 113.9% 1940 3,840,733 26.1% 1950 5,931,975 54.4% 1960 9,398,722 58.4% 1970 12,103,559 28.8% 1980 14,308,742 18.2% 1990 18,269,095 27.7% 2000 20,637,512 13.0% 2010 22,680,010 9.9% 2020 23,762,904 4.8% Sources: 1790–1990, 2000, 2010, 2020[17][33][34] Chart does not include Indigenous population figures. Studies indicate that the Native American population in California in 1850 was close to 150,000 before declining to 15,000 by 1900.[35] Ethnic origins in Southern California Downtown San Bernardino 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 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.[36][37] 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;[38] while the El Centro metropolitan area and San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos metropolitan area form the Southern Border Region.[39][40] North of Greater Los Angeles are the Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Bakersfield metropolitan areas. Cities See also: List of largest cities in California by population 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 Curt Teich map postcard depicting SoCal attractions Imperial Kern Los Angeles Orange Riverside San Bernardino San Diego San Luis Obispo Santa Barbara Ventura 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, aerospace, finance, biomedical, ports 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.[41] Major central business districts Taco Bell Headquarters in Irvine 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 Downtown Pasadena, Downtown Burbank, Downtown Santa Monica, 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, Downtown Beverly Hills and Westwood; others include Century City and 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 Business/Financial Centre, 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; 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, Del Mar Heights, Mission Valley, Rancho Bernardo, Sorrento Mesa, and University City. Most of these districts are located in Northern San Diego and some within North County regions. Theme parks and waterparks Disneyland in Anaheim 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 Knott's Berry Farm Knott's Soak City Wild Rivers (water park) Riverside & San Bernardino Castle Park Wet'n'Wild Palm Springs San Diego Sesame Place 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 San Luis Obispo 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 AVA Transportation This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) See: Category: 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, Orange County, Bakersfield, Ontario, Burbank and Long Beach; and numerous smaller commercial and general aviation airports. Six of the seven lines of the commuter rail system, 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:[42] Airport ID City (Metro area) Category Enplanements (2011) (mil) Los Angeles International Airport LAX Los Angeles Large Hub 30.5m San Diego International Airport SAN San Diego Large Hub 8.5m John Wayne Airport SNA Orange County Medium Hub 4.2m Ontario International Airport ONT San Bernardino, Riverside Medium hub 2.3m Hollywood Burbank Airport BUR Burbank (LA) Medium Hub 2.1m Long Beach Airport LGB Long Beach (LA) Small Hub 1.5m Palm Springs International Airport PSP Palm Springs Small Hub 0.8m Santa Barbara Municipal Airport SBA Santa Barbara Small Hub 0.7m San Luis Obispo Regional Airport SBP San Luis Obispo Small Hub 0.5m San Bernardino International Airport SBD San Bernardino, Riverside Small Hub NA Freeways and highways Interstate and state highway system of Southern California Main article: Southern California freeways Sections of the Southern California freeway system are often referred to by names rather than by the official numbers. Interstate Highways Sign Interstate Freeway name Interstate 5 Golden State Freeway Santa Ana Freeway San Diego Freeway Montgomery Freeway Interstate 8 Ocean Beach Freeway Mission Valley Freeway Interstate 10 Santa Monica (Rosa Parks) Freeway Golden State Freeway San Bernardino Freeway Indio (Dr. June McCarroll) Freeway Blythe Freeway Interstate 15 Mojave Freeway Barstow Freeway Ontario Freeway Corona Freeway Temecula Valley Freeway Escondido Freeway Interstate 40 Needles Freeway Interstate 105 Century (Glenn Anderson) Freeway Interstate 110 Harbor Freeway Interstate 210 Foothill Freeway Interstate 215 Barstow Freeway San Bernardino Freeway Moreno Valley Freeway Escondido Freeway Interstate 405 San Diego Freeway Interstate 605 San Gabriel River Freeway Interstate 710 Long Beach Freeway Interstate 805 Jacob Dekema Freeway Future Interstate 905 U.S. Highway system Sign U.S. Route Freeway name U.S. Route 66 National Trails Highway Cajon Boulevard Foothill Boulevard Arroyo Seco Parkway Santa Monica Boulevard U.S. Route 95 U.S. Route 99 Golden State Highway Ridge Route U.S. Route 101 Ventura Freeway Hollywood Freeway Santa Ana Freeway El Camino Real U.S. Route 395 Public transportation The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's combined Super Chief-El Capitan pulls into Los Angeles's Union Passenger Terminal on September 24, 1966. See: Category: 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 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 MTD Communication Telephone area codes 213 – Central Los Angeles 310 – West Los Angeles, Inglewood, Santa Monica, South Bay and Catalina Island 323 – Overlay with 213 424 – Overlay with 310 442 – Overlay with 760 562 – Long Beach, Gateway Cities, and parts of northern Orange County 619 – most of San Diego County including San Diego 626 – most of San Gabriel Valley including Pasadena 657 – Overlay with 714 661 – Bakersfield, Santa Clarita, and Antelope Valley 714 – Northern Orange County (including Anaheim, Santa Ana, and Huntington Beach) 760 – Northern San Diego County (including Oceanside and Escondido), Imperial County, Coachella Valley, Blythe, Twentynine Palms, Victor Valley, Barstow, and Ridgecrest 805 – Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo Counties 818 – Eastern Conejo Valley, Crescenta Valley, San Fernando Valley including Glendale and Burbank 820 – Overlay with 805 840 – Overlay with 909 858 – Overlay with 619 909 – Southwestern San Bernardino County, eastern Los Angeles County, and portions of northwestern Riverside County 949 – Southern Orange County (including Irvine, Newport Beach, Laguna Niguel, and San Clemente) 951 – Western Riverside County including Riverside and Temecula Colleges and universities Main article: List of colleges and universities in Southern California University of California, Los Angeles California Institute of Technology Public and private institutions in the region include five University of California campuses (Irvine, Los Angeles, Riverside, Santa Barbara, and San Diego), 12 California State University campuses (Bakersfield, Channel Islands, Dominguez Hills, Fullerton, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Northridge, Pomona, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Marcos, and 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 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 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 Park Sports See also: Freeway Series, Lakers–Clippers rivalry, and Sports in California § Northern California–Southern California rivalry 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 rivalry between the schools. See also flag California portal Category: History of Southern California Category: California ranchos – Southern California Counties categories Category: Public transportation in Southern California California earthquake forecast California megapolitan areas California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With over 38.9 million residents[6] across a total area of approximately 163,696 square miles (423,970 km2),[11] it is the most populous U.S. state and the third-largest by area. It is also the most populated subnational entity in North America and the 34th most populous in the world. The Greater Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas are the nation's second and fifth most populous urban regions, respectively, with the former having more than 18.7 million residents and the latter having over 9.6 million.[12] Sacramento is the state's capital, while Los Angeles is the most populous city in the state and the second most populous city in the country. San Francisco is the second most densely populated major city in the country. Los Angeles County is the country's most populous, while San Bernardino County is the largest county by area in the country. California borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and the Mexican state of Baja California to the south; it has a coastline along the Pacific Ocean to the west. California's economy is the largest of any state within the United States, with a $3.37 trillion gross state product (GSP) as of 2022.[13] It is the largest sub-national economy in the world. If California were a sovereign nation, it would rank as the world's fifth-largest economy as of 2022,[14][15] behind India and ahead of the United Kingdom, as well as the 37th most populous.[16] The Greater Los Angeles area and the San Francisco area are the nation's second- and fourth-largest urban economies ($1.0 trillion and $0.6 trillion respectively as of 2020).[17] The San Francisco Bay Area Combined Statistical Area had the nation's highest gross domestic product per capita ($106,757) among large primary statistical areas in 2018,[18] and is home to five of the world's ten largest companies by market capitalization[19] and four of the world's ten richest people.[20] Slightly over 84 percent of the state's residents hold a high school degree, the lowest high school education rate of all 50 states.[21] Prior to European colonization, California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America, and the indigenous peoples of California constituted the highest Native American population density north of what is now Mexico. European exploration in the 16th and 17th centuries led to the colonization of California by the Spanish Empire. In 1804, it was included in Alta California province within the Viceroyalty of New Spain. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821, following its successful war for independence, but was ceded to the United States in 1848 after the Mexican–American War. The California Gold Rush started in 1848 and led to dramatic social and demographic changes, including the depopulation of indigenous peoples in the California genocide. The western portion of Alta California was then organized and admitted as the 31st state on September 9, 1850, as a free state, following the Compromise of 1850. Notable contributions to popular culture, ranging from entertainment, sports, music, and fashion, have their origins in California. The state also has made substantial contributions in the fields of communication, information, innovation, education, environmentalism, entertainment, economics, politics, technology, and religion.[22][23][24] California is the home of Hollywood, the oldest and one of the largest film industries in the world, profoundly influencing global entertainment. It is considered the origin of the American film industry, hippie counterculture, beach and car culture, the personal computer, the internet, fast food, diners, burger joints, skateboarding, and the fortune cookie, among other inventions.[25][26][27][28] The San Francisco Bay Area and the Greater Los Angeles Area are widely seen as the centers of the global technology and U.S. film industries, respectively. California's economy is very diverse.[29] California's agricultural industry has the highest output of any U.S. state,[30][31][32] and is led by its dairy, almonds, and grapes.[33] With the busiest ports in the country (Los Angeles and Long Beach), California plays a pivotal role in the global supply chain, hauling in about 40% of all goods imported to the United States.[34] The state's extremely diverse geography ranges from the Pacific Coast and metropolitan areas in the west to the Sierra Nevada mountains in the east, and from the redwood and Douglas fir forests in the northwest to the Mojave Desert in the southeast. Two-thirds of the nation's earthquake risk lies in California.[35] The Central Valley, a fertile agricultural area, dominates the state's center. California is well known for its warm Mediterranean climate along the coast and monsoon seasonal weather inland. The large size of the state results in climates that vary from moist temperate rainforest in the north to arid desert in the interior, as well as snowy alpine in the mountains. Droughts and wildfires are an ongoing issue for the state.[36] Etymology Main articles: Etymology of California and Island of California California and its namesake ruler, Queen Calafia, originate in the 1510 epic Las Sergas de Esplandián, written by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The Spaniards gave the name Las Californias to the peninsula of Baja California and to Alta California, the latter region becoming the present-day state of California. The name derived from the mythical island of California in the fictional story of Queen Calafia, as recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián by Castilian author Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo.[37] This work was the fifth in a popular Spanish chivalric romance series that began with Amadís de Gaula.[38][39][40] Queen Calafia's kingdom was said to be a remote land rich in gold and pearls, inhabited by beautiful Black women who wore gold armor and lived like Amazons, as well as griffins and other strange beasts.[37][41][42] In the fictional paradise, the ruler Queen Calafia fought alongside Muslims and her name may have been chosen to echo the Muslim title caliph, used for Muslim leaders.[37][43] Know ye that at the right hand of the Indies there is an island called California, very close to that part of the Terrestrial Paradise, which was inhabited by black women without a single man among them, and they lived in the manner of Amazons. They were robust of body with strong passionate hearts and great virtue. The island itself is one of the wildest in the world on account of the bold and craggy rocks. — Chapter CLVII of The Adventures of Esplandián[44] Official abbreviations of the state's name include CA, Cal., Calif., and US-CA. History Main article: History of California Further information: History of California before 1900 A map of indigenous Californian tribes and languages at the time of European contact Indigenous Main article: Indigenous peoples of California California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America.[45] Historians generally agree that there were at least 300,000 people living in California prior to European colonization.[46] The indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct ethnic groups, inhabiting environments ranging from mountains and deserts to islands and redwood forests.[47] Living in these diverse geographic areas, the indigenous peoples developed complex forms of ecosystem management, including forest gardening to ensure the regular availability of food and medicinal plants.[48][49] This was a form of sustainable agriculture.[50] To mitigate destructive large wildfires from ravaging the natural environment, indigenous peoples developed a practice of controlled burning.[51] This practice was recognized for its benefits by the California government in 2022.[36] These groups were also diverse in their political organization, with bands, tribes, villages, and, on the resource-rich coasts, large chiefdoms, such as the Chumash, Pomo and Salinan. Trade, intermarriage, craft specialists, and military alliances fostered social and economic relationships between many groups. Although nations would sometimes war, most armed conflicts were between groups of men for vengeance. Acquiring territory was not usually the purpose of these small-scale battles.[52] Men and women generally had different roles in society. Women were often responsible for weaving, harvesting, processing, and preparing food, while men for hunting and other forms of physical labor. Most societies also had roles for people whom the Spanish referred to as joyas,[53] who they saw as "men who dressed as women".[54] Joyas were responsible for death, burial, and mourning rituals, and they performed women's social roles.[54] Indigenous societies had terms such as two-spirit to refer to them. The Chumash referred to them as 'aqi.[54] The early Spanish settlers detested and sought to eliminate them.[55] Spanish period Main articles: Province of Las Californias and Spanish missions in California Portuguese explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo claiming California for the Spanish Empire in 1542 The first Europeans to explore the coast of California were the members of a Spanish maritime expedition led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo in 1542. Cabrillo was commissioned by Antonio de Mendoza, the Viceroy of New Spain, to lead an expedition up the Pacific coast in search of trade opportunities; they entered San Diego Bay on September 28, 1542, and reached at least as far north as San Miguel Island.[56] Privateer and explorer Francis Drake explored and claimed an undefined portion of the California coast in 1579, landing north of the future city of San Francisco.[57] Sebastián Vizcaíno explored and mapped the coast of California in 1602 for New Spain, putting ashore in Monterey.[58] Despite the on-the-ground explorations of California in the 16th century, Rodríguez's idea of California as an island persisted. Such depictions appeared on many European maps well into the 18th century.[59] The Portolá expedition of 1769–70 was a pivotal event in the Spanish colonization of California, resulting in the establishment of numerous missions, presidios, and pueblos. The military and civil contingent of the expedition was led by Gaspar de Portolá, who traveled over land from Sonora into California, while the religious component was headed by Junípero Serra, who came by sea from Baja California. In 1769, Portolá and Serra established Mission San Diego de Alcalá and the Presidio of San Diego, the first religious and military settlements founded by the Spanish in California. By the end of the expedition in 1770, they would establish the Presidio of Monterey and Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo on Monterey Bay. Junípero Serra conducting the first Mass in Monterey Bay in 1770 After the Portolà expedition, Spanish missionaries led by Father-President Serra set out to establish 21 Spanish missions of California along El Camino Real ("The Royal Road") and along the California coast, 16 sites of which having been chosen during the Portolá expedition. Numerous major cities in California grew out of missions, including San Francisco (Mission San Francisco de Asís), San Diego (Mission San Diego de Alcalá), Ventura (Mission San Buenaventura), or Santa Barbara (Mission Santa Barbara), among others. Juan Bautista de Anza led a similarly important expedition throughout California in 1775–76, which would extend deeper into the interior and north of California. The Anza expedition selected numerous sites for missions, presidios, and pueblos, which subsequently would be established by settlers. Gabriel Moraga, a member of the expedition, would also christen many of California's prominent rivers with their names in 1775–1776, such as the Sacramento River and the San Joaquin River. After the expedition, Gabriel's son, José Joaquín Moraga, would found the pueblo of San Jose in 1777, making it the first civilian-established city in California. The Spanish founded Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1776, the third to be established of California's missions. During this same period, sailors from the Russian Empire explored along the northern coast of California. In 1812, the Russian-American Company established a trading post and small fortification at Fort Ross on the North Coast.[60][61] Fort Ross was primarily used to supply Russia's Alaskan colonies with food supplies. The settlement did not meet much success, failing to attract settlers or establish long term trade viability, and was abandoned by 1841. During the War of Mexican Independence, Alta California was largely unaffected and uninvolved in the revolution,[62] though many Californios supported independence from Spain, which many believed had neglected California and limited its development.[63] Spain's trade monopoly on California had limited local trade prospects. Following Mexican independence, California ports were freely able to trade with foreign merchants. Governor Pablo Vicente de Solá presided over the transition from Spanish colonial rule to independent Mexican rule. Mexican period Main articles: Alta California and Ranchos of California The flag used by Californio leader Juan Bautista Alvarado's 1836 California independence movement In 1821, the Mexican War of Independence gave the Mexican Empire (which included California) independence from Spain. For the next 25 years, Alta California remained a remote, sparsely populated, northwestern administrative district of the newly independent country of Mexico, which shortly after independence became a republic. The missions, which controlled most of the best land in the state, were secularized by 1834 and became the property of the Mexican government.[64] The governor granted many square leagues of land to others with political influence. These huge ranchos or cattle ranches emerged as the dominant institutions of Mexican California. The ranchos developed under ownership by Californios (Hispanics native of California) who traded cowhides and tallow with Boston merchants. Beef did not become a commodity until the 1849 California Gold Rush. From the 1820s, trappers and settlers from the United States and Canada began to arrive in Northern California. These new arrivals used the Siskiyou Trail, California Trail, Oregon Trail and Old Spanish Trail to cross the rugged mountains and harsh deserts in and surrounding California. The early government of the newly independent Mexico was highly unstable, and in a reflection of this, from 1831 onwards, California also experienced a series of armed disputes, both internal and with the central Mexican government.[65] During this tumultuous political period Juan Bautista Alvarado was able to secure the governorship during 1836–1842.[66] The military action which first brought Alvarado to power had momentarily declared California to be an independent state, and had been aided by Anglo-American residents of California,[67] including Isaac Graham.[68] In 1840, one hundred of those residents who did not have passports were arrested, leading to the Graham Affair, which was resolved in part with the intercession of Royal Navy officials.[67] General Mariano G. Vallejo reviewing his troops in the Sonoma Plaza, 1846 One of the largest ranchers in California was John Marsh. After failing to obtain justice against squatters on his land from the Mexican courts, he determined that California should become part of the United States. Marsh conducted a letter-writing campaign espousing the California climate, the soil, and other reasons to settle there, as well as the best route to follow, which became known as "Marsh's route". His letters were read, reread, passed around, and printed in newspapers throughout the country, and started the first wagon trains rolling to California.[69] He invited immigrants to stay on his ranch until they could get settled, and assisted in their obtaining passports.[70] After ushering in the period of organized emigration to California, Marsh became involved in a military battle between the much-hated Mexican general, Manuel Micheltorena and the California governor he had replaced, Juan Bautista Alvarado. The armies of each met at the Battle of Providencia near Los Angeles. Marsh had been forced against his will to join Micheltorena's army. Ignoring his superiors, during the battle, he signaled the other side for a parley. There were many settlers from the United States fighting on both sides. He convinced each side that they had no reason to be fighting each other. As a result of Marsh's actions, they abandoned the fight, Micheltorena was defeated, and California-born Pio Pico was returned to the governorship. This paved the way to California's ultimate acquisition by the United States.[71][72][73][74][75] U.S. Conquest and the California Republic Main articles: Conquest of California and Bear Flag Revolt The 1846 Bear Flag Revolt declared the California Republic and prefaced the American conquest of California. In 1846, a group of American settlers in and around Sonoma rebelled against Mexican rule during the Bear Flag Revolt. Afterward, rebels raised the Bear Flag (featuring a bear, a star, a red stripe and the words "California Republic") at Sonoma. The Republic's only president was William B. Ide,[76] who played a pivotal role during the Bear Flag Revolt. This revolt by American settlers served as a prelude to the later American military invasion of California and was closely coordinated with nearby American military commanders. The California Republic was short-lived;[77] the same year marked the outbreak of the Mexican–American War (1846–1848).[78] Commodore John D. Sloat of the United States Navy sailed into Monterey Bay in 1846 and began the U.S. military invasion of California, with Northern California capitulating in less than a month to the United States forces.[79] In Southern California, Californios continued to resist American forces. Notable military engagements of the conquest include the Battle of San Pasqual and the Battle of Dominguez Rancho in Southern California, as well as the Battle of Olómpali and the Battle of Santa Clara in Northern California. After a series of defensive battles in the south, the Treaty of Cahuenga was signed by the Californios on January 13, 1847, securing a censure and establishing de facto American control in California.[80] Early American period See also: California Gold Rush and Interim government of California The Treaty of Cahuenga, signed in 1847 by Californio Andrés Pico and American John C. Frémont, was a ceasefire that ended the U.S. Conquest of California. Following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (February 2, 1848) that ended the war, the westernmost portion of the annexed Mexican territory of Alta California soon became the American state of California, and the remainder of the old territory was then subdivided into the new American Territories of Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Utah. The even more lightly populated and arid lower region of old Baja California remained as a part of Mexico. In 1846, the total settler population of the western part of the old Alta California had been estimated to be no more than 8,000, plus about 100,000 Native Americans, down from about 300,000 before Hispanic settlement in 1769.[81] In 1848, only one week before the official American annexation of the area, gold was discovered in California, this being an event which was to forever alter both the state's demographics and its finances. Soon afterward, a massive influx of immigration into the area resulted, as prospectors and miners arrived by the thousands. The population burgeoned with United States citizens, Europeans, Middle Easterns, Chinese and other immigrants during the great California Gold Rush. By the time of California's application for statehood in 1850, the settler population of California had multiplied to 100,000. By 1854, more than 300,000 settlers had come.[82] Between 1847 and 1870, the population of San Francisco increased from 500 to 150,000.[83] California Gold Rush An ad to sail to California, c. 1850 San Francisco harbor, c. 1850–51 Mining near Sacramento, c. 1852 The seat of government for California under Spanish and later Mexican rule had been located in Monterey from 1777 until 1845.[64] Pio Pico, the last Mexican governor of Alta California, had briefly moved the capital to Los Angeles in 1845. The United States consulate had also been located in Monterey, under consul Thomas O. Larkin. In 1849, a state Constitutional Convention was first held in Monterey. Among the first tasks of the convention was a decision on a location for the new state capital. The first full legislative sessions were held in San Jose (1850–1851). Subsequent locations included Vallejo (1852–1853), and nearby Benicia (1853–1854); these locations eventually proved to be inadequate as well. The capital has been located in Sacramento since 1854[84] with only a short break in 1862 when legislative sessions were held in San Francisco due to flooding in Sacramento. Once the state's Constitutional Convention had finalized its state constitution, it applied to the U.S. Congress for admission to statehood. On September 9, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850, California became a free state and September 9 a state holiday. During the American Civil War (1861–1865), California sent gold shipments eastward to Washington in support of the Union.[85] However, due to the existence of a large contingent of pro-South sympathizers within the state, the state was not able to muster any full military regiments to send eastwards to officially serve in the Union war effort. Still, several smaller military units within the Union army, such as the "California 100 Company", were unofficially associated with the state of California due to a majority of their members being from California. At the time of California's admission into the Union, travel between California and the rest of the continental United States had been a time-consuming and dangerous feat. Nineteen years later, and seven years after it was greenlighted by President Lincoln, the first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869. California was then reachable from the eastern States in a week's time. Much of the state was extremely well suited to fruit cultivation and agriculture in general. Vast expanses of wheat, other cereal crops, vegetable crops, cotton, and nut and fruit trees were grown (including oranges in Southern California), and the foundation was laid for the state's prodigious agricultural production in the Central Valley and elsewhere. In the nineteenth century, a large number of migrants from China traveled to the state as part of the Gold Rush or to seek work.[86] Even though the Chinese proved indispensable in building the transcontinental railroad from California to Utah, perceived job competition with the Chinese led to anti-Chinese riots in the state, and eventually the US ended migration from China partially as a response to pressure from California with the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.[87] California Genocide Main article: California Genocide Between 1846 and 1873, U.S. government agents and private settlers perpetrated many massacres against indigenous Californians, known as the California genocide. At least 9,456 were killed with estimates as high as 100,000 deaths.[88][89] Under earlier Spanish and Mexican rule, California's original native population had precipitously declined, above all, from Eurasian diseases to which the indigenous people of California had not yet developed a natural immunity.[90] Under its new American administration, California's first governor Peter Hardeman Burnett instituted policies that have been described as a state-sanctioned policy of elimination toward California's indigenous people.[91] Burnett announced in 1851 in his Second Annual Message to the Legislature: "That a war of extermination will continue to be waged between the races until the Indian race becomes extinct must be expected. While we cannot anticipate the result with but painful regret, the inevitable destiny of the race is beyond the power and wisdom of man to avert."[92] As in other American states, indigenous peoples were forcibly removed from their lands by American settlers, like miners, ranchers, and farmers. Although California had entered the American union as a free state, the "loitering or orphaned Indians," were de facto enslaved by their new Anglo-American masters under the 1850 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians.[93] One of these de facto slave auctions was approved by the Los Angeles City Council and occurred for nearly twenty years.[94] There were many massacres in which hundreds of indigenous people were killed by settlers for their land.[95] Between 1850 and 1860, the California state government paid around 1.5 million dollars (some 250,000 of which was reimbursed by the federal government)[96] to hire militias with the stated purpose of protecting settlers, however these militias perpetrated numerous massacres of indigenous people.[89][95] Indigenous people were also forcibly moved to reservations and rancherias, which were often small and isolated and without enough natural resources or funding from the government to adequately sustain the populations living on them.[89] As a result, settler colonialism was a calamity for indigenous people. Several scholars and Native American activists, including Benjamin Madley and Ed Castillo, have described the actions of the California government as a genocide,[89][88] as well as the 40th governor of California Gavin Newsom.[97] Benjamin Madley estimates that from 1846 to 1873, between 9,492 and 16,092 indigenous people were killed, including between 1,680 and 3,741 killed by the U.S. Army.[88] 1900–present Main article: History of California 1900–present View of the destruction from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake In the twentieth century, thousands of Japanese people migrated to the US and California specifically to attempt to purchase and own land in the state. However, the state in 1913 passed the Alien Land Act, excluding Asian immigrants from owning land.[98] During World War II, Japanese Americans in California were interned in concentration camps such as at Tule Lake and Manzanar.[99] In 2020, California officially apologized for this internment.[100] Migration to California accelerated during the early 20th century with the completion of major transcontinental highways like the Lincoln Highway and Route 66. In the period from 1900 to 1965, the population grew from fewer than one million to the greatest in the Union. In 1940, the Census Bureau reported California's population as 6.0% Hispanic, 2.4% Asian, and 89.5% non-Hispanic white.[101] To meet the population's needs, major engineering feats like the California and Los Angeles Aqueducts; the Oroville and Shasta Dams; and the Bay and Golden Gate Bridges were built across the state. The state government also adopted the California Master Plan for Higher Education in 1960 to develop a highly efficient system of public education. In the early 20th century, Hollywood studios, like Paramount Pictures, helped transform Hollywood into the world capital of film and helped solidify Los Angeles as a global economic hub. Meanwhile, attracted to the mild Mediterranean climate, cheap land, and the state's wide variety of geography, filmmakers established the studio system in Hollywood in the 1920s. California manufactured 8.7 percent of total United States military armaments produced during World War II, ranking third (behind New York and Michigan) among the 48 states.[102] California however easily ranked first in production of military ships during the war (transport, cargo, [merchant ships] such as Liberty ships, Victory ships, and warships) at drydock facilities in San Diego, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area.[103][104][105][106] After World War II, California's economy greatly expanded due to strong aerospace and defense industries,[107] whose size decreased following the end of the Cold War.[107][108] Stanford University and its Dean of Engineering Frederick Terman began encouraging faculty and graduates to stay in California instead of leaving the state, and develop a high-tech region in the area now known as Silicon Valley.[109] As a result of these efforts, California is regarded as a world center of the entertainment and music industries, of technology, engineering, and the aerospace industry, and as the United States center of agricultural production.[110] Just before the Dot Com Bust, California had the fifth-largest economy in the world among nations.[111] In the mid and late twentieth century, a number of race-related incidents occurred in the state. Tensions between police and African Americans, combined with unemployment and poverty in inner cities, led to violent riots, such as the 1965 Watts riots and 1992 Rodney King riots.[112][113] California was also the hub of the Black Panther Party, a group known for arming African Americans to defend against racial injustice [114] and for organizing free breakfast programs for schoolchildren.[115] Additionally, Mexican, Filipino, and other migrant farm workers rallied in the state around Cesar Chavez for better pay in the 1960s and 1970s.[116] Civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, flanked by Brown Berets, at a 1971 rally during the Chicano movement During the 20th century, two great disasters happened in California. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and 1928 St. Francis Dam flood remain the deadliest in U.S. history.[117] Although air pollution problems have been reduced, health problems associated with pollution have continued. The brown haze known as "smog" has been substantially abated after the passage of federal and state restrictions on automobile exhaust.[118][119] An energy crisis in 2001 led to rolling blackouts, soaring power rates, and the importation of electricity from neighboring states. Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric Company came under heavy criticism.[120] Housing prices in urban areas continued to increase; a modest home which in the 1960s cost $25,000 would cost half a million dollars or more in urban areas by 2005. More people commuted longer hours to afford a home in more rural areas while earning larger salaries in the urban areas. Speculators bought houses they never intended to live in, expecting to make a huge profit in a matter of months, then rolling it over by buying more properties. Mortgage companies were compliant, as everyone assumed the prices would keep rising. The bubble burst in 2007–8 as housing prices began to crash and the boom years ended. Hundreds of billions in property values vanished and foreclosures soared as many financial institutions and investors were badly hurt.[121][122] The 2007 launch of the iPhone by Apple founder Steve Jobs in Silicon Valley, the largest tech hub in the world In the twenty-first century, droughts and frequent wildfires attributed to climate change have occurred in the state.[123][124] From 2011 to 2017, a persistent drought was the worst in its recorded history.[125] The 2018 wildfire season was the state's deadliest and most destructive, most notably Camp Fire.[126] One of the first confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States that occurred in California was first of which was confirmed on January 26, 2020.[127][128] Meaning, all of the early confirmed cases were persons who had recently travelled to China in Asia, as testing was restricted to this group. On this January 29, 2020, as disease containment protocols were still being developed, the U.S. Department of State evacuated 195 persons from Wuhan, China aboard a chartered flight to March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, and in this process, it may have granted and conferred to escalated within the land and the US at cosmic.[129][130] On February 5, 2020, the U.S. evacuated 345 more citizens from Hubei Province to two military bases in California, Travis Air Force Base in Solano County and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, San Diego, where they were quarantined for 14 days.[129][131] A state of emergency was largely declared in this state of the nation on March 4, 2020, and as of February 24, 2021, remains in effect. A mandatory statewide stay-at-home order was issued on March 19, 2020, due to increase, which was ended on January 25, 2021, allowing citizens to return to normal life.[132] On April 6, 2021, the state announced plans to fully reopen the economy by June 15, 2021.[133] In 2019, the 40th governor of California, Gavin Newsom formally apologized to the indigenous peoples of California for the California genocide: "Genocide. No other way to describe it, and that's the way it needs to be described in the history books."[134] Newsom further acknowledged that "the actions of the state 150 years ago have ongoing ramifications even today."[134] Cultural and language revitalization efforts among indigenous Californians have progressed among several tribes as of 2022.[135][136] Some land returns to indigenous stewardship have occurred throughout California.[137][138][139] In 2022, the largest dam removal and river restoration project in US history was announced for the Klamath River as a win for California tribes.[140][141] Geography Main article: Geography of California Further information: Northern California and Southern California Topographic map of California Covering an area of 163,696 sq mi (423,970 km2), California is the third-largest state in the United States in area, after Alaska and Texas.[142] California is one of the most geographically diverse states in the union and is often geographically bisected into two regions, Southern California, comprising the ten southernmost counties,[143][144] and Northern California, comprising the 48 northernmost counties.[145][146] It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east and northeast, Arizona to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the south (with which it makes up part of The Californias region of North America, alongside Baja California Sur). In the middle of the state lies the California Central Valley, bounded by the Sierra Nevada in the east, the coastal mountain ranges in the west, the Cascade Range to the north and by the Tehachapi Mountains in the south. The Central Valley is California's productive agricultural heartland. Divided in two by the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the northern portion, the Sacramento Valley serves as the watershed of the Sacramento River, while the southern portion, the San Joaquin Valley is the watershed for the San Joaquin River. Both valleys derive their names from the rivers that flow through them. With dredging, the Sacramento and the San Joaquin Rivers have remained deep enough for several inland cities to be seaports. Big Sur, on the Central Coast Yosemite, in the Sierra Nevada The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is a critical water supply hub for the state. Water is diverted from the delta and through an extensive network of pumps and canals that traverse nearly the length of the state, to the Central Valley and the State Water Projects and other needs. Water from the Delta provides drinking water for nearly 23 million people, almost two-thirds of the state's population as well as water for farmers on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. Suisun Bay lies at the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. The water is drained by the Carquinez Strait, which flows into San Pablo Bay, a northern extension of San Francisco Bay, which then connects to the Pacific Ocean via the Golden Gate strait. The Channel Islands are located off the Southern coast, while the Farallon Islands lie west of San Francisco. The Sierra Nevada (Spanish for "snowy range") includes the highest peak in the contiguous 48 states, Mount Whitney, at 14,505 feet (4,421 m).[3][4][note 1] The range embraces Yosemite Valley, famous for its glacially carved domes, and Sequoia National Park, home to the giant sequoia trees, the largest living organisms on Earth, and the deep freshwater lake, Lake Tahoe, the largest lake in the state by volume. To the east of the Sierra Nevada are Owens Valley and Mono Lake, an essential migratory bird habitat. In the western part of the state is Clear Lake, the largest freshwater lake by area entirely in California. Although Lake Tahoe is larger, it is divided by the California/Nevada border. The Sierra Nevada falls to Arctic temperatures in winter and has several dozen small glaciers, including Palisade Glacier, the southernmost glacier in the United States. Death Valley, in the Mojave Desert San Miguel, in the Channel Islands The Tulare Lake was the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River. A remnant of Pleistocene-era Lake Corcoran, Tulare Lake dried up by the early 20th century after its tributary rivers were diverted for agricultural irrigation and municipal water uses.[147] About 45 percent of the state's total surface area is covered by forests,[148] and California's diversity of pine species is unmatched by any other state. California contains more forestland than any other state except Alaska. Many of the trees in the California White Mountains are the oldest in the world; an individual bristlecone pine is over 5,000 years old.[149][150] In the south is a large inland salt lake, the Salton Sea. The south-central desert is called the Mojave; to the northeast of the Mojave lies Death Valley, which contains the lowest and hottest place in North America, the Badwater Basin at −279 feet (−85 m).[5] The horizontal distance from the bottom of Death Valley to the top of Mount Whitney is less than 90 miles (140 km). Indeed, almost all of southeastern California is arid, hot desert, with routine extreme high temperatures during the summer. The southeastern border of California with Arizona is entirely formed by the Colorado River, from which the southern part of the state gets about half of its water. A majority of California's cities are located in either the San Francisco Bay Area or the Sacramento metropolitan area in Northern California; or the Los Angeles area, the Inland Empire, or the San Diego metropolitan area in Southern California. The Los Angeles Area, the Bay Area, and the San Diego metropolitan area are among several major metropolitan areas along the California coast. As part of the Ring of Fire, California is subject to tsunamis, floods, droughts, Santa Ana winds, wildfires, and landslides on steep terrain; California also has several volcanoes. It has many earthquakes due to several faults running through the state, the largest being the San Andreas Fault. About 37,000 earthquakes are recorded each year; most are too small to be felt,[151] but two-thirds of the human risk from earthquakes lies in California.[35] Climate Main article: Climate of California Further information: Climate change in California This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "California" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Köppen climate types in California Most of the state has a Mediterranean climate. The cool California Current offshore often creates summer fog near the coast. Farther inland, there are colder winters and hotter summers. The maritime moderation results in the shoreline summertime temperatures of Los Angeles and San Francisco being the coolest of all major metropolitan areas of the United States and uniquely cool compared to areas on the same latitude in the interior and on the east coast of the North American continent. Even the San Diego shoreline bordering Mexico is cooler in summer than most areas in the contiguous United States. Just a few miles inland, summer temperature extremes are significantly higher, with downtown Los Angeles being several degrees warmer than at the coast. The same microclimate phenomenon is seen in the climate of the Bay Area, where areas sheltered from the ocean experience significantly hotter summers and colder winters in contrast with nearby areas closer to the ocean.[152][153][154] California wildfires affect the state yearly. In the south, the Santa Ana winds often expand fires and spread smoke over hundreds of miles. Northern parts of the state have more rain than the south. California's mountain ranges also influence the climate: some of the rainiest parts of the state are west-facing mountain slopes. Coastal northwestern California has a temperate climate, and the Central Valley has a Mediterranean climate but with greater temperature extremes than the coast. The high mountains, including the Sierra Nevada, have an alpine climate with snow in winter and mild to moderate heat in summer. California's mountains produce rain shadows on the eastern side, creating extensive deserts. The higher elevation deserts of eastern California have hot summers and cold winters, while the low deserts east of the Southern California mountains have hot summers and nearly frostless mild winters. Death Valley, a desert with large expanses below sea level, is considered the hottest location in the world; the highest temperature in the world,[155][156] 134 °F (56.7 °C), was recorded there on July 10, 1913. The lowest temperature in California was −45 °F (−43 °C) on January 20, 1937, in Boca.[157] The table below lists average temperatures for January and August in a selection of places throughout the state; some highly populated and some not. This includes the relatively cool summers of the Humboldt Bay region around Eureka, the extreme heat of Death Valley, and the mountain climate of Mammoth in the Sierra Nevada. Average temperatures and precipitation for selected communities in California[158] Location August (°F) August (°C) January (°F) January (°C) Annual precipitation (mm/in) Los Angeles 83/64 29/18 66/48 20/8 377/15 LAX/LA Beaches 75/64 23/18 65/49 18/9 326/13 San Diego 76/67 24/19 65/49 18/9 262/10 San Jose 82/58 27/14 58/42 14/5 401/16 San Francisco 67/54 20/12 56/46 14/8 538/21 Fresno 97/66 34/19 55/38 12/3 292/11 Sacramento 91/58 33/14 54/39 12/3 469/18 Oakland 73/58 23/14 58/44 14/7 588/23 Bakersfield 96/69 36/21 56/39 13/3 165/7 Riverside 94/60 35/18 67/39 19/4 260/10 Eureka 62/53 16/11 54/41 12/5 960/38 Death Valley 115/86 46/30 67/40 19/4 60/2 Mammoth Lakes 77/45 25/7 40/15 4/ −9 583/23 The wide range of climates leads to a high demand for water. Over time, droughts have been increasing due to climate change and overextraction,[159] becoming less seasonal and more year-round, further straining California's electricity supply[160] and water security[161][162] and having an impact on California business, industry, and agriculture.[163] In 2022, a new state program was created in collaboration with indigenous peoples of California to revive the practice of controlled burns as a way of clearing excessive forest debris and making landscapes more resilient to wildfires. Native American use of fire in ecosystem management was outlawed in 1911, yet has now been recognized.[36] Ecology Main articles: Ecology of California and Environment of California Mount Whitney, in the Sierra Nevada, is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States. California is one of the ecologically richest and most diverse parts of the world, and includes some of the most endangered ecological communities. California is part of the Nearctic realm and spans a number of terrestrial ecoregions.[164] California's large number of endemic species includes relict species, which have died out elsewhere, such as the Catalina ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus). Many other endemics originated through differentiation or adaptive radiation, whereby multiple species develop from a common ancestor to take advantage of diverse ecological conditions such as the California lilac (Ceanothus). Many California endemics have become endangered, as urbanization, logging, overgrazing, and the introduction of exotic species have encroached on their habitat. Flora and fauna Main articles: Fauna of California and California Floristic Province See also: List of California native plants Giant Sequoias, native to California, are the largest trees in the world. Shown is the Grizzly Giant in Yosemite. California boasts several superlatives in its collection of flora: the largest trees, the tallest trees, and the oldest trees. California's native grasses are perennial plants,[165] and there are close to hundred succulent species native to the state.[166] After European contact, these were generally replaced by invasive species of European annual grasses; and, in modern times, California's hills turn a characteristic golden-brown in summer.[167] Because California has the greatest diversity of climate and terrain, the state has six life zones which are the lower Sonoran Desert; upper Sonoran (foothill regions and some coastal lands), transition (coastal areas and moist northeastern counties); and the Canadian, Hudsonian, and Arctic Zones, comprising the state's highest elevations.[168] Plant life in the dry climate of the lower Sonoran zone contains a diversity of native cactus, mesquite, and paloverde. The Joshua tree is found in the Mojave Desert. Flowering plants include the dwarf desert poppy and a variety of asters. Fremont cottonwood and valley oak thrive in the Central Valley. The upper Sonoran zone includes the chaparral belt, characterized by forests of small shrubs, stunted trees, and herbaceous plants. Nemophila, mint, Phacelia, Viola, and the California poppy (Eschscholzia californica, the state flower) also flourish in this zone, along with the lupine, more species of which occur here than anywhere else in the world.[168] A California sea lion in La Jolla The transition zone includes most of California's forests with the redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and the "big tree" or giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), among the oldest living things on earth (some are said to have lived at least 4,000 years). Tanbark oak, California laurel, sugar pine, madrona, broad-leaved maple, and Douglas-fir also grow here. Forest floors are covered with swordfern, alumnroot, barrenwort, and trillium, and there are thickets of huckleberry, azalea, elder, and wild currant. Characteristic wild flowers include varieties of mariposa, tulip, and tiger and leopard lilies.[169] The high elevations of the Canadian zone allow the Jeffrey pine, red fir, and lodgepole pine to thrive. Brushy areas are abundant with dwarf manzanita and ceanothus; the unique Sierra puffball is also found here. Right below the timberline, in the Hudsonian zone, the whitebark, foxtail, and silver pines grow. At about 10,500 feet (3,200 m), begins the Arctic zone, a treeless region whose flora include a number of wildflowers, including Sierra primrose, yellow columbine, alpine buttercup, and alpine shooting star.[168][170] Palm trees are a well-known feature of California, particularly in Southern California and Los Angeles; many species have been imported, though the Washington filifera (commonly known as the California fan palm) is native to the state, mainly growing in the Colorado Desert oases.[171] Other common plants that have been introduced to the state include the eucalyptus, acacia, pepper tree, geranium, and Scotch broom. The species that are federally classified as endangered are the Contra Costa wallflower, Antioch Dunes evening primrose, Solano grass, San Clemente Island larkspur, salt marsh bird's beak, McDonald's rock-cress, and Santa Barbara Island liveforever. As of December 1997, 85 plant species were listed as threatened or endangered.[168] A Tule Elk in the San Joaquin Valley In the deserts of the lower Sonoran zone, the mammals include the jackrabbit, kangaroo rat, squirrel, and opossum. Common birds include the owl, roadrunner, cactus wren, and various species of hawk. The area's reptilian life include the sidewinder viper, desert tortoise, and horned toad. The upper Sonoran zone boasts mammals such as the antelope, brown-footed woodrat, and ring-tailed cat. Birds unique to this zone are the California thrasher, bushtit, and California condor.[168][172][173][174] In the transition zone, there are Colombian black-tailed deer, black bears, gray foxes, cougars, bobcats, and Roosevelt elk. Reptiles such as the garter snakes and rattlesnakes inhabit the zone. In addition, amphibians such as the water puppy and redwood salamander are common too. Birds such as the kingfisher, chickadee, towhee, and hummingbird thrive here as well.[168][175] The Canadian zone mammals include the mountain weasel, snowshoe hare, and several species of chipmunks. Conspicuous birds include the blue-fronted jay, mountain chickadee, hermit thrush, American dipper, and Townsend's solitaire. As one ascends into the Hudsonian zone, birds become scarcer. While the gray-crowned rosy finch is the only bird native to the high Arctic region, other bird species such as Anna's hummingbird and Clark's nutcracker.[citation needed] Principal mammals found in this region include the Sierra coney, white-tailed jackrabbit, and the bighorn sheep. As of April 2003, the bighorn sheep was listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The fauna found throughout several zones are the mule deer, coyote, mountain lion, northern flicker, and several species of hawk and sparrow.[168] Methuselah is the oldest tree in the world, found in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest of Inyo National Forest. Aquatic life in California thrives, from the state's mountain lakes and streams to the rocky Pacific coastline. Numerous trout species are found, among them rainbow, golden, and cutthroat. Migratory species of salmon are common as well. Deep-sea life forms include sea bass, yellowfin tuna, barracuda, and several types of whale. Native to the cliffs of northern California are seals, sea lions, and many types of shorebirds, including migratory species.[168] As of April 2003, 118 California animals were on the federal endangered list; 181 plants were listed as endangered or threatened. Endangered animals include the San Joaquin kitfox, Point Arena mountain beaver, Pacific pocket mouse, salt marsh harvest mouse, Morro Bay kangaroo rat (and five other species of kangaroo rat), Amargosa vole, California least tern, California condor, loggerhead shrike, San Clemente sage sparrow, San Francisco garter snake, five species of salamander, three species of chub, and two species of pupfish. Eleven butterflies are also endangered[176] and two that are threatened are on the federal list.[177][178] Among threatened animals are the coastal California gnatcatcher, Paiute cutthroat trout, southern sea otter, and northern spotted owl. California has a total of 290,821 acres (1,176.91 km2) of National Wildlife Refuges.[168] As of September 2010, 123 California animals were listed as either endangered or threatened on the federal list.[179] Also, as of the same year, 178 species of California plants were listed either as endangered or threatened on this federal list.[179] Rivers Main article: List of rivers of California San Francisco Bay (center left) and the California Delta (top right) The most prominent river system within California is formed by the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River, which are fed mostly by snowmelt from the west slope of the Sierra Nevada, and respectively drain the north and south halves of the Central Valley. The two rivers join in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, flowing into the Pacific Ocean through San Francisco Bay. Many major tributaries feed into the Sacramento–San Joaquin system, including the Pit River, Feather River and Tuolumne River. The Klamath and Trinity Rivers drain a large area in far northwestern California. The Eel River and Salinas River each drain portions of the California coast, north and south of San Francisco Bay, respectively. The Mojave River is the primary watercourse in the Mojave Desert, and the Santa Ana River drains much of the Transverse Ranges as it bisects Southern California. The Colorado River forms the state's southeast border with Arizona. Most of California's major rivers are dammed as part of two massive water projects: the Central Valley Project, providing water for agriculture in the Central Valley, and the California State Water Project diverting water from Northern to Southern California. The state's coasts, rivers, and other bodies of water are regulated by the California Coastal Commission. Regions Main article: List of regions of California See also: List of places in California Map of California's regions Map showing the division between Northern California (top white) and Southern California (bottom red) California is traditionally separated into Northern California and Southern California, divided by a straight border which runs across the state, separating the northern 48 counties from the southern 10 counties. Despite the persistence of the northern-southern divide, California is more precisely divided into many regions, multiple of which stretch across the northern-southern divide. Major divisions Northern California Southern California Regions Shasta Cascade Klamath Basin Modoc Plateau North Coast Lost Coast Bay Area North Bay San Francisco Peninsula South Bay (Santa Clara Valley) East Bay Central Valley Sacramento Valley Greater Sacramento San Joaquin Valley Metropolitan Fresno California Delta Sierra Nevada Gold Country Eastern Sierra Central Coast Monterey Bay Area Big Sur Gaviota Coast Southern California Greater Los Angeles Los Angeles Basin San Fernando Valley San Gabriel Valley Channel Islands Orange Coast Inland Empire San Diego–Tijuana California Deserts Mojave Desert Great Basin Desert Colorado Desert (Sonoran Desert) Calexico–Mexicali Cities and towns See also: List of cities and towns in California and List of largest California cities by population The state has 482 incorporated cities and towns, of which 460 are cities and 22 are towns. Under California law, the terms "city" and "town" are explicitly interchangeable; the name of an incorporated municipality in the state can either be "City of (Name)" or "Town of (Name)".[180] Sacramento became California's first incorporated city on February 27, 1850.[181] San Jose, San Diego, and Benicia tied for California's second incorporated city, each receiving incorporation on March 27, 1850.[182][183][184] Jurupa Valley became the state's most recent and 482nd incorporated municipality, on July 1, 2011.[185][186] The majority of these cities and towns are within one of five metropolitan areas: the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, the San Francisco Bay Area, the Riverside-San Bernardino Area, the San Diego metropolitan area, or the Sacramento metropolitan area.    Largest cities or towns in California Source:[187] Rank Name County Pop. Rank Name County Pop. Los Angeles Los Angeles San Diego San Diego 1 Los Angeles Los Angeles 3,898,747 11 Stockton San Joaquin 320,804 San Jose San Jose San Francisco San Francisco 2 San Diego San Diego 1,386,932 12 Riverside Riverside 314,998 3 San Jose Santa Clara 1,013,240 13 Santa Ana Orange 310,227 4 San Francisco San Francisco 873,965 14 Irvine Orange 307,670 5 Fresno Fresno 542,107 15 Chula Vista San Diego 275,487 6 Sacramento Sacramento 524,943 16 Fremont Alameda 230,504 7 Long Beach Los Angeles 466,742 17 Santa Clarita Los Angeles 228,673 8 Oakland Alameda 440,646 18 San Bernardino San Bernardino 222,101 9 Bakersfield Kern 403,455 19 Modesto Stanislaus 218,464 10 Anaheim Orange 346,824 20 Moreno Valley Riverside 208,634 Largest metropolitan statistical areas in California CA rank U.S. rank Metropolitan statistical area[188] 2020 census[187] 2010 census[187] Change Counties[188] 1 2 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA MSA 13,200,998 12,828,837 +2.90% Los Angeles, Orange 2 12 San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA MSA 4,749,008 4,335,391 +9.54% Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo 3 13 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA 4,599,839 4,224,851 +8.88% Riverside, San Bernardino 4 17 San Diego-Carlsbad, CA MSA 3,298,634 3,095,313 +6.57% San Diego 5 26 Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, CA MSA 2,397,382 2,149,127 +11.55% El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Yolo 6 35 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA MSA 2,000,468 1,836,911 +8.90% San Benito, Santa Clara 7 56 Fresno, CA MSA 1,008,654 930,450 +8.40% Fresno 8 62 Bakersfield, CA MSA 909,235 839,631 +8.29% Kern 9 70 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA MSA 843,843 823,318 +2.49% Ventura 10 75 Stockton-Lodi, CA MSA 779,233 685,306 +13.71% San Joaquin Largest combined statistical areas in California CA rank U.S. rank Combined statistical area[187] 2020 census[187] 2010 census[187] Change Counties[188] 1 2 Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA Combined Statistical Area 18,644,680 17,877,006 +4.29% Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura 2 4 San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area 9,714,023 8,923,942 +8.85% Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Merced, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus 3 23 Sacramento-Roseville, CA Combined Statistical Area 2,680,831 2,414,783 +11.02% El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo, Yuba 4 45 Fresno-Madera, CA Combined Statistical Area 1,317,395 1,234,297 +6.73% Fresno, Kings, Madera 5 125 Redding-Red Bluff, CA Combined Statistical Area 247,984 240,686 +3.03% Shasta, Tehama Demographics Main article: Demographics of California Population Historical population Census Pop. Note %± 1850 92,597 — 1860 379,994 310.4% 1870 560,247 47.4% 1880 864,694 54.3% 1890 1,213,398 40.3% 1900 1,485,053 22.4% 1910 2,377,549 60.1% 1920 3,426,861 44.1% 1930 5,677,251 65.7% 1940 6,907,387 21.7% 1950 10,586,223 53.3% 1960 15,717,204 48.5% 1970 19,953,134 27.0% 1980 23,667,902 18.6% 1990 29,760,021 25.7% 2000 33,871,648 13.8% 2010 37,253,956 10.0% 2020 39,538,223 6.1% 2023 (est.) 38,940,231 −1.5% Sources: 1790–1990, 2000, 2010, 2020, 2023[189][190][191][6] Chart does not include indigenous population figures. Studies indicate that the Native American population in California in 1850 was close to 150,000 before declining to 15,000 by 1900.[192] One out of every eight Americans live in California.[193] The United States Census Bureau reported that the population of California was 39,538,223 on April 1, 2020, a 6.13% increase since the 2010 United States census.[191] The estimated population as of 2022 is 39.22 million.[193] For over a century (1900–2020), California experienced an explosion in population growth, adding an average of more than 300,000 people per year.[194] California's rate of growth began to slow by the 1990s, although it continued to experience population growth in the first two decades of the 21st century.[195][196] The state experienced population declines in 2020 and 2021, attributable to declining birth rates, COVID-19 pandemic deaths, and less internal migration from other states to California.[197] California's population density, 2020 The Greater Los Angeles Area is the 2nd-largest metropolitan area in the United States (U.S.), while Los Angeles is the second-largest city in the U.S. Conversely, San Francisco is the most densely-populated city in California and one of the most densely populated cities in the U.S.. Also, Los Angeles County has held the title of most populous U.S. county for decades, and it alone is more populous than 42 U.S. states.[198][199] Including Los Angeles, four of the top 20 most populous cities in the U.S. are in California: Los Angeles (2nd), San Diego (8th), San Jose (10th), and San Francisco (17th). The center of population of California is located four miles west-southwest of the city of Shafter, Kern County.[note 3] As of 2019, California ranked second among states by life expectancy, with a life expectancy of 80.9 years.[201] Starting in the year 2010, for the first time since the California Gold Rush, California-born residents made up the majority of the state's population.[202] Along with the rest of the United States, California's immigration pattern has also shifted over the course of the late 2000s to early 2010s.[203] Immigration from Latin American countries has dropped significantly with most immigrants now coming from Asia.[204] In total for 2011, there were 277,304 immigrants. Fifty-seven percent came from Asian countries versus 22% from Latin American countries.[204] Net immigration from Mexico, previously the most common country of origin for new immigrants, has dropped to zero / less than zero since more Mexican nationals are departing for their home country than immigrating.[203] The state's population of undocumented immigrants has been shrinking in recent years, due to increased enforcement and decreased job opportunities for lower-skilled workers.[205] The number of migrants arrested attempting to cross the Mexican border in the Southwest decreased from a high of 1.1 million in 2005 to 367,000 in 2011.[206] Despite these recent trends, illegal aliens constituted an estimated 7.3 percent of the state's population, the third highest percentage of any state in the country,[207][note 4] totaling nearly 2.6 million.[208] In particular, illegal immigrants tended to be concentrated in Los Angeles, Monterey, San Benito, Imperial, and Napa Counties—the latter four of which have significant agricultural industries that depend on manual labor.[209] More than half of illegal immigrants originate from Mexico.[208] The state of California and some California cities, including Los Angeles, Oakland and San Francisco,[210] have adopted sanctuary policies.[211] According to HUD's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, there were an estimated 171,521 homeless people in California.[212][213] Race and ethnicity Hispanic and Latino Californians make up the state's largest ethnic group. The map displays California's counties by percentage of Hispanics and Latinos in the 2020 Census:   50% or more   25–49%   15–24%   5–15% Racial and ethnic composition as of the 2020 census  Race and ethnicity[214] Alone Total Hispanic or Latino[note 5] — 39.4%   White (non-Hispanic) 34.7%   38.3%   Asian (non-Hispanic) 15.1%   17.0%   African American (non-Hispanic) 5.4%   6.4%   Native American (non-Hispanic) 0.4%   1.3%   Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 0.3%   0.7%   Other (non-Hispanic) 0.6%   1.3%   Ethnic origins in California According to the United States Census Bureau in 2018 the population self-identified as (alone or in combination):[215] 72.1% White (including Hispanic Whites), 36.8% non-Hispanic whites, 15.3% Asian, 6.5% Black or African American, 1.6% Native American and Alaska Native, 0.5% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and 3.9% two or more races. By ethnicity, in 2018 the population was 60.7% non-Hispanic (of any race) and 39.3% Hispanic or Latino (of any race). Hispanics are the largest single ethnic group in California.[215] Non-Hispanic whites constituted 36.8% of the state's population.[215] Californios are the Hispanic residents native to California, who make up the Spanish-speaking community that has existed in California since 1542, of varying Mexican American/Chicano, Criollo Spaniard, and Mestizo origin.[216] As of 2011, 75.1% of California's population younger than age 1 were minorities, meaning they had at least one parent who was not non-Hispanic white (white Hispanics are counted as minorities).[217] In terms of total numbers, California has the largest population of White Americans in the United States, an estimated 22,200,000 residents. The state has the 5th largest population of African Americans in the United States, an estimated 2,250,000 residents. California's Asian American population is estimated at 4.4 million, constituting a third of the nation's total. California's Native American population of 285,000 is the most of any state.[218] According to estimates from 2011, California has the largest minority population in the United States by numbers, making up 60% of the state population.[219] Over the past 25 years, the population of non-Hispanic whites has declined, while Hispanic and Asian populations have grown. Between 1970 and 2011, non-Hispanic whites declined from 80% of the state's population to 40%, while Hispanics grew from 32% in 2000 to 38% in 2011.[220] It is currently projected that Hispanics will rise to 49% of the population by 2060, primarily due to domestic births rather than immigration.[221] With the decline of immigration from Latin America, Asian Americans now constitute the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in California; this growth is primarily driven by immigration from China, India and the Philippines, respectively.[222] Most of California's immigrant population are born in Mexico (3.9 million), the Philippines (825,200), China (768,400), India (556,500) and Vietnam (502,600).[223] California has the largest multiracial population in the United States.[224] California has the highest rate of interracial marriage.[225] Languages Main article: Languages of California See also: California English and Spanish language in California Languages spoken in California by more than 100,000 persons  Language Population (as of 2021)[226] % English 20,763,638 56.08% Spanish 10,434,308 28.18% Chinese 1,244,445 3.36% Tagalog 757,488 2.05% Vietnamese 544,046 1.47% Korean 356,901 0.96% Arabic 231,612 0.63% Persian 221,650 0.6% Armenian 211,614 0.57% Hindi 208,148 0.56% Russian 178,176 0.48% Punjabi 156,763 0.42% Japanese 135,992 0.37% French 126,371 0.34% English serves as California's de jure and de facto official language. According to the 2021 American Community Survey conducted by the United States Census Bureau, 56.08% (20,763,638) of California residents age 5 and older spoke only English at home, while 43.92% spoke another language at home. 60.35% of people who speak a language other than English at home are able to speak English "well" or "very well", with this figure varying significantly across the different linguistic groups.[226] Like most U.S. states (32 out of 50), California law enshrines English as its official language, and has done so since the passage of Proposition 63 by California voters in 1986. Various government agencies do, and are often required to, furnish documents in the various languages needed to reach their intended audiences.[227][228][229] The Constitution of California was written in both English (left) and Spanish (right) by both American and Californio delegates. Spanish is the most commonly spoken language in California, behind English, spoken by 28.18% (10,434,308) of the population (in 2021).[226] The Spanish language has been spoken in California since 1542 and is deeply intertwined with California's cultural landscape and history.[230][231][232] Spanish was the official administrative language of California through the Spanish and Mexican eras, until 1848. Following the U.S. Conquest of California and the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, the U.S Government guaranteed the rights of Spanish speaking Californians. The first Constitution of California was written in both languages at the Monterey Constitutional Convention of 1849 and protected the rights of Spanish speakers to use their language in government proceedings and mandating that all government documents be published in both English and Spanish.[233] Despite the initial recognition of Spanish by early American governments in California, the revised 1879 constitution stripped the rights of Spanish speakers and the official status of Spanish.[234] The growth of the English-only movement by the mid-20th century led to the passage of 1986 California Proposition 63, which enshrined English as the only official language in California and ended Spanish language instruction in schools.[235] 2016 California Proposition 58 reversed the prohibition on bilingual education, though there are still many barriers to the proliferation of Spanish bilingual education, including a shortage of teachers and lack of funding.[236][235][237] The government of California has since made efforts to promote Spanish language access and bilingual education, [238][239] as have private educational institutions in California.[240] Many businesses in California promote the usage of Spanish by their employees, to better serve both California's Hispanic population and the larger Spanish-speaking world.[241][242] California has historically been one of the most linguistically diverse areas in the world, with more than 70 indigenous languages derived from 64 root languages in six language families.[243][244] A survey conducted between 2007 and 2009 identified 23 different indigenous languages among California farmworkers.[245] All of California's indigenous languages are endangered, although there are now efforts toward language revitalization.[note 6] California has the highest concentration nationwide of Chinese, Vietnamese and Punjabi speakers. As a result of the state's increasing diversity and migration from other areas across the country and around the globe, linguists began noticing a noteworthy set of emerging characteristics of spoken American English in California since the late 20th century. This variety, known as California English, has a vowel shift and several other phonological processes that are different from varieties of American English used in other regions of the United States.[246] Religion Main article: Religion in California See also: List of cathedrals in California Religious self-identification, per Public Religion Research Institute's 2021 American Values Survey[247]   Catholicism (34%)   Protestantism (27%)   Jehovah's Witness (1%)   Mormonism (1%)   Unaffilated (28%)   Buddhism (2%)   Judaism (1%)   Hinduism (1%)   Other (5%) The largest religious denominations by number of adherents as a percentage of California's population in 2014 were the Catholic Church with 28 percent, Evangelical Protestants with 20 percent, and Mainline Protestants with 10 percent. Together, all kinds of Protestants accounted for 32 percent. Those unaffiliated with any religion represented 27 percent of the population. The breakdown of other religions is 1% Muslim, 2% Hindu and 2% Buddhist.[248] This is a change from 2008, when the population identified their religion with the Catholic Church with 31 percent; Evangelical Protestants with 18 percent; and Mainline Protestants with 14 percent. In 2008, those unaffiliated with any religion represented 21 percent of the population. The breakdown of other religions in 2008 was 0.5% Muslim, 1% Hindu and 2% Buddhist.[249] The American Jewish Year Book placed the total Jewish population of California at about 1,194,190 in 2006.[250] According to the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) the largest denominations by adherents in 2010 were the Catholic Church with 10,233,334; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 763,818; and the Southern Baptist Convention with 489,953.[251] The Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo in Monterey, built 1791–94, is the oldest parish in California.[252] The first priests to come to California were Catholic missionaries from Spain. Catholics founded 21 missions along the California coast, as well as the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco. California continues to have a large Catholic population due to the large numbers of Mexicans and Central Americans living within its borders. California has twelve dioceses and two archdioceses, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Archdiocese of San Francisco, the former being the largest archdiocese in the United States. A Pew Research Center survey revealed that California is somewhat less religious than the rest of the states: 62 percent of Californians say they are "absolutely certain" of their belief in God, while in the nation 71 percent say so. The survey also revealed 48 percent of Californians say religion is "very important", compared to 56 percent nationally.[253] Culture Main article: Culture of California See also: Cuisine of California The Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles The culture of California is a Western culture and most clearly has its modern roots in the culture of the United States, but also, historically, many Hispanic Californio and Mexican influences. As a border and coastal state, California culture has been greatly influenced by several large immigrant populations, especially those from Latin America and Asia.[254][failed verification] California has long been a subject of interest in the public mind and has often been promoted by its boosters as a kind of paradise. In the early 20th century, fueled by the efforts of state and local boosters, many Americans saw the Golden State as an ideal resort destination, sunny and dry all year round with easy access to the ocean and mountains. In the 1960s, popular music groups such as the Beach Boys promoted the image of Californians as laid-back, tanned beach-goers. The California Gold Rush of the 1850s is still seen as a symbol of California's economic style, which tends to generate technology, social, entertainment, and economic fads and booms and related busts. Media and entertainment Further information: Media in Los Angeles, Media in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Music in California See also: List of amusement parks in the Americas § California, List of newspapers in California, and List of radio stations in California Disney, headquartered in Burbank, is one of the world's largest media and entertainment companies. Hollywood and the rest of the Los Angeles area is a major global center for entertainment, with the U.S. film industry's "Big Five" major film studios (Columbia, Disney, Paramount, Universal, and Warner Bros.) as well as many minor film studios being based in or around the area. Many animation studios are also headquartered in the state. The four major American television commercial broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox) as well as other networks all have production facilities and offices in the state. All the four major commercial broadcast networks, plus the two major Spanish-language networks (Telemundo and Univision) each have at least three owned-and-operated TV stations in California, including at least one in Los Angeles and at least one in San Francisco.[note 7] One of the oldest radio stations in the United States still in existence, KCBS (AM) in the San Francisco Bay Area, was founded in 1909. Universal Music Group, one of the "Big Four" record labels, is based in Santa Monica, while Warner Records is based in Los Angeles. Many independent record labels, such as Mind of a Genius Records, are also headquartered in the state. California is also the birthplace of several international music genres, including the Bakersfield sound, Bay Area thrash metal, alternative rock, g-funk, nu metal, glam metal, thrash metal, psychedelic rock, stoner rock, punk rock, hardcore punk, metalcore, pop punk, surf music, third wave ska, west coast hip hop, west coast jazz, jazz rap, and many other genres. Other genres such as pop rock, indie rock, hard rock, hip hop, pop, rock, rockabilly, country, heavy metal, grunge, new wave and disco were popularized in the state. In addition, many British bands, such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, and The Rolling Stones settled in the state after becoming internationally famous. Twitter, headquartered in San Francisco, is one of the largest social media networks in the world. As the home of Silicon Valley, the Bay Area is the headquarters of several prominent internet media, social media, and other technology companies. Three of the "Big Five" technology companies (Apple, Meta, and Google) are based in the area as well as other services such as Netflix, Pandora Radio, Twitter, Yahoo!, and YouTube. Other prominent companies that are headquartered here include HP inc. and Intel. Microsoft and Amazon also have offices in the area. California, particularly Southern California,[255] is considered the birthplace of modern car culture.[256] Several fast food, fast casual, and casual dining chains were also founded California, including some that have since expanded internationally like California Pizza Kitchen, Denny's, IHOP, McDonald's, Panda Express, and Taco Bell. The California State Fair is held annually during the summer at Cal Expo in northeastern Sacramento. Sports Main article: Sports in California See also: List of professional sports teams in California Pebble Beach Golf Links, one of the best ranked golf courses in the world The Grand Prix of Long Beach is the longest running major street race in North America. California has nineteen major professional sports league franchises, far more than any other state. The San Francisco Bay Area has six major league teams spread in its three major cities: San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland, while the Greater Los Angeles Area is home to ten major league franchises. San Diego and Sacramento each have one major league team. The NFL Super Bowl has been hosted in California 12 times at five different stadiums: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Rose Bowl, Stanford Stadium, Levi's Stadium, and San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium. A thirteenth, Super Bowl LVI, was held at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood on February 13, 2022.[257] California has long had many respected collegiate sports programs. California is home to the oldest college bowl game, the annual Rose Bowl, among others. The NFL has three teams in the state: the Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers, and San Francisco 49ers. MLB has five teams in the state: the San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, and San Diego Padres.[258] The NBA has four teams in the state: the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, and Sacramento Kings. Additionally, the WNBA also has one team in the state: the Los Angeles Sparks. The NHL has three teams in the state: the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, and San Jose Sharks. MLS has three teams in the state: the Los Angeles Galaxy, San Jose Earthquakes, and Los Angeles Football Club. MLR has one team in the state: the San Diego Legion. California is the only U.S. state to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics. The 1932 and 1984 summer games were held in Los Angeles. Squaw Valley Ski Resort in the Lake Tahoe region hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics. Los Angeles will host the 2028 Summer Olympics, marking the fourth time that California will have hosted the Olympic Games.[259] Multiple games during the 1994 FIFA World Cup took place in California, with the Rose Bowl hosting eight matches (including the final), while Stanford Stadium hosted six matches. In addition to the Olympic games, California also hosts the California State Games. Many sports, such as surfing, snowboarding, and skateboarding, were invented in California, while others like volleyball, beach soccer, and skiing were popularized in the state. Other sports that are big in the state include golf, rodeo, tennis, mountain climbing, marathon running, horse racing, bowling, mixed martial arts, boxing, and motorsports, especially NASCAR and Formula One. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum hosted the Summer Olympics in 1932 and 1984, and will also host in 2028. Team Sport League Los Angeles Rams American football National Football League (NFL) Los Angeles Chargers American football National Football League San Francisco 49ers American football National Football League Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) Los Angeles Angels Baseball Major League Baseball Oakland Athletics Baseball Major League Baseball San Diego Padres Baseball Major League Baseball San Francisco Giants Baseball Major League Baseball Golden State Warriors Basketball National Basketball Association (NBA) Los Angeles Clippers Basketball National Basketball Association Los Angeles Lakers Basketball National Basketball Association Sacramento Kings Basketball National Basketball Association Los Angeles Sparks Basketball Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) Anaheim Ducks Ice hockey National Hockey League (NHL) Los Angeles Kings Ice hockey National Hockey League San Jose Sharks Ice hockey National Hockey League Los Angeles Galaxy Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) San Jose Earthquakes Soccer Major League Soccer Los Angeles Football Club Soccer Major League Soccer Angel City FC Soccer National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) San Diego Wave FC Soccer National Women's Soccer League San Diego Legion Rugby union Major League Rugby Education Main article: Education in California See also: Spanish bilingual education in California Santa Barbara High School, one of the oldest high schools in continuous use in Southern California California has the most school students in the country, with over 6.2 million in the 2005–06 school year, giving California more students in school than 36 states have in total population and one of the highest projected enrollments in the country.[260] Public secondary education consists of high schools that teach elective courses in trades, languages, and liberal arts with tracks for gifted, college-bound and industrial arts students. California's public educational system is supported by a unique constitutional amendment that requires a minimum annual funding level for grades K–12 and community colleges that grows with the economy and student enrollment figures.[261] In 2016, California's K–12 public school per-pupil spending was ranked 22nd in the nation ($11,500 per student vs. $11,800 for the U.S. average).[262] For 2012, California's K–12 public schools ranked 48th in the number of employees per student, at 0.102 (the U.S. average was 0.137), while paying the 7th most per employee, $49,000 (the U.S. average was $39,000).[263][264][265] A 2007 study concluded that California's public school system was "broken" in that it suffered from overregulation.[266] Higher education Main article: List of colleges and universities in California UC Berkeley is the oldest campus of the University of California, and the state's flagship public university. Stanford University is a private university that is one of the top-ranked universities in the world.[267] California public postsecondary education is organized into three separate systems: The state's public research university system is the University of California (UC). As of fall 2011, the University of California had a combined student body of 234,464 students.[268] There are ten UC campuses; nine are general campuses offering both undergraduate and graduate programs which culminate in the award of bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctorates; there is one specialized campus, UC San Francisco, which is entirely dedicated to graduate education in health care, and is home to the UCSF Medical Center, the highest-ranked hospital in California.[269] The system was originally intended to accept the top one-eighth of California high school students, but several of the campuses have become even more selective.[270][271][272] The UC system historically held exclusive authority to award the doctorate, but this has since changed and CSU now has limited statutory authorization to award a handful of types of doctoral degrees independently of UC. The California State University (CSU) system has almost 430,000 students. The CSU (which takes the definite article in its abbreviated form, while UC does not) was originally intended to accept the top one-third of California high school students, but several of the campuses have become much more selective.[272][273] The CSU was originally authorized to award only bachelor's and master's degrees, and could award the doctorate only as part of joint programs with UC or private universities. Since then, CSU has been granted the authority to independently award several doctoral degrees (in specific academic fields that do not intrude upon UC's traditional jurisdiction). The California Community Colleges system provides lower-division coursework culminating in the associate degree, as well as basic skills and workforce training culminating in various kinds of certificates. (Fifteen California community colleges now award four-year bachelor's degrees in disciplines which are in high demand in their geographical area.[274]) It is the largest network of higher education in the U.S., composed of 112 colleges serving a student population of over 2.6 million. California is also home to notable private universities such as Stanford University, the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), the University of Southern California, the Claremont Colleges, Santa Clara University, Loyola Marymount University, the University of San Diego, the University of San Francisco, Chapman University, Pepperdine University, Occidental College, and University of the Pacific, among numerous other private colleges and universities, including many religious and special-purpose institutions. California has a particularly high density of arts colleges, including the California College of the Arts, California Institute of the Arts, San Francisco Art Institute, Art Center College of Design, and Academy of Art University, among others. Economy Main article: Economy of California Silicon Valley is the largest tech hub in the world and home to Big Tech companies like Apple, Alphabet, Meta, Intel, Netflix, Inc., Uber, Nvidia, HP, X Corp and many more. California's economy ranks among the largest in the world. As of 2022, the gross state product (GSP) was $3.6 trillion ($93,130 per capita), the largest in the United States.[275] California is responsible for one seventh of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP).[276] As of 2018, California's nominal GDP is larger than all but four countries (the United States, China, Japan, and Germany).[277] In terms of purchasing power parity (PPP),[278] it is larger than all but eight countries (the United States, China, India, Japan, Germany, Russia, Brazil, and Indonesia).[279] California's economy is larger than Africa and Australia and is almost as large as South America.[280] The state recorded total, non-farm employment of 16,677,800[281] as of September 2021 among 966,224 employer establishments.[282] The combined Port of Los Angeles-Port of Long Beach is the largest port in the U.S. by import volume and one of the busiest ports in the world. As the largest and second-largest U.S. ports respectively, the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach in Southern California collectively play a pivotal role in the global supply chain, together hauling in about 40% of all imports to the United States by TEU volume.[283] The Port of Oakland and Port of Hueneme are the 10th and 26th largest seaports in the U.S., respectively, by number of TEUs handled.[284] The five largest sectors of employment in California are trade, transportation, and utilities; government; professional and business services; education and health services; and leisure and hospitality. In output, the five largest sectors are financial services, followed by trade, transportation, and utilities; education and health services; government; and manufacturing.[285] California has an unemployment rate of 3.9% as of September 2022.[281] California's economy is dependent on trade and international related commerce accounts for about one-quarter of the state's economy. In 2008, California exported $144 billion worth of goods, up from $134 billion in 2007 and $127 billion in 2006.[286] Computers and electronic products are California's top export, accounting for 42 percent of all the state's exports in 2008.[286] Agriculture Main article: Agriculture in California Further information: Strawberry cultivation in California, Production of peaches in California, and Walnuts in California See also: California nut crimes California vineyards in Wine Country. The agricultural industry in California is the largest in the U.S. Agriculture is an important sector in California's economy. According to the USDA in 2011, the three largest California agricultural products by value were milk and cream, shelled almonds, and grapes.[287] Farming-related sales more than quadrupled over the past three decades, from $7.3 billion in 1974 to nearly $31 billion in 2004.[288] This increase has occurred despite a 15 percent decline in acreage devoted to farming during the period, and water supply suffering from chronic instability. Factors contributing to the growth in sales-per-acre include more intensive use of active farmlands and technological improvements in crop production.[288] In 2008, California's 81,500 farms and ranches generated $36.2 billion products revenue.[289] In 2011, that number grew to $43.5 billion products revenue.[290] The agriculture sector accounts for two percent of the state's GDP and employs around three percent of its total workforce.[291] Income See also: California locations by per capita income California is the most visited state in the country.[292] Disneyland in Anaheim is a major tourist destination, with 16.9 million annual visits in 2022.[293] Per capita GDP in 2007 was $38,956, ranking eleventh in the nation.[294] Per capita income varies widely by geographic region and profession. The Central Valley is the most impoverished, with migrant farm workers making less than minimum wage. According to a 2005 report by the Congressional Research Service, the San Joaquin Valley was characterized as one of the most economically depressed regions in the United States, on par with the region of Appalachia.[295] Using the supplemental poverty measure, California has a poverty rate of 23.5%, the highest of any state in the country.[296] However, using the official measure the poverty rate was only 13.3% as of 2017.[297] Many coastal cities include some of the wealthiest per-capita areas in the United States. The high-technology sectors in Northern California, specifically Silicon Valley, in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, have emerged from the economic downturn caused by the dot-com bust. In 2019, there were 1,042,027 millionaire households in the state, more than any other state in the nation.[298] In 2010, California residents were ranked first among the states with the best average credit score of 754.[299] If California was an independent country, its gross domestic product (nominal) would rank fifth in the world (2022).[300] If California was an independent country, its gross domestic product (nominal) would rank fifth in the world (2022).[300]   California counties by GDP (2021)[301] California counties by GDP (2021)[301] State finances Main articles: California state finances and 2008–12 California budget crisis California economic regions State spending increased from $56 billion in 1998 to $127 billion in 2011.[302][303] California has the third highest per capita spending on welfare among the states, as well as the highest spending on welfare at $6.67 billion.[304] In January 2011, California's total debt was at least $265 billion.[305] On June 27, 2013, Governor Jerry Brown signed a balanced budget (no deficit) for the state, its first in decades; however, the state's debt remains at $132 billion.[306][307] With the passage of Proposition 30 in 2012 and Proposition 55 in 2016, California now levies a 13.3% maximum marginal income tax rate with ten tax brackets, ranging from 1% at the bottom tax bracket of $0 annual individual income to 13.3% for annual individual income over $1,000,000 (though the top brackets are only temporary until Proposition 55 expires at the end of 2030). While Proposition 30 also enacted a minimum state sales tax of 7.5%, this sales tax increase was not extended by Proposition 55 and reverted to a previous minimum state sales tax rate of 7.25% in 2017. Local governments can and do levy additional sales taxes in addition to this minimum rate.[308] All real property is taxable annually; the ad valorem tax is based on the property's fair market value at the time of purchase or the value of new construction. Property tax increases are capped at 2% annually or the rate of inflation (whichever is lower), per Proposition 13. Infrastructure Energy Main article: Energy in California Further information: Solar power in California and Wind power in California See also: History of oil in California through 1930 and Plug-in electric vehicles in California Moss Landing Power Plant, located on the coast of Monterey Bay Because it is the most populous state in the United States, California is one of the country's largest users of energy. However, because of its high energy rates, conservation mandates, mild weather in the largest population centers and strong environmental movement, its per capita energy use is one of the smallest of any state in the United States.[309] Due to the high electricity demand, California imports more electricity than any other state, primarily hydroelectric power from states in the Pacific Northwest (via Path 15 and Path 66) and coal- and natural gas-fired production from the desert Southwest via Path 46.[310] The state's crude oil and natural gas deposits are located in the Central Valley and along the coast, including the large Midway-Sunset Oil Field. Natural gas-fired power plants typically account for more than one-half of state electricity generation. Ivanpah Solar Power Facility, located in the Mojave Desert As a result of the state's strong environmental movement, California has some of the most aggressive renewable energy goals in the United States, with a target for California to obtain a third of its electricity from renewables by 2020.[311] Currently, several solar power plants such as the Solar Energy Generating Systems facility are located in the Mojave Desert. California's wind farms include Altamont Pass, San Gorgonio Pass, and Tehachapi Pass. The Tehachapi area is also where the Tehachapi Energy Storage Project is located.[312] Several dams across the state provide hydro-electric power. It would be possible to convert the total supply to 100% renewable energy, including heating, cooling and mobility, by 2050.[313] California is also home to two major nuclear power plants: Diablo Canyon and San Onofre, the latter having been shut down in 2013. More than 1,700 tons of radioactive waste are stored at San Onofre,[314] which sits in an area where there is a record of past tsunamis.[315] Voters banned the approval of new nuclear power plants since the late 1970s because of concerns over radioactive waste disposal.[316][note 8] In addition, several cities such as Oakland, Berkeley and Davis have declared themselves as nuclear-free zones. Transportation Main article: Transportation in California See also: History of rail transportation in California The Golden Gate Bridge in the San Francisco Bay Area, is one of the most famous bridges in the world. California's vast terrain is connected by an extensive system of controlled-access highways ('freeways'), limited-access roads ('expressways'), and highways. California is known for its car culture, giving California's cities a reputation for severe traffic congestion. Construction and maintenance of state roads and statewide transportation planning are primarily the responsibility of the California Department of Transportation, nicknamed "Caltrans". The rapidly growing population of the state is straining all of its transportation networks, and California has some of the worst roads in the United States.[318][319] The Reason Foundation's 19th Annual Report on the Performance of State Highway Systems ranked California's highways the third-worst of any state, with Alaska second, and Rhode Island first.[320] San Francisco Bay Ferry is a public water taxi system in the Bay Area. The state has been a pioneer in road construction. One of the state's more visible landmarks, the Golden Gate Bridge, was the longest suspension bridge main span in the world at 4,200 feet (1,300 m) between 1937 (when it opened) and 1964. With its orange paint and panoramic views of the bay, this highway bridge is a popular tourist attraction and also accommodates pedestrians and bicyclists. The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge (often abbreviated the "Bay Bridge"), completed in 1936, transports about 280,000 vehicles per day on two-decks. Its two sections meet at Yerba Buena Island through the world's largest diameter transportation bore tunnel, at 76 feet (23 m) wide by 58 feet (18 m) high.[321] The Arroyo Seco Parkway, connecting Los Angeles and Pasadena, opened in 1940 as the first freeway in the Western United States.[322] It was later extended south to the Four Level Interchange in downtown Los Angeles, regarded as the first stack interchange ever built.[323] Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), the 4th busiest airport in the world in 2018, and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), the 25th busiest airport in the world in 2018, are major hubs for trans-Pacific and transcontinental traffic. There are about a dozen important commercial airports and many more general aviation airports throughout the state. Los Angeles Intl. Airport (LAX) is the 4th busiest airport in the world. The California Highway Patrol is the largest statewide police agency in the United States in employment with more than 10,000 employees. They are responsible for providing any police-sanctioned service to anyone on California's state-maintained highways and on state property. By the end of 2021, 30,610,058 people in California held a California Department of Motor Vehicles-issued driver's licenses or state identification card, and there were 36,229,205 registered vehicles, including 25,643,076 automobiles, 853,368 motorcycles, 8,981,787 trucks and trailers, and 121,716 miscellaneous vehicles (including historical vehicles and farm equipment).[324] Amtrak California's Pacific Surfliner in San Clemente, on the Orange Coast Inter-city rail travel is provided by Amtrak California; the three routes, the Capitol Corridor, Pacific Surfliner, and San Joaquin, are funded by Caltrans. These services are the busiest intercity rail lines in the United States outside the Northeast Corridor and ridership is continuing to set records. The routes are becoming increasingly popular over flying, especially on the LAX-SFO route.[325] Integrated subway and light rail networks are found in Los Angeles (Metro Rail) and San Francisco (MUNI Metro). Light rail systems are also found in San Jose (VTA), San Diego (San Diego Trolley), Sacramento (RT Light Rail), and Northern San Diego County (Sprinter). Furthermore, commuter rail networks serve the San Francisco Bay Area (ACE, BART, Caltrain, SMART), Greater Los Angeles (Metrolink), and San Diego County (Coaster). The California High-Speed Rail Authority was created in 1996 by the state to implement an extensive 800-mile (1,300 km) rail system. Construction was approved by the voters during the November 2008 general election,[326] with the first phase of construction estimated to cost $64.2 billion.[327] Nearly all counties operate bus lines, and many cities operate their own city bus lines as well. Intercity bus travel is provided by Greyhound, Megabus, and Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach. Water Main article: Water in California Lake Shasta, in the Shasta Cascade region, is California's largest reservoir. California's interconnected water system is the world's largest, managing over 40,000,000 acre-feet (49 km3) of water per year, centered on six main systems of aqueducts and infrastructure projects.[328] Water use and conservation in California is a politically divisive issue, as the state experiences periodic droughts and has to balance the demands of its large agricultural and urban sectors, especially in the arid southern portion of the state. The state's widespread redistribution of water also invites the frequent scorn of environmentalists. The California Water Wars, a conflict between Los Angeles and the Owens Valley over water rights, is one of the most well-known examples of the struggle to secure adequate water supplies.[329] Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said: "We've been in crisis for quite some time because we're now 38 million people and not anymore 18 million people like we were in the late 60s. So it developed into a battle between environmentalists and farmers and between the south and the north and between rural and urban. And everyone has been fighting for the last four decades about water."[330] Government and politics The California Capitol in Sacramento, seat of the California government, hosts the California Legislature and the Governor of California. State government Main article: Government of California The capital city of California is Sacramento.[331] The state is organized into three branches of government—the executive branch consisting of the governor[332] and the other independently elected constitutional officers; the legislative branch consisting of the Assembly and Senate;[333] and the judicial branch consisting of the Supreme Court of California and lower courts.[334] The state also allows ballot propositions: direct participation of the electorate by initiative, referendum, recall, and ratification.[335] Before the passage of Proposition 14 in 2010, California allowed each political party to choose whether to have a closed primary or a primary where only party members and independents vote. After June 8, 2010, when Proposition 14 was approved, excepting only the United States president and county central committee offices,[336] all candidates in the primary elections are listed on the ballot with their preferred party affiliation, but they are not the official nominee of that party.[337] At the primary election, the two candidates with the top votes will advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation.[337] If at a special primary election, one candidate receives more than 50% of all the votes cast, they are elected to fill the vacancy and no special general election will be held.[337] Executive branch Main articles: California executive branch, Governor of California, and List of California state agencies The Stanford Mansion is the official reception center for the California government and one of the workplaces of the Governor of California. The California executive branch consists of the governor and seven other elected constitutional officers: lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, state controller, state treasurer, insurance commissioner, and state superintendent of public instruction. They serve four-year terms and may be re-elected only once.[338] The many California state agencies that are under the governor's cabinet are grouped together to form cabinet-level entities that are referred to by government officials as "superagencies". Those departments that are directly under the other independently elected officers work separately from these superagencies.[339][340] Legislative branch Main article: California Legislature The California State Legislature consists of a 40-member Senate and 80-member Assembly.[341] Senators serve four-year terms and Assembly members two. Members of the Assembly are subject to term limits of six terms, and members of the Senate are subject to term limits of three terms. Judicial branch Main article: Judiciary of California The Supreme Court of California is headquartered at the Earl Warren Building (shown) in San Francisco, but also meets in Sacramento and Los Angeles. California's legal system is explicitly based upon English common law[342] but carries many features from Spanish civil law, such as community property. California's prison population grew from 25,000 in 1980 to over 170,000 in 2007.[343] Capital punishment is a legal form of punishment and the state has the largest "Death Row" population in the country (though Oklahoma and Texas are far more active in carrying out executions).[344][345] California has performed 13 executions since 1976, with the last being in 2006.[346] California's judiciary system is the largest in the United States with a total of 1,600 judges (the federal system has only about 840). At the apex is the seven-member Supreme Court of California, while the California Courts of Appeal serve as the primary appellate courts and the California Superior Courts serve as the primary trial courts. Justices of the Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal are appointed by the governor, but are subject to retention by the electorate every 12 years. The administration of the state's court system is controlled by the Judicial Council, composed of the chief justice of the California Supreme Court, 14 judicial officers, four representatives from the State Bar of California, and one member from each house of the state legislature. In fiscal year 2020–2021, the state judiciary's 2,000 judicial officers and 18,000 judicial branch employees processed approximately 4.4 million cases.[347] Local government Main article: Local government in California San Francisco City Hall is the seat of government of the consolidated City and County of San Francisco. California has an extensive system of local government that manages public functions throughout the state. Like most states, California is divided into counties, of which there are 58 (including San Francisco) covering the entire state. Most urbanized areas are incorporated as cities. School districts, which are independent of cities and counties, handle public education. Many other functions, especially in unincorporated areas, are handled by special districts. Counties See also: List of counties in California California is divided into 58 counties. Per Article 11, Section 1, of the Constitution of California, they are the legal subdivisions of the state. The county government provides countywide services such as law enforcement, jails, elections and voter registration, vital records, property assessment and records, tax collection, public health, health care, social services, libraries, flood control, fire protection, animal control, agricultural regulations, building inspections, ambulance services, and education departments in charge of maintaining statewide standards.[348][349] In addition, the county serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas. Each county is governed by an elected board of supervisors.[350] City and town governments See also: List of municipalities in California Los Angeles City Hall, seat of the Government of Los Angeles Incorporated cities and towns in California are either charter or general-law municipalities.[180] General-law municipalities owe their existence to state law and are consequently governed by it; charter municipalities are governed by their own city or town charters. Municipalities incorporated in the 19th century tend to be charter municipalities. All ten of the state's most populous cities are charter cities. Most small cities have a council–manager form of government, where the elected city council appoints a city manager to supervise the operations of the city. Some larger cities have a directly elected mayor who oversees the city government. In many council-manager cities, the city council selects one of its members as a mayor, sometimes rotating through the council membership—but this type of mayoral position is primarily ceremonial. The Government of San Francisco is the only consolidated city-county in California, where both the city and county governments have been merged into one unified jurisdiction. School districts and special districts See also: List of school districts in California Los Angeles Unified School District is the second largest school district in the United States by enrollment. About 1,102 school districts, independent of cities and counties, handle California's public education.[351] California school districts may be organized as elementary districts, high school districts, unified school districts combining elementary and high school grades, or community college districts.[351] There are about 3,400 special districts in California.[352] A special district, defined by California Government Code § 16271(d) as "any agency of the state for the local performance of governmental or proprietary functions within limited boundaries", provides a limited range of services within a defined geographic area. The geographic area of a special district can spread across multiple cities or counties, or could consist of only a portion of one. Most of California's special districts are single-purpose districts, and provide one service. Federal representation Main article: United States congressional delegations from California See also: California's congressional districts Members of the California Congressional Delegation in 2020 The state of California sends 52 members to the House of Representatives,[353] the nation's largest congressional state delegation. Consequently, California also has the largest number of electoral votes in national presidential elections, with 54. The current speaker of the House of Representatives is the representative of California's 20th district, Kevin McCarthy.[354] California is represented by U.S. senators Dianne Feinstein, a native and former mayor of San Francisco, and Alex Padilla, a native and former secretary of state of California. Former U.S. senator Kamala Harris, a native, former district attorney from San Francisco, former attorney general of California, resigned on January 18, 2021, to assume her role as the current Vice President of the United States. In the 1992 U.S. Senate election, California became the first state to elect a Senate delegation entirely composed of women, due to the victories of Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.[355] Set to follow the Vice President-Elect, Gov. Newsom appointed Secretary of State Alex Padilla to finish the rest of Harris's term which ends in 2022, Padilla has vowed to run for the full term in that election cycle. Padilla was sworn in on January 20, 2021, the same day as the inauguration of Joe Biden as well as Harris.[356][357] Armed forces See also: California during World War II View of NAS North Island at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego In California, as of 2009, the U.S. Department of Defense had a total of 117,806 active duty servicemembers of which 88,370 were Sailors or Marines, 18,339 were Airmen, and 11,097 were Soldiers, with 61,365 Department of Defense civilian employees. Additionally, there were a total of 57,792 Reservists and Guardsman in California.[358] In 2010, Los Angeles County was the largest origin of military recruits in the United States by county, with 1,437 individuals enlisting in the military.[359] However, as of 2002, Californians were relatively under-represented in the military as a proportion to its population.[360] In 2000, California, had 2,569,340 veterans of United States military service: 504,010 served in World War II, 301,034 in the Korean War, 754,682 during the Vietnam War, and 278,003 during 1990–2000 (including the Persian Gulf War).[361] As of 2010, there were 1,942,775 veterans living in California, of which 1,457,875 served during a period of armed conflict, and just over four thousand served before World War II (the largest population of this group of any state).[362] California's military forces consist of the Army and Air National Guard, the naval and state military reserve (militia), and the California Cadet Corps. On August 5, 1950, a nuclear-capable United States Air Force Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber carrying a nuclear bomb crashed shortly after takeoff from Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base. Brigadier General Robert F. Travis, command pilot of the bomber, was among the dead.[363] Ideology Main articles: Politics of California and Elections in California See also: Politics of California before 1900 and Political party strength in California California registered voters as of October 24, 2022[364] Party Number of voters Percentage Party registration by county (October 2022):   Democrat ≥ 30%   Democrat ≥ 40%   Democrat ≥ 50%   Republican ≥ 30%   Republican ≥ 40%   Republican ≥ 50% Democratic 10,283,258 46.87% Republican 5,232,094 23.85% No Party Preference 4,943,696 22.53% American Independent 777,152 3.54% Libertarian 231,459 1.05% Peace and Freedom 123,037 0.56% Green 96,229 0.44% Other 253,349 1.16% Total 21,940,274 100% California has an idiosyncratic political culture compared to the rest of the country, and is sometimes regarded as a trendsetter.[365] In socio-cultural mores and national politics, Californians are perceived as more liberal than other Americans, especially those who live in the inland states. In the 2016 United States presidential election, California had the third highest percentage of Democratic votes behind the District of Columbia and Hawaii.[366] In the 2020 United States presidential election, it had the 6th highest behind the District of Columbia, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Hawaii. According to the Cook Political Report, California contains five of the 15 most Democratic congressional districts in the United States. Among the political idiosyncrasies, California was the second state to recall their state governor (the first state being North Dakota in 1921), the second state to legalize abortion, and the only state to ban marriage for gay couples twice by vote (including Proposition 8 in 2008). Voters also passed Proposition 71 in 2004 to fund stem cell research, making California the second state to legalize stem cell research after New Jersey, and Proposition 14 in 2010 to completely change the state's primary election process. California has also experienced disputes over water rights; and a tax revolt, culminating with the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978, limiting state property taxes. California voters have rejected affirmative action on multiple occasions, most recently in November 2020. The state's trend towards the Democratic Party and away from the Republican Party can be seen in state elections. From 1899 to 1939, California had Republican governors. Since 1990, California has generally elected Democratic candidates to federal, state and local offices, including current Governor Gavin Newsom; however, the state has elected Republican Governors, though many of its Republican Governors, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, tend to be considered moderate Republicans and more centrist than the national party. Anti-war protesters and pro-military counterprotesters in Berkeley (2008) Several political movements have advocated for California independence. The California National Party and the California Freedom Coalition both advocate for California independence along the lines of progressivism and civic nationalism.[367] The Yes California movement attempted to organize an independence referendum via ballot initiative for 2019, which was then postponed.[368] The Democrats also now hold a supermajority in both houses of the state legislature. There are 62 Democrats and 18 Republicans in the Assembly; and 32 Democrats and 8 Republicans in the Senate. The trend towards the Democratic Party is most obvious in presidential elections. From 1952 through 1988, California was a Republican leaning state, with the party carrying the state's electoral votes in nine of ten elections, with 1964 as the exception. Southern California Republicans Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan were both elected twice as the 37th and 40th U.S. Presidents, respectively. However, Democrats have won all of California's electoral votes for the last eight elections, starting in 1992. In the United States House, the Democrats held a 34–19 edge in the CA delegation of the 110th United States Congress in 2007. As the result of gerrymandering, the districts in California were usually dominated by one or the other party, and few districts were considered competitive. In 2008, Californians passed Proposition 20 to empower a 14-member independent citizen commission to redraw districts for both local politicians and Congress. After the 2012 elections, when the new system took effect, Democrats gained four seats and held a 38–15 majority in the delegation. Following the 2018 midterm House elections, Democrats won 46 out of 53 congressional house seats in California, leaving Republicans with seven. Occupy Los Angeles movement (2011) In general, Democratic strength is centered in the populous coastal regions of the Los Angeles metropolitan area and the San Francisco Bay Area. Republican strength is still greatest in eastern parts of the state. Orange County had remained largely Republican until the 2016 and 2018 elections, in which a majority of the county's votes were cast for Democratic candidates.[369][370] One study ranked Berkeley, Oakland, Inglewood and San Francisco in the top 20 most liberal American cities; and Bakersfield, Orange, Escondido, Garden Grove, and Simi Valley in the top 20 most conservative cities.[371] In October 2022, out of the 26,876,800 people eligible to vote, 21,940,274 people were registered to vote.[372] Of the people registered, the three largest registered groups were Democrats (10,283,258), Republicans (5,232,094), and No Party Preference (4,943,696).[372] Los Angeles County had the largest number of registered Democrats (2,996,565) and Republicans (958,851) of any county in the state.[372] California retains the death penalty, though it has not been used since 2006.[373] There is currently a gubernatorial hold on executions. Authorized methods of execution include the gas chamber.[374] Twinned regions California has region twinning arrangements with: Catalonia Catalonia, autonomous community of Spain Spain[375] Alberta Alberta, province of Canada Canada[134][376] Jeju Province Jeju Province of South Korea South Korea[377] See also Index of California-related articles Outline of California List of people from California Notes Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan area in the United States (after New York's), with a population of 18.5 million in 2021,[2] encompassing six counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the east, with Los Angeles County in the center, Kern County in the North, and Orange County to the southeast. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Los Angeles–Anaheim–Riverside combined statistical area covers 33,954 square miles (87,940 km2), making it the largest metropolitan region in the United States by land area. Of this, the contiguous urban area is 2,281 square miles (5,910 km2),[1] the remainder mostly consisting of mountain and desert areas. In addition to being the nexus of the global entertainment industry (films, television, and recorded music), Greater Los Angeles is also an important center of international trade, education, media, business, tourism, technology, and sports.[6] It is the 3rd largest metropolitan area by nominal GDP in the world with an economy exceeding $1 trillion in output (behind Tokyo and New York City). There are four contiguous component metropolitan areas in Greater Los Angeles: the Golden Empire that makes up the city of Bakersfield within Kern County; the Inland Empire, which can be broadly defined as Riverside and San Bernardino counties; the Ventura/Oxnard metropolitan area (or Ventura County); and the Los Angeles metropolitan area (also known as Metropolitan Los Angeles or Metro LA)[7] consisting of Los Angeles and Orange counties only. The Census Bureau designates the latter as the Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim metropolitan statistical area, the fourth largest metropolitan area in the western hemisphere and the second-largest metropolitan area in the United States, by population.[8] It has a total area of 4,850 square miles (12,561 km2). San Diego–Tijuana, though contiguous with Greater Los Angeles at San Clemente and Temecula, is not part of it because of the fact that it is separated from Greater Los Angeles by Camp Pendleton north of Oceanside, California located in San Diego County all the way to San Ysidro, California at the American-Mexican border, together both form part of the Southern California Megalopolis while at the southern most point is Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico at the border south from San Ysidro, California. Throughout the 20th century, Greater Los Angeles was one of the fastest-growing regions in the United States, but growth has slowed since 2000. At the 2010 U.S. census, the smaller Los Angeles metro area had a population of nearly 13 million residents. In 2015, the Greater Los Angeles population was estimated to be about 18.7 million,[9] making it the second largest metropolitan region in the country, behind New York, as well as one of the largest megacities in the world.[10][11] Over time, droughts and wildfires have increased in frequency and become less seasonal and more year-round, further straining the region's water security.[12][13][14][15] Definitions The Los Angeles–Long Beach, CA Combined Statistical Area as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.   Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim, CA MSA   Riverside–San Bernardino–Ontario, CA MSA   Oxnard–Thousand Oaks–Ventura, CA MSA Los Angeles metropolitan area The Los Angeles metropolitan area is defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget as the Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA),[16][17] with a 2021 population of 12,997,353.[18] The MSA is in turn made up of two "metropolitan divisions": Los Angeles–Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division, coterminous with Los Angeles County (2021 population 9,829,544) Anaheim–Santa Ana–Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division, coterminous with Orange County (2021 population 3,167,809) The MSA is the most populous metropolitan area in the Western United States and second-most populous in the United States. It has at its core the Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim urban area, which had a population of 12,237,376 as of the 2020 census.[19] Greater Los Angeles The U.S. Census Bureau also defines a wider commercial region based on commuting patterns or megalopolis, the Los Angeles–Long Beach, CA Combined Statistical Area (CSA), more commonly known as the Greater Los Angeles Area, with an estimated population of 18,490,242 in 2021.[18] The total land area of the CSA is 33,955 sq. mi (87,945 km2). The CSA consists of three component metropolitan areas: The Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim, CA MSA (2021 pop. 12,997,353) The Oxnard–Thousand Oaks–Ventura, CA MSA, coterminous with Ventura County (2021 pop. 839,784) The Riverside–San Bernardino–Ontario, CA MSA (2021 pop. 4,653,105), consisting of: Riverside County, California (2021 pop. 2,458,395) San Bernardino County, California (2021 pop. 2,194,710) History Main article: History of Los Angeles Nearly all of the metropolitan area of Greater Los Angeles is located within the homelands of the Tongva, otherwise referred to as Tovaangar.[20][21] Geography See also: Southern California § Geology Urban form Many areas are completely filled with houses, buildings, roads, and freeways as observed in Vermont Vista, a Los Angeles neighborhood. If Los Angeles includes the urbanized area of the San Diego – Tijuana urban area and the urbanized areas of the IE and Santa Barbara, the greater Los Angeles – San Diego region has a solid urban landmass of 9,058 square miles (23,460 km2). This makes the urbanized area revolving around Los Angeles and San Diego the biggest solid urban landmass in the world, surpassing Tokyo, New Delhi, and cities in the Pearl River Delta. Los Angeles has long been famous for its sprawl, but this has to do more with its status in history as the "poster child" of large cities that grew up with suburban-style patterns of development, rather than how it ranks in sprawl among American metro areas today, now that suburban and exurban-style development is present across the country.[22] The Los Angeles–Orange County metro area was the most densely populated "urbanized area" (as defined by the United States Census Bureau) in the United States in 2000, with 7,068 inhabitants per square mile (2,729/km2).[23] For comparison, the "New York–Newark" Urbanized Area had a population density of 5,309 per square mile (2,050/km2). Los Angeles' reputation for sprawl is due to the fact that the city grew from relative obscurity to one of the country's ten largest cities (i.e. 10th largest city in 1920), at a time when suburban patterns of growth first became possible due to electric streetcars and automobiles. The city was also the first large American city where, in the 1920s, major clusters of regional employment, shopping, and culture were already being built outside the traditional downtown areas – in edge cities such as Mid-Wilshire, Miracle Mile and Hollywood. This pattern of growth continued ever outward, more so when the freeway system was built starting in the 1950s; thus Greater Los Angeles was the earliest large American metropolitan area with a decentralized structure. Its major commercial, financial, and cultural institutions are geographically dispersed rather than being concentrated in a single downtown or central area. Also, the population density of Los Angeles proper is low (approximately 8,300 people per square mile) when compared to some other large American cities such as New York City (27,500), San Francisco (17,000), Boston (13,300), and Chicago (11,800).[24] Densities are particularly high within a 5-mile radius of downtown, where some neighborhoods exceed 20,000 people per square mile.[25] What gives the entire Los Angeles metro region a high density is the fact that many of the city's suburbs and satellite cities have high density rates.[26] Within its urbanized areas, Los Angeles is noted for having small lot sizes and low-rise buildings. Buildings in the area are low when compared to other large cities, mainly due to zoning regulations. Los Angeles became a major city just as the Pacific Electric Railway spread population to smaller cities much as interurbans did in East Coast cities. In the first decades of the twentieth century, the area was marked by a network of fairly dense but separate cities linked by rail. The ascendance of the automobile helped fill in the gaps between these commuter towns with lower-density settlements.[27] Starting in the early twentieth century, there was a large growth in population on the western edges of the city moving to the San Fernando Valley and out into the Conejo Valley in eastern Ventura County. Many working-class whites migrated to this area during the 1960s and 1970s out of East and Central Los Angeles.[28] As a result, there was a large growth in population into the Conejo Valley and into Ventura County through the US 101 corridor. Making the US 101 a full freeway in the 1960s and expansions that followed helped make commuting to Los Angeles easier and opened the way for development westward. Development in Ventura County and along the US 101 corridor remains controversial, with open-space advocates battling those who feel business development is necessary to economic growth.[29] Although the area still has abundant amount of open space and land, almost all of it was put aside and mandated never to be developed as part of the master plan of each city. Because of this, the area which was once a relatively inexpensive area to buy real estate, saw rising real estate prices well into the 2000s.[30] Median home prices in the Conejo Valley for instance, ranged from $700,000 to $2.2 million in 2003.[31] According to Forbes, "it's nearly impossible" to find reasonably priced real estate in California, and the prices will continue to increase.[32] The Los Angeles area continues to grow, principally on the periphery where new, cheaper, undeveloped areas are being sought.[33] As such, in these areas, populations as well as housing prices exploded, although the housing bubble popped late in the decade of the 2000s. Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, which contain large swaths of desert, attracted most of the population increase between 2000 and 2006. Growth continues not only outside the existing urbanized area but also adjacent to existing development in the central areas.[34] As in virtually all US core cities, there is now vigorous residential development in the downtown area with both new buildings and renovation of former office buildings. The Los Angeles Downtown News keeps a list of ongoing development projects, updated every quarter.[35] Downtown Los Angeles Changes in house prices for the area are publicly tracked on a regular basis using the Case–Shiller index; the statistic is published by Standard & Poor's and is also a component of S&P's 10-city composite index of the value of the residential real estate market. Major business districts and edge cities Greater Los Angeles has numerous traditional downtowns or central business districts, the largest being Downtown Los Angeles. Other important ones are Downtown Long Beach, downtown Pasadena, downtown Glendale, and downtown Burbank, and – with their county, state and federal government facilities – Downtown Santa Ana, Downtown Anaheim, Downtown Riverside, Downtown San Bernardino, downtown Irvine, and downtown Ontario. However, most of the commercial activity (office space, retail, hotels, entertainment) is found outside traditional downtowns, among the suburban-style development in clusters known as edge cities. In fact, the Los Angeles area is considered the classic example of a metropolitan area that developed in this pattern, because it did so early in history, starting in the 1920s, and was the city to enter into the top ten of American cities while growing in this pattern.[36] Identity Employment is not only in the downtown area, but consistently occurs outside the central core. As such, many people commute throughout the city and suburbs in various directions for their work and daily activities, with a large portion heading to the municipalities that are outside the city of Los Angeles.[37] Unlike most metropolitan areas, regional identity remains a contentious issue in the Greater Los Angeles area, with many residents not acknowledging any association with the region as a whole. For example, while Los Angeles County and Orange County together make up the smaller MSA region, the two host many sub-areas that each have sharp demographic, political, and financial distinctions. South Orange County residents often attempt to be identified apart from Los Angeles although they make up the same metropolitan area. Also, while only 1.63% of Los Angeles residents commute to Orange County for work, over 6% of Orange County commuters head to Los Angeles for work.[38] Western Riverside County and San Bernardino County have become commuter regions characteristic of other suburban counties throughout the nation. Residents in these counties often commute to Los Angeles County and Orange County for employment.[39] Component counties, subregions, and cities Los Angeles Basin at dawn Los Angeles County Main article: Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, of which Los Angeles is the county seat, is the most populous county in the United States and is home to over a quarter of all California residents.[40] The large size of the city of Los Angeles, as well as its history of annexing smaller towns, has made city boundaries in the central area of Los Angeles County quite complicated.[41] Many cities are completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles and are often included in the city's areas despite being independent municipalities. For example, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills (which is almost completely surrounded by Los Angeles) are considered part of the Westside, while Hawthorne and Inglewood are associated with South L.A. Adjacent areas that are outside the actual city boundaries of incorporated Los Angeles but border the city itself include the Santa Clarita Valley, the San Gabriel Valley, South Bay, and the Gateway Cities. Despite the large footprint of the city of Los Angeles, a majority of the land area within Los Angeles County is unincorporated and under the primary jurisdiction of Los Angeles County. Much of this land, however, cannot be easily developed due to planning challenges presented by geographic features such as the Santa Monica Mountains, the San Gabriel Mountains, and the Mojave Desert. Actual land development in these regions occurs on the fringes of incorporated cities, some of which have been fully developed, such as the cities of Palmdale and Lancaster. Subregions in Los Angeles County While there is not official designation for the regions that comprise Greater Los Angeles, one authority, the Los Angeles Times, divides the area into the following regions:[42] Angeles Forest Antelope Valley Central L.A. (Downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, Mid-Wilshire, etc.) Eastside Gateway Cities/Harbor Area Northeast L.A. (Highland Park, Eagle Rock, etc.) Northwest L.A. County (including the Santa Clarita Valley) Pomona Valley (partially in San Bernardino County) San Fernando Valley San Gabriel Valley Santa Monica Mountains (Malibu, Topanga, etc.) South Bay (incl. Palos Verdes Peninsula, Beach Cities) South Los Angeles Southeast Los Angeles County (including Norwalk and Whittier, see Gateway Cities) The Verdugos (including Glendale, Pasadena and the Crescenta Valley) Westside Some of the above areas can be defined as being bounded by natural features such as mountains or the ocean; others are marked by city boundaries, freeways, or other constructed landmarks. For example, Downtown Los Angeles is the area of Los Angeles roughly enclosed by three freeways and one river: the Harbor Freeway (SR 110) to the west, the Santa Ana Freeway (US 101) to the north, the Los Angeles River to the east, and the Santa Monica Freeway (I-10) to the south.[43] Meanwhile, the San Fernando Valley ("The Valley") is defined as the basin consisting of the part of Los Angeles and its suburbs that lie north-northwest of downtown and is ringed by mountains.[44] Edge cities in Los Angeles County Central and Western area Beverly Hills/Century City LAX/El Segundo[36] Marina Del Rey/Culver City[36] Mid-Wilshire[36] Miracle Mile[36] San Fernando Valley Burbank/North Hollywood[36] Sherman Oaks/Van Nuys, Los Angeles[36] Warner Center, Los Angeles/West Valley[36] West Los Angeles Elsewhere in Los Angeles County Pasadena[36] South Bay/Torrance/Carson[36] South Valley/Covina (emerging edge city as of 1991)[36] Santa Clarita (emerging edge city as of 1991)[36] Cities in Los Angeles County With a population of nearly 3.9 million people at the 2020 census, the City of Los Angeles is the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, and is the focal point of the Greater Los Angeles Area.[45] As an international center for finance, entertainment, media, culture, education, tourism, and science, Los Angeles is considered one of the world's most powerful and influential global cities.[46] List of cities with populations of 50,000 or more at the 2020 U.S. census: Los Angeles (3,898,747) Long Beach (466,742) Santa Clarita (228,673) Glendale (196,543) Lancaster (173,516) Palmdale (169,450) Pomona (151,713) Torrance (147,067) Pasadena (138,699) Downey (114,355) West Covina (109,501) El Monte (109,450) Inglewood (107,762) Burbank (107,337) Norwalk (102,773) Compton (95,740) Carson (95,558) Santa Monica (93,076) South Gate (92,726) Hawthorne (88,083) Whittier (87,306) Alhambra (82,868) Lakewood (82,496) Bellflower (79,190) Baldwin Park (72,176) Redondo Beach (71,576) Lynwood (67,265) Montebello (62,640) Pico Rivera (62,088) Monterey Park (61,096) Gardena (61,027) Arcadia (56,681) Monrovia (37,931) Diamond Bar (55,072) Hacienda Heights (54,191) Paramount (53,733) Glendora (52,558) Covina (51,268) Rosemead (51,185) Azusa (50,000) Orange County Main article: Orange County, California Aerial view of Newport Beach in Orange County Orange County was originally an agricultural area dependent on citrus crops, avocados, and oil extraction, and became a bedroom community for Los Angeles when I–5, the Santa Ana Freeway, linked it to the city in the 1950s. The growth of Los Angeles initially fueled population growth in Orange County, but by the 1970s it had become an important economic center in its own right, with tourism and electronics industries, among others. Today, Orange County is known for its tourist attractions, such as Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, its several pristine beaches and coastline, and its wealthier areas, featured in television shows such as The O.C. No one of the original downtowns serves as the central urban core for the county, but there are important clusters of business and culture in Downtown Santa Ana and in three edge cities: the Anaheim–Santa Ana edge city from Disneyland to the Orange Crush interchange (Orange, Santa Ana), the South Coast Plaza–John Wayne Airport edge city (Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, Irvine), and Irvine's Spectrum edge city. Orange County is sometimes figuratively divided into "North County" and "South County", with North Orange County including cities such as Anaheim, Fullerton, and Santa Ana, and is the older, more ethnically diverse and more densely built-up area closer to Los Angeles. South County, defined variously as beginning with either Costa Mesa[47] or Irvine[48] and includes cities to the east and south such as Laguna Beach, Mission Viejo, Newport Beach, and San Clemente, is more residential, affluent, recently developed, and has a mostly white population. Irvine is an exception, as it is a center of employment and is ethnically diverse. A growing alternative dividing marker between north and south is the El Toro Y interchange. Orange Coast or South Coast area is defined instead, consisting of some or all of the cities lining the coast. Subregions in Orange County North Orange County South Orange County Edge cities in Orange County Anaheim–Santa Ana edge city[36] Fullerton/La Habra/Brea (emerging edge city as of 1991)[36] Irvine Spectrum[36] Newport Center/Fashion Island (emerging edge city as of 1991)[36] San Clemente/Laguna Niguel (emerging edge city as of 1991)[36] South Coast Plaza–John Wayne Airport edge city[36] Westminster/Huntington Beach[36] Cities in Orange County Cities in Orange County with a population of 50,000 or more at the 2020 census: Anaheim (346,824) Santa Ana (310,227) Irvine (307,670) Huntington Beach (198,711) Garden Grove (171,949) Fullerton (143,617) Orange (139,911) Costa Mesa (111,918) Mission Viejo (93,653) Westminster (90,911) Lake Forest (85,858) Newport Beach (85,239) Buena Park (84,034) Tustin (80,276) Yorba Linda (68,336) Laguna Niguel (64,355) San Clemente (64,293) La Habra (63,097) Fountain Valley (57,047) Aliso Viejo (52,176) Placentia (51,824) Cypress (50,151) Inland Empire San Bernardino Valley Main article: Inland Empire (California) The Inland Empire, consisting of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, contains fast-growing suburbs of the region, with a large to majority percentage of the working population commuting to either Los Angeles or Orange Counties for work. Originally an important center for citrus production, the region became an important industrial area by the early 20th century.[49][50][51] The Inland Empire also became a key transportation center following the completion of Route 66, and later Interstate 10. With the post-World War II economic boom leading to rapid development in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, land developers bulldozed acres of agricultural land to build suburbs in order to accommodate the Los Angeles area's expanding population.[49] The development of a regional freeway system facilitated the expansion of suburbs and human migration linking the Inland Empire and rest of Greater Los Angeles. Despite being primarily suburban, the Inland Empire is also home to important warehousing, shipping, logistics and retail industries, centered on the subregion's major cities of Riverside, San Bernardino and Ontario. While the Inland Empire is sometimes defined as the entirety of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, the eastern undeveloped, desert portions of these counties are not considered to be part of Greater Los Angeles. The state of California defines this area to include the cities of Adelanto, Apple Valley, and Victorville to the north, the Riverside–San Diego county line to the south, and the towns of Anza, Idyllwild, and Lucerne Valley, along with the San Bernardino National Forest to the east.[52] Additionally, the southwest portion of Riverside County, centered on the city of Temecula is more economically linked to San Diego county, with its growth largely being driven by migrants from San Diego seeking more affordable housing similar to how northwestern Riverside county's growth was driven by migrants from Orange County and Los Angeles seeking more affordable housing.[53][54] However, with clear northern and southern limits to expansion, the region's urban eastern boundaries have become increasingly nebulous as suburban sprawl continues to spread out to form a unified whole with Los Angeles, with further development encroaching past the San Bernardino and San Jacinto Mountains and into the outlying desert areas. As a result, the regional definition of Greater Los Angeles can now be extended to include Barstow and surrounding towns in the northeast, the Morongo Basin in the east-central including Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms, and the Coachella Valley cities in the southeast. This interconnectivity, provided by one of the most extensive freeway systems in the world, as well as economic, social and media ties, has blended boundaries between these regions and the urbanized Los Angeles and Inland Empire areas.[55] Subregions in the Inland Empire High Desert (includes Antelope Valley in Los Angeles County plus Victor Valley and Morongo Basin) Low Desert (Coachella Valley, Palm Springs and Palm Desert area) San Bernardino Mountains (Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake area) Northwest Riverside County (Corona, Norco, Jurupa Valley, and Riverside area) Moreno Valley (Moreno Valley and Perris) Pomona Valley (Pomona, Rancho Cucamonga, Chino, Eastvale, Upland, Claremont, Montclair, La Verne and Ontario area. Partially in Los Angeles County) San Bernardino Valley (San Bernardino, Fontana, Rialto, Colton, Loma Linda, Highland, and Redlands area) San Gorgonio Pass (Banning, Yucaipa, Calimesa, and Beaumont area) San Jacinto Valley (Hemet and San Jacinto area) Temecula Valley (Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Murrieta, Wildomar, and Temecula area) Edge cities in the Inland Empire Ontario Airport/Rancho Cucamonga[36] Riverside (emerging edge city as of 1991)[36] San Bernardino (emerging edge city as of 1991)[36] Cities in the Inland Empire List of cities with populations of 50,000 or more at the 2020 U.S. census: Riverside (314,998) San Bernardino (222,101) Moreno Valley (208,634) Fontana (208,393) Ontario (175,265) Rancho Cucamonga (174,453) Corona (157,136) Pomona (151,713) Victorville (134,810) Murrieta (110,949) Temecula (110,003) Jurupa Valley (105,053) Rialto (104,026) Menifee (102,527) Hesperia (99,818) Chino (91,403) Hemet (89,833) Indio (89,137) Upland (79,040) Perris (78,700) Chino Hills (78,411) Apple Valley (75,791) Redlands (73,168) Lake Elsinore (70,265) Eastvale (69,757) Highland (56,999) Yucaipa (54,542) Colton (53,909) San Jacinto (53,898) Beaumont (53,036) Cathedral City (51,493) Palm Desert (51,163) Sparsely populated areas in the Inland Empire While the above areas are included in the regional definition of Greater Los Angeles, the U.S. Census Bureau defines Greater Los Angeles, or officially, the Los Angeles-Long Beach Combined Statistical Area, to include both the above-mentioned areas along with the entirety of San Bernardino and Riverside counties.[56] These areas are sparsely developed and are part of the Mojave and Colorado Deserts. To the north, Interstate 15 crosses desolate desert landscape after passing Barstow, linking Greater Los Angeles with Las Vegas, with Baker being the only significant outpost along the route. To the east, lie the Mojave National Preserve and Joshua Tree National Park along with the towns of Needles and Blythe on the California-
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