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Southern California, sometimes abbreviated SoCal, is an informal name for the megalopolis and nearby desert that occupies the southern-most quarter of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people, and is the nation's second most populated region, behind only the BosWash Region in the Eastern United States. There are no clear, exact boundaries for this area; instead, residents rely on physical features to establish the boundary. On the west is the Pacific Ocean; to the south is the international border between the United States and Mexico; to the east are the Mojave and Colorado Deserts and the Colorado River at the state's border with Arizona and Nevada. To the north is the Tehachapi Mountain range, located about 70 miles north of Los Angeles, which separates the region from rest of the state. However, the tremendous growth of Southern California has led to explosive growth in outlying regions, namely the Bakersfield, Las Vegas, and Phoenix areas, and many now consider even those extreme regions a part of the Southern California megalopolis. Significance Within its boundaries are two world cities (Los Angeles and San Diego) and three of the world's largest metropolitan areas. Its counties of Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino, and Riverside are in the top 15 most populous counties in the United States. The region is also home to Los Angeles International Airport, the United States' number one international gateway and 3rd busiest airport overall, Van Nuys Airport, the world's busiest general aviation airport, Ontario International Airport, John Wayne International Airport, and San Diego International Airport. Southern California is also home to the Port of Los Angeles, the United States' busiest commercial port. Also of note in the region is the infamous Los Angeles Freeway System, the world's busiest. 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: the nation's first suburb-to-suburb commuter rail line. Southern California is also home to some of the world's most prestigious universites and research facilities, such as five University of California campuses (Los Angeles (UCLA), Irvine, Riverside, Santa Barbara, and San Diego campuses), the University of Southern California (USC), the University of San Diego, Loyola Marymount University, the Claremont Colleges (Claremont McKenna, Pomona, Pitzer, Scripps, Harvey Mudd), Pepperdine University, Cal Tech, and eleven California State University campuses (Bakersfield, Channel Islands, Fullerton, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Pomona, Northridge, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, and San Marcos campuses). The Tech Coast is a moniker that has gained popular use as a descriptor for the region's diversified technology and industrial base as well as its multitude of research universities and other public and private R&D institutions. Southern California is the entertainment (motion picture, television, and recorded music) capital of the world and is home to Hollywood, the motion picture industry center. Headquartered in Southern California are The Walt Disney Company (which also owns ABC), Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures (parent company of Dreamworks), 20th Century Fox and Warner Brothers, and as well as Univision, Activision, and THQ. Southern California is also home to the world's largest adult entertainment industry, located primarily in the San Fernando Valley. More than eighty-five percent of all adult film and video production in North America takes place in Southern California. Southern California is also the sports and fitness capital of the world, and is home to Fox Sports Net. From high school sports to professional, SoCal numbers some of the most storied and successful sports franchises. Teams located within the region include the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Galaxy, C.D. Chivas USA, Los Angeles Riptide, and San Diego Chargers. Southern California also boasts one of the most successful college football programs, the USC Trojans, and, as measured by national championships won, one of the best college basketball programs in the UCLA Bruins. With inhabitants that have come from every corner of the world, Southern California has had a major hand in pioneering many different subcultures, including the hippie movement, and music movements such as hardcore punk and conscious underground hip-hop. The underground scene of Los Angeles is renowned worldwide and draws artists who seek recognition. Record executives have their ears open for what is hip in the scene because they realize the tremendous influence the L.A. underground has on the world's culture. Southern California is also known for its car culture. The concept of Hot Rodding had its roots in SoCal. The first organized drag racing event took place there and infiltrated throughout the entire country. Lowriders, MiniTrucks, and Sport Compact tuning have all been kickstarted by Southern California car lovers. Many auto companies have also been stationed here (or least built something here), either permanently or temporarily. Two of the world's biggest auto companies, Toyota and Nissan, were rooted here (though it's true for both companies about 85% of production and administration have gone to Japan, and their parent companies were Japanese). The Nissan Skyline, a neo-American sports vehicle beloved by American and Asian racing enthusiasts, was partially built (or least assembled) in Santa Monica from 1953 until 2002. Northern boundary The region's northern boundary is subject to a broader degree of interpretation than those of the West, East, and South. The most commonly used "physical" boundary between Southern California and the rest of the state is the Tehachapi Mountain range, located about 70 miles north of Los Angeles. A less inclusive boundary is the San Gabriel Mountain range, located 10 to 30 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, but this boundary is generally not accepted due to the fact that land north of the San Gabriel Mountain Range but south of the Tehachapi Mountain Range is still inside Los Angeles County. Depending on which of the two mountain ranges is used for the northern boundary of the region, different communities/cities and counties are included in, or excluded from, the area called "Southern California". Northern vs. Southern California conflict Urban landscape Southern California is a heavily developed urban environment. It is the second largest urbanized region in the United States, second only to the Washington, D.C./Philadelphia/New York/Boston megalopolis (BosWash). Whereas the BosWash cities are dense, with major downtown populations and significant rail and transit systems, much of SoCal is famous for its large, spread-out, suburban communities and use of automobiles and highways. The dominant areas are Los Angeles, San Diego, and Orange County, each of which is the center of its respective metropolitan area, which all comprise numerous other cities and communities. Traveling south on Interstate 5, the main gap to continued urbanization is Camp Pendleton. The communities along Interstate 15 and Interstate 215 are so inter-related that Temecula has as much connection with San Diego County as it does with the Inland Empire. To the east, the United States Census Bureau considers the San Bernardino and Riverside County areas as a separate metropolitan area from Los Angeles County. While many do commute to LA and Orange Counties, there are some differences in development, as most of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties was developed in the 1980s and 1990s. Major cities All population information is from the 2005 estimate of the State of California. Principal cities (over 100,000 inhabitants) Counties South of the San Gabriel mountains North of the San Gabriel mountains Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura are also counties in the Central Coast. ZIP Codes See Southern California Zip Codes Geographical regions Southern California is also divided into the Coastal Region (Orange County, Los Angeles County, San Diego County, Santa Barbara County, and Ventura County) and the larger, more sparsely populated, desert Inland Empire (San Bernardino County, Riverside County, and Imperial County). The division between the Coastal Regions and the Inland Empire winds along the backs of the coastal mountain ranges such as the Santa Ana Mountains. A related geographical term is cismontane Southern California, which refers to the portion of California on the coastal side of the Transverse and Peninsular mountain ranges. The term "Southern California" often refers to this region specifically, as opposed to largely desert areas comprising the rest of the southern portion of the state, which are referred to as transmontane Southern California. Geographic features
Southern California Airport System Southern California Freeway System Interstate Highways U.S. Highway system California State Routes Note: highway segments with names listed in italics are surface streets and not freeways. Major public transit organizations Metrolink commuter lines Telephone area codes | |||||||||
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