Southern California
Southern California, sometimes abbreviated SoCal or colloquially, the Southland, 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.
Encyclopedia
Southern California, sometimes abbreviated
SoCal or colloquially, the
Southland, 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 and three of the world's largest metropolitan areas. 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 County,
Ventura County,
San Bernardino County,
Riverside County,
Orange County, and
San Diego County, 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 the
five University of California campuses ,
University of Southern California ,
University of San Diego,
Loyola Marymount University,
Claremont Colleges ,
Pepperdine University,
Cal Tech, , and
eleven California State University 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 capital of the world and is home to
Hollywood, the motion picture industry center. Headquartered in Southern California are
The Walt Disney Company ,
Sony Pictures,
Paramount Pictures ,
Twentieth Century Fox and
Warner Brothers, and as well as
Univision,
Activision, and
THQ.
More controversially, 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 , either permanently or temporarily. Two of the world's biggest auto companies,
Toyota and
Nissan, were rooted here . The Nissan Skyline, a neo-American sports vehicle beloved by American and Asian racing enthusiasts, was partially built 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".
- Using the San Gabriel Mountain range as the boundary, the following six counties are included: Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura, and Imperial.
- Using the Tehachapi Mountain range as the key to a northern boundary, the southern parts of Santa Barbara and Kern Counties should be included. The city of Santa Barbara is widely held to be in Southern California, due to the mild climate and the westerward alignment of the coastline, but Bakersfield
| align="center" colspan="2" |
City nickname [i]:"California's Country Music Capital" ...
and most of Kern County are usually regarded as a part of the
Central Valley.
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 . 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 1980's and 1990's.
Regions
Major cities
All population information is from the 2005 estimate of the
State of California.
| align="center" colspan=2 | |-
...
- 106,739
- Chula Vista - 217,543
- Pasadena - 146,166
- Glendale - 207,007
- Irvine - 180,803
- Long Beach - 491,564
- Los Angeles - 3,957,875
- Oceanside - 175,085
- Ontario - 170,373
- Oxnard - 188,849
- Palmdale
| align="center" colspan="2" |
City nickname [i]:"Aerospace Capital of America" ...
- 136,734
* - Although Bob Hope Airport is within the city limits of Burbank, it is under the authority of the cities of Pasadena, Burbank and Glendale.** - John Wayne Airport, which serves all of Orange County, is actually located in unincorporated territory.Principal cities
Fontana is a city in the desert ofSan Bernardino County [i] ...
- 160,015
| County [i]
| Riverside County, California [i]
...
- 165,328
- Norwalk - 110,178
- Oceanside - 161,029
- Orange - 137,751
- Pasadena- 146,166
- Pomona - 160,815
- Rancho Cucamonga - 161,830
- Santa Clarita - 167,954
- Simi Valley - 121,427
- South Gate - 102,165
- Thousand Oaks - 127,112
- Torrance
...
- 147,405
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 and the larger, more sparsly populated, desert Inland Empire . 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
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The
Los Angeles Basin is the coastal sediment [i]-filled plain located between the peninsular [i] ...
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Transportation
Southern California Airport System
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Southern California Freeway System
Interstate HighwaysU.S. Highway system 
