Southern California

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This article is about the region of Southern California. For the university, see University of Southern California.
For the urban complex straddling the United States-Mexico border, see Bajalta California.
Downtown Los Angeles Skyline
Downtown Los Angeles Skyline

Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal or the South Land, 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. Counties usually associated with Southern California are Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Imperial, and in some cases Santa Barbara. 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 the 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.

Southern California
Southern California

Contents

[edit] Significance

The famous Hollywood sign, a symbol of the city's world famous entertainment culture
The famous Hollywood sign, a symbol of the city's world famous entertainment culture

Within its boundaries are two world cities (Los Angeles and San Diego) and three of the world's largest metropolitan areas.[citation needed] 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 3rd busiest airport in the United States by passenger volume and the 2nd by international passenger volume, 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, and the adjacent Port of Long Beach. Also of note in the region is the 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.

The Tech Coast is a moniker that has gained use as a descriptor for the region's diversified technology and industrial base as well as its multitude of research universities and other public and private R&D institutions 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, Chapman 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).

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, Universal, MGM, Paramount Pictures (parent company of Dreamworks), 20th Century Fox and Warner Brothers, and as well as Univision, Activision, and THQ.

Besides the entertainment industry, Southern California is also home to a huge surf and skateboard culture. Companies such as Volcom, Quicksilver, Lost Enterprises, Sector 9, Ruca, and Surfline are all headquartered here. Pro skateboarder Tony Hawk, pro surfers Rob Machado, Tom Curran, and Pat O'Connell, as well as pro snowboarder Shaun White live in Southern California. Some of the world's legendary surf spots are here, including Trestles, Rincon, The Wedge, Huntington Beach, and Malibu, and it is second only to the island of Oahu in terms of famous surf breaks. Brand name skate parks including the Vans Skate Park in Orange, the Etnies Park in Lake Forest, and the YMCA Skate Park in Encinitas are in Southern California. Some of the world's biggest extreme sports events including the X Games, Boost Mobile Pro, and the US Open of Surfing are all in Southern California.[verification needed]

Southern California is also home to the world's largest adult entertainment industry, located primarily in the San Fernando Valley. More than 85% of adult film and video production in North America takes place in Southern California.

Southern California is home to Fox Sports Net. From high school sports to professional, SoCal numbers many successful sports franchises. Teams located in 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, Chivas USA, Los Angeles Riptide, and San Diego Chargers. Southern California hosts the UCLA Bruins, the USC Trojans, and the SDSU Aztecs.

With inhabitants from all over the world, Southern California has pioneered many subcultures, including the hippie movement, and music movements such as skate punk, hardcore punk, and West Coast Rap with its gangster/"g-funk" style. The underground scene of Los Angeles is renowned and draws many artists. Record executives have their ears open for what is hip in the scene because they realize the influence L.A. 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 spread across the country. Lowriders, MiniTrucks, and Sport Compact tuning have all been popular with Southern California car lovers.

Many auto companies have also been stationed here. Toyota and Nissan may have been 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).

[edit] Northern boundary

Tehachapi Mountains
Tehachapi Mountains

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 because land north of the San Gabriel Mountain Range but south of the Tehachapi Mountain Range is largely 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".

[edit] Northern vs. Southern California conflict

Further information: Northern California-Southern California rivalry

[edit] 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 are in turn comprised of 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 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.

[edit] Regions

[edit] Major cities

All population information is from the 2005 estimate of the State of California.

Downtown San Diego
Downtown San Diego

[edit] Principal cities (over 100,000 inhabitants)

Ventura City Hall in Old Town Ventura
Ventura City Hall in Old Town Ventura
Downtown Santa Monica
Downtown Santa Monica

[edit] 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.

[edit] ZIP Codes

See Southern California Zip Codes

[edit] 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.

[edit] Geographic features

View from La Jolla Cove in San Diego
View from La Jolla Cove in San Diego
Summits in the eastern San Gabriel Mountains, Angeles National Forest, San Bernardino County
Summits in the eastern San Gabriel Mountains, Angeles National Forest, San Bernardino County
Coachella Valley Preserve in the Colorado Desert in Riverside County
Coachella Valley Preserve in the Colorado Desert in Riverside County
Sunset in Santa Monica
Sunset in Santa Monica

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Airports

[edit] Freeways

Main article: Southern California freeways

Interstate Highways

U.S. Highway system

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California State Routes

Note: highway segments with names listed in italics are surface streets and not freeways.

[edit] Major public transit organizations

[edit] Metrolink commuter lines

Main article: Metrolink (Southern California)

[edit] Communication

[edit] Telephone area codes

Map of major Southern California area codes
Map of major Southern California area codes

[edit] Sports Teams

[edit] MLB

[edit] NBA

[edit] NFL

[edit] NHL

[edit] MLS

[edit] See also

[edit] External links


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