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Southern California
—  Megaregion of the U.S.  —
Southern California Images top from bottom, left to right: San Diego Skyline, Downtown Los Angeles, Village of La Jolla, Santa Monica Pier, Surfer at Black's Beach, Hollywood Sign, Disneyland, Hermosa Beach Pier
The Southern California megaregion. To the North is the Northern California megaregion while to the east is the Arizona Sun Corridor.
Country	USA
State	California
Largest City	Los Angeles

Southern California (SoCal) is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego. The United States - Mexico border makes up the southern border. Southern California is a major economic center for the state of California and the nation.

Southern California's population encompasses five metropolitan, or MSA, areas: Los Angeles County and Orange County together make up the Los Angeles metropolitan area; the Inland Empire consists of such cities as Riverside, Ontario, and San Bernardino; the San Diego metropolitan area; the Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura metro area; and the El Centro area. Out of these, three are heavy populated areas; the Los Angeles area with over 12 million inhabitants, the Riverside-San Bernardino area with over 4 million inhabitants, and the San Diego area with over 3 million inhabitants. For CSA metropolitan purposes, the five counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura are all combined to make up the Los Angeles metropolitan area; with San Diego as Southern California's other CSA metropolitan area. With over 22 million people, roughly 60% of California's population resides in Southern California.

To the east of Southern California are the Colorado Desert and the Colorado River at the border with the state of Arizona, and the Mojave Desert at the border with the state of Nevada. To the south lies the international border with Mexico, and to the west lies the Pacific Ocean. With combined surface area of 56,512 sq mi, Southern California alone is bigger than England.

Significance[link]

San Diego Marina district

Sunset in Venice, a district 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.^[1] With a population of 3,792,621, Los Angeles is the most populous city in California and the second most populous in the United States. Just to the south and with a population of 1,307,402 is San Diego, the second most populous city in the state and the eighth most populous in the nation.

Its counties of Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino, and Riverside are in the top 15 most populous counties in the United States and all five are the top 5 most populous counties in California.^[2] The region is also 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 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 Orange County, Ontario, Burbank and Long Beach; and numerous smaller commercial and general aviation airports. Southern California is also home to the Port of Los Angeles, the United States' busiest commercial port, the adjacent Port of Long Beach, the United States' second busiest container port, and the Port of San Diego. Also of note in the region is the freeway system, which is 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.

University of California, Santa Barbara

The Tech Coast is a moniker that has gained use as a descriptor for the region's diversified technology and industrial base as well as its multitude of prestigious and world-renowned research universities and other public and private institutions. Amongst these include 5 University of California campuses (Irvine, Los Angeles, Riverside, Santa Barbara, and San Diego); 11 California State University campuses (Channel Islands, Dominguez Hills, Fullerton, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Northridge, Pomona, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Marcos, and San Luis Obispo); as well as private institutions such as the California Institute of Technology, Chapman University, Claremont Consortium of Colleges, Loma Linda University, Loyola Marymount University, Pepperdine University, University of San Diego, and the University of Southern California.

Universal Studios at Hollywood

Southern California is also the entertainment (motion picture, television, and recorded music) capital of the world^{[citation needed]} and is home to Hollywood, a district in Los Angeles and a name associated with the motion picture industry. Headquartered in Southern California are The Walt Disney Company (which also owns ABC), Sony Pictures, Universal, MGM, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Warner Brothers.

Besides the entertainment industry, Southern California is also home to a large home grown surf and skateboard culture. Companies such as Volcom, Quiksilver, O'Neill clothing division, No Fear, Lost Enterprises, Sector 9,^[3] RVCA, Body Glove and Surfline^[4] are all headquartered in Southern California. Professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, professional surfers Rob Machado, Tim Curran, Bobby Martinez, Pat O'Connell, Dane Reynolds, and Chris Ward, and professional snowboarder Shaun White live in Southern California. Some of the world's legendary surf spots are in Southern California as well, 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. Some of the world's biggest extreme sports events including the X Games,^[5] Boost Mobile Pro,^[6] and the U.S. Open of Surfing are all in Southern California. Southern California is also important to the world of yachting. The annual Transpacific Yacht Race, or "Transpac", from Los Angeles to Hawaii, is one of yachting's premier events. 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.

Southern California is home to many sports franchises and sports networks such as Fox Sports Net. Professional teams that are 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, and San Diego Chargers. 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.

Southern California is culturally diverse, and well known worldwide. Many tourists frequent South Coast for its popular beaches, and the eastern desert for its dramatic open spaces.

Northern boundary of Southern California[link]

California counties below the sixth standard parallel

The famous Andaz West Hollywood Hotel on the Sunset Strip

"Southern California" is not a formal geographic designation and definitions of what constitutes Southern California vary. Geographically, California's north-south midway point lies at exactly 37° 9' 58.23" latitude, around 11 miles below San Jose;^{[citation needed]} however this does not coincide with popular use of the term. When the state is divided into two areas (Northern and Southern California) the term "Southern California" usually refers to the ten southern-most counties of the state. This definition coincides neatly with the county lines at 35° 47′ 28″ north latitude, which form the northern borders of San Luis Obispo, Kern, and San Bernardino counties. Another definition for Southern California uses Point Conception and the Tehachapi Mountains as the northern boundary.

Though there is no official definition for the northern boundary of Southern California, such a division has existed from the time when Mexico ruled California and political disputes raged between the Californios of Monterey in the upper part and Los Angeles and the lower part of Alta California. Following the acquisition of California by the United States, the division continued as part of the attempt by several pro-slavery politicians 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 Southern California from becoming its own separate slave state.

Subsequently, Californios (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 the State governor John B. Weller. It was approved overwhelmingly by nearly 75% of voters in the proposed Territory of Colorado. This territory was to include all the counties up to the then much larger Tulare County (that included what is now Kings County and most of Kern, and part of Inyo Counties) and 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 led to the proposal never coming to a vote.^[7][8]

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." In 1999, the Times added a newer county—Imperial—to that list.^[9]

The state is most commonly divided and promoted by its regional tourism groups as consisting of northern, central, and southern California regions. The two AAA Auto Clubs of the state, the California State Automobile Association and the Automobile Club of Southern California, choose to simplify matters by dividing the state along the lines where their jurisdictions for membership apply, as either Northern or Southern California, in contrast to the three-region point of view. Another influence is the geographical phrase "South of the Tehachapis", which would split the southern region off at the crest of that transverse range, but in that definition, the desert portions of north Los Angeles County and eastern Kern and San Bernardino Counties would be included in the Southern California region, due to their remoteness from the central valley, and interior desert landscape.

Urban landscape[link]

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Southern California consists of a heavily developed urban environment, home to some of the largest urban areas in the state, along with vast areas that have been left undeveloped. It is the second-largest urbanized region in the United States, second only to the Washington/Philadelphia/New York/Boston Northeastern Megalopolis. Whereas these cities are dense, with major downtown populations and significant rail and transit systems, 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 is the center of its respective metropolitan area, composed of numerous smaller cities and communities. The urban area is also host to an international metropolitan region in the form of San Diego–Tijuana, created by the urban area spilling over into Baja California.

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 and Murrieta have as much connection with 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. While many commute to L.A. and Orange Counties, there are some differences in development, as most of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties (the non-desert portions) were developed in the 1980s and 1990s. 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 Downtown Los Angeles skyline seen on a sunset October day. At 1,018 feet (310 m), 73 floors, The U.S. Bank Tower stands as the West Coast's tallest since 1989.

Natural landscape[link]

Proctor Valley in Chula Vista

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, 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[link]

Satellite view of cismontane Southern California

Southern California is also divided into:

• the Coastal Region. densely populated with more affluence than inland areas. This region includes the coastal interior valleys west of the coastal mountains with all of Orange County and portions of: San Diego County, Los Angeles County, Ventura County, Santa Barbara County, and San Luis Obispo County
  • A related floristic province term is the Cismontane Region on the coastal side of the Transverse and Peninsular mountain ranges, with the term "Southern California" popularly referring to this more populated and visited zone.
• the Desert Region, larger and sparsely populated, with portions of: Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County, Imperial County, and San Diego County. The division between the Coastal Regions and the Inland Empire/Imperial Valley winds along the backs of the coastal mountain ranges such as the Santa Ana Mountains.
  • A related floristic province term is the Transmontane Region on the rain shadow side of the same Mountain Ranges, with the term "Southern California" including this zone geographically and when distinguishing all the 'southland' from Northern California.

Geographic features[link]

View from La Jolla Cove in San Diego.

Peaks in the eastern San Gabriel Mountains, Angeles National Forest, San Bernardino County.

Yucca Valley after a winter storm in the Morongo Basin.

Ocean Beach Sunset in San Diego.

Geology[link]

Earthquakes[link]

Each year the southern California area has about 10,000 earthquakes. Nearly all of them are so small that they are not felt. Only several hundred are greater than magnitude 3.0, and only about 15–20 are greater than magnitude 4.0.^[20]

Regions[link]

Divisions[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Salton Sea in the Coachella Valley.

The Oceanside Pier on the San Diego County coast.

Downtown Los Angeles.

Southern California is divided culturally, politically, and economically into distinctive regions, each containing its own culture and atmosphere anchored usually by a city with both national and sometimes global recognition which are often the hub of economic activity for its respective region and being home to many tourist destinations. Each region is further divided into many culturally distinct areas, but as a whole combine to create the Southern California atmosphere.

• Coastal Southern California
  • southern Central Coast
    • San Luis Obispo County
    • Santa Barbara County
  • Ventura County
    • Oxnard Plain
  • Los Angeles Basin
  • Orange County
  • San Diego County
• Inland Southern California
  • Imperial Valley
  • Inland Empire
    • San Bernardino County
      • High Desert (Section)*
      • Morongo Basin*
      • San Bernardino Valley
    • Riverside County
      • Coachella Valley*
      • Low Desert (Section)*
• Deserts of California
  • High Desert*
    • Antelope Valley
    • Morongo Basin*
    • eastern Kern County
  • Low Desert*
    • Coachella Valley*
    • Lower Colorado River Valley
    • Imperial County
      • Imperial Valley
    • Palo Verde Valley

*Part of multiple regions

Populace[link]

Downtown San Bernardino

As of the 2010 United States Census, Southern California has a population of 22,680,010. Despite a reputation for high growth rates, Southern California's rate grew less than the state average of 10.0% in the 2000s as California's growth became concentrated in the northern part of the state due to a stronger, tech-oriented economy in the Bay Area and an emerging Greater Sacramento region.

Southern California consists of one Combined Statistical Area, five 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.^[21][22] 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 comprise Greater Los Angeles;^[23] while San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos metropolitan area comprises part of the international metropolitan region.^[24][25] To the east of the coastal metropolitan areas is the El Centro metropolitan area.

Cities[link]

Southern California's two global cities are also its two largest. With each being over a million in population, Los Angeles and San Diego are the largest cities in Southern California. The region also has twelve cities over the 200 thousand marker and 34 cities over one hundred thousand in population.

Many of Southern California's largest, affluent, and developed cities are also located on the coast, where housing in coastal areas such as North County average over one million dollars.^[26]

Counties[link]

• Imperial
• Kern
• Los Angeles
• Orange
• Riverside
• San Bernardino
• San Diego
• San Luis Obispo
• Santa Barbara
• Ventura

Economy[link]

Industries[link]

Southern California's economy is diverse and one of the largest in the United States. It is dominated and heavily dependent upon abundance of petroleum, as opposed to other regions where automobiles not nearly as dominant, the vast majority of transport runs on this fuel. Southern California is noted for industries including the film industry, residential construction, entertainment industry, and military aerospace. Other industries include software, automotive, ports, finance, tourism, biomedical, and regional logistics. It is disproportionately affected by the housing crash.

Major central business districts[link]

Irvine Taco Bell Headquarters

Southern California is home to many major business districts. Central business districts (CBD) include Downtown Los Angeles, Downtown San Diego, Downtown San Bernardino, South Coast Metro and Downtown Riverside.

Within the Los Angeles Area are the major business districts of Downtown Burbank, Downtown Santa Monica, Downtown Glendale and Downtown Long Beach. Los Angeles itself has many business districts including the Downtown Los Angeles central business district as well as those lining the Wilshire Boulevard Miracle Mile including Century City, Westwood and Warner Center in the San Fernando Valley.

Orange County is a rapidly developing business center that includes Downtown Santa Ana, the South Coast Metro and Newport Center districts; as well as the Irvine business centers of The Irvine Spectrum, West Irvine, and international corporations headquartered at the University of California, Irvine. West Irvine includes the Irvine Tech Center and Jamboree Business Parks.

Downtown San Diego is the central business district 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.

The Riverside-San Bernardino area maintains the business districts of Downtown Riverside and Downtown San Bernardino.

Theme parks and waterparks[link]

Disneyland in Anaheim.

Los Angeles

• Universal Studios Hollywood
• Six Flags Magic Mountain
• Six Flags Hurricane Harbor
• Castle Park
• Raging Waters
• Pacific Park

Orange County

• Disneyland
• Disney California Adventure
• Knott's Berry Farm
• Knott's Soak City USA

Riverside & San Bernardino

• Castle Park
• Pharaoh's Adventure Park
• Scandia

San Diego

• Legoland
• SeaWorld
• Belmont Park
• Knott's Soak City
• Legoland Waterpark

Palm Springs

• Knott's Soak City

Vinyard-Winery AVA districts[link]

California wine AVA-American Viticultural Areas in Southern California:

Transportation[link]

One of the large LAX signs that greet visitors to LAX. This sign is at the Century Boulevard entrance to Los Angeles International Airport

See: Category: Transportation in Southern California

Airports[link]

The following airports currently have regularly scheduled commercial service:

Freeways[link]

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Interstate Highways

• Golden State Freeway/Santa Ana Freeway/San Diego Freeway/Montgomery Freeway (Interstate 5)
• Ocean Beach Freeway/Mission Valley Freeway (Interstate 8)
• Santa Monica (Rosa Parks) Freeway/Golden State Freeway/San Bernardino Freeway/Indio (Dr. June McCarroll) Freeway/Blythe Freeway (Interstate 10)
• Mojave Freeway/Barstow Freeway/Ontario Freeway/Corona Freeway/Temecula Valley Freeway/Escondido Freeway (Interstate 15)
• Century (Glenn Anderson) Freeway (Interstate 105)
• Harbor Freeway (Interstate 110)
• Foothill Freeway (Interstate 210)
• Barstow Freeway/San Bernardino Freeway/Moreno Valley Freeway/Escondido Freeway (Interstate 215)
• San Diego Freeway
• San Gabriel River Freeway (Interstate 605)
• Long Beach Freeway (Interstate 710)
• Jacob Dekema Freeway (Interstate 805)
• Future Interstate 905

U.S. Highway system

• Ventura Freeway/Hollywood Freeway/Santa Ana Freeway/El Camino Real (U.S. Route 101)

California State Routes

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

• Pacific Coast Highway (PCH)/Lincoln Boulevard/Sepulveda Boulevard/Oxnard Boulevard/Coast Highway/Camino las Ramblas (State Route 1)
• Angeles Crest Highway/Glendale Freeway/Santa Monica Boulevard/Alvarado Street/Glendale Boulevard (State Route 2)
• Antelope Valley Freeway (State Route 14)
• Waterman Avenue (State Route 18)
• Rosemead Boulevard/Lakewood Boulevard (State Route 19)
• Seventh Street/Garden Grove Freeway (State Route 22)
• Decker Road/Decker Canyon Road/Mulholland Highway/Westlake Boulevard
• Topanga Canyon Boulevard
• Ojai Freeway (State Route 33)
• State Route 38
• San Gabriel Canyon Road/Azusa Avenue/Whittier Boulevard/Beach Boulevard
• Manchester Ave/Manchester Boulevard/Firestone Boulevard
• Terminal Island Freeway/Seaside Avenue/Vincent Thomas Bridge
• Soledad Freeway
• South Bay Freeway/Filipino-American Highway
• Costa Mesa Freeway/Newport Boulevard (State Route 55)
• Ted Williams Freeway (State Route 56)
• Orange Freeway (State Route 57)
• Pomona Freeway/Moreno Valley Freeway (State Route 60)
• Foothill Boulevard and E Street (also known as Historic U.S. Route 66)
• Julian Road/San Vicente Freeway
• Corona Expressway/Chino Valley Freeway (State Route 71)
• Whittier Boulevard
• San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor (toll road) (State Route 73)
• Ortega Highway/Palms to Pines Highway (State Route 74)
• San Diego-Coronado Bridge/Silver Strand Boulevard
• Mission Avenue/Pala Road/Cuyamaca Highway
• Vista Freeway/San Pasqual Valley Road
• Winchester Road/Temecula Parkway/Firefighter Steven Rucker Memorial Highway (State Route 79)
• Historic U.S. Route 80, officially called Imperial County Route S80 Barbara Worth Highway
• Euclid Avenue
• Indio Boulevard which is Historic U.S. Route 99 (locally known as the NAFTA Highway, proposed to be called East Valley Parkway)
• Marina Freeway/Imperial Highway/Richard Nixon Freeway (State Route 90)
• Artesia Boulevard/Gardena Freeway/Artesia Freeway/Riverside Freeway (State Route 91)
• Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway/Campo Road
• Hawthorne Boulevard
• Pasadena Freeway (State Route 110)
• Grapefruit Boulevard (Proposed name: Desert Cities Highway or Desert Resorts Highway)
• Ronald Reagan Freeway (State Route 118)
• La Mesa Freeway (State Route 125)
• Santa Paula Freeway (State Route 126)
• Eastern Transportation Corridor (toll road)/Laguna Canyon Road (State Route 133)
• Ventura Freeway (State Route 134)
• State Route 138
• Carbon Canyon Road/Chino Hills Parkway
• Cabrillo Freeway (State Route 163)
• Hollywood Freeway/Highland Avenue (State Route 170)
• Pierce Street (Proposed to be called Salton Sea Street) and Box Canyon Road
• Catalina Boulevard/Canon Street/Rosecrans Street
• Foothill Freeway (Merges with in San Dimas, formerly the )
• Western Avenue
• Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor (toll road) (State Route 241)
• State Route 259 Freeway
• Balboa Avenue
• 3rd/4th Street
• Cahuilla Road
• Otay Mesa Freeway/Otay Mesa Road ( once the freeway is complete.)

Public transportation[link]

See: Category: Public transportation in Southern California

Communication[link]

Map of some major area codes in Greater Los Angeles

Telephone area codes[link]

Colleges and universities[link]

Parks and recreation areas[link]

Main Category: Parks in Southern California

• Numerous parks provide recreation and open-space, some locations include:

Sports teams[link]

See also[link]

Southern California portal

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Southern California

External links[link]

• Historical Society of Southern California
• Cities in Southern California

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