Los Angeles, California, United States

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Los Angeles is the second largest city in the United States, and with a
population of 3.8 million is the largest city in the state of California and

the Western United States. Additionally the city spans over 498.3 square
miles (1,290.6 km2) in Southern California and is anchored to the world's
13th largest metropolitan area with 17.7 million people spread out over much

of coastal Southern California. The Los Angeles–Long Beach–Santa Ana
metropolitan area is home to nearly 12.9 million residents. Los Angeles is
also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated and one of the most
multicultural counties in the United States. The city's inhabitants are
referred to as "Angelenos".

Los Angeles was founded on September 4, 1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de
Neve as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles del Río de
Porciúncula (The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of the river
of Porziuncola). It became a part of Mexico in 1821, following its
independence from Spain. In 1848, at the end of the Mexican-American War,
Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty
of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thereby becoming part of the United States; Mexico
retained the territory of Baja California. Los Angeles was incorporated as a

municipality on April 4, 1850, five months before California achieved
statehood.

In the 1920s, the motion picture and aviation industries flocked to Los
Angeles, with continuing growth ensuring that the city suffered less during
the Great Depression. In 1932, with population surpassing one million, the
city hosted the Summer Olympics.

In 1969, Los Angeles became one of the birthplaces of the Internet, as the
first ARPANET transmission was sent from the University of California, Los
Angeles (UCLA) to SRI in Menlo Park.

Geography

Los Angeles is irregularly shaped and covers a total area of 498.3 square
miles (1,291 km2), comprising 469.1 square miles (1,215 km2) of land and 29
2 square miles (76 km2) of water. The city extends for 44 miles (71 km)
longitudinally and for 29 miles (47 km) latitudinally. The perimeter of the
city is 342 miles (550 km). It is the only major city in the United States
bisected by a mountain range.

Climate

Los Angeles has a Mediterranean climate or Dry-Summer Subtropical (Köppen
climate classification Csb on the coast, Csa inland), and receives just
enough annual precipitation to avoid Köppen's BSh (warm semi-arid climate)
classification. Los Angeles enjoys plenty of sunshine throughout the year,
with an average of 320 sunshine days and only 40 days with measurable
precipitation annually.