Los Angeles has a total area of 498.3 square miles (1,290.6 kmІ), making it the 14th largest city in land area in the United States.
The Los Angeles Basin and the San Fernando Valley are susceptible to atmospheric inversion, which holds in the exhausts from road vehicles, airplanes, locomotives, shipping, manufacturing, and other sources.
Los Angeles is the most car-populated metropolis in the world with one registered automobile for every 1.8 people.
In 1909, the Bible Institute of Los Angeles published and widely distributed a set of books called The Fundamentals, which presented a defense of the traditional conservative interpretation of the Bible.
Los Angeles averages 15 inches (38 cm) of precipitation per year.
Downtown Los Angeles is the home of the Los Angeles Convention Center, which hosts many popular events.
Los Angeles is home to adherents of many religions, with Roman Catholicism being the largest due to the high numbers of Latinos.
Due to geography, heavy reliance on automobiles, and the Los Angeles/Long Beach port complex, Los Angeles suffers from air pollution in the form of smog.
The major river is the Los Angeles River, which is largely seasonal.
Los Angeles was also home to the Pacific Stock Exchange until it closed in 2001.
Los Angeles has been a destination for swamis and gurus since as early as 1900, including Paramahansa Yogananda (1920).
Los Angeles is the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball, the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League, and the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association.
Mexico also received a number of Middle Eastern immigrants, mostly from Lebanon and Turkey.
Los Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second-largest in the United States.
South Los Angeles, as well as neighboring communities such as the city of Compton that were home to predominant African American populations are now transforming into Hispanic communities.
Many of these native species, such as the Los Angeles sunflower, have become so rare as to be considered endangered.
The distribution of homicides in the city is uneven, with nearly half occurring in South Los Angeles and the Harbor area.
Japanese comprise 0.9 percent of L.A.'s population, and have an established Little Tokyo in the city's downtown, and another significant community of Japanese Americans is located in the Sawtelle district of West Los Angeles.
The Greater Los Angeles Area is home to nearly 13 million people from all over the globe, including the largest Latino and Asian populations in the United States.
African Americans have the largest establishment in South Los Angeles, including the industrial neighborhoods of Crenshaw and Watts.
Railroads arrived when the Southern Pacific completed its line to Los Angeles in 1876.
Los Angeles' mass transit system does not have high per capita ridership, with 10.5 percent of commuters using public transit, compared with 53 percent and 30 percent in New York City and Chicago, respectively.
In 1915, Los Angeles began annexation of dozens of neighboring communities without water supplies of their own.
Los Angeles is today one of the world's most prominent centers of culture, technology, and international trade.
According to a May 2001 Drug Threat Assessment by the National Drug Intelligence Center, Los Angeles County was then home to 152,000 gang members organized into 1,350 gangs.
Latinos have moved into the once predominantly African-American district of South Los Angeles.
Los Angeles is also home to the USC Trojans and the UCLA Bruins in the NCAA, both of which are Division I teams in the Pacific 10 Conference.
The Church of Scientology has had a presence in Los Angeles since 1954.
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) serves most of the city of Los Angeles, as well as several surrounding communities, with a student population of over 800,000.
The highest temperature recorded for Downtown Los Angeles was 112.0°F (44.4°C) on June 26, 1990, and the lowest temperature recorded was 24.0°F (?5.0°C) on January 9, 1937.
Los Angeles is subject to earthquakes due to its location in the Pacific Ring of Fire.
The next contact would not come until 227 years later, when Gaspar de Portolа, together with Franciscan missionary Juan Crespi, reached the present site of Los Angeles on August 2, 1769.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and other agencies operate an extensive system of bus lines, as well as subway and light rail lines.
Oil was discovered in 1892, and by 1923 Los Angeles was producing one-quarter of the world's petroleum.
Los Angeles has twice played host to the summer Olympic games, in 1932 and in 1984.
Today, the pueblo is commemorated in the historic district Olvera Street, the oldest part of Los Angeles.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, considered a spiritual, rather than a religious leader, founded the Transcendental Meditation movement in Los Angeles in the late 1950s.
One wing of the Theosophist movement is centered in Los Angeles, and another is in neighboring Pasadena.
Chinatown and Thaitown are also home to many Thais and Cambodians, which make up 0.3 percent and 0.1 percent of Los Angeles' population, respectively.
The city of Los Angeles and its metropolitan area are home to a large Middle Eastern population, including Armenians and Iranians, partially residing in enclaves like Little Armenia and Tehrangeles.
Ethnic enclaves like Chinatown, Historic Filipinotown, Koreatown, Little Armenia, Little Ethiopia, Tehrangeles, Little Tokyo, and Thai Town provide examples of the polyglot character of Los Angeles.
The 2010 United States Census reported that Los Angeles had a population of 3,792,621.
The 2000s have seen a rise in urban redevelopment and gentrification in various parts of the city, most notably Echo Park and Downtown Los Angeles.
Los Angeles has 27 intertwining freeways handling millions of commuters on a daily basis.
Los Angeles is the county seat of Los Angeles County, California, the most populous county in the United States.
The Port of Los Angeles along with the Port of Long Beach comprise the largest seaport complex in the United States and the fifth busiest in the world.
Los Angeles is the home to a number of Neopagans, as well as adherents of various other mystical religions.
Los Angeles and California became part of the United States at the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848.
The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Los Angeles leads the largest archdiocese in the country.
The 1913 completion of the Los Angeles aqueduct, under the supervision of William Mulholland, assured the continued growth of the city.
Breezes from the Pacific Ocean tend to keep the beach communities of the Los Angeles area cooler in summer and warmer in winter than those further inland.
The Port of Los Angeles is located in San Pedro Bay, approximately 20 miles (30 km) south of Downtown Los Angeles.
Los Angeles is the only major city in the United States bisected by a mountain range; four mountain ranges extend into city boundaries.
The councils cover districts, which are not necessarily identical to the traditional neighborhoods of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles currently has the largest Buddhist population in the United States.
Issues of air quality in Los Angeles and other major cities led to the passage of early national environmental legislation, including the Clean Air Act.
The Los Angeles area is rich in native plant species due in part to a diversity in habitats, including beaches, wetlands, and mountains.
Billy Graham became a celebrity during a successful revival campaign in Los Angeles in 1949.
The Azusa Street Revival (1906–1909) in Los Angeles was a key milestone in the history of the Pentecostal movement, not long after Christian Fundamentalism received its name and crucial promotion in Los Angeles.
Pacific Islanders make up 0.1 percent of Los Angeles' population, and are concentrated in southwestern Los Angeles County, namely in Long Beach and Carson, which are home to thousands of Samoan Americans.
According to the 2010 United States Census, Los Angeles had a median household income of $49,745, with 21.2 percent of the population living below the federal poverty line.
Los Angeles averages 15 inches (38 cm) of precipitation per year.
Los Angeles has been experiencing significant decline in Part I offenses since the mid-1990s, and hit a record low in 2006, with 29,737 acts of violence, of which 481 were homicides.
The Los Angeles metropolitan area is served by more airports than any other city in the world.
Los Angeles grappled with the Watts riots in 1965, the high school walkout by Chicano students in 1968, and the 1970 Chicano Moratorium, as representative of racial strife within the city.
Los Angeles is home to people from more than 140 countries speaking 224 different languages.
The economy of Los Angeles is driven by international trade, entertainment (television, motion pictures, and recorded music), aerospace, technology, petroleum, fashion, apparel, and tourism.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and other agencies operate an extensive system of bus lines, as well as subway and light rail lines.
The Los Angeles coastal area was first settled by humans at least 25,000 years ago.
The name Los Angeles comes from the Spanish language, and it means "The Angels". ... The original name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río Porciúncula" (in English, "town of our lady the Queen of Angels of the River Porciúncula"). Los Angeles was founded in 1781.
On September 4, 1781, a group of forty-four settlers known as "Los Pobladores" founded the pueblo they called "El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula"; in English, this translates as "The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of Porciúncula."
Nicknamed the "City of Angels" in part because of how its name translates from the Spanish, Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, and sprawling metropolis. ... Los Angeles is also famous as the home of Hollywood, a major center of the world entertainment industry.
Start your visit in LA with these great things to doGet active on Venice Beach. ... See the sights of Hollywood. ... Study big-budget masterpieces. ... Shop in style on Rodeo Drive. ... Take a walking tour. ... Squeeze in the Jurassic experience. ... Marvel at Los Angeles' Museum Row. ... Wise up at the Griffith Observatory.More items...
The Happiest Place on Earth is located approximately 40 miles from Los Angeles International Airport. The Disneyland Resort Express provides the most convenient mode of transportation between LAX and the Disneyland Resort area—including both Disneyland Resort and Anaheim Resort hotels.