Los Angeles

Los Angeles (US: /lɔːs ˈænələs/ (listen) lawss AN-jəl-əs;[lower-alpha 1] Spanish: Los Ángeles, Spanish pronunciation: [los ˈaŋxeles], lit.'The Angels'), often referred to by its initials L.A.,[14] is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. Los Angeles is the largest city in California, the second-most populous city in the United States after New York City, and one of the world's most populous megacities. With a population of roughly 3.9 million residents within the city limits as of 2020,[7] Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic and cultural diversity, being the home of the Hollywood film industry, and its sprawling metropolitan area. The majority of the city proper lies in a basin in Southern California adjacent to the Pacific Ocean in the west and extending partly through the Santa Monica Mountains and north into the San Fernando Valley, with the city bordering the San Gabriel Valley to its east. It covers about 469 square miles (1,210 km2),[6] and is the county seat of Los Angeles County, which is the most populous county in the United States with an estimated 9.86 million residents as of 2022.[15]

Los Angeles
City of Los Angeles
Nickname(s): 
L.A., City of Angels,[1] The Entertainment Capital of the World,[1] La-la-land, Tinseltown[1]
OpenStreetMap
Map
Los Angeles is located in California
Los Angeles
Los Angeles
Location within California
Los Angeles is located in the United States
Los Angeles
Los Angeles
Location within the United States
Los Angeles is located in North America
Los Angeles
Los Angeles
Location within North America
Coordinates: 34°03′N 118°15′W
Country United States
State California
County Los Angeles
RegionSouthern California
CSALos Angeles-Long Beach
MSALos Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
PuebloSeptember 4, 1781[2]
City statusMay 23, 1835[3]
IncorporatedApril 4, 1850[4]
Named forOur Lady, Queen of the Angels
Government
  TypeStrong mayor–council[5]
  BodyLos Angeles City Council
  MayorKaren Bass (D)
  City AttorneyHydee Feldstein Soto (D)
  City ControllerKenneth Mejia (D)
Area
  Total501.55 sq mi (1,299.01 km2)
  Land469.49 sq mi (1,215.97 km2)
  Water32.06 sq mi (83.04 km2)
Elevation
305 ft (93 m)
Highest elevation
5,075 ft (1,576 m)
Lowest elevation
0 ft (0 m)
Population
  Total3,898,747
  Estimate 
(2021)[7]
3,849,297
  Rank2nd in the United States
1st in California
  Density8,304.22/sq mi (3,206.29/km2)
  Urban12,237,376 (US: 2nd)
  Urban density7,476.3/sq mi (2,886.6/km2)
  Metro13,200,998 (US: 2nd)
Demonym(s)Angeleno, Angelino, Angeleño[10][11]
Time zoneUTC–08:00 (PST)
  Summer (DST)UTC–07:00 (PDT)
ZIP Codes
List
  • 90001–90084, 90086–90089, 90091, 90093–90097, 90099, 90101–90103, 90174, 90185, 90189, 90291–90293, 91040–91043, 91303–91308, 91311, 91316, 91324–91328, 91330, 91331, 91335, 91340, 91342–91349, 91352–91353, 91356–91357, 91364–91367, 91401–91499, 91504–91505, 91601–91609[12]
Area codes213/323, 310/424, 747/818,
FIPS code06-44000
GNIS feature IDs1662328, 2410877
Websitelacity.gov

The area that became Los Angeles was originally inhabited by the indigenous Tongva people and later claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542. The city was founded on September 4, 1781, under Spanish governor Felipe de Neve, on the village of Yaanga.[16] It became a part of Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence. 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, and thus became part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4, 1850, five months before California achieved statehood. The discovery of oil in the 1890s brought rapid growth to the city.[17] The city was further expanded with the completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, which delivers water from Eastern California.

Los Angeles has a diverse economy with a broad range of industries. It has one of the busiest container ports in the Americas.[18][19][20] In 2018, the Los Angeles metropolitan area had a gross metropolitan product of over $1.0 trillion,[21] making it the city with the third-largest GDP in the world, after New York City and Tokyo. Los Angeles hosted the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics and will host the 2028 Summer Olympics. More recently, statewide droughts in California have strained both the city's and Los Angeles County's water security.[22][23]


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