Southern California

Southern California (colloquially and locally known as SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises California's southernmost counties, and is the second most populous urban agglomeration in the United States. The region contains ten counties: Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Ventura, and Kern counties.

The Colorado Desert and the Colorado River are located on southern California's eastern border with Arizona, and the Mojave Desert is located north on California's Nevada border. Southern California's southern border is part of the Mexico–United States border.

Constituent metropolitan areas
Southern California includes the heavily built-up urban area which stretches along the Pacific coast from Ventura through Greater Los Angeles down to Greater San Diego (the contiguous urban area in fact continuing into Tijuana, Mexico), and inland to the Inland Empire and Coachella Valley (Palm Springs area). It encompasses eight metropolitan areas (MSAs), three of which together form the Greater Los Angeles Combined Statistical Area (CSA) with over 18 million people, the second-biggest CSA after the New York CSA. These three MSAs are: the Los Angeles metropolitan area (Los Angeles and Orange counties, with 13.3 million people), the Inland Empire ((Riverside and San Bernardino counties, including the Coachella Valley cities, with 4.3 million people), and the Oxnard–Thousand Oaks–Ventura metropolitan area (0.8 million people). In addition, Southern California contains the San Diego metropolitan area with 3.3 million people, Bakersfield metro area with 0.9 million, and the Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and El Centro (Imperial County) metropolitan areas.

The Southern California Megaregion (or megalopolis) is larger still, extending east into Las Vegas, Nevada and south across the Mexican border into Tijuana.

Significance
Within southern California are two major cities, Los Angeles and San Diego, as well as three of the country's largest metropolitan areas. With a population of 4,042,000, Los Angeles is the most populous city in California and the second most populous in the United States. South of Los Angeles 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. The counties of Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino, and Riverside are the five most populous in the state, and are in the top 15 most populous counties in the United States.

The motion picture, television, and music industry are centered in the Los Angeles area in southern California. Hollywood, a district of Los Angeles, gives its name to the American motion picture industry, which is synonymous with the neighborhood name. Headquartered in southern California are The Walt Disney Company (which owns ABC), Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, MGM, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Warner Bros. Universal, Warner Bros., and Sony also run major record companies.

Southern California is also home to a large homegrown surf and skateboard culture. Companies such as Vans, Volcom, Quiksilver, No Fear, RVCA, and Body Glove are all headquartered here. Skateboarder Tony Hawk; surfers Rob Machado, Tim Curran, Bobby Martinez, Pat O'Connell, Dane Reynolds, and Chris Ward live in southern California. Some of the most famous surf locations are in southern California as well, including Trestles, Rincon, The Wedge, Huntington Beach, and Malibu. Some of the world's largest action sports events, including the X Games, Boost Mobile Pro, and the U.S. Open of Surfing, are held in southern California. The region is also important to the world of yachting with premier events including the annual Transpacific Yacht Race, or Transpac, from Los Angeles to Hawaii. 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. The first modern era triathlon was held in Mission Bay, San Diego, California in 1974. Since then, southern California, and San Diego in particular have become a mecca for triathlon and multi-sport racing, products and culture.

Southern California is home to many sports franchises and sports networks such as Fox Sports Net.

Many locals and tourists frequent the southern California coast for its beaches. The inland desert city of Palm Springs is also popular.

Northern boundary of southern California


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 mi south of San Jose; however, this does not coincide with the 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 10 southernmost 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. That closely matches the lower one-third of California's span of latitude. Another definition for southern California uses Point Conception and the Tehachapi Mountains as geographical landmarks for 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 in 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, Californians (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 State Governor John B. Weller. It was approved overwhelmingly by nearly 75 percent 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, 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 and the subsequent American Civil War led to the proposal never coming to a vote.

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.

Southern California was the name of a proposed new state which failed to get on the 2018 California ballot. It proposed to split the existing state into three parts.

The state is most commonly divided and promoted by its regional tourism groups, consisting of northern, central, and southern California regions. The two American Automobile Association (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
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 third most populated megalopolis in the United States, after the Great Lakes Megalopolis and the Northeastern Megalopolis. 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 are the centers of their respective metropolitan areas, 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 cities and communities along Interstate 15 and Interstate 215 are so interrelated that Temecula and Murrieta have as much connection with the 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. 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.

Climate


The climate is Mediterranean-Like, with Warm/dry Summers, Mild/wet Winters, where cool weather and freezing temperatures are rare. Southern California contains several different types of climate, including Mediterranean, semi-arid, desert and mountain, with infrequent rain and many sunny days. Summers are hot or warm, and dry, while winters are mild, and rainfall is low to moderate depending on the area. Although heavy rain can occur, it is unusual. This climatic pattern was alluded to in the hit song "It Never Rains (In Southern California)". While snow is very rare in the southwest region of the state, it occurs occasionally in the southeast region of the state.

Natural landscape


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, and 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
Southern California is divided into:
 * The Coastal Region, which is densely populated and includes the coastal interior valleys west of the coastal mountains with all of Orange County and portions of San Diego, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties
 * A related florist 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, which is larger and sparsely populated with portions of Kern, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Imperial, and San Diego counties. The division between the Coastal Region and the Inland Empire/Imperial Valley winds along the backs of 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



 * Angeles National Forest (Los Angeles, San Bernardino, & Ventura Counties)
 * Antelope Hills (Kern County)
 * Antelope Valley (Los Angeles & Kern Counties)
 * Arroyo Seco (Los Angeles County)
 * Bacon Hills (Kern County)
 * Baldwin Hills (Los Angeles County)
 * Ballona Wetlands (Los Angeles County)
 * Big Bear Lake (San Bernardino County)
 * Bissell Hills (Kern County)
 * Black Hills (Kern County)
 * Bolsa Chica Estuary (Orange County)
 * Buena Vista Hills (Kern County)
 * Buena Vista Lake (Kern County)
 * Cajon Pass (San Bernardino County)
 * Calico Mountains (San Bernardino County)
 * Channel Islands (Santa Barbara, Ventura & Los Angeles Counties)
 * Chino Hills (Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside & San Bernardino Counties)
 * Coachella Valley (Riverside County)
 * Colorado Desert (San Bernardino, Riverside, Imperial, & San Diego Counties)
 * Colorado River (San Bernardino, Riverside & Imperial Counties, Baja California & Sonora)
 * Conejo Valley (Ventura County)
 * Cucamonga Valley (San Bernardino County)
 * Cuyamaca Mountains (San Diego County)
 * Death Valley (San Bernardino & Inyo Counties)
 * Diablo Range (Kern County)
 * Elk Hills (Kern County)
 * Elkhorn Hills (San Luis Obispo County)
 * El Paso Mountains (Kern County)
 * Greenhorn Mountains (Kern County)
 * High Desert (Los Angeles, Kern, Inyo, & San Bernardino Counties)
 * Horned Toad Hills (Kern County)
 * Imperial Valley (Imperial County)
 * Irish Hills (San Luis Obispo County)
 * In-Ko-Pah Mountains (San Diego County)
 * Inland Empire (Riverside, San Bernardino Counties)
 * Jacumba Mountains (San Diego County)
 * Jawbone Canyon (Kern County)
 * Kern River (Kern County)
 * La Jolla Cove (San Diego County)
 * Laguna Mountains (San Diego County)
 * Lake Arrowhead (San Bernardino County)
 * Lake Casitas (Ventura County)
 * Lake Castaic (Los Angeles County)
 * Lake Elsinore (Riverside County)
 * Lake Isabella (Kern County)
 * Lake Perris (Riverside County)
 * Lake Piru (Ventura County)
 * Lakeview Mountains (Riverside County)
 * Lake Webb (Kern County)
 * Little San Bernardino Mountains (Riverside & San Bernardino Counties)
 * Little Signal Hills (Kern County)
 * Los Angeles Basin (Los Angeles County)
 * Los Angeles River (Los Angeles County)
 * Los Padres National Forest (Kern, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, & Ventura Counties)
 * Lost Hills (Kern County)
 * Low Desert (Imperial, San Diego, Riverside & San Bernardino Counties)
 * Mojave Desert (Los Angeles, Kern & San Bernardino Counties)
 * Mojave River (San Bernardino County)
 * Mount San Antonio (Los Angeles County)
 * New River (Imperial County, Mexicali Municipality)
 * Nine Sisters (San Luis Obispo County)
 * Ojai Valley (Ventura County)
 * Orange Coast (Orange County)
 * Oxnard Plain (Ventura County)
 * Palomar Mountain (San Diego County)
 * Palo Verde Valley (Riverside & Imperial Counties)
 * Palos Verdes Peninsula (Los Angeles County)
 * Panamint Range (Inyo County)
 * Peninsular Ranges (San Diego, Riverside, & Orange Counties)
 * Pleito Hills (Kern County)
 * Point Loma (San Diego County)
 * Point Mugu (Ventura County)
 * Point of Rocks (Kern County)
 * Pomona Valley (Los Angeles & San Bernardino Counties)
 * Providence Mountains (San Bernardino County)
 * Puente Hills (Los Angeles County)
 * Pyramid Lake (Los Angeles County)
 * Rand Mountains (Kern County)
 * Rio Hondo (Los Angeles County)
 * Rosamond Hills (Kern County)
 * Saddleback Valley (Orange County)
 * Salton Sea (Imperial & Riverside Counties)
 * San Andreas Fault (All Counties)
 * San Bernardino Mountains (San Bernardino County)
 * San Bernardino National Forest (Riverside & San Bernardino Counties)
 * San Bernardino Valley (San Bernardino County)
 * San Diego Bay (San Diego County)
 * San Diego River (San Diego County)
 * San Emigdio Mountains (Los Angeles, Ventura, & Kern Counties)
 * San Fernando Valley (Los Angeles County)
 * San Gabriel Mountains (Los Angeles & San Bernardino Counties)
 * San Gabriel River (Los Angeles County)
 * San Gabriel Valley (Los Angeles County)
 * San Jacinto Mountains (Riverside County)
 * San Jacinto River (Riverside County)
 * San Joaquin Valley (Kern County)
 * San Luis Rey River (San Diego County)
 * San Pedro Bay (Los Angeles County)
 * San Rafael Mountains (Santa Barbara County)
 * Santa Ana Mountains (Orange & Riverside Counties)
 * Santa Ana River (San Bernardino, Los Angeles & Orange County)
 * Santa Ana Valley (Orange County)
 * Santa Catalina Island (Los Angeles County)
 * Santa Clara River (Ventura County)
 * Santa Clara River Valley (Ventura County)
 * Santa Clarita Valley (Los Angeles County)
 * Santa Margarita River (Riverside, Orange & San Diego Counties)
 * Santa Monica Bay (Los Angeles County)
 * Santa Monica Mountains (Los Angeles & Ventura Counties)
 * Santa Rosa Mountains (Riverside, Orange & San Diego Counties)
 * Santa Susana Mountains (Los Angeles & Ventura Counties)
 * Santa Ynez Mountains (Santa Barbara County)
 * Santa Ynez Valley (Santa Barbara County)
 * Scodie Mountains (Kern County)
 * Sequoia National Forest (Kern County)
 * Shale Hills (Kern County)
 * Sierra Nevada (Kern County)
 * Sierra Pelona Mountains (Los Angeles & Kern Counties)
 * Simi Hills (Los Angeles & Ventura Counties)
 * Simi Valley (Ventura County)
 * Sweetwater River (San Diego County)
 * Tehachapi Mountains (Kern & Los Angeles Counties)
 * Tejon Hills (Kern County)
 * Temescal Mountains (Riverside County)
 * Telephone Hills (Kern County)
 * Temblor Range (Kern & San Luis Obispo Counties)
 * Tijuana River (San Diego County)
 * Topatopa Mountains (Ventura County)
 * Turtle Mountains (San Bernardino County)
 * Ventura River (Ventura County)
 * Verdugo Mountains (Los Angeles County)
 * Victor Valley (San Bernardino County)

Earthquakes


Each year, southern California has about 10,000 earthquakes. Nearly all of them are so small that they are not felt. Only several hundred have been greater than magnitude 3.0, and only about 15–20 have been greater than magnitude 4.0. The magnitude 6.7 1994 Northridge earthquake was particularly destructive, causing a substantial number of deaths, injuries, and structural collapses as well as the most property damage of any earthquake in U.S. history at an estimated $20 billion.

Many faults are able to produce a magnitude greater than 6.7 earthquake, such as the San Andreas Fault, which can produce a magnitude 8.0 event. Other faults include the San Jacinto Fault, the Puente Hills Fault, and the Elsinore Fault Zone. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has released a California earthquake forecast, which models earthquake occurrence in California.

Divisions


Southern California is divided culturally, politically, and economically into distinct regions, each containing its own culture and atmosphere, anchored usually by a city with both national and sometimes global recognition, which is 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.

*Part of multiple regions
 * Coastal southern California
 * Southern Central Coast
 * Ventura County
 * Oxnard Plain
 * Los Angeles Basin
 * Orange County
 * San Diego County
 * Inland southern California
 * Kern County
 * 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

Population
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 percent in the 2000s. This was due to California's growth becoming concentrated in the northern part of the state as result of a stronger, tech-oriented economy in the Bay Area and an emerging Greater Sacramento region.

Southern California consists of one Combined Statistical Area, eight 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. 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 form Greater Los Angeles; while the El Centro metropolitan area and San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos metropolitan area form the Southern Border Region. North of Greater Los Angeles are the Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Bakersfield metropolitan areas.

Cities
Los Angeles (with a 2017 census-estimated population of 4.0 million people) and San Diego (at 1.4 million people) are the two largest cities in all of California and are in the top eight largest cities in the United States. In southern California, there are also 12 cities with more than 200,000 residents and 34 cities over 100,000 residents. Many of southern California's most developed cities lie along or in close proximity to the coast, with the exception of San Bernardino and Riverside.

Counties

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

Industries
Southern California has a diverse economy and is one of the largest economies in the United States. It is dominated and heavily dependent upon the abundance of petroleum, as opposed to other regions where automobiles are not nearly as dominant, due to the vast majority of transport that runs on this fuel. Southern California is famous for tourism and the entertainment industry. Other industries include software, automotive, ports, finance, biomedical, and regional logistics. The region was a leader in the housing bubble from 2001 to 2007 and has been heavily impacted by the housing crash.

Since the 1920s, motion pictures, petroleum, and aircraft manufacturing have been major industries. In one of the richest agricultural regions in the U.S., cattle and citrus were major industries until farmlands were turned into suburbs. Although military spending cutbacks have had an impact, aerospace continues to be a major factor.

Major central business districts
Southern California is home to many major business districts. Central business districts (CBD) include Downtown Los Angeles, Downtown San Diego, Downtown San Bernardino and South Coast Metro. Within the Los Angeles Area are the major business districts of Downtown Pasadena, Downtown Burbank, Downtown Santa Monica, Downtown Glendale and Downtown Long Beach. Los Angeles itself has many business districts, such as Downtown Los Angeles and those lining the Wilshire Boulevard Miracle Mile, including Century City, Westwood, and Warner Center in the San Fernando Valley. The area of Santa Monica and Venice (and perhaps some of Culver City) is informally referred to as "Silicon Beach" because of the concentration of financial and marketing technology-centric firms located in the region.

The San Bernardino-Riverside area maintains the business districts of Downtown San Bernardino, Hospitality Business/Financial Centre, University Town which are in San Bernardino and Downtown Riverside.

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 CBD 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.

Theme parks and waterparks
Los Angeles
 * Universal Studios Hollywood
 * Six Flags Magic Mountain
 * Six Flags Hurricane Harbor
 * Raging Waters San Dimas
 * Pacific Park
 * Dry Town Water Park

Orange County
 * Disneyland
 * Disney California Adventure
 * Knott's Berry Farm
 * Knott's Soak City

Riverside & San Bernardino
 * Castle Park
 * Wet'n'Wild Palm Springs
 * Splash Kingdom Waterpark
 * Scandia

San Diego
 * Legoland California
 * SeaWorld San Diego
 * Belmont Park
 * Aquatica San Diego
 * Legoland Waterpark
 * San Diego Zoo
 * San Diego Wild Animal Park

Vinyard-Winery American Viticultural Area (AVA) districts

 * California wine AVA-American Viticultural Areas in southern California:


 * South Coast AVA
 * Cucamonga Valley AVA
 * Malibu-Newton Canyon AVA
 * Ramona Valley AVA
 * Saddle Rock-Malibu AVA
 * Temecula Valley AVA
 * Leona Valley AVA


 * Central Coast AVA
 * Arroyo Grande Valley AVA
 * Edna Valley AVA
 * San Pasqual Valley AVA
 * Santa Maria Valley AVA
 * Santa Ynez Valley AVA
 * Sta. Rita Hills AVA
 * York Mountain AVA

Transportation

 * ''See: Category: Transportation in Southern California

Southern California is 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-busiest 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, Bakersfield, Ontario, Burbank and Long Beach; and numerous smaller commercial and general aviation airports.

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.

Southern California is also home to the Port of Los Angeles, the country's busiest commercial port; the adjacent Port of Long Beach, the country's second busiest container port; and the Port of San Diego.

Airports
The following table shows all airports listed by the Federal Aviation Association (FAA) as a hub airport:



Freeways and highways
Sections of the southern California freeway system are often referred to by names rather than by the official numbers.

Public transportation

 * See: Category: Public transportation in Southern California


 * Antelope Valley Transit Authority
 * Metrolink
 * Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
 * San Diego trolley and San Diego County MTS
 * Orange County Transportation Authority
 * Omnitrans (southwestern San Bernardino County)
 * Golden Empire Transit (Bakersfield)
 * Santa Barbara MTD
 * San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority
 * Gold Coast Transit (Ventura County)
 * North County Transit District (northern San Diego County)
 * San Diego Coaster (Oceanside to San Diego)
 * Big Blue Bus (Santa Monica)
 * Riverside Transit Agency (western Riverside County)

Telephone area codes

 * 213 – Downtown Los Angeles
 * 323 – Hollywood, South Los Angeles, Mid-Wilshire, and East Los Angeles
 * 310 – West Los Angeles, Inglewood, Santa Monica, South Bay and Catalina Island
 * 424 – Overlay with 310
 * 442 – Overlay with 760
 * 562 – Long Beach and the Gateway Cities
 * 619 – San Diego including downtown, East County San Diego and the South Bay
 * 626 – Pasadena, San Gabriel Valley and Covina Valley
 * 657 – Overlay with 714
 * 661 – Bakersfield, Santa Clarita, Antelope Valley and California City
 * 714 – Santa Ana, Anaheim, Huntington Beach and northern Orange County
 * 760 – Oceanside, Escondido, Palm Springs, El Centro, Victorville, Barstow, Ridgecrest, Hesperia, Apple Valley, Blythe, Adelanto and Indio
 * 805 – Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo Counties
 * 818 – San Fernando Valley, Glendale and Burbank.
 * 858 – Northern San Diego (including La Jolla) and its suburbs (including Del Mar and Poway)
 * 909 – Southwestern San Bernardino County, eastern Los Angeles County, and portions of northwestern Riverside County
 * 949 – Southern Orange County (Irvine, Newport Beach, Laguna Niguel & San Clemente)
 * 951 – Riverside, Temecula and western Riverside County

Colleges and universities
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 five University of California campuses (Irvine, Los Angeles, Riverside, Santa Barbara, and San Diego), 12 California State University campuses (Bakersfield, Channel Islands, Dominguez Hills, Fullerton, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Northridge, Pomona, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Marcos, and San Luis Obispo); and private institutions such as the California Institute of Technology, Azusa Pacific University, Chapman University, the Claremont Colleges (Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College, Pitzer College, Pomona College, Scripps College, Claremont Graduate University and Keck Graduate Institute), Loma Linda University, Loyola Marymount University, Occidental College, Pepperdine University, University of Redlands, University of San Diego, and the University of Southern California.

Medical Facilities
Many cities in the region have world class medical facilities such as Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura.

Parks and recreation areas
Numerous parks provide recreation opportunities and open space. Locations include:


 * National Park Service
 * Cabrillo National Monument
 * Carrizo Plain National Monument
 * Castle Mountains National Monument
 * Cesar E. Chavez National Monument
 * Channel Islands National Park
 * Death Valley National Park
 * Joshua Tree National Park
 * Mojave National Preserve
 * Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
 * Major State Parks – including:
 * Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
 * Crystal Cove State Park
 * Cuyamaca Rancho State Park
 * Chino Hills State Park
 * Fort Tejon State Historic Park
 * Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area
 * Mount San Jacinto State Park
 * Malibu Creek State Park
 * Red Rock Canyon State Park (California)
 * Topanga State Park


 * Major State Historic Parks – including:
 * California Citrus State Historic Park
 * El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park
 * Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa
 * La Purísima Mission State Historic Park
 * Los Encinos State Historic Park
 * Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
 * Rancho Los Encinos
 * Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park
 * Tule Elk State Natural Reserve
 * Watts Towers
 * Will Rogers State Historic Park

Sports
Major professional sports teams in southern California include:


 * NFL (American football) Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers
 * NBA (Basketball) Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers
 * MLB (Baseball) Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, San Diego Padres
 * NHL (Ice hockey) Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks
 * MLS (Soccer) LA Galaxy, Los Angeles FC

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. The Bruins and the Trojans both field football teams in NCAA Division I in the Pac-12 Conference, and there is a longtime rivalry between the schools.