Book-Online-Hotel.com Information United States Los Angeles

Los Angeles' large urban sprawl: About 18 million people live in the imaged area. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 498.3 mi² (1,290.6 km²). 469.1 mi² (1,214.9 km²) of it is land and 29.2 mi² (75.7 km²) of it is water. The total area is 5.86% water.
The extreme north-south distance is 44 miles (71 km), the extreme east-west distance is 29 miles (47 km), and the length of the city boundary is 342 miles (550 km). The land area is the United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii).
The highest point in Los Angeles is Sister Elsie Peak (5,080 feet) at the far reaches of the northeastern San Fernando Valley, part of Mt. Lukens. The Los Angeles River is a short, largely seasonal river flowing through the city, with headwaters in San Fernando Valley. Its length is almost entirely lined in concrete.
The Los Angeles area is remarkably rich in native plant species. With its beaches, dunes, wetlands, hills, mountains, and rivers, the area contains a number of important biological communities. The largest area is coastal sage scrub, which covers the hillsides in combustible giant wild rye grass, and hundreds of others. Unfortunately, many native species are so rare as to be endangered, such as the Los Angeles sunflower.
There are many exotic flowers and flowering trees that are blooming year-round, with subtle colors, including the jacaranda, hibiscus, phlox, bougainvillea, coral tree blossoms and bird of paradise. If there were no city here, flower-growing could still flourish as an industry, as it does in Lompoc. Wisteria has been known to grow to house-lot size, and in Descanso Gardens there are forests of camellia trees. Orchids require special attention in this Mediterranean climate. See also: Los Angeles Basin, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles County, California, and Maps of Los Angeles, California

Geology

Like most areas of California, Los Angeles is subject to San Jacinto and Banning faults in southern California. The most recent major earthquake was the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which was centered in the northern San Fernando Valley. Coming less than two years after the L.A. riots, the Northridge earthquake was an emotional shock to Southern Californians, and caused physical damage totalling billions of dollars. Other major earthquakes in the Los Angeles area include the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake, the 1971 Sylmar earthquake, and the Long Beach earthquake">1933 Long Beach earthquake. Nevertheless, most earthquakes are relatively minor. Many Angelenos feel one or two minor earthquakes per year, which do little or no damage. Imperceptible quakes are detected by Seismometers on a daily basis.

Climate

A large Jacaranda tree in bloom.

A large Jacaranda tree in bloom. The city is situated in a Mediterranean climate or subtropical zone, experiencing mild, wet winters and warm to hot, dry summers. Generally the weather is warm and dry in all seasons, with 325 days of sunshine a year. 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, and summer temperatures can sometimes vary by as much as 20 degrees warmer in the inland communities compared to that of the coastal communities. Temperatures in the summer can get well over 90 °F (32 °C), but average summer daytime highs are 85 °F (29 °C), with overnight lows of 66 °F (18 °C). Winter daytime high temperatures will get up to around 70 °F (21 °C), on average, with overnight lows of 48 °F (8 °C) and during this season rain is a possibility. The median temperature in January is 58.3 °F (14.6 °C) and 74.3 °F (23.5 °C) in July. The highest temperature recorded within city borders was 116.0 °F (46.7 °C) in Canoga Park in 1985; the lowest temperature recorded was 18.0°F (?7.8 °C) in 1989, also in Canoga Park. The highest temperature ever recorded for Downtown Los Angeles was 112.0 °F (44.4 °C) on June 26, 1990, and the lowest temperature ever recorded was 28.0 °F (?2.2 °C) on January 4, 1949. Rain occurs mainly in the winter and spring months (February being the wettest month) with great variations in storm severity year by year. Los Angeles averages 15 inches (381mm) of precipitation per year. It rarely snows in the city basin, but the mountains slopes within city limits typically receive snow every year. When the weather is just right, it is possible to snow ski, and surf on the same day in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

Pollution

Downtown Los Angeles on a smoggy late afternoon with Griffith Observatory in the foreground.

Downtown Los Angeles on a smoggy late afternoon with Griffith Observatory in the foreground.
Due to the city's geography as well as the population's heavy reliance on automobiles as a major form of transportation, the city suffers from severe air pollution in the form of smog. The Los Angeles Basin and the San Fernando Valley hold in the fumes from automobiles, diesel trucks, shipping, and locomotive engines, as well as manufacturing and other sources. In addition, the groundwater is increasingly threatened by MTBE from gas stations and perchlorate from rocket fuel. Some consider urban sprawl to be a result of the city's transportation system. Light pollution is also a problem. Unlike other large cities that rely on rain to clear smog, Los Angeles only gets 15 inches of rain each year, so the smog is able to accumulate over multiple consecutive days. This has brought much attention from the state of California to the need for low emissions vehicles. As a result, pollution levels have dropped markedly in recent decades. The number of Stage 1 smog alerts has declined from over 100 per year in the 1970s to almost zero in the new millennium.

Economy

The Long Beach together compose the most significant port in North America and one of the most important ports in the world. They are vital to trade within the Pacific Rim. Los Angeles is the world center for the entertainment industry, including adult entertainment. Other significant industries include media production, finance, aerospace, telecommunications, law, tourism, health and medicine, and transportation.
The city is home to three major Fortune 500 companies, including aerospace contractor Northrop Grumman, energy company Occidental Petroleum Corporation, and homebuilding company KB Home.
Other companies headquartered in Los Angeles include Metro Interactive, LLC, Guess, Inc., Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP, 21st Century Insurance, and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.
The metropolitan area contains the headquarters of even more companies, many of whom wish to escape the city's high taxes. For example, Los Angeles charges a gross receipts tax based on a percentage of business revenue, while most neighboring cities charge only small flat fees. The companies below clearly benefit from their proximity to Los Angeles, while at the same time they also avoid the city's taxes (and other problems). Some of the major companies headquartered in cities adjacent to Los Angeles include Long Beach), ICANN (Marina Del Rey), Cunard Line (Santa Clarita), Princess Cruises (Santa Clarita), Activision (Santa Monica), and RAND (Santa Monica).
There are many other well-known companies with headquarters located in the County of Los Angeles or the greater Los Angeles area, but they are far beyond the City of Los Angeles (and the scope of this article).

Further information: Los Angeles County Economy

People and culture

The people of Los Angeles are known as Angelenos. L.A. can truly be described as a "world city" (Alpha World City) — that is, it has one of the largest and most diverse populations of any municipality anywhere. The Hispanic and Asian American populations are growing particularly quickly — the Asian American population is the second largest of any city in the U.S. Los Angeles hosts the largest populations of Armenians, Cambodians, Filipinos, Guatemalans, Hungarians, Israelis, Koreans, Mexicans, Salvadorans, Thais, and Vietnamese outside of their respective countries. Los Angeles is also home to the largest populations of Iranians and Japanese living in the U.S., and has one of the largest Native American populations in the country.
Los Angeles is home to people from more than 140 countries, who speak at least 224 different languages. Ethnic enclaves like Chinatown, Historic Filipinotown, Koreatown, Little Armenia, Little Ethiopia, Little Persia, Little Tokyo, and Thai Town give testimony to the polyglot character of Los Angeles.
Great restaurants of all types abound in Los Angeles, thus the city is a perfect place for exquisite dining. Many celebrity chefs are also based in the city, the most notable being Wolfgang Puck. The nightlife in Los Angeles is unmatched, with an immense array of bars, clubs, lounges, and other venues that cater to every taste imaginable. Nighttime hotspots include places such as Downtown Los Angeles, Silver Lake, Hollywood, and West Hollywood, which is the home of the world-famous Sunset Strip. Furthermore, the Los Angeles area also boasts an unrivaled shopping scene. Anything can be bought in the city; some of the best shopping areas include Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Third Street Promenade and Montana Avenue in Santa Monica, Old Town Pasadena, the Hollywood and Highland complex, the Beverly Center, the Grove, Melrose Avenue, and Robertson Boulevard. See also: List of people from Los Angeles and List of songs about Los Angeles

Religion

Los Angeles is home to adherents of many religions, and by some estimates is the most religiously diverse location in the history of world, containing sizable communities of all major religions. The city has the second-largest United States, after York City">New York City. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Los Angeles leads the largest archdiocese in the country. Roger Cardinal Mahony oversaw construction of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, completed in 2002 at the north end of downtown. The Los Angeles Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is their second-largest temple and is located in West Los Angeles.
The Azusa Street Revival (1906–1909) in Los Angeles was a key milestone in the history of the Pentecostal movement. Los Angeles can be called the birthplace of Christian Fundamentalism. From 1908 to 1959 the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (B.I.O.L.A. now Biola University) was located in downtown at the corner of Hope and Sixth streets, in front and to the west of the Los Angeles Central Library building. In 1913, B.I.O.L.A. published a set of books called The Fundamentals, which presented a defense of the traditional conservative interpretation of the Holy Bible. The term fundamentalism is derived from these books.
In the 1920s, Aimee Semple McPherson established a thriving evangelical ministry, with her Angelus Temple in Echo Park open to both black and white church members. Billy Graham became a celebrity during a successful revival campaign in Los Angeles in 1949. Herbert W. Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God used to have its headquarters in nearby Pasadena, now in Glendale. Until his death in 2005, Dr. Gene Scott was based near downtown. The Metropolitan Community Church, a fellowship of Christian congregations a focus on outreach to gays and lesbians, was started in Los Angeles in 1968 by Troy Perry. Jack Chick, of "Chick Tracts", was born in Boyle Heights and lived in the area most of his life.
Because of Los Angeles's large multi-ethnic population there are numerous organizations in the area representing a wide variety of faiths, including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Bahá'í, various Eastern Orthodox Churches, Sufism and others. Immigrants from Asia for example, have formed a number of significant Buddhist congregations. Los Angeles has been a destination for Swamis and Gurus since as early as 1900, including Paramahansa Yogananda (1920). The Self-Realization Fellowship is headquartered in Hollywood and has a private park in Pacific Palisades. Los Angeles is the home to a number of Neopagans, as well as adherents of various other mystical religions. One wing of the Theosophist movement is centered in Los Angeles, and another is in neighboring Pasadena. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi founded the Transcendental Meditation movement in Los Angeles in the late 1950s. The Kabbalah Centre is in the city. Church of Scientology has had a major presence in Los Angeles since it opened February 18, 1954, and the city probably contains more Scientologists than any other city in the world. They have several churchs, museums, and recuiting sites in the area, most notably the Celebrity Centre in Hollywood.

Districts and communities

Sunset Strip

Sunset Strip
Main article: List of districts and neighborhoods of Los Angeles

The city is divided into many neighborhoods, many of which were towns that were annexed by the growing city. There are also several independent cities in and around Los Angeles, but they are popularly grouped with the city of Los Angeles by most people since they lie mostly in Los Angeles County and are thus very intertwined. Generally, the city is divided into the following areas: Downtown, East Los Angeles, South Los Angeles, the Harbor, Hollywood, Mid-City, Westside Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, and the San Gabriel Valley. Some well-known communities of the Los Angeles region include the Downtown financial district, Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Hollywood, Hancock Park, Koreatown, and the very affluent neighborhoods and towns of the western Los Angeles metro area such as West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Century City, Westwood, Brentwood, Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades, and Malibu. Further information: Greater Los Angeles Area, and [[]], and [[]], and [[]], and [[]], and [[]], and [[]], and [[]], and [[]]

Education

University of California, Los Angeles

University of Southern California

University of Southern California The school district that serves the city of Los Angeles is the Los Angeles Unified School District. After Proposition 13 in 1978, urban school districts had considerable trouble with funding and LAUSD became known for its underfunded, overcrowded and poorly maintained campuses. Wealthy and upper-middle-class parents placed their children in elite private schools, while middle-class families fled into suburban school districts beyond LAUSD boundaries. Since then, the LAUSD has embarked on an aggressive school construction program to relieve overcrowding.
There are several public colleges and universities in the city, including the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA), and California State University, Northridge (CSUN). Private schools in the city include the University of Southern California (USC), Pepperdine University, Loyola Marymount University (LMU), Mount St. Mary's College, Occidental College (Oxy), Otis College of Art and Design (Otis), Alliant International University, Southwestern University School of Law, and Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc).
The community college system consists of Los Angeles Valley College, Los Angeles Mission College, Los Angeles Southwest College, Los Angeles Trade Technical College See also: Los Angeles County, California#Colleges and universities and List of high schools in Los Angeles County, California

Media

The major daily newspaper in the area is The Los Angeles Times. La Opinión is the city's major Spanish-language paper. There are also a wide variety of smaller regional newspapers, alternative weeklies and magazines, including the Los Angeles Newspaper Group's Daily News (which focuses coverage on the Valley), Village Voice Media's L.A. Weekly, L.A. City Beat, Los Angeles magazine, Los Angeles Business Journal, Los Angeles Daily Journal (legal industry paper), The Hollywood Reporter and Variety (entertainment industry papers), The Planning Report, and Los Angeles Downtown News. In addition to the English and Spanish language papers, numerous local periodicals serve immigrant communities in their native languages (e.g. Korean, Persian and Japanese).
Most of the above papers are center-left or left in their political stance with the clear exception of the Daily News, which is center-right. One example of this is that the L.A. Times often does thorough investigative journalism on inner-city issues such as health care and crime, while the L.A. Daily News is usually content to run wire stories on those issues, if it covers them at all. The L.A. Daily News also focuses on business issues, education, and crime. It strongly supports lowering taxes.
Many cities adjacent to Los Angeles also have their own daily newspapers whose coverage and availability overlaps into certain Los Angeles neighborhoods. Examples include the Daily Breeze (serving the South Bay), and Long Beach Press-Telegram">The Long Beach Press-Telegram.
The Los Angeles metro area is served by a wide variety of local television stations, and is the second largest designated market area (DMA) in the U.S. with 5,431,140 homes (4.956% of the U.S.). The major network television affiliates include KABC-TV 7 (ABC), KCBS 2 (CBS), KNBC 4 (NBC), KTTV 11 (FOX), KTLA 5 (WB), and KCOP 13 (UPN), and KPXN 30 (i). There are also four PBS stations in the area, including KVCR 24, KCET 28, KOCE 50, and KLCS 58. World TV operates on two channels, KNET 25 and KSFV-LP 27. There are also several Spanish-language television networks, including KMEX 34 (Univision), KFTR 46 (Telefutura), KVEA 52 (Telemundo), and KAZA 54 (Azteca America). KTBN 40 (Trinity Broadcasting Network), is a religious station in the area.
Several independent television stations also operate in the area, including KCAL 9 (owned by CBS/Viacom), KSCI 18 (focuses primarily on Asian language programming), KWHY 22 (Spanish-language), KNLA-LP 27 (Spanish-language), KJLA 33 (variety), KPAL-LP 38, KXLA 44, KDOC 56 (classic programming and local sports), KJLA 57 (variety), and KRCA 62 (Asian language programming). See also: List of television shows set in Los Angeles

Sister cities

Los Angeles has twenty-one sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI).

Greece
New Zealand
Germany
France
South Korea
Israel
Egypt
Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
Indonesia
Lithuania

Zambia

Lusaka, Zambia Philippines
Mexico
Australia
India
Japan
Russia
Brazil
Croatia

Iran

Tehran, Iran
Taiwan
Canada

References

Mike Davis, City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles, Vintage Books, 1992
Norman M. Klein, The History of Forgetting: Los Angeles and the Erasure of Memory, Verso, 1997
Lynell George, No crystal stair : African Americans in the city of angels, London : Verso, 1992
Leonard Pitt & Dale Pitt, Los Angeles A to Z: An Encyclopedia of the City and County, University of California Press, 2000
Peter Theroux, Translating LA: A Tour of the Rainbow City, Norton, 1994
David L. Ulin (ed), Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology, Library of America, 2002

Geography and climate

Geography

Los Angeles' large urban sprawl: About 18 million people live in the imaged area.