Southern California is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban agglomeration in the United States. The region generally contains ten of California's 58 counties: Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties.
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with more than ten million inhabitants as of the 2020 census. It is the most populous non–state-level government entity in the United States. Its population is greater than that of 40 individual U.S. states. Los Angeles County has the 3rd largest metropolitan area economy in the world, with a nominal GDP of more than $1.0 trillion. At 4,083 square miles (10,570 km2) and with 88 incorporated cities and many unincorporated areas, it is larger than the combined areas of Delaware and Rhode Island. The county is home to more than one-quarter of California residents and is one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the United States. Its county seat, Los Angeles, is also California's most populous city and the second most populous city in the United States, with about four million residents.
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located just north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated areas and the incorporated cities of Burbank, Calabasas, Glendale, Hidden Hills, and San Fernando. The valley is well known for its iconic film studios such as Warner Bros. Studio and Walt Disney Studios. In addition, it is home to the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), commonly branded as Metro, is the agency that plans, operates, and coordinates funding for most of the transportation system in Los Angeles County. The agency directly operates a large transit system that includes bus, light rail, heavy rail (subway), and bus rapid transit services; and provides funding for transit it does not operate, including Metrolink commuter rail, municipal bus operators and paratransit services. Metro also provides funding and directs planning for railroad and highway projects within Los Angeles County.
The San Gabriel Mountains are a mountain range located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Transverse Ranges and lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert, with Interstate 5 to the west and Interstate 15 to the east. The range lies in, and is surrounded by, the Angeles and San Bernardino National Forests, with the San Andreas Fault as its northern border.
The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, lying generally to the east of the city of Los Angeles. Surrounding features include:
The Ventura Freeway is a freeway in southern California, United States, running from the Santa Barbara/Ventura county line to Pasadena in Los Angeles County. It is the principal east-west route through Ventura County and in the southern San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County. From the Santa Barbara County line to its intersection with the Hollywood Freeway in the southeastern San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, it is signed as U.S. Route 101 (US 101), which was built in the late 1950s and opened on April 5, 1960. East of the Hollywood Freeway intersection, it is signed as State Route 134 (SR 134) which was built by 1971.
The Santa Susana Mountains are a transverse range of mountains in Southern California, north of the city of Los Angeles, in the United States. The range runs east-west, separating the San Fernando Valley and Simi Valley on its south from the Santa Clara River Valley to the north and the Santa Clarita Valley to the northeast. The Oxnard Plain is to the west of the Santa Susana Mountains.
The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie within Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and Kern counties. The Peninsular Ranges lie to the south. The name Transverse Ranges is due to their east–west orientation, making them transverse to the general northwest–southeast orientation of most of California's coastal mountains.
The San Fernando Pastoral Region is a pastoral region of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in the Roman Catholic Church. It covers the San Fernando, Santa Clarita, and Antelope Valleys. The current regional auxiliary bishop is Bishop Alejandro D. Aclan. The Region has 54 parishes, 12 high schools, 2 hospitals, and 1 Spanish Mission.
The Santa Barbara Pastoral Region is a pastoral region of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in the Roman Catholic Church. It covers Santa Barbara and Ventura counties in the State of California, an area with a population in excess of 1.2 million. The region has 37 parishes, six high schools, 18 elementary schools, four hospitals, and four Spanish missions, including Mission Santa Barbara and Mission San Buenaventura. The region was created in 1986 as part of a plan by Los Angeles Archbishop Roger Mahony to make church leaders more accessible by dividing the sprawling Los Angeles Archdiocese into five pastoral regions.
José Darío Argüello (1753–1828) was a Querétaro-born Californio politician, soldier, and ranchero. He served as interim Governor of Alta California and then a term as Governor of Baja California.
The Southern California Rugby Football Union (SCRFU), is the Geographical Union (GU) governing body within USA Rugby that governs adult rugby union teams in Southern California, the Las Vegas metropolitan area, Arizona, and New Mexico. The SCRFU includes numerous men's and women's, leagues representing all levels of competitive play. College rugby is run by the college conferences and Youth Rugby is governed by Southern California Youth Rugby (SCYR). During the busiest part of the 15s seasons, southern California will have over 80 matches in a weekend. The current board of SCRFU is Geno Mazza (president), Patrick Rashidian, Kevin Holmquist (treasurer) and Bradley Davidson (secretary).
California's State Assembly districts are numbered 1st through 80th, generally in north-to-south order.
The Old Santa Susana Stage Road, or Santa Susana Wagon Road, is a route taken by early travelers between the San Fernando Valley and Simi Valley near Chatsworth, California, via the Santa Susana Pass. The main route climbs through what is now the Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park, with a branch in Chatsworth Park South.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the U.S. state of California.
The history of the San Fernando Valley from its exploration by the 1769 Portola expedition to the annexation of much of it by the City of Los Angeles in 1915 is a story of booms and busts, as cattle ranching, sheep ranching, large-scale wheat farming, and fruit orchards flourished and faded. Throughout its history, settlement in the San Fernando Valley was shaped by availability of reliable water supplies and by proximity to the major transportation routes through the surrounding mountains.
The Sepúlveda family is a prominent Californio family of Southern California. Members of the family held extensive rancho grants and numerous important positions, including Alcalde of Los Angeles, California State Assemblymen, and Los Angeles County Supervisor.