California is a state in the Western United States, lying on the American Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and a international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the south. With 39 million residents across an area of 163,696 square miles (423,970 km2), it is the most populous U.S. state, the third-largest by area, and most populated subnational entity in North America. The Greater Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas are the nation's second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, with 19 million and 10 million residents respectively. Los Angeles is the state's most populous city and the nation's second-most, after New York. California's capital, Sacramento, is located in the Central Valley.
Sacramento County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,585,055. Its county seat is Sacramento, which has been the state capital of California since 1854.
San Joaquin County, officially the County of San Joaquin, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 779,233. The county seat is Stockton.
Stanislaus County is a county located in the San Joaquin Valley of the U.S. state of California. As of 2023, its estimated population is 564,404. The county seat is Modesto.
The Central Valley is a broad, elongated, flat valley that dominates the interior of California. It is 40–60 mi (60–100 km) wide and runs approximately 450 mi (720 km) from north-northwest to south-southeast, inland from and parallel to the Pacific coast of the state. It covers approximately 18,000 sq mi (47,000 km2), about 11% of California's land area. The valley is bounded by the Coast Ranges to the west and the Sierra Nevada to the east.
Northern California is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's 58 counties. Northern California in its largest definition is determined by dividing the state into two regions, the other being Southern California. The main northern population centers include the San Francisco Bay Area, the Greater Sacramento area, the Redding, California, area south of the Cascade Range, and the Metropolitan Fresno area. Northern California also contains redwood forests, along with most of the Sierra Nevada, including Yosemite Valley and part of Lake Tahoe, Mount Shasta, and most of the Central Valley, one of the world's most productive agricultural regions. Northern California is also home to Silicon Valley, the global headquarters for some of the most powerful tech and Internet-related companies in the world, including Meta, Apple, Google, and Nvidia.
The Greater Richmond Region, the Richmond metropolitan area or Central Virginia, is a region and metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Virginia, centered on Richmond. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines the area as the Richmond, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) used by the U.S. Census Bureau and other entities. The OMB defines the area as comprising 17 county-level jurisdictions, including the independent cities of Richmond, Petersburg, Hopewell, and Colonial Heights. As of 2020, it had a population of 1,314,434, making it the 44th largest MSA in the country.
The Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area is a United States Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in the state of Virginia, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as of June 2003. As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 228,616. In 2009 this was estimated to have risen to 247,447; as of 2016, the Lynchburg MSA was estimated to have a population of 260,320, making it the fifth-largest metro area in the state.
California's major urban areas normally are thought of as two large megalopolises: one in Northern California and one in Southern California, separated from each other by approximately 382 miles or 615 km, with sparsely inhabited (relatively) Central Coast, Central Valley, and Transverse Ranges in between. Other ideas conceive of a single megalopolis encompassing both North and South, or a division of Coastal California vs. Inland California. These regional concepts are usually based on geographic, cultural, political, and environmental differences, rather than transportation and infrastructure connectivity and boundaries.
Central California is generally thought of as the middle third of the U.S. state of California, north of Southern California and south of Northern California. It includes the northern portion of the San Joaquin Valley, part of the Central Coast, the central hills of the California Coast Ranges and the foothills and mountain areas of the central Sierra Nevada.
People in the San Francisco Bay Area rely on a complex multimodal transportation infrastructure consisting of roads, bridges, highways, rail, tunnels, airports, seaports, and bike and pedestrian paths. The development, maintenance, and operation of these different modes of transportation are overseen by various agencies, including the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the Association of Bay Area Governments, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. These and other organizations collectively manage several interstate highways and state routes, eight passenger rail networks, eight trans-bay bridges, transbay ferry service, local and transbay bus service, three international airports, and an extensive network of roads, tunnels, and bike paths.
California's transportation system is complex and dynamic. Although known for its car culture and extensive network of freeways and roads, the state also has a vast array of rail, sea, and air transport. Several subway, light rail, and commuter rail networks are found in many of the state's largest population centers. In addition, with the state's location on the West Coast of the United States, several important ports in California handle freight shipments from the Pacific Rim and beyond. A number of airports are also spread out across the state, ranging from small general aviation airports to large international hubs like Los Angeles International Airport and San Francisco International Airport.
The Provo–Orem, UT Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget, is an area consisting of two counties in Utah, anchored by the cities of Provo and Orem. As of the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 671,185.
The Salt Lake City metropolitan area is the metropolitan area centered on the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau currently define the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area as comprising two counties: Salt Lake and Tooele. As of the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 1,257,936. The Salt Lake City Metropolitan Area and the Ogden-Clearfield Metropolitan Area were a single metropolitan area known as the Salt Lake City-Ogden Metropolitan Area until being separated in 2005.
The Ogden-Clearfield, UT Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget, is an area consisting of four counties in north central Utah, anchored by the cities of Ogden and Clearfield. As of the 2010 census, the MSA had a population of 547,184. On February 28, 2013 the White House released a Bulletin Revising delineations of CSA's and MSA's, which led to the addition of Box Elder County to the Ogden-Clearfield Metropolitan Statistical Area, bringing the MSA population to 597,159. This county was removed in the latest definitions and added to the newly created Brigham City, micropolitan statistical area.
The Greater Sacramento area refers to a metropolitan region in Northern California comprising either the U.S. Census Bureau defined Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade metropolitan statistical area or the larger Sacramento–Roseville combined statistical area, the latter of which consists of seven counties, namely Sacramento, Yolo, Placer, El Dorado, Sutter, Yuba, and Nevada counties.
Metropolitan Fresno, officially Fresno–Hanford–Corcoran, CA CSA, is a metropolitan area in the San Joaquin Valley, in the United States, consisting of Fresno and Madera counties. It is the third-largest metropolitan region in Northern California, behind the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Sacramento. It is also the 49th-largest CSA in the U.S. as of 2010 census.
The Heber Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget, is an area consisting of two counties in Utah. It is part of the Salt Lake City–Provo–Orem combined statistical area, along with the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, Ogden–Clearfield metropolitan area, and Provo–Orem metropolitan area.
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