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Los Angeles (formerly El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora Reina de Los Angeles de la Porciuncula, "Town of Our Lady Queen of the Angels of the Small Portion") is a large coastal metropolis in southern California in the United States. The city is the county seat of Los Angeles County.

Los Angeles is the largest city in California, and the second largest in the United States, in terms of population, with a population of 3,694,820 as of the 2000 census. The Los Angeles metropolitan area (Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura and Orange Counties) is home to over 16 million people of diverse ethnic and economic background.

Los Angeles is the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Baseball team, the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers National Basketball Association teams, the Los Angeles Sparks WNBA team, the Los Angeles Kings National Hockey League team, and the Los Angeles Galaxy Major League Soccer team. In suburban Orange County can be found the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim National Hockey League team and the Anaheim Angels Major League Baseball team.

The city was also twice host to the Olympic Games: the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics were held here.

History

The area was visited by the Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portolá in 1769, and in 1781 the town was founded. Located on the Los Angeles River, the town was a cattle ranching center. In 1846 the U.S. Army conquered the area. The arrival of the Southern Pacific railroad 1876 and the discovery of oil in the early 1890s stimulated expansion, as did the development of the movie industry in the early 20th century.

Expansion was not only economic, but also territorial; during the 1900s Los Angeles annexed many nearby cities and communities, from the port of San Pedro on the Pacific coast to the vast San Fernando Valley over the mountains to the north.

During World War II, Los Angeles grew as a center for production of war supplies and munitions, and thousands of African Americans migrated to the area to fill factory jobs. After the war massive immigration into surrounding suburban areas made Los Angeles enormously prosperous. In 1965, the African-American community of Watts was the site of six days of rioting that left 34 people dead and caused over $200 million in property damage. Race riots erupted again in 1992 after the acquittal of four white LAPD police officers accused of viciously beating an African-American motorist, Rodney King, while arresting him.

By the end of the 20th century, some of the annexed areas began to feel themselves cut off from the political process of the megalopolis, leading to a particularly strong secession movement in the San Fernando Valley. The referendums to split the city were rejected by voters in November 2002.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1,290.6 km² (498.3 mi²). 1,214.9 km² (469.1 mi²) of it is land and 75.7 km² (29.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 5.86% water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 3,694,820 people, 1,275,412 households, and 798,407 families residing in the city. The population density is 3,041.3/km² (7,876.8/mi²). There are 1,337,706 housing units at an average density of 1,101.1 persons/km² (2,851.8 persons/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 46.93% White, 11.24% African American, 0.80% Native American, 9.99% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 25.70% from other races, and 5.18% from two or more races. 46.53% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 1,275,412 households out of which 33.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.9% are married couples living together, 14.5% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 37.4% are non-families. 28.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.83 and the average family size is 3.56.

In the city the population is spread out with 26.6% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 34.1% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 32 years. For every 100 females there are 99.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 97.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $36,687, and the median income for a family is $39,942. Males have a median income of $31,880 versus $30,197 for females. The per capita income for the city is $20,671. 22.1% of the population and 18.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 30.3% are under the age of 18 and 12.6% are 65 or older.

Places / Things of Interest in and near the city

• Hollywood
• University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
• University of Southern California (USC)
• JPL (in Pasadena, California)
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
• Griffith Park
• The La Brea Tar Pits
• Santa Anita Racetrack
• Hollywood Park Rracetrack
• Knott's Berry Farm
• Disneyland
• Occidental College
• Loyola Marymount University
• Pepperdine University

Communities and Neighborhoods within the city of Los Angeles

• Canoga Park
• Chatsworth
• Encino
• Granada Hills
• Hancock Park
• Hollywood
• North Hills
• Northridge
• Pacific Palisades
• Playa del Rey
• Porter Ranch
• Reseda
• San Pedro
• Sherman Oaks
• Silverlake
• Tujunga
• Van Nuys
• Venice
• Watts
• West Hills
• Westchester
• Wilmington
• Winnetka
• Woodland Hills

Other nearby cities

• Santa Monica
• Beverly Hills
• Burbank
• Long Beach
• Anaheim
• Pasadena
• Torrance
• Whittier