About Los Angeles

Los Angeles (US: (listen) lawss AN-jəl-əs; Spanish: Los Ángeles [los ˈaŋxeles], lit. 'The Angels'), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With a population of roughly 3.9 million as of 2020, it is also the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world's most populous megacities. Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic and cultural diversity, Hollywood film industry, and sprawling metropolitan area. The city of Los Angeles lies in a basin in Southern California adjacent to the Pacific Ocean extending through the Santa Monica Mountains and into the San Fernando Valley. It covers about 469 square miles (1,210 km2), and is the seat of Los Angeles County, which is the most populous county in the United States with an estimated 9.86 million as of 2022.Home to the Chumash and Tongva indigenous peoples, the area that became Los Angeles was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542.