Southern California

Southern California, sometimes abbreviated SoCal, is an informal name for the southern one-third of the state of California. There are no clear, exact boundaries for this area; instead, residents rely on physical features to establish the boundary. On the west is the Pacific Ocean; to the south is the international border between the United States and Mexico; and to the east is the state border between California and Arizona.

Related Topics:
California - Pacific Ocean - Mexico - Arizona

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The northern boundary is more difficult to define. One generally accepted 'physical' boundary between Southern California and the rest of the state is the Tehachapi Mountain range located about 100 miles north of Los Angeles . Another useful boundary is the San Gabriel Mountain range located about 10 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. Depending on which of the two mountain ranges is used for the northern boundary of the region, different communities/cities and counties are included in, or excluded from, the area called "Southern California":

Related Topics:
Tehachapi Mountain range - Los Angeles - San Gabriel Mountain range

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• Using the San Gabriel Mountain range as the boundary, politically the following six counties (in descending order of population) are included: Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Imperial.
• Using the Tehachapi Mountain range as the northern boundary, the following counties could also be included: Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, and Kern.

Southern California is also divided into the Coastal Region (Orange County, Los Angeles County, San Diego County, Santa Barbara County, and Ventura County) and the larger, more sparsly populated, desert Inland Empire (San Bernardino County, Riverside County, and Imperial County). The division between the Coastal Regions and the Inland Empire winds along the backs of the coastal mountain ranges such as the Santa Ana Mountains.

Related Topics:
Orange County - Los Angeles County - San Diego County - Santa Barbara County - Ventura County - Inland Empire - San Bernardino County - Riverside County - Imperial County

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Southern California is a heavily developed urban environment. It is one of the most urbanized regions in the United States, second only to the Washington, D.C./New York/Boston megalopolis (BosWash). Much of SoCal is famous for its large, spread-out, suburban communities. The dominant areas are Los Angeles, San Diego, and Orange County; each of which is the center of their respective metropolitan areas, which comprise numerous other cities and communities. Review the metropolitan pages for more information regarding these cities, the economy, demographics, etc. The Tech Coast is a moniker that has gained popular use as a descriptor for the region's diversified technology and industrial base as well as its multitude of research universities and other public and private R&D institutions.

Related Topics:
Washington, D.C. - New York - Boston - Megalopolis - BosWash - Los Angeles - San Diego - Orange County - Tech Coast

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A related geographical term is cismontane Southern California, which refers to the portion of California on the coastal side of the Transverse and Peninsular mountain ranges. The term "Southern California" often refers to this region specifically, as opposed to largely desert areas comprising the rest of the southern portion of the state, which are referred to as transmontane Southern California.

Related Topics:
Transverse - Peninsular

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Southern California: Regions ►