Sunday, May 16, 2010

LA - City of Angels

Los Angeles is the second largest city in the United States, the largest city in the state of California and the Western United States, with a population of 3.8 million. The urban area of Los Angeles extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of over 14.8 million, it is the 14th largest urban area in the world, affording it megacity status.


Los Angeles was founded on September 4, 1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles del Río de Porciúncula (The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of the river of Porziuncola). It became a part of Mexico in 1821, following its independence from Spain. In 1848, at the end of the Mexican-American War, Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thereby becoming part of the United States; Mexico retained the territory of Baja California. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4, 1850, five months before California achieved statehood.


Often known by its initials, L.A., and nicknamed the City of Angels, Los Angeles is a world center of business, international trade, entertainment, culture, media, fashion, science, technology, and education. It is home to renowned institutions covering a broad range of professional and cultural fields, and is one of the most substantial economic engines within the United States.

As the home base of Hollywood, it is known as the "Entertainment Capital of the World", leading the world in the creation of motion pictures, television production, video games, and recorded music. The importance of the entertainment business to the city has led many celebrities to call Los Angeles and its surrounding suburbs home.


Los Angeles enjoys a subtropical climate, with an average of 320 sunshine days and only 35 days with measurable precipitation annually. The summer's season lasts nearly all year round, although during the period from December to April temperatures are alternately - between a fifty several and seventy several degrees Fahrenheit (a dozen or so and twenty-some degrees Celsius) during the day.

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