Southern California, sometimes abbreviated SoCal or colloquially, the Southland, is an informal name for the megalopolis and nearby desert that occupies the southern-most quarter of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people, and is the nation's second most populated region, behind only the BosWash Region in the Eastern United States. 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; to the east are the Mojave and Colorado Deserts and the Colorado River at the state's border with Arizona and Nevada. To the north is the Tehachapi Mountain range, located about 70 miles north of Los Angeles, which separates the region from rest of the state. However, the tremendous growth of Southern California has led to explosive growth in outlying regions, namely the Bakersfield, Las Vegas, and Phoenix areas, and many now consider even those extreme regions a part of the Southern California megalopolis.

Significance

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Within its boundaries are two world cities (Los Angeles, the "capital" of SoCal, and San Diego, to the south) and three of the world's one hundred largest metropolitan areas. The region is also home to LAX, the nation's #1 international gateway and overall 3rd busiest airport, and Van Nuys Airport, the world's busiest general aviation airport, Ontario International Airport, John Wayne International Airport and San Diego International Airport, also known as Lindbergh Field which is the nation's busiest, and world's second busiest single-runway major airport. Southern California is also home to the Port of Los Angeles, the nation's busiest commercial port. Also of note in the region is the infamous Los Angeles Freeway System, the world's busiest. Six of the seven lines of the commuter rail system, Metrolink, run out of Downtown Los Angeles, connecting Los Angeles County, Ventura County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County, Orange County, and San Diego County, with the other line connecting San Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange counties directly: the nation's first suburb-to-suburb commuter rail line.

Southern California is also home to some of the world's most prestigious universites and research facilities, such as UCLA, USC, Loyola Marymount, Claremont Consortium of Colleges, Pepperdine University, Cal Tech, five University of California campuses (San Diego, Irvine, Riverside, Santa Barbara, the aforementioned Los Angeles campus), and eleven California State University campuses. 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.

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Snow in Birmngham but the Tide is rising in Southern California
ballscores (Pat Bentley) Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:36:55 -0000
Snow in Birmngham but the Tide is rising in Southern California
1949 - The announcement of the first photograph of genes was shown at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
handcraftedpens (Randy Filkin) Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:35:23 -0000
1949 - The announcement of the first photograph of genes was shown at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
Cientistas testam aparelho contra obesidade: ALHAMBRA - Cientistas da University of Southern California estão dese... http://bit.ly/5d9GN8
julirenner (Juliana) Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:34:00 -0000
Cientistas testam aparelho contra obesidade: ALHAMBRA - Cientistas da University of Southern California estão dese... http://bit.ly/5d9GN8
Cientistas testam aparelho contra obesidade: ALHAMBRA - Cientistas da University of Southern California estão dese... http://bit.ly/8Tkb2v
Paulaohenrique (paulo henrique ) Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:33:59 -0000
Cientistas testam aparelho contra obesidade: ALHAMBRA - Cientistas da University of Southern California estão dese... http://bit.ly/8Tkb2v
(From @StevilKinevil) Major environmental disaster in Southern California. http://tinyurl.com/y9uoznh Nice work ONN :o)
SingletrackDave (Dave Anderson) Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:23:08 -0000
(From @StevilKinevil) Major environmental disaster in Southern California. http://tinyurl.com/y9uoznh Nice work ONN :o)
This snow is crazy. I wish we could move chicago to southern california for the winter
mztrish1 (tricia holt) Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:16:26 -0000
This snow is crazy. I wish we could move chicago to southern california for the winter

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