Located along the Southern California coast and home to the second largest city in the United States, Los Angeles has been occupied by humans for almost 10,000 years.
Recorded history of the area began in 1542 with the arrival of the Spanish explorer, Juan Cabrillo. The first permanent settlement, a Spanish mission, was built in 1769, and the territory remained under Spanish control until 1821 when it passed to Mexico. Twenty- six years later, it became territory of the United States.
In the early part of the last century, the film industry made Los Angeles its home and the city experienced a period of growth that has pushed its population over the four million mark. It is a truly global city. It serves as the political, social, and cultural center of an extended metropolitan center of over eighteen million people. Although it is well known for the Hollywood based movie industry, Los Angeles is also the United States’ largest manufacturing center.
It is estimated that the population of Los Angeles is made of up of people from over 140 countries speaking over 224 different languages. The city is a cultural center offering just about every dining, entertainment, and recreational activity that could be imagined. Its location on the coast and its mild sub tropical climate make it an ideal vacation spot. Its residents, called Angelinos, must cope with many of the same problems that plague other huge metropolitan areas such as crime and air pollution. They do it, however, in one of the world’s most beautiful cities, "The City of the Angels."
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