22 facts about Philadelphia
Philadelphia is one of the most important and historically rich cities in the United States, the first capital of the US.Founded for religious toleran ...
Los Angeles, the largest city in California and the second largest city in the United States, was founded in 1781 when a group of settlers founded a pueblo called the City of Our Lady Queen of Angels. Today it is one of the most influential cities in the world, the industrial center of the western United States. As the "Creative Capital of the World", it brings together many people working in the creative industry that has never existed in any other place and time in the history of civilization. It also houses the global center of the film industry - Hollywood - the dream of many young people around the world.
California is the most populous, richest (if it were a separate country, it would be the 5th economy in the world), and the third largest (after Alaska and Texas) US state. Its territory stretches between the Pacific coast in the west and the Sierra Nevada mountains in the east, the Mojave Desert in the southeast, and forests (predominantly redwood and Douglas fir) in the northeast. The three largest metropolises in California are Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco. Eight of the fifty largest cities in the United States are located there.
It is also the third largest city in North America, after Mexico City and New York. The population of Los Angeles is approximately 4 million people.
The city is the center of the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana agglomeration, which is inhabited by 13.1 million people, making it the second largest metropolitan area in the country, after New York, and one of the most populous metropolises in the world.
Los Angeles itself has been recognized as the most ethnically diverse American city - the city's inhabitants are often referred to as Angelenos.
The majority are white people (49.8%), followed by African Americans (9.6%), people of Indian origin (0.7%), people with Asian roots (11.3%), newcomers from the Pacific Islands and others. In the years 2006-2008, the most dominant among the inhabitants of Los Angeles coming from Europe were: Germans, Irish, English, Italians, Russians, Poles, French, Scots, and Swedes. The vision of Los Angeles as a multicultural city is complemented by ethnic enclaves such as Chinatown, Koreatown, and Little Tokyo.
The most famous districts include West Adams, Compton, Watts, Leimert Park, Baldwin Hills, Venice, Financial District, Silver Lake, Hollywood, Koreatown, Westwood, and the affluent districts: Bel Air, Benedict Canyon, Hollywood Hills, Hancock Park, Pacific Palisades, Century City and Brentwood.
Which translates as " City of Our Lady, Queen of Angels, of the Porciuncula River."
Ultimately, the city was founded in the village of iyaanga or Yaanga (meaning "place of poison oak") by the Spanish.
On August 2, 1769, the Spanish officer Gaspar de Portola, who served as the first governor of California, arrived in what is now Los Angeles. In 1771, the first missionary headquarters of Mission San Gabriel Arcangel (now on the UNESCO World Heritage List) was built in these areas, probably designed by the Franciscan missionary Junipero Serra.
More than half of the settlers were mestizos or mulattoes of African, Amerindian, or European descent. This settlement remained unchanged until 1820 when the population grew to approximately 650 people. Currently, the pueblo is located within the Los Angeles Pueblo Plaza Historic District and on Olvera Street, in the oldest part of the city.
The Mexicans ruled the city until 1847, when, as a result of the Mexican-American War, the Americans took control of Los Angeles.
In 1892, oil deposits were discovered in the city, which made California the largest oil producer in the United States in 1923, accounting for 1/4 of world oil production.
In 1913, the Los Angeles Aqueduct was opened and supplied four times more water than the city's needs. Thanks to this, further development was possible.
Many neighboring cities and communities were forced to join Los Angeles.
At that time, there were already ten film studios operating in the city. By 1921, over 80% of the world's film industry was concentrated in Los Angeles. The film industry generated a lot of money, which saved the city from greater economic losses during the Great Depression in 1929. By 1930, the population of Los Angeles exceeded one million.
The games were held from July 30 to August 14, 1932, during the global financial crisis. Therefore, many countries did not participate. 37 countries took part (46 at the Amsterdam Games in 1928). The then US president, Herbert Hoover, also did not participate in the Games. Although the Olympic organizing committee did not provide detailed financial data for the Games, contemporary newspapers reported a million USD profit for the city.
L.A. area was home to six of the nation's major aircraft manufacturers (Douglas Aircraft Company, Hughes Aircraft, Lockheed, North American Aviation, Northrop Corporation, and Vultee). During the war, more airplanes were produced in one year than in all the pre-war years since the Wright brothers flew the first airplane in 1903.
After the end of World War II, Los Angeles grew faster than ever. During the 1950s and 1960s, a network of highways was built, which helped develop suburban areas and caused the gradual decline of the Pacific Electric Railway Company - once the largest electric railway system in the world.
The riots broke out when a 21-year-old African-American man was stopped by police for drunk driving. The man's arrest was prevented by his mother, who came to the scene. There was a physical confrontation during which the drunk man was hit in the face with a baton. A crowd of onlookers gathered and a rumor spread that a policeman had hit a pregnant woman at the scene with a baton. Riots broke out and lasted for six days. Almost 14 thousand members of the California Army National Guard helped suppress them. The riots resulted in 34 deaths and over $40 million in property damage. It was the city's largest riot until the 1992 riot over the arrest of Rodney King.
The first ARPANET transmission was then made from the University of California in Los Angeles to the Stanford Research Institute in Menlo Park in San Francisco.
He served in this position for five terms until his retirement in 1993.
Despite being boycotted by 14 communist countries, they achieved greater financial success than the previous ones. The next Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held in Los Angeles in 2028, making it the third city to host the Olympic Games three times.
One of the most important faults is the San Andes, located on the border of the Pacific and North American plates. Therefore, L.A. is exposed to numerous earthquakes, which, fortunately, are of small magnitude and are unaffected by the inhabitants. In 1994, however, the city was rocked by the 6.7-magnitude Northridge earthquake, causing $12.5 billion in damage and 72 deaths. Parts of the city are also exposed to tsunamis. The port areas of Los Angeles were destroyed by waves from the 1960 Chilean earthquake.
A referendum was held in which the residents rejected the secession proposal.
The highest point in the city itself is Mount Lukens - the peak of the San Gabriel Mountains, with a height of 1547 m. The eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains stretches from the city center to the Pacific Ocean, separating Los Angeles from the San Fernando Valley. There are much higher mountains around the city. To the north lie the San Gabriel Mountains, which are a popular recreational area for Angelenos. The highest peak in the Greater Los Angeles area is Mount San Gorgonio, at 3506 m.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers turned this river into a fire protection channel - its banks were concreted for 82 km and the river flows through concrete channels.
Chaparral is an evergreen, thicket plant formation that is a characteristic component of sclerophyllous vegetation, found in western North America. It is the equivalent of maquis from the Mediterranean Basin. Chaparral is shaped by the Mediterranean climate and intense fires. It covers 9% of California's wild vegetation and contains 20% of its plant species.
Palm trees are common in the Los Angeles area.
The official tree of Los Angeles is the coral tree (Erythrina caffra), although it is not native to the area.
The official flower is strelitzia, the bird of paradise (Strelitzia reginae).
It is characterized by morning clouds or fog that disappear before noon, giving way to sunny, cloudless skies.
The city is the industrial center of the western United States. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are the five busiest seaports in the world, the most important ports in the Western Hemisphere, and key trade centers among the countries of the Pacific Ocean basin. Los Angeles is the third largest economic center in the world, second only to the metropolises of Tokyo and New York.
In L.A. is the headquarters of seven corporations from the Fortune 500 list - an annual ranking of the 500 largest American companies, classified by gross revenues.
The "light" railway is the second most popular structure of this type in the country in terms of the number of users.
It is the fourth busiest commercial airport in the world and the second in the United States. In 2017, LAX welcomed over 84 million passengers.
One in six city residents works in the creative industry. In L.A. More artists, authors, filmmakers, actors, dancers, and musicians live and work than in any other place and time in the history of civilization.
The city hosts the annual Academy Awards ceremony. It is the oldest and most respected awards ceremony in the world. There is also the oldest film school in the United States - USC School of Cinematic Arts.
There are 841 museums and art galleries in Los Angeles County. It houses, among others, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the largest art museum on the US West Coast, and Getty Center - the wealthiest art institution in the world.
