Nepedia
Back to Discover
Fluent Reader
🗺️

Los Angeles

geography Maturity 11-13 Next article →

Los Angeles is a massive city in California.

Los Angeles by Sentinel-2, 2019-03-30
Los Angeles by Sentinel-2, 2019-03-30

It is the largest city in the Western United States. About 3.88 million people live within the city limits. This makes it the second-most populous city in the whole country.

Skyline view of Los Angeles, California LCCN2013631685 (cropped)
Skyline view of Los Angeles, California LCCN2013631685 (cropped)

The city sits in the Los Angeles Basin. It is right next to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It also reaches into the San Fernando Valley and the Santa Monica Mountains.

Venice Beach, Los Angeles, CA 07
Venice Beach, Los Angeles, CA 07

The city grew in many different ways over time. First, people found oil in the 1890s. This helped the city expand very quickly. Later, they built the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913. This is a long path that brings water from Eastern California.

Lake Hollywood Reservoir by clinton steeds
Lake Hollywood Reservoir by clinton steeds

This water allowed even more people to move to the area. The city also made rules for how land could be used. They created the first municipal zoning laws in the United States in 1908.

Long ago, the Tongva people lived in this region. They had a settlement called Yaanga.

El Cabrillo Courtyard
El Cabrillo Courtyard

In 1542, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo claimed the area for Spain. Later, a group of 44 settlers founded the town in 1781. They called it a pueblo.

Los Angeles Plaza-1
Los Angeles Plaza-1

The area later became part of the First Mexican Empire in 1821. After the Mexican-American War ended in 1848, it became part of the United States. The city was officially incorporated in 1850.

Los Angeles is a very busy place for business today. It is a global hub for making films and television shows.

Paramount Pictures studio gate, c. 1940 (cropped)
Paramount Pictures studio gate, c. 1940 (cropped)

It also has one of the busiest container ports in the Americas.

Los Angeles Harbor - panoramio - Zzyzx (1)
Los Angeles Harbor - panoramio - Zzyzx (1)

The city is famous for hosting big sporting events. It hosted the Summer Olympics in 1932 and 1984.

Olympic Torch Tower of the Los Angeles Coliseum
Olympic Torch Tower of the Los Angeles Coliseum

It will host the Olympic games again in 2028.

Many people love to visit this bright city. In 2023, over 2.7 million visitors came to see it.

Chinese Theatre (26776735090)
Chinese Theatre (26776735090)

You can see many different types of buildings there. Some are famous works by the architect Frank Gehry. The city is also part of a huge metropolitan area. This area has over 18.5 million residents in total. It is a place where many different cultures meet and live together.

354 words

Where will your curiosity go next?

Keep exploring at your chosen reading level.

🖼️ Images & Media (50)
File:Mission San Fernando Rey de España (Oriana Day) (cropped).jpg
Mission San Fernando Rey de España...
File:Portrait of Pio Pico (Californian State Library) (detail).jpg
Portrait of Pio Pico (Californian State...
File:Treaty of Cahuenga.jpg
Treaty of Cahuenga.jpg
File:Paramount Pictures studio gate, c. 1940 (cropped).jpg
Paramount Pictures studio gate, c. 1940...
File:WSA Photo 4235.jpg
WSA Photo 4235.jpg
File:Olympic Torch Tower of the Los Angeles Coliseum.jpg
Olympic Torch Tower of the Los Angeles...
File:48 California Willshire Grand (cropped).jpg
48 California Willshire Grand (cropped).jpg
File:Los Angeles by Sentinel-2, 2019-03-30.jpg
Los Angeles by Sentinel-2, 2019-03-30.jpg
File:The Duck Pond at Playa del Rey.jpg
The Duck Pond at Playa del Rey.jpg
File:Mt. Lukens overlooking La Crescenta-Montrose.jpg
Mt. Lukens overlooking La Crescenta-Montrose.jpg
File:The Griffith Observatory at night, Mt. Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.jpg
The Griffith Observatory at night, Mt....
File:Lake Hollywood Reservoir by clinton steeds.jpg
Lake Hollywood Reservoir by clinton steeds.jpg

+ 38 more

More to explore

🔬 Go deeper

More advanced topics to explore

🪜 Step back

Simpler topics to build understanding

What is Nepedia?

A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.