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Southern California, often abbreviated SoCal, is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises California's southernmost 10 counties. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. Southern California is traditionally described as "eight counties", based on demographics and economic ties: Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, San Diego, and Imperial.〔(Census of Population and Housing: Final Report. General demographic trends for metropolitan areas, California, p. 7 )〕 The heavily built-up urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura, through the Greater Los Angeles Area, the Inland Empire and down to San Diego. Southern California is a major economic center for the state of California and the United States. Another definition based on historical political divisions involves 10 counties from San Luis Obispo County to the Mexican border and from the Pacific Ocean inland to Nevada and Arizona. The 8- and 10-county definitions are not used for the greater Southern California Megaregion, one of the 11 megaregions of the United States. The megaregion's area is more expansive, extending east into Las Vegas, Nevada, and south across the Mexican border into Tijuana.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Megaregions )〕 Southern California's population encompasses eight metropolitan areas, or MSAs: the Los Angeles metropolitan area, consisting of Los Angeles and Orange counties; the Inland Empire, consisting of Riverside and San Bernardino counties; the San Diego metropolitan area; the Bakersfield metropolitan area; the Oxnard–Thousand Oaks–Ventura metropolitan area; the Santa Barbara metro area; the San Luis Obispo metropolitan area; and the El Centro area. Out of these, three are heavy populated areas: the Los Angeles area with over 12 million inhabitants, the Riverside-San Bernardino area with over four million inhabitants, and the San Diego area with over 3 million inhabitants. For CSA metropolitan purposes, the five counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura are all combined to make up the Greater Los Angeles Area with over 17.5 million people. With over 22 million people, southern California contains roughly 60% of California's population. To the east of southern California are the Colorado Desert and the Colorado River at the border with the state of Arizona and the Mojave Desert at the border with the state of Nevada. To the south lies the international border with Mexico, and to the west lies the Pacific Ocean. ==Significance== Within southern California are two major cities, Los Angeles and San Diego, as well as three of the country's largest metropolitan areas.〔The three metropolitan areas are: # Los Angeles–Long Beach–Santa Ana'' (the second largest in the US)'', # Riverside–San Bernardino–Ontario '' (the Inland Empire)'' and # San Diego–Carlsbad–San Marcos – see: United States metropolitan areas〕 With a population of 3,792,621, Los Angeles is the most populous city in California and the second most populous in the United States. To the south and with a population of 1,307,402 is San Diego, the second most populous city in the state and the eighth most populous in the nation. Its counties of Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino, and Riverside are the five most populous in the state and all are in the top 15 most populous counties in the United States.〔() 〕 The motion picture, television, and music industry is centered on the Los Angeles in southern California. Hollywood, a district within Los Angeles, is also a name associated with the motion picture industry. Headquartered in southern California are The Walt Disney Company (which also owns ABC), Sony Pictures, Universal, MGM, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Warner Brothers. Universal, Warner Brothers, and Sony also run major record companies as well. Southern California is also home to a large home grown surf and skateboard culture. Companies such as Volcom, Quiksilver, No Fear, RVCA, and Body Glove are all headquartered here. Professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, professional surfers Rob Machado, Tim Curran, Bobby Martinez, Pat O'Connell, Dane Reynolds, and Chris Ward, and professional snowboarder Shaun White live in southern California. Some of the world's legendary surf spots are in southern California as well, including Trestles, Rincon, The Wedge, Huntington Beach, and Malibu, and it is second only to the island of Oahu in terms of famous surf breaks. Some of the world's biggest extreme sports events, including the X Games, Boost Mobile Pro, and the U.S. Open of Surfing are all in southern California. Southern California is also important to the world of yachting. The annual Transpacific Yacht Race, or ''Transpac'', from Los Angeles to Hawaii, is one of yachting's premier events. The San Diego Yacht Club held the America's Cup, the most prestigious prize in yachting, from 1988 to 1995 and hosted three America's Cup races during that time. Southern California is home to many sports franchises and sports networks such as Fox Sports Net. Many locals and tourists frequent the southern California coast for its popular beaches, and the desert city of Palm Springs is popular for its resort feel and nearby open spaces. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Southern California」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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