Southern California Cities
Some of the major cities and areas of Southern California include:
- Beverly Hills
- Hollywood
- Long Beach
- Los Angeles
- Orange County
- Malibu
- Palm Springs
- Riverside
- San Diego
- Santa Barbara
- The Valley
- West Hollywood
Urban Landscape
Southern California consists of a very heavily developed urban environment, along with vast areas that have not been developed. Many Southern California suburban and satellite cities have dense populations, and the region is famous for its large, sprawling landscape and its dependence on automobiles. Public transportation is adequate enough in certain areas, but not as comprehensive as it should be for a region of this size. The areas of Los Angeles, San Diego, and Riverside-San Bernardino, each of which are the center of their respective metropolitan areas, are composed of numerous smaller cities and communities.
Natural Landscape
Southern California consists of geologic, topographic, and natural ecosystem landscapes in a diverse setting. The region spans from the Pacific Ocean islands (such as Santa Catalina and Santa Cruz among others), to beaches, and to desert, through the Peninsular Ranges with their peaks, and into small and large valleys, and wine country. Every year the area has about 10,000 earthquakes, but nearly all of them are so small that they are not felt. Only several hundred are greater than magnitude 3.0, and only about 15-20 are greater than magnitude 4.0.
