Los Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second-largest in the United States. Having a population of 3.8 million people and spanning 465 square miles, Los Angeles is an Alpha world city. It is the county seat of Los Angeles County. The Los Angeles–Long Beach–Santa Ana metropolitan area is home to 12.9 million people. Spanish Captain Rivera y Moncada founded Los Angeles in 1781. It was incorporated as a municipality on April 4, 1850 five months before California achieved statehood.

Geography:
The United States Census Bureau reports the total area of the city is 465.0 square miles (1,290.6 km²). Its land area is 469.1 square miles (1,214.9 km²) and the remaining 29.2 square miles (75.7 km²) of it is water. Water makes 5.86% of the total area. The land area is the 9th largest among cities in the Continental United States. The city boundary is 342miles ( 550 km ) long. The extreme north-south distance is 44 miles (71 km), and the extreme east-west distance is 29 miles (47 km). Sister Elsie Peak (5,080 feet) is the highest point in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles River is a largely seasonal river flowing through the city.

Geology
Due to its proximity to the San Andreas Fault, as well as to the smaller San Jacinto and Banning faults, Los Angeles is subject to earthquakes. The 1994 Northridge earthquake was the most recent major earthquake. It was centered in the northern San Fernando Valley. The Northridge earthquake played havoc with the city. It caused physical damage totaling billions of dollars. Besides this earthquake, other major earthquakes in the Los Angeles area include the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake, the 1971 Sylmar earthquake, and the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. Seismometers are used for detecting imperceptible quakes on a daily basis. Parts of the city are also vulnerable to Pacific Ocean tsunamis. In 1960, harbor areas were damaged by waves from the Great Chilean Earthquake.

Climate:
The city is situated in a Mediterranean climate. It experiences mild, reasonably wet winters and warm to hot, mildly humid summers. Generally all the seasons have dry weather but it can be cool in the winter. The beach communities of the Los Angeles area are kept cooler in summer by Breezes from the Pacific Ocean. These also kept warmer in winter than those further inland. The coastal communities of Los Angeles are commonly affected by a phenomenon known as a "marine layer," It is a dense cloud cover caused by the proximity of the ocean. It helps in keeping the temperatures cooler throughout the year.

Arts and culture of Los Angeles:
Art
The early disciples of the plein air movement of impressionistic landscape painting are found in the Los Angeles area and it became a signature style of California art. In the 1960s, Bright, bold serigraphs carrying the messages of love and peace were created by Corita Kent, then known as Sister Mary Corita of Immaculate Heart College. The city also has a public art program. A public art fund is created in which one percent of the cost of construction of new buildings is contributed by the developers.

Mural art is one of the recognition of Los Angeles city. Its thousands of examples of wall art are believe to outnumber those in every other city in the world. Many Mexican muralists have created murals in the area. Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Jose Clemente Orozco are the famous Mexican muralists. Some of the best graffiti art in the world can be found in Los Angeles. Sites such as the Belmont Tunnel have been documented in numerous books and magazines on underground art.

Los Angeles is home to some of the most respected art museums in the world. They include the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Getty Center, the Norton Simon Museum, the Huntington Library art collection and botanical gardens, and the Hammer Museum at the University of California, Los Angeles. Other smaller art museums in the city include the Craft and Folk Art Museum, the California African American Museum of Art, and many sculpture gardens throughout the city.

Music
Los Angeles is an international reputed place for the recorded music industry. The landmark Capitol Records building, which resembles a stack of albums, is representative of this. A&M Records long occupied a studio off Sunset Boulevard built by Charlie Chaplin. The Warner Brothers built a major recording business in addition to their film business. Los Angeles had a vibrant African-American musical community. A number of musical artists congregated around Central Avenue. The community had successfully produced a number of great talents. These included Charles Mingus, Buddy Collette, Gerald Wilson, and others in the 1930s and 1940s.

Famous landmarks
The famous landmarks of Los Angeles include Mann's Chinese Theater, Hollywood sign, Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles City Hall, Hollywood Bowl, Chinatown, Disney Concert Hall, Kodak Theater, Griffith Observatory, Getty Center, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, , Staples Center. La Placita Olvera-birthplace of Los Angeles.