Los Angeles (/lɔːs ˈændʒələs/ (About this soundlisten);[a] Spanish: Los Ángeles;

Spanish for 'The Angels'),[16] officially the City of Los Angeles and often known
by its initials L.A., is the largest city in California. With an estimated
population of nearly four million people,[11] it is the country's second most
populous city (after New York City) and the third most populous city in North
America (after Mexico City and New York City). Los Angeles is known for its
Mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, Hollywood entertainment industry, and its
sprawling metropolis.

Los Angeles lies in a basin in Southern California, adjacent to the Pacific Ocean,
with mountains as high as 10,000 feet (3,000 m), and deserts. The city, which
covers about 469 square miles (1,210 km2),[17] is the seat of Los Angeles County,
the most populous county in the United States. The Los Angeles metropolitan area
(MSA) is home to 13.1 million people, making it the second-largest metropolitan
area in the nation after New York.[18] Greater Los Angeles includes metro Los
Angeles as well as the Inland Empire and Ventura County.[19] It is the second most
populous U.S. combined statistical area, also after New York, with a 2015 estimate
of 18.7 million people.[20]

Home to the Chumash and Tongva, Los Angeles was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo
for Spain in 1542. The city was founded on September 4, 1781, by Spanish governor
Felipe de Neve. It became a part of Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of
Independence. In 1848, at the end of the Mexican–American War, Los Angeles and the
rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and
thus became part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a
municipality on April 4, 1850, five months before California achieved statehood.
The discovery of oil in the 1890s brought rapid growth to the city.[21] The city
was further expanded with the completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, which
delivers water from Eastern California.

Los Angeles has a diverse economy and hosts businesses in a broad range of
professional and cultural fields. It also has the busiest container port in the
entire Americas.[22] A global city, it has been ranked 7th in the Global Cities
Index and 9th in the Global Economic Power Index. The Los Angeles metropolitan area
also has a gross metropolitan product of $1.0 trillion[23] (as of 2017), making it
the third-largest city by GDP in the world, after the Tokyo and New York City
metropolitan areas. Los Angeles hosted the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics and will
host the 2028 Summer Olympics.