South Bay

South Bay lies along the Pacific Ocean from Marina del Rey south to the Palos Verdes Peninsula. It includes an area of the city of Los Angeles called Playa del Rey, as well as several independent communities. Playa del Rey, south of Marina del Rey, was once a pleasant beach community. Today, it is troubled by noise from Los Angeles International Airport.

The independent communities of El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Redondo Beach stretch south along the ocean from Playa del Rey to the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Cities on the peninsula include Palos Verdes Estates and Rolling Hills Estates.

The City

Los Angeles can be divided into eight main sections:
- Downtown Los Angeles
- South-Central Los Angeles
- Central Los Angeles
- The San Fernando Valley
- West Los Angeles
- South Bay
- The Port of Los Angeles
- East Los Angeles

Metropolitan Area

By 2000, it had about 9 1/2 million people and ranked as the nation's largest single metropolitan area.

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The ocean and the mountains help give Los Angeles a mild climate the year around.

The People

More than half the people of Los Angeles County moved there from other parts of the United States or from other countries.

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Geography and climate

Los Angeles lies on the Pacific coast in southern California. It is about 350 miles (563 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco and about 130 miles (209 kilometers) northwest of San Diego and the Mexican border.