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Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal or the South Land, is an informal name for the megalopolis and nearby desert that occupies the southernmost quarter of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people, and is the nation’s second most populated region, behind only the BosWash Region in the Eastern United States. Counties usually associated with Southern California are Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Imperial, and in some cases Santa Barbara. There are no clear, exact boundaries for this area; instead, residents rely on physical features to establish the boundary. On the west is the Pacific Ocean; to the south is the international border between the United States and Mexico; to the east are the Mojave and Colorado Deserts and the Colorado River at the state’s border with Arizona and Nevada. To the north is the Tehachapi Mountain range, located about 70 miles north of Los Angeles, which separates the region from the rest of the state. Adding to the confusion over the northern border is the issue of just how many sections California is actually to be broken up into. For those supporting only two divisions, North and South, the border would shift a bit more northward. Yet for those supporting three sections, which would include a center section known as Central California, the border tends to get shifted a bit more southward.

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Local News from San Diego Union-Tribune via Yahoo! News

Planning agency layoffs looming

Sep 6, 2008 7:10 pm

More than eight employees in the Chula Vista Planning and Building Department were told this week they would be laid off as a way to close a $1.5 million budget gap.

25-mile bike ride encircles S.D. Bay

Sep 6, 2008 7:10 pm

A few things to keep an eye out for tomorrow during the first Bike the Bay ride: the animals at the Chula Vista Nature Center, the salt works in the South Bay and, of course, the view of the city whil...

Gambling panel plans to review Sycuan game

Sep 6, 2008 1:11 pm

California's gambling watchdog agency will consider next week whether the Sycuan Indian band has violated its compact by having more slot machines than allowed under its agreement with the state.

Formerly revered trees get bad rap after wildfires

Sep 6, 2008 1:11 pm

Eucalyptuses are nothing more than multistory matchsticks ready to burst into flames when Santa Ana winds strike. The neighbor's pine? Pretty. Pretty dangerous, that is. And that sycamore sucks up a z...

CPA firm costs city more than others pay

Sep 6, 2008 1:11 pm

A Sacramento-based firm is charging San Diego far more for its next annual audit than comparable cities and counties in California pay for theirs, the City Council's budget analyst revealed yesterday.

Hoping to preserve surfboards' history

Sep 6, 2008 1:11 pm

On a hot summer day in Jamul, surrounded by horse ranches, dusty hills and sage shrub, John Hanks remembered how it felt to step off a plane in Hawaii.

Bonding over books helps students, tutors

Sep 6, 2008 1:10 pm

When George Cowan lost his wife in March, the Chula Vista resident looked around for something to do with his time. Then he discovered the Chula Vista Elementary School District's OASIS tutoring progr...

Sub disaster action hero

Sep 6, 2008 1:10 pm

Capt. James Bates spends much of his time doing things most people only see in the movies: practicing for life and death emergencies on the ocean floor.

After sighting, police look for lion in Tijuana

Sep 5, 2008 2:19 pm

TIJUANA: City police are on the alert for a lion reported in a rural eastern area of the city near La Presa Dam.

27 illegal immigrants are detained off coast

Sep 5, 2008 2:16 pm

Federal authorities announced yesterday the interception of 27 illegal immigrants from boats off the San Diego County coast.

News from the Orange County Register

News from the Orange County Register

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