The city of Los Angeles covers a land area of 1,214.2 sq km (468.8 sq mi) and is situated on a low, hilly coastal plain. Santa Monica Bay forms its western edge and San Pedro Bay is to the south. The city limits extend from the ocean on the west to the San Gabriel Mountains on the east and from San Fernando Valley on the north to San Pedro Bay on the south. However, the boundary is irregular. A narrow southward extension, called the Shoestring Strip, links the harbor to the rest of the city.
The Los Angeles-Long Beach metropolitan area covers Los Angeles County and is 10,515 sq km (4,060 sq mi) in land area. In addition to Los Angeles and Long Beach, a major industrial and residential city, the metropolitan area contains many other large cities, such as Glendale, Torrance, Pasadena, Santa Clarita, Inglewood, and El Monte, all with more than 100,000 residents. While a map of the county is a checkerboard of city jurisdictions, on the ground there is rarely a noticeable distinction between one town and another. A change in city names on large street signs at major intersections is often the only indication that one has crossed from one city into another. Instead, geography, economic function and class, and racial heritage are what most often divide the region into separate zones.
