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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

Woman rescued from burning apartment

Jan 6, 2009 3:51 pm

Firefighters rescued an unconscious woman from the bedroom of her burning apartment in Point Loma Heights early Tuesday morning.

Speeding motorcyclist collides head-on with car

Jan 6, 2009 3:39 pm

A motorcyclist who reportedly was speeding down South Coast Highway 101 last night collided head-on with a car that pulled out from a parking lot, a sheriff's official said.

Drizzle possible today, Friday; otherwise sunny

Jan 6, 2009 3:38 pm

The first full week of 2009 is expected to be storm-free and mostly sunny.

Three residents named to city's Audit Committee

Jan 6, 2009 3:21 pm

San Diegans Stephen Grant, Charles Sellers and Wade McKnight were appointed yesterday to the three public seats on the city's Audit Committee, on which they will join Councilmen Kevin Faulconer and Ca...

For the record

Jan 6, 2009 10:08 am

Because of incorrect information from a source, a caption on page B1 of Sunday's Our Region section indicated that the State Water Resources Control Board was a sponsor of Palm Avenue Plaza in Imperia...

Short Takes: School bus problems cause students to be late

Jan 6, 2009 10:08 am

SAN DIEGO: Buses for an estimated 300 San Diego Unified School District students ran late yesterday because drivers had trouble starting the coaches after the two-week holiday break, director of trans...

Auditors flag city's fed grant managing

Jan 6, 2009 10:07 am

San Diego may have to repay the federal government more than $1.8 million, as auditors have found the city mismanaged grant money meant to help poor neighborhoods and low-income residents.

Obituaries: For the record

Jan 6, 2009 10:07 am

An obituary for Art Risser in Friday's paper omitted some survivors and misspelled his mother's name because of incorrect information provided by a source.

News from the Orange County Register

News from the Orange County Register

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