Palatka is a city located in Putnam County, Florida. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 10,033. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 10,796. It is the county seat of Putnam County.

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Fernandina Beach is a city located in Nassau County in the state of Florida in the United States of America and on Amelia Island. The area was first inhabited by the Timucuan tribe.

As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 10,549. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 11,241. It is the county seat of Nassau County.

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Bahía de Caráquez is one of the major Ecuadorian beach resorts. Housed in the Chone estuary lies Bahía, a laid back Pacific resort with a nice river fronted by well sculptured parks on the Alberto Santos Malecón. A small city easy to manage with very well preserved and clean beaches. Several hotels are located around the ferry close to San Vicente and others along the beach.

Bahía has been declared an "eco-city", with organic gardens, ecoclubs and recycling projects and has been the first city in the world with a certified organic shrimp farm.

Pre-Colombian pottery can be seen in the Casa de la Cultura at The archaeological museum of the Central Bank.

Bahia de Caraquez, Manabi remains copyright of the author airwolf09, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Cayambe, a quiet pleasant highland town located 25 km northeast of Guayllabamba. Known by its "bizcochos" (small biscuits with tasty string cheese).
The countryside area is surrounded by flower plantations and farms. The town's celebrations are: In March for the equinox, and in June the Inti Raymi and the San Pedro celebrations.
Another attraction of Cayambe are the pyramids of the Sun and the Moon at Puntiachil on the edge of town and the private museum of Marco Sandoval Ortiz.

Cayambe, Pichincha remains copyright of the author airwolf09, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The region holds as well one of the best hot springs of the country "Balneario Termas de Papallacta" or Termas de Papallacta Hot Springs (located just a 100 meters above Hotel Resort Termas de Papallacta), offering modern installations and several hot thermal pools. There is a therapy followed by most people who visit Termas de Papallacta hot springs. There are a couple of thermal pools next to each other at the top end of this complex, the smaller one next to the river has a temperature of around 60 degrees (very hot). Once one has remained in this pool maximum 15 minutes (no more) then, one should bath in the river (freezing) next to it. This therapy is recommended for people who suffer of kidneys problems amongst other diseases.

Terma de Papallacta hot springs, becomes very crowded over weekends. Additionally, if you're lodged at Hotel Termas de Papallacta, you can show your room's key at the entrance and you'll be able to enter for free. The surrounding area is also idyllic for ambling down various meandering treks and the more challenging rugged ones.

One can enjoy the spectacular settings that afford views on clear days of the snowcapped Antisana (5700m). Horse riding, fishing and other tours are also available.

Papallacta, Napo remains copyright of the author airwolf09, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Baños is nestled between the Río Pastaza and the Tungurahua volcano, 8 km from its crater. It is a four hour journey from Quito by bus. Baños is a small town always full of bustling tourists looking for a nice temperate weather, exciting trips and expeditions around the area. There is an abundance of cafés, restaurants and hotels; most of them centrally located. It is an easy place to get around with several attractions and activities such as: hotsprings, trekking, horseback riding, climbing, mountain biking, rafting, etc.

This town has always been threatened by the Tunguragua volcano. Tungurahua volcano towers over the town lying around 8 km from the crater. After 8 decades of being dormant in 1999 the area had to be completely evacuated due to the promise of a major eruption in Oct-Dec of that year. During this time the volcano spewed ash and began steaming however, by October of 2000 most residents had moved back to their homes and the tourists began venturing back to this delightful spot as the Ambato-Baños-Puyo road was reopened to traffic and the military activity control diminished despite scientists reports that activity had not disappeared completely.

Life therefore returned to normal here but the Volcanologists are still there monitoring daily activity.

Baños, Tungurahua remains copyright of the author airwolf09, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Esmeraldas is a city in Ecuador. It is the seat of the Esmeraldas Canton and the capital of the Esmeraldas Province. It has an international port and a small airport (IATA location identifier: ESM).

Esmeraldas, Esmeraldas remains copyright of the author airwolf09, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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San Juan de Ambato is a city in the centre of Ecuador near the Ambato River. It is the capital of Tungurahua Province, at an elevation of 2,600 meters above sea level. The population is 154,095 (INEC, 2001).

The city is a leading commercial and transportation centre on a fertile region near the northern foot of the volcano Chimborazo. It hosts the largest animal market of the country.

An earthquake on August 5, 1949 destroyed most of the city so that only few buildings of the colonial era remain.

As a way to recover from the tragic earthquake, Ambato began its tradition of the Fruits and Flowers Festival. It is now a major tourist attraction held during carnival season.

Landmarks include the mausoleum of Juan Montalvo, the estate of Juan León Mera, and the white Ambato Cathedral.

Ambato is also where, on November 12, 1821, Antonio José de Sucre achieved a major victory over the Spanish Royalist Army during the war for independence. Ambato is a beatifull city and 500.000 people are living in this small ecuadorian metropoli

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El tingo is a small town best known for the hot springs (Aguas Termales)next to El Tingo River.

El Tingo, Pichincha remains copyright of the author airwolf09, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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A nice small quiet beach set in a beautiful bay, located just 10 minutes southwest from Atacames. Súa is also an important fishing village with several seabirds flying after fishing boats. Prices for accommodations are lower here out of season. There are also basic whale watching tours offered from June to September.

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Atacames is located approximately 25 Kilometers south of Esmeraldas and one of the main beach resorts on the Pacific coastline. Atacames always offers the potential of an all day & night party. A dancing atmosphere (24/7) during April-Oct, on weekends & holidays, but for those more tranquil travellers or for a balance we recommend the nearby beach of Súa for a fuller quota of sleep. Whale watching advice and tours are also when in Season, available from most Hotels.

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Babahoyo is the capital of the province of Los Ríos. This province has not been developed for tourism. The Babahoyo River is close to the city.

Babahoyo, Los Rios remains copyright of the author airwolf09, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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This city houses close to 200,000 inhabitants and is the capital of Manabi province as well as the main center for commercial activity such as coffee, fishing and cattle ranching, it also is infamous for Kapok mattresses and pillows made from the ceibo seed case and is a good place to buy hammocks. You can stroll around the city easily by foot and visit the Parque Eloy Alfaro which faces the local cathedral. An interesting nearby village to visit is Sosote just a few minutes from Portoviejo, it's worth visiting because of its tagua workshops. The main street has several stalls selling tagua figures.

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Quevedo is located some 190 kilometers from Guayaquil and 240 km from Quito. A progressive town set in an agricultural fertile land. It has around 110,000 inhabitants and most of them belong to the large Ecuadorian Chinese colony that live here.

Quevedo, Los Rios remains copyright of the author airwolf09, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Salinas is a city located in Guayas, Ecuador, by the Pacific Ocean. It is the seat of Salinas Canton, the westernmost canton in Ecuador.

At the 2001 census there were 49,752 people living within canton limits. The city is an important touristic center.

Salinas is considered the best tourist beach resort in Ecuador and the Pacific coastline by many visitors. The sandy moon bay arcs around the resort with dozens of high rising apartment blocks belonging to the wealthier Ecuadorian and foreigner overseas residents overlooking the main road fronted by colorful shops, restaurants, bars, discos, an historical marine museum and major hotels with casinos encased in the latter. Salinas, is also the main starting point to the scenic Pacific "Route of the Sun" with many tourist resorts and attractions to drive through. The high season in Salinas (December - April), is party time with plenty of night life and nice bars to enjoy along the main frontage of the bay. Later this year a water theme park with giant shoots, whirl pools and wave machines will also be a further attraction. Salinas, offers the most developed tourist infrastructure (regarding to accommodation, beaches, resorts and other attractions) together with the most exiting whale watching tours with luxurious yachts and professional guides. The closest and finest location to witness the wonder of these amazing creatures in the wild. A once-in-a-lifetime experience that should not be missed...

The weather in Salinas has great temperatures all year round. The major season is warmer with temperatures between 80s-90s, while the quieter season (Mid-May to early December) has lower temperatures (between 60s-70s).

The scenic bay is full of jet skiers, water skiers, hang-gliders, sky divers and a plethora of various sized yachts anchored in the bay adjacent to the yacht club. The beach is very popular during high season and most weekends along with warm waters all year round due to its peninsular position receiving great weather with blue cloudless skies and long hot sunny periods for most of the year.

While on the beach you'll find several free-lance tour operators offering boat excursions and/or tours around the closest fishing villages, such as Ballenita, Ayangue and many other destinations. In the beach, you can also hire Jet Skis for about US $40,00 an hour, or US $20.00 for a 30 minute ride. Water skiing is also available for the same price.

A second major beach in Salinas is Chipipe (adjacent to the yacht club), with exciting waves for body boarding or Mori Boogie boarding in a pleasant environment. Chipipe is located in a residential area compared to the main Salinas' beach, which is the commercial side of this small city. Open markets are available in both areas during the evening selling handicrafts, coral jewelry, multi colored dyed clothing art and shell crafts including amethyst and other semi precious stones to make wind chimes.

Stationed next to the town opposite the Chocolatera hill on the most southern tip of the bay is the Ecuador military, often you'll see military as well as private planes flying low above the bay as they descend to the base. Salinas, is only 25 minutes from the fine Thermal Baths "San Vicente" where due to dynamic volcanics boasts rich mineral mud baths and thermal baths along with massaging and sauna facilities.

Salinas, Guayas remains copyright of the author airwolf09, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Tabacundo is a small town north of Quito. The town is best known for Las ferias (the fairs).

Tabacundo, Pichincha remains copyright of the author airwolf09, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Latacunga (2,850m) is the capital of the Cotopaxi Province, with some 55,000 inhabitants. This is not an invigorating town, but it is a good base point for some interesting excursions such as the Cotopaxi volcano.

The city has been destroyed three times in the past by the Cotopaxi volcano. In 1,742; 1,768 and in 1877. The volcano's activity is zero at the moment and other eruptions are not expected for at least some decades more.

In Latacunga the central plaza, Parque Vicente León, has beautiful well preserved gardens. Others similar to this one are Parque San Francisco and La Laguna known also as "Lago Flores".

At Sánchez de Orellana and Abel Echeverría is the Casa de los Marqueses de Miraflores, which is set inside a beautiful colonial mansion. Each room of this fine mansion is a small museum which has different exhibits of Colonial art, the Mama Negra festivities, archaeology, etc. It is worth a visit.

Casa de la Cultura (Antonia Vela 3-49 and Padre Salcedo) houses a very interesting museum with weavings, pre-Colombian artifacts, ceramics and other exhibits as well as a theater and an art gallery. It also hosts the city's main festivals and concerts.

Other museums can be found at Escuela Isidro Ayora (Sánchez de Orellana and Tarqui) and at the Cathedral.

Latacunga, Cotopaxi remains copyright of the author airwolf09, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Sangolquí is a small village located some 25 minutes from Quito. The town has a well known Sunday market. It's very visited by locals on Sundays for its wonderful "Hornado" (pork served with corn, fried mashed potatos and a lovely pepper sauce), which is a local specialty and very popular.

Sangolqui, Pichincha remains copyright of the author airwolf09, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Vía Alóag, is the most popular road from Quito to the heartland of Santo Domingo, which is awesome with meandering roads and bends along most of the elevated scenic drive that from the right side looks over fantastic valley views of trees, forests, houses dotted along the skyline and rock ranges. This snake road passes the small villages of Tandapi (45 km from Alóag), with basic accommodation and several restaurants along the road. 2 1/2 km from Tandapi, look out or ask the driver if in bus for the "El Poder Brutal", which is a sculptured rock of the devil's face complete with his fangs and horns. Alluriquín, 104 Km on the road is Hotel Florida with horse riding, swimming pool and a restaurant.
If driving by car please be careful to watch out for any careless drivers overtaking on bends especially in the evening when the fog and clouds create visibility problems forcing drivers to reduce speed to 20 km per hour.
15 minutes before arriving to Sto. Domingo de los Colorados is Tinalandia, a lodge with comfortable cabins and over 360 species of birds.

Santo Domingo de Los Colorados is 129 km from Quito. Is the central route from the highlands to the coastline. Sto. Domingo has become a central banana and palm oil industry, though sugar plantations are also to be found in this valley province. The city itself is prone to flooding after torrential rains and not very attractive for travelers though you may find several reserves in the surrounding areas away from the city.

The "Monumento al Colorado" statue west of the center of town personifies well the look and dress code of the Tsáchila people nicknamed "Indios Colorados" but these indigenous Indians never venture to town in their traditional attire unless during special celebrations. The name "Indios Colorados" was attributed to them mainly because they would paint their hair red with a vegetable dye. They are spread around 8 different areas, from Santo Domingo to Chone, Quinindé and Quevedo inhabiting a reserve of around 8000 ha although today they total less than 2000 in numbers.

Santo Domingo de los Colorado, Pichincha remains copyright of the author airwolf09, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Otavalo is a largely indigenous town in Imbabura province, Ecuador, well known for its Saturday market. The city of Otavalo has around 26,000 inhabitants and is infamous for its crafts and weavers that predates back to Inca times along with its colorful Saturday markets.

The Otavaleños have sophisticated business distribution logistics and are equipped with wholesale warehouses combined with several international freight forwarders that distribute to many parts of the USA and European countries. They have also marketed well a series of good restaurants, hotels and cafes to suit the travelers varying tastes in addition to 1000s of small stalls for the visitor to peruse at his leisure.

As previously mentioned the Otavaleños are world famous for their weaving prowess and commercialization in the modern world while maintaining a sense of tribal identity of culture and customs.

A fine example of the latter may be seen in their dress codes, visitors will see them in typical daily attire consisting of fully reversible ponchos (blue or gray), roped leather and rubber sandals, white pants, calf length and dark hats made of felt along with their long plaited ponytails. The women on the other hand wear colorful embroidered blouses, shawls and black skirts with head cloths while their wrists are decorated in red and golden colored beads as are their necklaces.

The Otavaleños are a strikingly proud race of people and also have meticulous sense of personal hygiene. These highland Indians also speak Quichua as their primary tongue and of course Spanish as their secondary language.

In regard to their origin some researchers have concluded that the Otavaleños are descendants of forced migrants while others propound they originate from Chibcha salt traders from Colombia but perhaps the final postulation is more correct which comes from modern Otavaleños who prefer to think they came from local pre-Inca roots.

Otavalo, Imbabura remains copyright of the author airwolf09, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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San Jacinto is about 13 km beyond Crucita. San Jacinto is a small fishing villages that started developing its tourist industry a few years ago and actually, It is frequently visited on weekends by Ecuadorians.

San Jacinto, Manabi remains copyright of the author airwolf09, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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San Clemente is located some 59 km north of Portoviejo and 20 km south of Bahía de Caráquez. San Clemente is a small fishing villages that started developing its tourist industry a few years ago and actually, San Clemente is frequently visited on weekends by Ecuadorians. Between the villages of San clemente and San Jacinto there are good sandy beaches to enjoy.

San Clemente, Manabi remains copyright of the author airwolf09, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Montecristi is an old colonial town located 30 kilometers west of Portoviejo, founded in 1628 and the birthplace of the ex-President Eloy Alfaro.

The town is very famous for its straw and basketware and especially renowned for its high quality Panama hat production. There are many stores along the main road selling wooden barrels, wickerwork and many others (very cheap). The village of Montecristi has a main Plaza with a Virgin statue (La Virgen de Montecristi) which is worth a visit. Frequent bus service is available to this town from Manta's bus station.

Montecristi, Manabi remains copyright of the author airwolf09, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Ibarra (population of 80,477 in 1990) is a town in northern Ecuador and the capital of the Imbabura province. It lies at the foot of the Imbabura volcano and on the left bank of the Tahuando river. It is about 45 miles northeast of Ecuador's capital Quito.

Ibarra was founded in 1606 by the Spanish. Many beautiful churches and public buildings were built, but an earthquake in 1868 destroyed many of them. The Inca ruler Atahualpa was born in the Inca settlement of Caranquí about 2km from here.

Nowadays, Ibarra is a market town popular with tourists. It is blessed with fine weather, colonial white-washed houses (giving it the nickname The White City) and cobbled streets. The Santa Domingo church houses a museum holding paintings.

Markets are on Saturdays, and the main festival is the Fiesta de los Lagos held on the last weekend of September. Also, two colourful parades known as El Pregón and Virgen del Carmen are held on July 16 every year.

Other town attractions are the many restaurants specialising in local cuisine, along with the clubs, discos and a well known paragliding club.

Ibarra, Imbabura remains copyright of the author airwolf09, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The City of Los Angeles /lɒs.ˈæn.dʒə.lɪs/ (from Spanish Los Ángeles /los.ˈaŋ.xe.les/, meaning the angels), also known as L.A., is the second-largest city in the United States in terms of population, as well as one of the world's most important economic, cultural, and entertainment centers. It was incorporated as a city in California on April 4, 1850, when the city's population was only 1,610, and is the county seat of Los Angeles County. As of the 2000 census, it has a population of 3,694,820, but a May 1, 2005 California Department of Finance estimate shows the city's population at 3,957,875, with the metropolitan area at 17,545,623. The city is also large by geographic standards since it sprawls over more than 465 square miles (1200 square kilometers), making it physically larger than New York City and Chicago. In addition, Los Angeles hosted two Olympic Games (in 1932 and 1984) and is home to world-renowned scientific and cultural institutions.

The city is one of the biggest entry points for immigrants to the United States, making it one of world's most culturally rich places. People are attracted to the city for its warm weather, its vibrant lifestyle, its unique energy, and the opportunity to realize the "American Dream."

The Los Angeles coastal area was occupied by the Tongva, Chumash, and even earlier Native American peoples for thousands of years. The Spanish arrived in 1542, when Juan Cabrillo visited the area. In 1769, the Spanish returned to California to stay. The Mission San Gabriel Arcángel was founded in 1771, thus establishing a permanent presence in the area and securing Spanish territory.

On September 4, 1781, settlers from the San Gabriel Mission founded the town and named it El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de la Porciúncula, "The Town of Our Lady Queen of the Angels of the Porciúncula", showing Franciscan affiliation. It remained a small mission and ranch town for decades.

Mexican independence from Spain was achieved in the 1820s, but the greatest change took place in present-day Montebello after the Battle of Rio San Gabriel in 1847, which decided the fate of Los Angeles. Yankees gained control after they flooded into California during the Gold Rush and secured the subsequent admission of California into the United States.

Los Angeles was incorporated as a city in 1850. Railroads arrived when the Southern Pacific completed its line to Los Angeles in 1876. Oil was discovered in 1892, and by 1923, Los Angeles was supplying one-quarter of the world's petroleum.

Even more important to the city's growth was water. In 1913, William Mulholland completed the aqueduct that assured the city's growth and led to the annexation by the City of Los Angeles, starting in 1915, of dozens of neighboring communities without water supplies of their own. A somewhat fictionalized account of the Owens Valley Water War can be found in the motion picture Chinatown.

In the 1920s the motion picture and aviation industries both flocked to Los Angeles and helped to further develop it. The city was the proud host of the 1932 Summer Olympics. World War II brought new growth and prosperity to the city, although many of its Japanese-American residents were transported to internment camps for the duration of the war. This period also saw the arrival of the German exiles, which included such notables as Thomas Mann, Bertolt Brecht and Lion Feuchtwanger. The postwar years saw an even greater boom as urban sprawl expanded into the San Fernando Valley.

The Watts riots in 1965 reminded the country of the deep racial divisions that even the nation's youngest city faced. The XXIII Olympiad was successfully hosted in Los Angeles in 1984. The city was once again tested by the 1992 Los Angeles riots and the 1994 Northridge earthquake. A city-wide vote on San Fernando Valley and Hollywood secession was defeated in 2002.

Cityscape

Watts Towers.The city is divided into many neighborhoods. Most of the neighborhood names come from farm towns that were annexed by the growing city, physical terrain features, major streets, or subdivision names coined by enterprising developers. These divisions have no legal status but are of significance to residents for cultural and financial reasons. Signs have been placed on major thoroughfares designating some of the communities, a practice going back decades. (The "neighborhood councils" of Los Angeles began in 1999 and often follow different borders).

Pollution
Due to the city's geography as well as the population's heavy reliance on automobiles as a major form of transportation, the city suffers from severe air pollution in the form of smog. The Los Angeles Basin and the San Fernando Valley hold in the fumes from automobiles, diesel trucks, shipping, and locomotive engines, as well as manufacturing and other sources. In addition, the groundwater is increasingly threatened by MTBE from gas stations and perchlorate from rocket fuel. Some consider urban sprawl to be a result of the city's transportation system.

Seismic activity
Like most areas of California, Los Angeles is subject to frequent earthquakes, due to the close proximity of the San Andreas Fault, as well as the smaller San Jacinto Fault and Banning Fault, in southern California. Most earthquakes are relatively minor, however, throughout history there are several major earthquakes. The most recent was the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which was centered in the northern San Fernando Valley. Coming less than two years after the L.A. riots, the Northridge earthquake was a severe emotional shock to Southern Californians, in addition to causing physical damage worth billions of dollars. Other major earthquakes include the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake and the 1971 Sylmar earthquake.

Crime
The COMPSTAT unit of the Los Angeles Police Department tabulates Part I offenses (violent and property crimes) committed in the city. Los Angeles has been experiencing siginificant decline in Part I offenses since the mid 1990s hitting a record low in 2004. Criminality peaked in 1992 with 72,667 recorded acts of violence (1,096 homicides) and 245,129 recorded property crimes. In 2004, there were 31,245 recorded violent crimes of which 518 were homicides. The distribution of homicides in the city is uneven with nearly half of such crimes occuring in the four stations of the South Bureau of the LAPD encompassing South Los Angeles and the Harbor area. A further quarter occur in the areas covered by the Central Bureau which covers Downtown and its environs. Property crimes were three times more common than violent crimes; 90,374 were recorded in 2004. When compared to other large cities, Los Angeles fares relatively well with a total crime index lower than San Francisco, Chicago, and Boston.

Many movies and songs about Los Angeles depict the notion that the city is home to a large number of gangsters and professional criminals. According to a May 2001 Drug Threat Assessment by the National Drug Intelligence Center [1], Los Angeles County is home to 152,000 gang members organized into 1,350 gangs.

In Los Angeles, car chases happen more often than in most other major cities (sometimes several per week). The city's complex freeway system allows for lengthier pursuits, which may take them throughout the city. Other common crimes include: car-to-car shootings (see road rage), drive-by shootings, thrill killings, hit-and-run accidents, and carjackings. Numerous instances of all these crimes are documented on the LAPD press release Web site [2]. One interesting example is a report on ten freeway shootings within two months [3].

Also, Los Angeles has been a popular setting for several crime-based video games, such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (which features Los Santos, a city largely based off the Los Angeles metropolitan area) and True Crime: Streets of LA (which takes place in a close replica of the Los Angeles area).

Los Angeles is sometimes considered the entertainment capital of the world. It shares the title of the cultural capital of the United States with New York City. Its largest entertainment industry is film production, but it is an important center for music, art, and architecture as well. As a major global metropolis, Los Angeles has evolved a unique culture and that is well-portrayed in popular media and is sometimes idealized as highly desirable. However, this culture has also inspired criticism that it is not really a unique culture, although most believe the contrary. For more criticism, see Arts and culture of Los Angeles: Criticism

Residents of the city of Los Angeles are served by the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) and its branch locations. Residents of the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County and various cities within the county are served by the County of Los Angeles Public Library The LAPL is funded by voter-approved bond and tax levy packages. The Main Library is located in downtown Los Angeles and has been recognized as a National Historic Site.

Religion
Los Angeles is home to adherents of many religions. Los Angeles has the second-largest Jewish community in the United States, rivaled only by New York City. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Los Angeles leads the largest archdiocese in the country. Roger Cardinal Mahony oversaw construction of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, completed in 2002 at the north end of downtown. The Los Angeles Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is their second-largest temple and is located in West Los Angeles. The Azusa Street Revival (1906–1909) in Los Angeles was a key milestone in the history of the Pentecostal movement. Los Angeles can be called the birthplace of Christian Fundamentalism. From 1908 to 1959 the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (B.I.O.L.A. now Biola University) was located in downtown at the corner of Hope and Sixth streets, in front and to the west of the Los Angeles Central Library building. In 1913, B.I.O.L.A. published a set of books called The Fundamentals, which presented a defense of the traditional conservative interpretation of the Holy Bible. The term fundamentalism is derived from these books.

In the 1920s, Aimee Semple McPherson established a thriving evangelical ministry, with her Angelus Temple in Echo Park open to both black and white congregants. Billy Graham became a celebrity during a successful revival campaign in Los Angeles in 1949. Herbert W. Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God used to have its headquarters in nearby Pasadena, now in Glendale. Until his death in 2005, Dr. Gene Scott was based near downtown. The Metropolitan Community Church, a fellowship of Christian congregations a focus on outreach to gays and lesbians, was started in Los Angeles in 1968 by Troy Perry. Jack Chick, of "Chick Tracts", was born in Boyle Heights and lived in the area most of his life.

Because of Los Angeles's large multi-ethnic population there are numerous organizations in the area representing a wide variety of faiths, including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Baha'i, various Eastern Orthodox Churchs, Sufism and others. Immigrants from Asia for example, have formed a number of significant Buddhist congregations. Los Angeles has been a destination for Swamis and Gurus since as early as 1900, including Paramahansa Yogananda (1920). The Self-Realization Fellowship is headquartered in Hollywood and has a private park in Pacific Palisades. Los Angeles is the home to a number of Neopagans, as well as adherents of various other mystical religions. One wing of the Theosophist movement is centered in Los Angeles, and another is in neighboring Pasadena. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi founded the Transcendental Meditation movement in Los Angeles in the late 1950s. The Church of Scientology has a major presence in Hollywood.

Los Angeles is the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers , the Los Angeles Sparks, the Los Angeles Kings, the Club Deportivo Chivas USA and Los Angeles Galaxy, and the Los Angeles Avengers. Los Angeles has been without an NFL franchise since 1995 despite being the second-biggest television market in North America. Prior to 1995, the Rams (1946-1994) and the Raiders (1982-1994) of the NFL were in the Los Angeles market.

Anaheim, about 25 miles (40 km) to the south-east of downtown, is home to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. At various times in history the Angels have been known as the Los Angeles Angels (1961-1965), the California Angels (1965-1997), and the Anaheim Angels (1997-2004); talks in 2004 suggested the team was considering returning to the original name, over loud protests from the Anaheim government. The name was officially changed to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in late December 2004 in order to link with the larger city while still complying with contractual obligations.

Beach volleyball and windsurfing were both invented in the area (though predecessors of both were invented in some form by Duke Kahanamoku in Hawaii). Venice, also known as Dogtown, is credited with being the birthplace of skateboarding and the place where rollerblading first became popular. Area beaches are popular with surfers, who have created their own subculture.

Los Angeles has twice played host to the summer Olympic Games: in 1932 and in 1984.

The Los Angeles area contains all kinds of topography, notably the hills and mountains rising around the metropolis (it's the only major city in the United States bisected by a mountain range); four mountain ranges extend into city boundaries. Thousands of miles of trails crisscross the city and neighboring areas, providing exercise and wilderness access on foot, bike, or horse. Across the county a great variety of outdoor activities are available, such as skiing, rock climbing, gold panning, hang gliding, and windsurfing. Numerous outdoor clubs serve these sports, including the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club, which leads over 4,000 outings annually in the area.

Sister cities
Los Angeles has twenty-one sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI)[6]: Athens (Greece), Auckland (New Zealand), Makati (Philippines), Mexico City (Mexico), Mumbai (India), Nagoya (Japan), Pusan (South Korea), St. Petersburg (Russia), Salvador (Brazil), Split (Croatia), Tehran (Iran), Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada), Berlin (Germany), Taipei (Taiwan), Bordeaux (France), Eilat (Israel), Giza (Egypt), Guangzhou (China), Jakarta (Indonesia), Kaunas (Lithuania), Yerevan (Armenia) and Lusaka (Zambia).

Los Angeles, California remains copyright of the author airwolf09, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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