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Long Beach is a large city located in southern California, USA, on the Pacific coast. It is situated in Los Angeles County, about 20 miles (32 km) south of downtown Los Angeles. Long Beach borders Orange County on its southeast edge.

Long Beach is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the fifth-largest in California. As of 2008, its estimated population was 492,682. In addition, Long Beach is its county's 2nd largest city after Los Angeles, and also the largest city nationwide that is not a county seat.

The Port of Long Beach is one of the world's largest shipping ports. The city also has a large oil industry; oil is found both underground and offshore. Manufacturers include aircraft, automobile parts, electronic and audiovisual equipment, and home furnishings. It is also home to headquarters for corporations such as Epson America, Molina Healthcare, and SCAN Health Plan. Long Beach has grown with the development of high-technology and aerospace industries in the area.

Environment

The area that is now Long Beach historically included several ecological communities, with coastal scrub dominating. A handful of the native plants of the region can still be found in the city. These include California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum), California sagebrush (Artemisia californica), and California poppy (Eschscholzia californica)). Some stands of coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) still remain in the El Dorado Nature Center. California fan palm (Washingtonia filifera), a plant native further inland, was introduced to the city as a garden ornamental and is now naturalized. Some indigenous species of birds, mammals, and other wildlife have adapted to development.

Since the arrival of Europeans, many alien species have become naturalized in the area. Introduced plants include yellow mustard, eucalyptus, wild radish, and tumbleweed. Unfortunately, these plants now far outnumber the indigenous plants and spread rapidly in the city's vacant lots and oil fields.

However, the city and its residents have initiatives underway to preserve and reclaim a small part of its ecological heritage. The RiverLink project has begun to revegetate the Long Beach stretch of the Los Angeles River with indigenous plants. Part of the remaining Pacific Electric Right of Way was cleared of nonnatives, planted with indigenous plants, and made accessible with foot and bike paths. This community open space is now known as The Long Beach Greenbelt and is the focus of continuing efforts in restoration and community education. The El Dorado Nature Center has changed its original "hands-off" approach and begun to actively introduce indigenous species. The Los Cerritos Wetlands Study Group, state government agencies, and grassroots groups are collaborating on a plan to preserve Long Beach's last remaining wetlands. Long Beach is the first city in California to join the 'EcoZone' Program, intended to measurably improve environmental conditions through public-private partnerships. Such projects seek to reduce pollution, restore native habitat, provide green areas for the city's residents to enjoy.

Other places in Long Beach to see natural areas include Bluff Park (coastal bluffs), the Golden Shores Marine Reserve, the Jack Dunster Marine Reserve, Shoreline Park, and DeForest Park.

Neighborhoods

At the 2005-2007 American Community Survey Estimates the city's population was 45.6% White (30.5% non-Hispanic White alone), 14.5% Black or African American, 1.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 14.5% Asian, 0.9% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 27.0% from some other race and 3.8% from two or more races. 39.9% of the total population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

As of the census of 2000, there were 461,522 people, 163,088 households, and 99,646 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,532.8/km² (9,149.8/mi²). There were 171,632 housing units at an average density of 1,313.8/km² (3,402.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 45.16% White, 14.87% African American, 0.84% Native American, 12.05% Asian, 1.21% Pacific Islander, 20.61% from other races, and 5.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 35.77% of the population.

Non-Hispanic/Latino whites were 33.13% of the population. This has been a significant decrease since the 1950s, when the city was mostly Anglo-American and nicknamed "Iowa by the Sea" or "Iowa under Palm Trees." The city was long a major port of entry for European, Asian and Latin American immigrants headed to Los Angeles in the 20th century. The Harbor section of downtown Long Beach was once home to persons of Dutch, Greek, Italian, Maltese, Portuguese and Spanish ancestry, most of them employed in manufacturing and fish canneries until the 1960s.

According to a report by USA Today in 2000, Long Beach is the most ethnically diverse large city in the United States. Its Asian community includes a large Cambodian community, the second-largest Cambodian community outside of Asia (after Paris); and a neighborhood along Anaheim Street is called "Little Phnom Penh". There are also sizable populations of immigrants and descendants from Vietnam and the Philippines.

It has a relatively high proportion of Pacific Islanders (over 1 percent), from Samoa and Tonga. Most American Indians, about 2 percent of the city's population, arrived during the Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs urban relocation programs in the 1950s.

Long Beach once had a sizable Japanese-American population who mostly worked in the fish canneries on Terminal Island and small truck farms in the area. They were victims of racial prejudice and transported to internment camps in 1942, supposedly for national security reasons. Most did not return to Long Beach after their release from the camps. Due to their transportation, interracial marriage, and other factors, Japanese Americans make up less than 1% of the population of Long Beach. There is still a Japanese Community Center and a Japanese Buddhist Church in Long Beach. The Japanese-American Cultural Center is just over the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro.

There were 163,088 households out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.2% were married couples living together, 16.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.9% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.55.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.2% under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 32.9% from 25 to 44, 18.0% from 45 to 64, and 9.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,270, and the median income for a family was $40,002. Males had a median income of $36,807 versus $31,975 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,040. About 19.3% of families and 22.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.7% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over. In 2008, the Census Bureau showed the amount of people living below the poverty line had dropped to 18.2%.

Economy

California State University, Long Beach is the largest campus in the California State University system, and the second largest university in the state in terms of enrollment.

Long Beach City College is a community college established in 1927. It is composed of two separate campuses. The Liberal Arts Campus is located on the residential area of Lakewood Village, while the Pacific Coast Campus is in Central Long Beach.

DeVry University, Long Beach is located in the Kilroy Airport Center. DeVry Long Beach serves students who live or work in the area with undergraduate and graduate degree programs in various career fields.

Sites of interest

The RMS Queen Mary is a 1936 art deco ocean liner permanently docked at Long Beach. Roughly 200 ft (61 m) longer than the Titanic, the former Cunard Liner is famous for being the fastest in the world from 1936 to 1952, for its distinctive art deco design and for its use during World War II as a troop transport. It was purchased by the city of Long Beach in 1967 for conversion to a hotel and maritime museum.

The nonprofit Aquarium of the Pacific is located on a 5-acre (20,000 m²) site on Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach, Calif.—across the water from the Long Beach Convention Center, Shoreline Village, and the Queen Mary Hotel and Attraction. The Aquarium features a collection of over 12,500 animals representing over 550 different species. The facility focuses on the Pacific Ocean in three major permanent galleries, sunny Southern California and Baja, the frigid waters of the Northern Pacific and the colorful reefs of the Tropical Pacific. Favorite exhibits at the Aquarium also include the Aquarium's interactive Shark Lagoon (guests can pet sharks and sting rays) and Lorikeet Forest (guests can feed nectar to colorful lorikeet birds). Exhibits at the Aquarium introduce the inhabitants and seascapes of the Pacific, while also focusing on specific conservation messages associated with each region. Exhibits range in size and capacity from about 5,000 to 350,000 gallons. The Aquarium of

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