Los Angeles is the most populous city in California and the second-largest in the United States, with 3.87 million residents within its city limits. Situated in the Los Angeles Basin beside the Pacific Ocean, it serves as the commercial, financial and cultural centre of Southern California.
The area was originally inhabited by the Tongva people before Spanish colonisation. Founded on 4 April 1781 under Spanish governor Felipe de Neve, the settlement became part of Mexico in 1821 and was acquired by the United States in 1848 following the Mexican–American War. Incorporated as a municipality in 1850, Los Angeles grew rapidly after oil was discovered in the 1890s and the Los Angeles Aqueduct began delivering water from Eastern California in 1913. Today the city anchors a metropolitan area of 12.9 million people and covers roughly 469 square miles, extending from the Pacific coast through the Santa Monica Mountains into the San Fernando Valley. It remains a major hub for film and television production and operates one of the busiest container ports in the Americas.
Los Angeles features in the episode with endurance athlete and adventurer who cycled to India and ran seven marathons on seven continents.
