The South Bay is a region in the southwest peninsula of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Its name stems from the fact that it stretches along the southern shores of Santa Monica Bay, which forms its western border. The South Bay includes all communities south of the 105 Freeway and west of Long Beach (with the exception of Compton, which is generally considered South LA). A more restrictive definition of the South Bay includes only the Beach Cities, the cities of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, and Torrance. This definition is more commonly found near the ocean, while not as accepted in the inland portions of the South Bay. The region is bordered on the north by West Los Angeles, on the northeast by South Los Angeles, on the east by the Gateway Cities, and on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean.
LA's South Bay is an economic powerhouse in SoCal. The Wilmington and San Pedro areas of Los Angeles are home to the Port of Los Angeles, the busiest port in the US. (While not part of LA South Bay, the port of Long Beach sits directly next door. Together, these twin ports are the 5th busiest in the world.)
It's home to major production facilities to aerospace companies such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, which center around the Los Angeles Air Force Base. It's also home to both Toyota and Honda's North American headquarters.
Oil refining is another important component of the LA South Bay's economy. Major South Bay refiners include BP (ARCO facility in Carson), Chevron (El Segundo), ConocoPhillips (Wilmington), ExxonMobil (Torrance), Shell (Wilmington), and Valero (Wilmington).
As far as the population goes, it's quite diverse. There are people of European, Asian/Pacific Islander, African, and Latino heritages. In fact, Gardena is one of the oldest Japanese/Hawaiian communities in the United States.
As for leisure, the Port of Los Angeles is a major cruise ship ports for cruises down to Mexico and other vacation destinations. It's also the launching point for ferries to the popular resort destination of Catalina Island.
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There are quite a few things to do around LA's South Bay. San Pedro is host to the Port of Los Angeles, a major cruise ship port, cruises to and from all ports of call stop or originate here. There are also cruises to nearby Catalina Island.
There are various shopping malls around, the largest one being Torrance's Del Amo Fashion Plaza. With over 300 stores, it's the 5th largest shopping mall in the United States! There are smaller regional malls around surrounding cities as well.
Another enormous draw are the warm sands of the South Bay Beaches. Specifically, the beaches of Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, and Hermosa Beach, which have hosted events on the AVP pro Volleyball tour.Best Way To Get Around:
As with much of Southern California, South Bay LA is pretty much accessible by freeway only. There is a light rail system that runs in the center of the 105 Freeway, but it's lightly traveled due to inconvenient routings and the fact it doesn't travel between congested areas.
The Hawthorne Municipal Airport is located in LA's South Bay. It's a small airport catering to civil aviation and some helicopter traffic.
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) neighbors LA's South Bay, since it's next to El Segundo. It's considered the second busiest airport in the United States.