Whether you're thinking of moving to Los Angeles to open an aquarium lighting business or just planning a visit to see the sights, it helps get you acclimatized if you know a little bit about the city. Los Angeles is such a huge place that we could never hope to encompass everything about it in a single article, but we'll cover the most important bases in compact, easy to read factoids.

Though not the capitol of California, Los Angeles is the eighth most powerful city in the entire world.

Nearly 4 million people live in the city of Los Angeles, and nearly 13 million live in the greater Los Angeles area.

Residents of Los Angeles are called "Algelenos."

The city's economy is supported by a wide range of activities from finance to food publicity, but is most well known for film production.

Some of the biggest tourist attractions in the city are the Hollywood sign, the Kodak Theater, the Hollywood Bowl, Grauman's Chinese Theater, Griffith Observatory, and Dodger's Stadium.

The Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles was designed by Canadian architect Frank Gehry and is home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

The city has hosted the summer Olympic Games twice, in 1932 and 1984.

The population of Los Angeles is made up of many ethnic groups, including Caucasian, Hispanic, African American, and Asian.

The average listing price for a home in Los Angeles is well over 1 million dollars, which is why there are so many bankruptcy lawyers in California.

Los Angeles Airport (often known by its airport identification code, LAX) is the third busiest airport in the country. 61 million people fly through it annually.

Over 1.7 million people ride Los Angeles MTA public buses and subways every day.

Several well known post-secondary schools have their main campuses in Los Angeles, including the University of California (UCLA) and the American Film Institute.

Many companies that have franchises in Canada are headquartered in Los Angeles. Guess? B.U.M. Equipment, LA Gear, Lockheed, Orange Julius, and Neutrogena, just to name a few.

Los Angeles is home to five major league sports teams: the Dodgers (baseball), the Kings (ice hockey), the Clippers (basketball), the Lakers (basketball), and the Galaxy (soccer).

The city is located near the San Andreas Fault line and has experienced major earthquakes several times, most notably in 1994, 1987, 1971, and 1933.

The city is known for its warm weather, which ranges from 50 to 75 degrees Farenheight, though the sunshine is sometimes obscured by smog.