Long Beach, California
city in Los Angeles County, California, United States
Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 450,469 as of 2025. A charter city, Long Beach is the 7th-most populous city in California, the 2nd-most populous city in Los Angeles County, and the largest city in California that is not a county seat.
Incorporated in 1897, Long Beach is in Southern California, in the southern part of Los Angeles County. Long Beach is approximately 20 miles (32 km) south of downtown Los Angeles, and is part of the Gateway Cities region. The Port of Long Beach is the second busiest container port in the United States and is among the world's largest shipping ports. The city is over an oilfield with minor wells both directly beneath the city as well as offshore.
The city is known for its waterfront attractions, including the permanently docked RMS Queen Mary and the Aquarium of the Pacific. Long Beach also hosts the Grand Prix of Long Beach, an IndyCar race and the Long Beach Pride Festival and Parade. California State University, Long Beach, one of the largest universities in California by enrollment, is within the city.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Long Beach, California” is city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Long, Beach and California, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “city in Los Angeles County, California, United States” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q16739. VIAF identifies the subject as 234528179. The Library of Congress control number is n79100226. Authority coordinates are 33.768, -118.196. 5 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2025 and 1897.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Long Beach, California”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Long Beach, California primary sources, Long Beach, California archive and Long research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Long Beach, California”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Long Beach, California” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.