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Long Beach is a city located in southern Los Angeles County, California, USA, on the Pacific coast. It borders Orange County on its southeast edge. It is about 20 miles (30 km) south of downtown Los Angeles.
Downtown Long Beach has been showcasing Long Beach as a First Class City within California. The R.M.S. Queen Mary has been located in Long Beach since her retirement in 1967 and now serves as a hotel, convention center, and tourist attraction, which some visitors like to claim is haunted. The Aquarium of the Pacific, a world-class research facility, is a popular tourist destination. Long Beach also has the largest municipally owned marina in the country with 3,400 slips. Downtown Long Beach also offers cruises to Catalina Island, restaurant and club nightlife, promenade development, and festival entertainment.
As of the 2000 census, the city population was 461,522. By 2006 its population is estimated to have increased to 490,166. Based upon the USA Today's Diversity Index, Long Beach was the most ethnically diverse large city in the United States in 2000. For example, Long Beach has the second-largest population of Cambodians outside of Asia (after Paris, France), and the area along Anaheim St. is sometimes called "Little Phnom Penh". There are also sizable populations of African Americans, Mexicans, Salvadorans and other Central Americans, Filipino Americans, Vietnamese Americans and other Asians. There is also a diverse gay and lesbian population in the city.
Long Beach is the 34th-largest city in the nation, 5th in California and 2nd in Los Angeles County (after Los Angeles). Long Beach is the largest U.S. city that is not a county seat. Long Beach is also the largest city in the U.S. that is not its own Roman Catholic diocese.
The Port of Long Beach is one of the world's largest shipping ports. The city also has a large oil industry; oil (discovered in 1921) is found both underground and offshore. Manufactures 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, Scan Health Care, and Polar Air Cargo. Long Beach grew with the development of high-technology and aerospace industries in the area.
Long Beach is the location of the second largest California State University, CSULB, and the headquarters of the California State University system. The city also has a Veterans Affairs hospital and is a major healthcare hub for the region.
Long Beach draws 5.5 million visitors annually. Tourists are drawn to Long Beach by the numerous annual events held in the city, which include music festivals, sports competitions, and cultural celebrations.
The Long Beach Grand Prix, an annual Champ Car race, takes place on city streets near the Convention Center and is one of the largest Grand Prix events in the world. It is the largest street race in the United States with an estimated 300,000 people watching the event in person every year over three days.
The second largest event in Long Beach is the Long Beach Lesbian & Gay Pride Parade & Festival. It attracts more than 125,000 participants over the two-day event.
Signal Hill is an incorporated city surrounded entirely by Long Beach.
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