The Chumash people, a seafaring group of Native Americans, were the first to settle in the Los Angeles area around 9,000 BC.
Source: National Park Service
In 1542, Portuguese explorer Juan Cabrillo journeyed along California's coast. He called the city's present-day San Pedro Bay the “Bay of Smokes,” due to rising smoke from fires made by Native Americans.
Source: Los Angeles Almanac
When the first Spanish missionaries arrived in 1602, there were approximately 22,000 Chumash living there. But it wasn't until over a century later that Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola founded LA's first official settlement in 1769.
Felipe de Neve became the new Governor of California in 1775. Established two years later, Los Angeles' first district was named San Jose de Guadalupe.
Source: "History of California"
Neve set up Los Angeles' city plan, which called for a central public plaza surrounded by a church, administrative buildings, and streets laid out in a grid with some blocks designated for farms and homes.
Source: City of Los Angeles
The city of Los Angeles, which translates to "The Angels," was officially founded in 1781. Many families from Mexico came to live there.
Source: Los Angeles Almanac
By 1821, Los Angeles had grown into the largest self-sustaining farming community in Southern California.
Source: LA Times
To accommodate its growing population, LA built up its transportation infrastructure in the late 19th century. The Los Angeles and San Pedro Railroad, pictured below, were the city's first.
Source: USC
The Los Angeles City Oil Field, which still emits tar today, was discovered in 1892. It set off California’s first major oil boom by producing about 45 barrels per day.
LA's population exploded in the early 1900s. Over 319,000 people lived there by 1910.
Source: Los Angeles Almanac
In the mid-20th century, Southern California started started construction on massive highways, which connect LA to other centers, like San Francisco and San Diego. LA displaced a quarter-million residents to build its 527-mile freeway system from the '40s to '60s.
Source: Gizmodo
Today, Southern California's freeway system is one of the busiest in the country.
Source: San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Roughly 3.9 million people call Los Angeles home, according to the most recent census.
Source: US Census
Its population is expected to swell to 15.7 million by 2025, which would make it the densest city in the US.
Source: Curbed