Visalia is a Central California city situated in the heart of California’s agricultural
San Joaquin Valley, approximately 230 miles (370 km) southeast of San Francisco
and 190 miles (310 km) north of Los Angeles.
As of 2007, the city is estimated to have a population of 117,774 people and a
metropolitan area of 429,006.
Settled in 1852, it is the oldest permanent inland settlement between Stockton, CA and Los Angeles.
As the county seat and largest city of Tulare County, Visalia serves as the economic center
to the region known as the most productive single agricultural area in the United States.
Sometimes referred to as the "Gateway to the Sequoias," it lies within miles of the tallest
mountain range in the contiguous United States, the Sierra Nevada (U.S.) (see Mount Whitney,
which is located in Tulare County), and is the closest major city to Sequoia National Park,
home to the some of the largest living things on Earth, the Giant Sequoia trees.
Even still, the park, its surrounding forest, and the mountain range are nearly invisible to
the metro area, due to the poor air-quality in the region.
The geography of the Visalia area remains a mix of heavily irrigated green farmland and
scrubby Sierra Nevada foothills just to the east of the city.
read full wikipedia reference about Visalia, California
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