There is a desert in California.
California . California 's diverse geography ranges from the Pacific Coast in the west to the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the east ; and from the redwood -- Douglas fir forests in the northwest to the Mojave Desert in the southeast . The Greater Los Angeles Area is the second-largest urban region in the United States , encompassing five counties in southern California , extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County on the east , with Los Angeles County in the center and Orange County to the southeast . San Bernardino County , officially the County of San Bernardino , is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California .