Sacramento is the capital city of California and the main city in Sacramento County. It is located where the Sacramento and American Rivers meet, in Northern California’s Sacramento Valley. In 2020, Sacramento had 524,943 people, making it the sixth-largest city in California and one of the largest state capitals in the country. It is also the center of the Greater Sacramento area, which has almost 2.7 million people.

Before Spanish explorers came, the land was home to Native American tribes like the Nisenan and Maidu. In 1808, a Spanish explorer named Gabriel Moraga named the Sacramento River after the “Blessed Sacrament.” Later, in 1839, John Sutter, a Swiss-born Mexican citizen, started Sutter’s Fort and a settlement in the valley.

After California became part of the United States in 1848, the settlement grew and became the City of Sacramento in 1850. By 1854, Sacramento was chosen as the state capital, and the Capitol building was finished in 1874. Today, Sacramento is an important city for government, culture, and business in California.