You're wrong about all of it. The name "LA" is usually used for the entire metropolitan area, including Long Beach, Westwood, Beverly Hills, etc -- clear out to West Covina. There is a home port there. There is a port (at Long Beach) that the Chinese tried to buy a couple of years ago. And there are lots of canyons and ravines throughout the hills.
Don't you remember "The Rockford Files?" James Garner used to drive wildly up and down those twisting roads until the bad guys drove over the cliff and wound up in a ball of flames. All that footage was shot around LA.
How about "Gone in 60 seconds" ... for a more recent movie using the bridges to the LA harbor and "scenic" Terminal Island.
Not sure if it was wise of him to do that, but it's "water under the bridge," so to speak.