Visalia is a town located in California's rural San Joaquin Valley, about 230 miles southeast of San Francisco, 190 miles north of Los Angeles, 36 miles west of Sequoia National Park, and 43 miles south of Fresno. The population reaches 133,000 people. Visalia is the fifth largest city in the San Joaquin Valley after Fresno, Bakersfield, Stockton and Modesto, California's 44th most populous city and the United States' 198th. As the county seat of Tulare County, Visalia serves one of the country's most important agricultural counties as the economic and governmental hub. Visalia total area is 37 miles large. The Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks are situated in the surrounding mountains of Sierra Nevada, the highest mountain range in the contiguous US.