Sacramento, capital of the U.S. state of California, is at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. Dubbed as "America's Most Diverse City", it is the cultural and economic core of the Sacramento metropolitan area. During the California Gold Rush, Sacramento was a major distribution point, a commercial and agricultural center, and a terminus for wagon trains, stagecoaches, riverboats, the telegraph, the Pony Express, and the First Transcontinental Railroad.

The city was named after the Sacramento River, which forms its western border. The river was named by Spanish cavalry officer Gabriel Moraga for the Santísimo Sacramento (Blessed Sacrament), referring to the Catholic Eucharist.

California State University, Sacramento, more commonly known as Sacramento State or Sac State, is the largest university in the city and one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. University of the Pacific's Sacramento Campus is a private university with one of its three campuses in Sacramento. In addition, the University of California, Davis, is in nearbyDavis, 15 miles (24 km) west of the capital. The UC Davis Medical Center, a world-renowned research hospital, is located in the city of Sacramento.