NorCal Megaregion

Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers include the San Francisco Bay Area (anchored by the cities of San Jose, San Francisco, and Oakland), the Greater Sacramento area (anchored by the state capital Sacramento), the Redding, California, area south of the Cascade Range, and the Metropolitan Fresno area (anchored by the city of Fresno). Northern California also contains redwood forests, along with most of the Sierra Nevada, including Yosemite Valley and part of Lake Tahoe, Mount Shasta (the second-highest peak in the Cascade Range after Mount Rainier in Washington), and most of the Central Valley, one of the world's most productive agricultural regions.

The 48-county definition is not used for the Northern California Megaregion, one of the 11 megaregions of the United States. The megaregion's area is instead defined from Metropolitan Fresno north to Greater Sacramento, and from the Bay Area east across Nevada state line to encompass the entire Lake Tahoe-Reno area.

Evidence of Native American habitation in the area dates from at least 19,000 years ago and successive waves of arrivals led to one of the most densely populated areas of pre-Columbian North America. The arrival of European explorers from the early 16th to the mid-18th centuries did not establish European settlements in northern California. In 1770, the Spanish mission at Monterey was the first European settlement in the area, followed by other missions along the coast—eventually extending as far north as Sonoma County.

Description

Northern California is not a formal geographic designation. California's north–south midway division is around 37°N, which is near the level of San Francisco. Popularly, though, "Northern California" usually refers to the state's northernmost 48 counties. Because of California's large size and diverse geography, the state can be subdivided in other ways as well. For example, the Central Valley is a region that is distinct both culturally and topographically from coastal California, though in northern versus southern California divisions, the Sacramento Valley and most of the San Joaquin Valley are usually placed in northern California. Some observers describe three partitions of California, with north and south sections separated by Central California.

The state is often considered as having an additional division north of the urban areas of the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento metropolitan areas. Extreme northern residents have felt under-represented in state government and, in 1941, attempted to form a new state with southwestern Oregon to be called Jefferson, or more recently to introduce legislation to split California into two or three states. The coastal area north of the Bay Area is referred to as the North Coast, including the "Lost Coast" in the vicinity of Mendocino County, while the interior region north of Sacramento is referred to by locals as the Northstate.

Northern California was used for the name of a proposed new state on the 2018 California ballot created by splitting the existing state into three parts.

Significance

Since the events of the California Gold Rush, Northern California has been a leader on the world's economic, scientific, and cultural stages. From the development of gold mining techniques and logging practices in the 19th century that were later adopted around the world, to the development of world-famous and online business models (such as Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Google, Yahoo!, and eBay), northern California has been at the forefront of new ways of doing business. In science, advances range from being the first to isolate and name fourteen transuranic chemical elements, to breakthroughs in microchip technology. Cultural contributions include the works of Ansel Adams, George Lucas, and Clint Eastwood, as well as beatniks, the Summer of Love, winemaking, the cradle of the international environmental movement, and the open, casual workplace first popularized in the Silicon Valley dot-com boom and now widely in use around the world. Other examples of innovation across diverse fields range from Genentech (development and commercialization of genetic engineering) to CrossFit as a pioneer in extreme human fitness and training.
It is also home to one of the largest Air Force Bases on the West Coast, and the largest in California, Travis Air Force Base.

Cities

Northern California's largest metropolitan area is the San Francisco Bay Area which consists of 9 counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma counties. The Bay Area consists of the major cities of San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and their many suburbs. Although not a part of the Bay Area, in recent years the Bay Area has drawn more commuters from as far as Central Valley cities such as Sacramento, Stockton, Fresno, Turlock and Modesto. These cities in the central part of the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada foothills may be viewed as part of a single megalopolis. The 2010 U.S. Census showed that the Bay Area grew at a faster rate than the Greater Los Angeles Area while Greater Sacramento had the largest growth rate of any metropolitan area in California.

The state's larger inland cities are considered part of Northern California in cases when the state is divided into two parts. Key cities in the region which are not in major metropolitan areas include Eureka on the far North Coast, Redding, at the northern end of the Central Valley, Chico, and Yuba City in the mid-north of the Central Valley, as well as Fresno and Visalia on the southern end. Though smaller in each case, with the notable exception of Fresno, than the larger cities of the general region, these smaller regional centers are often of historical and economic importance for their respective size, due to their locations, which are primarily rural or otherwise isolated.

Panoramic Downtown San Jose.jpg, San Jose, the most populous city in Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area, and the tenth largest city in the United States. San Jose is the center of Silicon Valley, the preeminent region for technology in the country.
SanFran downtown panorama.jpg, San Francisco, the second most populated city in Northern California and a major economic, cultural, and financial center for the region.
File:Chukchansi.jpg, Fresno, the third most populated city in northern California, as seen from Chukchansi Park. Fresno is the largest city by population in the Central Valley.
File:Sacramento Skyline (cropped).jpg, alt=Sacramento Skyline (cropped).jpg, Sacramento, the fourth most populous city in Northern California, the capital city of the State of California, and the principal city of the Sacramento metropolitan area.
File:Panorama-downtown-oakland by Daniel Ramirez.jpg, Oakland, the fifth-largest city by population in Northern California. Oakland is the major Port of Oakland, port city of the region and the center of Northern California's African Americans, African American community.

History

Prehistory to 1847

Inhabited for millennia by Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans, from the Shasta (tribe), Shasta tribe in the north, to the Miwoks in the central coast and Sierra Nevada, to the Yokuts of the southern Central Valley, northern California was among the most densely populated areas of pre-Columbian North America.

European explorers

The first European to explore the coast was Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, sailing for the Spanish Crown; in 1542, Cabrillo's expedition sailed perhaps as far north as the Rogue River (Oregon), Rogue River in today's Oregon. Beginning in 1565, the Spanish Manila galleons crossed the Pacific Ocean from Mexico to the Spanish Philippines, with silver and gemstones from Mexico. The Manila galleons returned across the northern Pacific, and reached North America usually off the coast of northern California, and then continued south with their Asian trade goods to Mexico.

In 1579, northern California was visited by the English explorer Francis Drake, Sir Francis Drake who landed north of today's San Francisco and claimed the area for England. In 1602, the Spaniard Sebastián Vizcaíno explored California's coast as far north as Monterey Bay, where he went ashore. Other Spanish explorers sailed along the coast of northern California for the next 150 years, but no settlements were established.

Spanish era

The first European inhabitants were Spanish missionaries, who built Spanish missions in California, missions along the California coast. The mission at Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, Monterey was first established in 1770, and at Mission San Francisco de Asís, San Francisco in 1776. In all, ten missions stretched along the coast from Sonoma, California, Sonoma to Monterey (and still more missions to the southern tip of Baja California). In 1786, the France, French signaled their interest in the northern California area by sending a voyage of exploration to Monterey.

The first twenty years of the 19th century continued the colonization of the northern California coast by Spain. By 1820, Spanish influence extended inland approximately 25 to from the missions. Outside of this zone, perhaps 200,000 to 250,000 Native Americans continued to lead traditional lives. The Adams-Onís Treaty, signed in 1819 between Spain and the young United States, set the northern boundary of the Spanish claims at the 42nd parallel, effectively creating today's northern boundary of northern California.

Russian presence

In 1812, the Russian state-sponsored Russian-American Company established Fort Ross, a fur trading outpost on the coast of today's Sonoma County. Fort Ross was the southernmost Russian settlement, located some north of Spanish colonies in San Francisco. In 1839, the settlement was abandoned due to its inability to meet resource demands, and the increasing Mexican and American presence in the region.

Mexican era

After Mexican War of Independence, Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, Mexico continued Spain's missions and settlements in northern California as well as Spain's territorial claims. The Mexican ''Californios'' (Spanish-speaking Californians) in these settlements primarily traded cattle hides and tallow with American and European merchant vessels.

In 1825, the Hudson's Bay Company established a major trading post Fort Vancouver, just north of today's Portland, Oregon. British fur trappers and hunters then used the Siskiyou Trail to travel throughout northern California. The leader of a further French scientific expedition to northern California, Eugene Duflot de Mofras, wrote in 1840 "''...it is evident that California will belong to whatever nation chooses to send there a man-of-war and two hundred men''." By the 1830s, a significant number of non-''Californios'' had immigrated to northern California. Chief among these was John Sutter, a European immigrant from Switzerland, who was granted Sutter's Fort, centered on the area of today's Sacramento.

American interest

American trappers began entering northern California in the 1830s. In 1834, American visionary Ewing Young led a herd of horses and mules over the Siskiyou Trail from missions in northern California to British and American settlements in Oregon. Although a small number of American traders and trappers had lived in northern California since the early 1830s, the first organized overland party of American immigrants to arrive in northern California was the Bartleson-Bidwell Party of 1841 via the new California Trail. Also in 1841, an overland exploratory party of the United States Exploring Expedition came down the Siskiyou Trail from the Pacific Northwest. In 1846, the Donner Party earned notoriety as they struggled to enter northern California.

Californian independence and beginning of the United States era

When the Mexican–American War was declared on May 13, 1846, it took almost two months (mid-July 1846) for word to get to California. On June 14, 1846, some 30 non-Mexican settlers, mostly Americans, staged a revolt and seized the small Mexican garrison in Sonoma. They raised the "Flag of California, Bear Flag" of the California Republic over Sonoma. The "Bear Flag Republic" lasted only 26 days, until the U.S. Army, led by John Frémont, took over on July 9. The California state flag today is based on this original Bear Flag, and continues to contain the words "California Republic."

Commodore John Drake Sloat ordered his naval forces to occupy Yerba Buena, California, Yerba Buena (present San Francisco) on July 7 and within days American forces controlled San Francisco, Sonoma, and Sutter's Fort in Sacramento. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, treaty ending the Mexican–American War was signed on February 2, 1848, and Mexico formally ceded Alta California (including all of present-day northern California) to the United States.

Gold Rush and California statehood

The California Gold Rush took place almost exclusively in northern California from 1848 to 1855. It began on January 24, 1848, when gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California, Coloma."[E]vents from January 1848 through December 1855 [are] generally acknowledged as the 'Gold Rush' .... After 1855, California gold mining changed and is outside the 'rush' era." News of the discovery soon spread, resulting in some 300,000 people coming to California from the rest of the United States and abroad. San Francisco grew from a tiny hamlet, home to about 1,000 Californios into a boomtown of over 50,000 people in the 12 years between 1848 and 1860. New roads, churches, and schools were built, and new towns sprung up, aided in part by the development of new methods of transportation such as steamships which came into regular service and California and the railroads, railroads which now connected the coasts. The Gold Rush also had negative effects: California Genocide, American colonists chose to use genocide as a tool to remove the Indigenous peoples of California, Indigenous people so that they could look for gold on their land. Ostrea lurida, Native oyster species saw their numbers plummet when American colonists began over-harvesting them, leading to a near-extinction of the oysters from the California coast on up into the Pacific Northwest, and gold mining caused environmental harm.

The Gold Rush also increased pressure to make California a U.S. state. Pro-slavery politicians initially attempted to permanently divide northern and southern California at 36 degrees, 30 minutes, the line of the Missouri Compromise. But instead, the passing of the Compromise of 1850 enabled California to be admitted to the Union as a Slave and free states, free state.

Population and agricultural expansion (1855–1899)

The decades following the Gold Rush brought dramatic expansion to northern California, both in population and economically – particularly in agriculture. The completion of the First transcontinental railroad in 1869, with its terminus in Sacramento (and then later, Oakland), meant that northern California's agricultural produce (and some manufactured goods) could now be shipped economically to the rest of the United States. In return, immigrants from the rest of the United States (and Europe) could comfortably come to northern California. A network of railroads spread throughout northern California, and in 1887, a Siskiyou Trail, rail link was completed to the Pacific Northwest. Almost all of these railways came under the control of the Southern Pacific Railroad, headquartered in San Francisco, and San Francisco continued as a financial and cultural center.

Substantial tensions during this era included nativist sentiments (primarily against Chinese immigrants), tensions between the increasing power of the Southern Pacific Railroad and small farmers, and the beginnings of the labor union movement.

Economy

Northern California's economy is noted for being the de facto world leader in high-tech industry (software, semiconductor/micro-electronics, biotechnology and medical devices/instruments), as well as being known for Environmental engineering, clean power, biomedical, government, and finance. Other significant industries include tourism, shipping, manufacturing, and agriculture. Its economy is diverse, though more concentrated in high technology, and subject to the whims of venture capital than any other major regional economy in the nation especially within Silicon Valley, and less dependent on oil and residential housing than Southern California. It is home to the state capital, as well as several Western United States regional offices in San Francisco, such as the Federal Reserve and United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 9th Circuit Court.

Climate

Northern California has a warm or mild to cold climate, in which the Sierra gets snow in the late fall through winter and occasionally into spring. Summers are mild along the coast and generally warm and dry, while winters are cool and usually wet. The high temperatures range from 50s to 30s in the winters while summers temperature range is 90s to 60s or 50s, with highs well into the 100s for the Sacramento region. Snow covers the mountains (generally above 3000 feet) in mid January through February. Fog occurs infrequently or occurs normally in the west and coast, especially in the summer, creating some of the coolest summer conditions in North America. Since the first decade of the 21st century, Droughts in California, droughts and List of California wildfires, wildfires have increased in frequency as a consequence of climate change.

Population

The population of the forty-eight counties of northern California has shown a steady increase over the years.

The largest percentage increase outside the Gold Rush era (52%) came during the 1940s, as the region was the destination of many post-War veterans and their families, attracted by the greatly expanding industrial base and (often) by their time stationed in northern California during World War II. The largest absolute increase occurred during the 1980s (over 2.1 million person increase), attracted by job opportunities in part by the expansion taking place in Silicon Valley and the Cold War era expansion of the defense industry. Since the 2000 U.S. Census, Northern California has grown at a faster rate than Southern California due to the strong economic performances of the Bay Area and Sacramento.

Parks and other protected areas

National Park System

The U.S. National Park System controls a large and diverse group of parks in northern California. The best known is Yosemite National Park, which is displayed on the reverse side of the :File:California quarter, reverse side, 2005.jpg, California state quarter. Other prominent parks are the Kings Canyon National Park, Kings Canyon-Sequoia National Park complex, Redwood National Park, Pinnacles National Park, Lassen Volcanic National Park and the largest in the contiguous forty-eight states, Death Valley National Park.

National Monuments and other federally protected areas

Other areas under federal protection include Muir Woods National Monument, Giant Sequoia National Monument, Devils Postpile National Monument, Lava Beds National Monument, Point Reyes National Seashore, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, Cordell Bank and Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuaries (both off the coast of San Francisco). Included within the latter National Marine Sanctuary is the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge; this National Wildlife Refuge is one of approximately twenty-five such refuges in northern California. National forest (United States), National forests occupy large sections of northern California, including the Shasta–Trinity National Forest, Shasta–Trinity, Klamath National Forest, Klamath, Modoc National Forest, Modoc, Lassen National Forest, Lassen, Mendocino National Forest, Mendocino, Eldorado National Forest, Eldorado, Tahoe National Forest, Tahoe, and Sequoia National Forest, Sequoia national forests, among others. Included within (or adjacent to) national forests are federally protected wilderness areas, including the Trinity Alps Wilderness, Trinity Alps, Castle Crags, Granite Chief Wilderness, Granite Chief, and Desolation Wilderness, Desolation wilderness areas.

In addition, the California Coastal National Monument protects all islets, reefs, and rock outcroppings from the shore of northern California out to a distance of , along the entire northern California coastline. In addition, the National Park Service administers protected areas on Alcatraz Island, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Whiskeytown–Shasta–Trinity National Recreation Area, and the Smith River National Recreation Area. The NPS also administers the Manzanar National Historic Site (United States), National Historic Site in Inyo County, California, Inyo County, the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California, Richmond, and the Tule Lake National Monument outside of Tulelake, California, Tulelake.

Other

* Tilden Regional Park
* Alum Rock Park
* Angel Island (California), Angel Island
* Bidwell Park
* Big Basin Redwoods State Park
* Butano State Park
* Calaveras Big Trees State Park
* Castle Rock State Park (California), Castle Rock State Park
* Caswell Memorial State Park (California), Caswell Memorial State Park
* East Bay Regional Park District
* Farallon Islands
* Golden Gate Park
* Henry W. Coe State Park
* Humboldt Redwoods State Park
* Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
* Lake Tahoe Basin
* Marble Mountains (Siskiyou County), Marble Mountain Wilderness
* Mill Creek State Park
* Mount Tamalpais State Park
* Suisun Marsh
* Sacramento River
* Talowa Dunes State Park
* Turtle Bay Exploration Park
* McArthur–Burney Falls Memorial State Park
* Wilder Ranch State Park
* Sequoia National Park

Educational institutions

Northern California hosts a number of world-renowned universities including Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley. Top-tier public graduate schools include University of California, Berkeley School of Law, Boalt Hall and University of California, Hastings College of the Law, Hastings law schools and University of California, San Francisco, UC San Francisco (a top-ranked medical school) and UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, the largest veterinary school in the United States.

Public

* Six University of California campuses:

:*UC Berkeley
:*UC Davis
:*UC Hastings
:*UC Merced
:*UC San Francisco
:*UC Santa Cruz

* Eleven California State University campuses:

:* California Maritime Academy
:* California State University, Chico, Chico State
:* California State University, East Bay, CSU East Bay
:* California State University, Monterey Bay, CSU Monterey Bay
:* California State University, Fresno, Fresno State
:* Humboldt State University, Humboldt State
:* California State University, Sacramento, Sacramento State
:* San Francisco State University, San Francisco State
:* San Jose State University, San Jose State
:* Sonoma State University, Sonoma State
:* California State University, Stanislaus, Stanislaus State

* A large number of local California Community Colleges System, community colleges

Private

''(Partial list)''
* Brandman University
* Dominican University of California, Dominican University
* Drexel University Sacramento
* Fresno Pacific University
* Holy Names University
* Mills College
* Northwestern Polytechnic University
* Pacific Union College
* Stanford University
* Santa Clara University
* Saint Mary's College of California, St. Mary's College
* Simpson University
* Touro University California
* University of San Francisco
* University of the Pacific (United States), University of the Pacific
* William Jessup University
* Academy of Art University
* Notre Dame de Namur University
* Samuel Merritt University

Research

''(Partial list)''
* American Institute of Mathematics
* Bodega Marine Reserve
* Hopkins Marine Station
* Joint Genome Institute
* Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
* Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
* Lick Observatory
* Long Marine Laboratory
* Mathematical Sciences Research Institute
* Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
* NASA Ames Research Center
* Owens Valley Radio Observatory
* Pacific Institute
* Point Reyes Bird Observatory
* White Mountain Peak, White Mountain Research Station

Counties

* Alameda County, California, Alameda
* Alpine County, California, Alpine
* Amador County, California, Amador
* Butte County, California, Butte
* Calaveras County, California, Calaveras
* Colusa County, California, Colusa
* Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa
* Del Norte County, California, Del Norte
* El Dorado County, California, El Dorado
* Fresno County, California, Fresno
* Glenn County, California, Glenn
* Humboldt County, California, Humboldt
* Inyo County, California, Inyo
* Kings County, California, Kings
* Lake County, California, Lake
* Lassen County, California, Lassen
* Madera County, California, Madera
* Marin County, California, Marin
* Mariposa County, California, Mariposa
* Mendocino County, California, Mendocino
* Merced County, California, Merced
* Modoc County, California, Modoc
* Mono County, California, Mono
* Monterey County, California, Monterey
* Napa County, California, Napa
* Nevada County, California, Nevada
* Placer County, California, Placer
* Plumas County, California, Plumas
* Sacramento County, California, Sacramento
* San Benito County, California, San Benito
* San Francisco County, California, San Francisco
* San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin
* San Mateo County, California, San Mateo
* Santa Clara County, California, Santa Clara
* Santa Cruz County, California, Santa Cruz
* Shasta County, California, Shasta
* Sierra County, California, Sierra
* Siskiyou County, California, Siskiyou
* Solano County, California, Solano
* Sonoma County, California, Sonoma
* Stanislaus County, California, Stanislaus
* Sutter County, California, Sutter
* Tehama County, California, Tehama
* Trinity County, California, Trinity
* Tulare County, California, Tulare
* Tuolumne County, California, Tuolumne
* Yolo County, California, Yolo
* Yuba County, California, Yuba

Regions

The following regions are entirely or partly within northern California:

* Big Sur
* Cascade Range
* Central California
* Central Coast of California, Central Coast
* Central Valley
* Coastal California
* East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay (SF)
* Eastern California
* Emerald Triangle
* Gold Country
* Sacramento metropolitan area, Greater Sacramento
* Klamath Basin
* Lake Tahoe
* Lassen Peak
* Lost Coast
* Metropolitan Fresno
* Mount Shasta
* North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay (SF)
* North Coast
* Russian River (California), Russian River
* Sacramento Valley
* San Francisco Bay Area
* San Francisco Peninsula
* San Joaquin Valley
* Santa Clara Valley
* Shasta Cascade
* Sierra Nevada
* Silicon Valley
* South Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), South Bay (SF)
* Telecom Valley
* Tri-Valley
* Trinity Alps
* Wine Country (California), Wine Country
* Yosemite National Park, Yosemite
* Yuba–Sutter area

Cities and towns with more than 50,000 inhabitants

File:San Jose California Skyline.jpg, 1 – San Jose
File:SF From Marin Highlands3.jpg, 2 – San Francisco
File:Fresno skyline.jpg, 3 – Fresno
File:Tower Bridge Sacramento edit.jpg, 4 – Sacramento
File:Oakland California skyline.jpg, 5 – Oakland
File:Commercial & Savings Bank - Stockton, CA.jpg, 6 – Stockton
File:Mission-Peak-2006.jpg, 7 – Fremont, California, Fremont
File:Modesto Arch.JPG, 8 – Modesto
File:SR vineyard.jpg, 9 – Santa Rosa, California, Santa Rosa
File:Laguna Springs Dr and Laguna Blvd.jpg, 10 – Elk Grove, California, Elk Grove
File:Main Street, Salinas.jpg, 11 – Salinas, California, Salinas
File:Hayward City Hall number 3 front.jpg, 12 – Hayward, California, Hayward
File:Murphystreetsunnyvale.jpg, 13 – Sunnyvale, California, Sunnyvale
File:Roseville - City Civic Center.jpg, 14 – Roseville, California, Roseville
File:Visalia Transit 2011.jpg, 15 – Visalia
File:Santaclaraconventioncenter.jpg, 16 – Santa Clara, California, Santa Clara
File:DK From Parking Lot.jpg, 17 – Vallejo, California, Vallejo
File:Todos Santos Plaza (Concord, California) Dec 2009.jpg, 18 – Concord, California, Concord
File:Berkeley-downtown-Bay-bridge-SF-in-back-from-Lab.jpg, 19 – Berkeley, California, Berkeley
File:Pollasky Ave. Clovis.JPG, 20 – Clovis, California, Clovis
File:Aerial view of Fairfield, California.jpg, 21 – Fairfield, California, Fairfield
File:Point Richmond, Richmond, California.jpg, 22 – Richmond, California, Richmond
File:Shannon-Williamson Ranch (Antioch, CA).JPG, 23 – Antioch, California, Antioch
File:MCB-san-mateo-aerial.jpg, 24 – San Mateo, California, San Mateo
File:Daly City.jpg, 25 – Daly City, California, Daly City
File:Aerial view of Vacaville, California.jpg, 26 – Vacaville, California, Vacaville
File:Bidwell Park Chico.jpg, 27 – Chico
File:Sundialbridge2.jpg, 28 – Redding
File:11th and Central Tracy California 14-May-2006.jpg, 29 – Tracy, California, Tracy
File:San Leandro Marina 07830.JPG, 30 – San Leandro, California, San Leandro
File:LLNL Aerial View.jpg, 31 – Livermore, California, Livermore
File:Citrus Heights - Police.jpg, 32 – Citrus Heights, California, Citrus Heights
File:Merced Theatre.JPG, 33 – Merced, California, Merced
File:SanRamonPanorama.jpg, 34 – San Ramon, California, San Ramon
File:Redwoodcitypanorama.jpg, 35 – Redwood City, California, Redwood City
File:MantecaCA.jpg, 36 – Manteca, California, Manteca
File:Mountainviewcentennialplaza.jpg, 37 – Mountain View, California, Mountain View
File:Lake Folsom.JPG, 38 – Folsom, California, Folsom
File:Footbridge to Great Mall Main station, March 2018 (cropped).JPG, 39 – Milpitas, California, Milpitas
File:MCB-pleasanton-ca.jpg, 40 – Pleasanton, California, Pleasanton

Metropolitan areas

Northern California is home to three of the state's four combined statistical areas, extended metropolitan areas, which are home to over three-fourths of the region's population as of the 2010 United States Census:

Major business districts

The following are major central business districts:
* Financial District, San Francisco, San Francisco Financial District
* Downtown Oakland
* Downtown Sacramento
* Downtown San Jose

Transportation

''See also articles:''

* Transportation in the Sacramento metropolitan area
* Transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area

''See also categories:''

* :Transportation in Alameda County, California, Transportation in Alameda County
* :Transportation in Alpine County, California, Transportation in Alpine County
* :Transportation in Amador County, California, Transportation in Amador County
* :Transportation in Butte County, California, Transportation in Butte County
* :Transportation in Calaveras County, California, Transportation in Calaveras County
* :Transportation in Colusa County, California, Transportation in Colusa County
* :Transportation in Contra Costa County, California, Transportation in Contra Costa County
* :Transportation in Del Norte County, California, Transportation in Del Norte County
* :Transportation in El Dorado County, California, Transportation in El Dorado County
* :Transportation in Fresno County, California, Transportation in Fresno County
* :Transportation in Glenn County, California, Transportation in Glenn County
* :Transportation in Humboldt County, California, Transportation in Humboldt County
* :Transportation in Inyo County, California, Transportation in Inyo County
* :Transportation in Kings County, California, Transportation in Kings County
* :Transportation in Lake County, California, Transportation in Lake County
* :Transportation in Lassen County, California, Transportation in Lassen County
* :Transportation in Madera County, California, Transportation in Madera County
* :Transportation in Marin County, California, Transportation in Marin County
* :Transportation in Mariposa County, California, Transportation in Mariposa County
* :Transportation in Mendocino County, California, Transportation in Mendocino County
* :Transportation in Merced County, California, Transportation in Merced County
* :Transportation in Modoc County, California, Transportation in Modoc County
* :Transportation in Mono County, California, Transportation in Mono County
* :Transportation in Monterey County, California, Transportation in Monterey County
* :Transportation in Napa County, California, Transportation in Napa County
* :Transportation in Nevada County, California, Transportation in Nevada County
* :Transportation in Oakland, California, Transportation in Oakland
* :Transportation in Placer County, California, Transportation in Placer County
* :Transportation in Plumas County, California, Transportation in Plumas County
* :Transportation in Sacramento, California, Transportation in Sacramento
* :Transportation in Sacramento County, California, Transportation in Sacramento County
* :Transportation in San Benito County, California, Transportation in San Benito County
* :Transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area, Transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area
* :Transportation in San Francisco, Transportation in San Francisco
* :Transportation in San Joaquin County, California, Transportation in San Joaquin County
* :Transportation in San Mateo County, California, Transportation in San Mateo County
* :Transportation in Santa Clara County, California, Transportation in Santa Clara County
* :Transportation in Santa Cruz County, California, Transportation in Santa Cruz County
* :Transportation in Shasta County, California, Transportation in Shasta County
* :Transportation in Sierra County, California, Transportation in Sierra County
* :Transportation in Siskiyou County, California, Transportation in Siskiyou County
* :Transportation in Solano County, California, Transportation in Solano County
* :Transportation in Sonoma County, California, Transportation in Sonoma County
* :Transportation in Stanislaus County, California, Transportation in Stanislaus County
* :Transportation in Sutter County, California, Transportation in Sutter County
* :Transportation in Tehama County, California, Transportation in Tehama County
* :Transportation in Trinity County, California, Transportation in Trinity County
* :Transportation in Tulare County, California, Transportation in Tulare County
* :Transportation in Tuolumne County, California, Transportation in Tuolumne County
* :Transportation in Yolo County, California, Transportation in Yolo County
* :Transportation in Yuba County, California, Transportation in Yuba County

Airports

There are 11 airports in Northern California categorized as Primary Service Commercial airports by the FAA:

Railroad

* Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) – commuter subway connecting most of the core Bay Area including San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose
* Caltrain – commuter rail between San Francisco and Gilroy, California, Gilroy (south of San Jose)
* Muni Metro (San Francisco)
* Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority light rail, VTA Light Rail (San Jose)
* Altamont Corridor Express, Altamont Commuter Express (ACE) – commuter train connecting Stockton and the Central Valley with San Jose and the Bay Area
* Sacramento Regional Transit District light rail
* Amtrak:
** ''California Zephyr'' – connects Chicago to the Bay Area
** ''Capitol Corridor'' – San Jose to Auburn, California, Auburn (eastern suburb of Sacramento)
** ''Coast Starlight'' – coastal train between Los Angeles and Seattle with northern California stops in San Jose, Oakland, and Sacramento
** ''San Joaquin (Amtrak), San Joaquin'' – Central Valley train linking Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield in the Central Valley to Sacramento and Oakland

Major transit organizations

* AC Transit
* Arcata and Mad River Transit System
* County Connection
* El Dorado Transit
* Eureka Transit Service
* Fairfield and Suisun Transit
* Fresno Area Express
* Golden Gate Transit
* Lake Transit
* Mendocino Transit Authority
* Monterey-Salinas Transit
* Porterville City Operated Local Transit
* Redwood Transit System
* SamTrans
* San Benito Express
* San Francisco Municipal Railway, SF MUNI
* San Joaquin Regional Transit District
* Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)
* Santa Cruz Metro
* Solano Express
* SolTrans
* Sonoma County Transit
* Tri Delta Transit
* Visalia Transit
* VINE (Napa County)

Major transit ferries

* San Francisco Bay Ferry
* Golden Gate Ferry
* Blue & Gold Fleet
* Angel Island – Tiburon Ferry

Freeways

Interstate highways

* Interstate 80 in California, Interstate 80 (Eastshore Freeway/Lincoln Highway)
* Interstate 280 (California), Interstate 280 (Southern Embarcadero Freeway/Southern Freeway/Junipero Serra Freeway/Sinclair Freeway)
* Interstate 380 (California), Interstate 380
* Interstate 580 (California), Interstate 580 (Eastshore Freeway/MacArthur Freeway/Brown Freeway)
* Interstate 680 (California), Interstate 680 (Joseph P. Sinclair Freeway/Donald D. Doyle Highway/Blue Star Memorial Highway/Luther E. Gibson Freeway)
* Interstate 780
* Interstate 880 (California), Interstate 880 (Nimitz Freeway)
* Interstate 980 (Grove-Shafter Freeway)
* Interstate 238
* Interstate 5 in California, Interstate 5 (Golden State Freeway/West Side Freeway)
* Interstate 205 (California), Interstate 205 (Robert T. Monagan Freeway)
* Interstate 505
* Interstate 80 Business (Sacramento, California), Interstate 80 Business (Capital City Freeway)

U.S. Routes

* U.S. Route 6 in California, U.S. Route 6
* U.S. Route 50 in California, U.S. Route 50 (El Dorado Freeway)
* U.S. Route 101 in California, U.S. Route 101 (South Valley Freeway/Bayshore Freeway/James Lick Freeway/Central Freeway/Redwood Highway/Michael J. Burns Freeway/Redwood Highway)
* U.S. Route 395 in California, U.S. Route 395
* U.S. Route 97 in California, U.S. Route 97
* U.S. Route 199

Principal state highways

* California State Route 1, State Route 1 (Pacific Coast Highway/Cabrillo Highway)
* California State Route 3, State Route 3
* California State Route 4, State Route 4
* California State Route 9, State Route 9
* California State Route 12, State Route 12
* California State Route 13, State Route 13 (Ashby Avenue/Tunnel Road/Warren Freeway)
* California State Route 16, State Route 16
* California State Route 17, State Route 17
* California State Route 20, State Route 20
* California State Route 24, State Route 24
* California State Route 25, State Route 25
* California State Route 26, State Route 26
* California State Route 29, State Route 29
* California State Route 32, State Route 32
* California State Route 33, State Route 33
* California State Route 35, State Route 35 (Skyline Boulevard)
* California State Route 36, State Route 36
* California State Route 37, State Route 37 (Sears Point Tollway)
* California State Route 41, State Route 41 (E.G. Lewis Highway, Yosemite Freeway, Southern Yosemite Highway, Wawona Road)
* California State Route 43, State Route 43
* California State Route 44, State Route 44
* California State Route 49, State Route 49 (Golden Chain Highway)
* California State Route 59, State Route 59
* // California State Route 61, State Route 61 (Webster Tube/Posey Tube/Doolittle Drive/Davis Street)
* California State Route 63, State Route 63
* California State Route 65, State Route 65
* California State Route 68, State Route 68
* California State Route 70, State Route 70
* California State Route 82, State Route 82 (Monterey Highway/El Camino Real/Mission Street)
* California State Route 84, State Route 84
* California State Route 85, State Route 85 (Stevens Creek Freeway/West Valley Freeway/Norman Y. Mineta Highway/CHP Officer Scott M. Greenly Memorial Freeway)
* California State Route 87, State Route 87 (Guadalupe Parkway)
* California State Route 88, State Route 88
* California State Route 89, State Route 89
* California State Route 92, State Route 92 (J. Arthur Younger Freeway/Jackson Street)
* California State Route 96, State Route 96
* California State Route 99, State Route 99
* California State Route 104, State Route 104
* California State Route 108, State Route 108
* California State Route 113, State Route 113
* California State Route 116, State Route 116
* California State Route 120, State Route 120
* California State Route 121, State Route 121
* California State Route 128, State Route 128
* California State Route 130, State Route 130
* California State Route 132, State Route 132
* California State Route 137, State Route 137
* California State Route 139, State Route 139
* California State Route 140, State Route 140
* California State Route 152, State Route 152
* California State Route 156, State Route 156
* California State Route 160, State Route 160 (North Sacramento Freeway/River Road)
* California State Route 162, State Route 162
* California State Route 165, State Route 165
* California State Route 168, State Route 168
* California State Route 174, State Route 174
* California State Route 180, State Route 180
* / California State Route 185, State Route 185 (International Boulevard/East 14th Street/Mission Boulevard)
* California State Route 190, State Route 190
* California State Route 193, State Route 193
* California State Route 198, State Route 198
* California State Route 201, State Route 201
* California State Route 216, State Route 216
* California State Route 219, State Route 219
* California State Route 236, State Route 236
* California State Route 237, State Route 237
* California State Route 238, State Route 238 (Mission Boulevard, Foothill Boulevard)
* California State Route 245, State Route 245
* California State Route 254, State Route 254 (Avenue of the Giants)
* California State Route 262, State Route 262 (Mission Boulevard)
* California State Route 267, State Route 267
* California State Route 269, State Route 269
* California State Route 275, State Route 275 (Tower Bridge Gateway)
* California State Route 299, State Route 299

Communication

Telephone area codes

* Area code 209, 209 — Northern San Joaquin Valley ( Stockton, Modesto, and Merced, California, Merced).
* Area codes 408 and 669, 408/669 — Most of Santa Clara County ( San Jose and Gilroy, California, Gilroy).
* Area codes 415 and 628, 415/628 — San Francisco, Daly City, California, Daly City, and Marin County. One of the three original Telephone numbering plan#Area code, Area Codes in California.
* Area codes 510 and 341, 510/341 — Inner East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay ( Oakland, Berkeley, California, Berkeley, Richmond, California, Richmond, and Fremont, California, Fremont). Originally part of area code 415.
* Area code 530, 530 — A large northeastern section of the region including Tehama County, Shasta County, Lassen County, Yuba County, Sutter County, Butte County, California, Butte County, and Nevada County, California, Nevada County. Split from area code 916 in 1997–1998.
* Area code 559, 559 — Southern San Joaquin Valley (Madera, California, Madera, Fresno, and Visalia).
* Area code 650, 650 — San Francisco Peninsula (San Mateo, California, San Mateo, Redwood City, California, Redwood City, and Palo Alto, California, Palo Alto). Originally part of area code 415.
* Area code 707, 707 — The North Coast, California, North Coast section of the region from Sonoma County to the Oregon border. Cities include Eureka, Ukiah, California, Ukiah, Santa Rosa, California, Santa Rosa, Napa, California, Napa, Vallejo, California, Vallejo and Fairfield, California, Fairfield.
* Area code 831, 831 — Monterey County, California, Monterey, San Benito County, California, San Benito and Santa Cruz County, California, Santa Cruz Counties. Originally part of area code 408.
* Area code 916, 916/279 — Sacramento County and the Sacramento suburbs in western Placer County, California, Placer and El Dorado County, California, El Dorado Counties. One of the three original area codes in California, formerly covered all areas now within 530.
* Area code 925, 925 — Outer East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay (Concord, California, Concord, Pittsburg, California, Pittsburg, Walnut Creek, California, Walnut Creek, San Ramon, California, San Ramon, Pleasanton, California, Pleasanton and Livermore, California, Livermore). Originally part of area codes 415 and 510.For current information, se
nanpa.com
the North American Numbering Plan Administration site.

Sports

Major league professional sports teams

College sports teams

* California Golden Bears
* Cal Poly Humboldt Lumberjacks
* Stanford Cardinal
* Fresno State Bulldogs
* San Jose State Spartans
* Sacramento State Hornets
* UC Davis Aggies

Sports venues

* Laguna Seca Raceway (motorsport)
* Sonoma Raceway (motorsport)
* Olympic Club (golf)
* Silverado Country Club (golf)
* TPC Harding Park (golf)
* TPC Stonebrae (golf)

Sporting events

* Pac-12 Football Championship Game (college football)
* Emerald Bowl (college football)
* AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (golf)
* Safeway Open, Frys.com Open (golf)
* Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic (golf)
* Grand Prix of Sonoma (motorsport)
* Toyota/Save Mart 350 (motorsport)
* Monterey Sports Car Championships (motorsport)
* Superbike World Championship (motorsport)

See also

* Northern California Megaregion
* California megapolitan areas
* Central California
* History of California through 1899
* History of the west coast of North America
* Jefferson (proposed Pacific state)
* Megaregions of the United States
* Southern California

References

External links

*
*Real Estate Engineering and Architect Service in California.

{{Authority control

Northern California,
Megapolitan areas of California
Regions of California