Metropolitan Fresno, officially Fresno–Madera, CA CSA, is a metropolitan area in the San Joaquin Valley, in the United States, consisting of Fresno and Madera counties. It is the third-largest metropolitan region in

Northern California 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 incl ...

, behind the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Sacramento. It is also the 49th-largest CSA in the U.S. as of 2010 census. Metropolitan Fresno is anchored by Fresno, the fifth-largest city in California and the 35th-largest in the United States. The metropolitan area is located in the Central Valley, which is one of the world's most productive agricultural regions. It has a large agricultural economy despite being increasingly urbanized. In more recent years, statewide droughts in California have further strained both the Fresno metropolitan area's and the entire Central Valley's water security.

Counties

Overview

Metropolitan Fresno, unlike the other metropolitan regions of California, is still largely agricultural, contains a large rural land area and is centered in the San Joaquin Valley. The metropolitan area is located between the larger metropolitan areas of California, bordering the southernmost boundaries of the San Francisco Bay Area in the west and separated from the Greater Sacramento and Greater Los Angeles Areas to the north and south respectively by long distances of rural areas and farmland. Additionally, the lifestyle and culture of Metropolitan Fresno does not reflect the San Francisco or Sacramento influence as other areas have in Northern California due to distance from the state capital and bordering an unpopulated area of the outskirts of the Bay Area. Instead, Metropolitan Fresno is more influenced by the interior valley region of California although as the area becomes more urbanized, it has become slightly more influenced by the other metropolitan areas of Northern California, particularly the Bay Area. Fresno is the largest city in the area and in the Central Valley. Along with Sacramento, it is the economic center of California's interior and is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States, with the region having a growth of over 20% since 2000. Fresno is a major transportation hub for visitors heading to

Yosemite Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...

, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks, which are 60 mi (97 km) and 75 mi (121 km) away from Fresno respectively with Fresno being the nearest major city from the parks. The United States Military has a heavy presence in the Fresno area and numerous divisions are based in Metropolitan Fresno, including the

40th Aviation Brigade 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

and

144th Fighter Wing The 144th Fighter Wing (144 FW) is a unit of the California Air National Guard, stationed at Fresno Air National Guard Base, California. As part of the Air Reserve Component of the United States Air Force, the wing is operationally gained by th ...

. Fresno County is the largest agricultural county and has the largest concentration of agriculture than any other county in the United States. Madera County is primarily an agricultural county as well but its cities serve as suburbs of Fresno. Since 2010, statewide droughts in California have further strained both the Fresno metropolitan area's and the entire Central Valley's water security.

Geography and climate

Geography

Metropolitan Fresno is primarily located in the San Joaquin Valley, which in turn is a part of the larger Central Valley region of California, one of the world's most important agricultural areas. The eastern portions of the area border the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

mountains and the western portions border the

Coast Ranges The Pacific Coast Ranges (officially gazetted as the Pacific Mountain System in the United States) are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the West Coast of North America from Alaska south to Northern and Central Mexico. Although the ...

, thus giving the edges of the area higher elevations than the inner valley areas. Several waterways traverse the region, including the San Joaquin and

Kings Kings or King's may refer to: *Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'' ...

rivers, the Delta-Mendota and Madera canals, and the

California Aqueduct The Governor Edmund G. Brown California Aqueduct is a system of canals, tunnels, and pipelines that conveys water collected from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and valleys of Northern and Central California to Southern California. Named after Cali ...

, providing water to crops. The California Aqueduct is one of the world's longest artificial aqueducts.

Climate

Metropolitan Fresno has a Mediterranean climate ( Köppen ''Csa'') with some semi-arid factors due to its interior location (Köppen ''Bsh''), with mild, moderately wet winters and hot and dry summers. December is the coolest month, with an average of during the day in downtown Fresno while summer temperatures can reach or more. Thick tule fog is present in the valley areas during the winter. Rainfall is most common between December and April while snowfall is sometimes experienced in the higher mountain elevations.

Cities

Census-designated places

* Auberry * Biola *

Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos Bonadelle Ranchos and Madera Ranchos are a pair of communities in Madera County, California, United States. They are part of the Madera–Chowchilla Metropolitan Statistical Area. Prior to 2020, the communities were part of the Bonadelle Ranc ...

* Bowles * Calwa * Cantua Creek * Caruthers * Del Rey * Easton * Friant * Lanare * Laton * Madera Acres * Oakhurst *

Parksdale Parksdale is a census-designated place (CDP) in Madera County, California, United States. It is part of the Madera Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,234 at the 2020 census, up from 2,621 in 2010. Geography Parksdale is locate ...

* Parkwood * Raisin City * Riverdale *

Shaver Lake Shaver Lake is an artificial lake on Stevenson Creek, in the Sierra National Forest of Fresno County, California. At elevation , several smaller streams also flow into the lake, and it receives water from the tunnels of Southern California Edis ...

* Squaw Valley *

Tranquillity Tranquillity (also spelled tranquility) is the quality or state of being tranquil; that is, calm, serene, and worry-free. The word tranquillity appears in numerous texts ranging from the religious writings of Buddhism, where the term ''passaddhi'' ...

* Yosemite Lakes

Transportation

Owing to its gateway location to numerous national parks as well as being in between the larger Greater Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Sacramento regions, Metropolitan Fresno serves as a transportation hub in the California interior. However, unlike the larger metropolitan areas of California, Metropolitan Fresno does not have a large public transit system but is served by numerous freeways and highways.

Highways and freeways

Metropolitan Fresno is served by a large number of highways and freeways that are vital in linking the rest of

with Southern California and its location in between the three larger metropolitan areas of the state allows for a large trucking industry as well as services to travelers. Highways and freeways in Metropolitan Fresno include: * Interstate 5 * State Route 33 * State Route 41 * State Route 43 *

State Route 49 The following highways are numbered 49: Australia * Queensland State Route 49 **Wide Bay Highway **Bunya Highway **Moonie Highway **Balonne Highway * Central Coast Highway Canada * Alberta Highway 49 * British Columbia Highway 49 * Manitoba High ...

* State Route 63 *

State Route 99 International * European route E99 Australia * Springbrook Road, Queensland Canada * British Columbia Highway 99 * Ontario Highway 99 (former) * Saskatchewan Highway 99 China * G99 Expressway India * National Highway 99 (India) I ...

* State Route 145 *

State Route 152 The following highways are numbered 152: Canada * Prince Edward Island Route 152 Costa Rica * National Route 152 (Costa Rica), National Route 152 India * National Highway 152 (India) Japan * Japan National Route 152 United States * U.S. Route ...

* State Route 168 *

State Route 180 The following highways are numbered 180: Australia * Pyrenees Highway Canada * New Brunswick Route 180 * Prince Edward Island Route 180 * Winnipeg Route 180 Costa Rica * National Route 180 Ireland * R180 road (Ireland) Japan * Japan Na ...

* State Route 198 * State Route 201 * State Route 269

Air

The

Fresno Yosemite International Airport Fresno Yosemite International Airport is a joint military/public airport in Fresno, California, United States. It is the primary commercial airport for the San Joaquin Valley and three national parks: Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon. It o ...

is the only commercial airport in the region and is a major gateway into Yosemite National Park. Additionally, there are several general aviation airports in the area, including Fresno Chandler Executive Airport, Firebaugh Airport,

Sierra Sky Park Airport Sierra Sky Park Airport is a privately owned, public-use airport northwest of the central business district of Fresno, a city in Fresno County, California, United States. Other area airports are Fresno Chandler Executive Airport and Fresno Yos ...

and

Madera Municipal Airport Madera Municipal Airport is northwest of Madera, in Madera County, California. The FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a general aviation facility.Amtrak rail stations are located in the area, Santa Fe Passenger Depot and Madera which are on the San Joaquin line.

Fresno Area Express Fresno Area Express (FAX), is a public transportation operator in Fresno, California. The system has over 100 buses, 1,606 bus stops, and 18 routes as of August 2022. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . FAX fixed r ...

and Madera County Express serve as bus transit lines connecting to downtown Fresno. Greyhound and

Orange Belt Stages Orange Belt Stages was a bus company based in Visalia, California, affiliated with the Trailways Transportation System. The company was incorporated on November 30, 1935, and operated scheduled service in California as well as charter services. T ...

provide long distance bus travel to the area.

Politics

Unlike the other metropolitan areas of California, Metropolitan Fresno has historically been a strong Republican stronghold and the region reflects the Coastal California and interior California divide in which coastal areas and urbanized areas of California tend to lean

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

while interior areas tend to lean Republican. Exceptions to this are

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

in Greater Los Angeles, which has been a Republican stronghold since the 1940s, and most of Greater Sacramento, which is a politically competitive area where the major parties are often divided in pluralities although recently there have been Democratic majorities. Metropolitan Fresno has begun to become a politically competitive region as well, as in the 2008 presidential election, the region was split with Fresno County going for Barack Obama with the majority of the votes, while

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

carried Madera County with a comfortable margin. Locally, Democratic concentrations are found in much of Fresno and most non-agricultural suburbs while Republican concentrations are found in Madera County and most rural towns.

References

{{Coord, 37, -120, type:adm2nd_region:US-CA, display=title Metropolitan areas of California Geography of Fresno County, California Geography of Madera County, California