Northern California

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the northern part of the U.S. state of California. For the historic region, see Alta California. For the megaregion, see Northern California megaregion.

Northern California
Largest citySan Jose
Population
 (2020)
 • Total15,775,319

Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of

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

Northern California Megaregion, one of the 11 megaregions of the United States is centered in Northern California, and extends 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.[3]

Evidence of Native American habitation in the area dates from at least 19,000 years ago[4] 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.[5]

Description

Map of northern California counties

Northern California is not a formal geographic designation. California's north–south midway division is around 37°N, near the level of Morgan Hill and Chowchilla. (The geographic center of California is at 37°09′58″N 119°26′58″W / 37.16611°N 119.44944°W / 37.16611; -119.44944 near North Fork, northeast of Fresno.[6]) 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

Jefferson, or more recently to introduce legislation to split California into two or three states
.

The coastal area north of the Bay Area is often referred to as the North Coast — Mendocino, Lake, Humboldt, and Del Norte Counties (also potentially including Napa and Sonoma Counties). The interior region north of Sacramento metropolitan area is referred to by locals as the Northstate — roughly speaking, Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties.[7]

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.[8]

Significance

Since the events of the

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 by square meters, Travis Air Force Base.

Cities

Northern California's largest

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

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.

History

Prehistory to 1847

Inhabited for millennia by

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.[9]

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 in today's Oregon.[10] 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 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.[11]

Spanish era

The first European inhabitants were Spanish missionaries, who built missions along the California coast. The mission at Monterey was first established in 1770, and at San Francisco in 1776. In all, ten missions stretched along the coast from Sonoma to Monterey (and still more missions to the southern tip of Baja California). In 1786, the 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 50 miles (80 km) 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

Sonoma County. Fort Ross was the southernmost Russian settlement, located some 60 miles (97 km) 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.[12]

Mexican era

After

Californios (Spanish-speaking Californians) in these settlements primarily traded cattle hides and tallow
with American and European merchant vessels.

Marin County

In 1825, the

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."[14]: 260  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 48,827 acres (197.60 km2) centered on the area of today's Sacramento.[15]

American interest

American trappers began entering northern California in the 1830s.

Bartleson-Bidwell Party of 1841 via the new California Trail.[14]: 263–273  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

John Frémont, took over on July 9.[16]
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 (present San Francisco) on July 7 and within days American forces controlled San Francisco, Sonoma, and Sutter's Fort in Sacramento.[16] The 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.

Moon Lake in Lassen County, California

Gold Rush and California statehood

The

American colonists chose to use genocide as a tool to remove the Indigenous people so that they could look for gold on their land. 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,[citation needed] and gold mining caused environmental harm[specify
].

The Gold Rush also increased pressure to make California a

free state.[20]

Population and agricultural expansion (1855–1899)

Farm near Mount Shasta

The decades following the Gold Rush brought dramatic expansion to northern California, both in population and economically – particularly in agriculture. The completion 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),[21] tensions between the increasing power of the Southern Pacific Railroad and small farmers, and the beginnings of the labor union movement.

Economy

Satellite image of Northern California at night

Northern California's economy is noted for being the de facto world leader in high-tech industry (

medical devices/instruments), as well as being known for 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. 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 9th Circuit Court
.

Climate

Köppen climate types in northern California

Northern California has a warm or mild to cool climate, in which the Sierra mountains 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.[22] Since the first decade of the 21st century, droughts and wildfires have increased in frequency as a consequence of climate change.[23][24]

Population

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
185086,105—
1860346,714302.7%
1870516,08948.9%
1880772,77849.7%
1890961,62824.4%
19001,147,72519.4%
19101,569,14136.7%
19202,003,07527.7%
19302,632,27331.4%
19403,066,65416.5%
19504,654,24851.8%
19606,318,48235.8%
19707,849,57524.2%
19809,359,16019.2%
199011,490,92622.8%
200013,234,13615.2%
201014,573,94610.1%
202015,775,3198.2%

The population of the forty-eight counties of northern California has shown a steady increase over the years.[25][26]

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.[27]

Ethnic origins in Northern California

Parks and other protected areas

National Park System

Main articles: List of areas in the United States National Park System and List of national parks of the United States

The U.S.

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

Main articles:
List of National Wildlife Refuges of the United States, and List of national forests of the United States

Other areas under federal protection include

Farallon National Wildlife Refuge; this National Wildlife Refuge is one of approximately twenty-five such refuges in northern California. National forests occupy large sections of northern California, including the Shasta–Trinity, Klamath, Modoc, Lassen, Mendocino, Eldorado, Tahoe, and Sequoia national forests, among others. Included within (or adjacent to) national forests are federally protected wilderness areas, including the Trinity Alps, Castle Crags, Granite Chief, and 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 12 nmi (22 km), 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 in Inyo County, the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, and the Tule Lake National Monument outside of Tulelake.

Other

Educational institutions

Northern California hosts a number of world-renowned universities including

Hastings law schools and UC San Francisco (a top-ranked medical school) and UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
, the largest veterinary school in the United States.

Public
  • UC Berkeley
  • UC Davis
  • UC Hastings
  • UC Merced
  • UC San Francisco
  • UC Santa Cruz
  • A large number of local
    community colleges

Private

(Partial list)

Research

(Partial list)

Counties

Regions

The following regions are entirely or partly within northern California:

Cities and towns with more than 50,000 inhabitants


City Population (2020)[28]
Alameda 78,280
Antioch 115,291
Berkeley 124,321
Brentwood 64,292
Chico 101,475
Citrus Heights 87,583
Clovis 120,124
Concord 125,410
Cupertino 60,381
Daly City 104,901
Davis 66,850
Dublin 72,589
Elk Grove 176,124
Fairfield 119,881
Folsom 80,454
Fresno 542,107
Fremont 230,504
Gilroy 59,520
Hanford 57,990
Hayward 162,954
Livermore 87,955
Lodi 66,348
Madera 66,224
Manteca 83,498
Merced 86,333
Milpitas 80,273
Modesto 218,464
Mountain View 82,376
Napa 79,246
Novato 53,225
Oakland 440,646
Palo Alto 68,572
Petaluma 59,776
Pittsburg 76,416
Pleasanton 79,871
Porterville 62,623
Rancho Cordova 79,332
Redding 93,611
Redwood City 84,292
Richmond 116,448
Rocklin 71,601
Roseville 147,773
Sacramento 524,943
Salinas 163,542
San Francisco
 873,965
San Jose 1,013,240
San Leandro 91,008
San Mateo 105,661
San Rafael 61,271
San Ramon 84,605
Santa Clara 127,647
Santa Cruz 62,956
Santa Rosa 178,127
South San Francisco 66,105
Stockton 320,804
Sunnyvale 155,805
Tracy 93,000
Tulare 68,875
Turlock 72,740
Union City 70,143
Vacaville 102,386
Vallejo 126,090
Visalia 141,384
Walnut Creek 70,127
Watsonville 52,590
West Sacramento 53,915
Woodland 61,032
Yuba City 70,117

Metropolitan areas

Northern California is home to three of the state's four

2010 United States Census:[29]

Metropolitan region Population
San Francisco Bay Area 7,468,390
Greater Sacramento
 2,461,780
Metropolitan Fresno 1,081,315

Major business districts

The following are major central business districts:

Transportation

See also articles:

See also categories:

Airports

Main article: List of airports in California
San Francisco International Airport (or SFO) is the largest and busiest airport in northern California, also ranking second in the state and tenth in the United States.
San Jose International Airport is ranked as the best-run airport in the United States, by the ACBJ.[30]

There are 11 airports in Northern California categorized as Primary Service Commercial airports by the FAA:[31]

Airport ID City Category 2018 Enplanements
San Francisco International Airport SFO San Francisco Large Hub 27,794,154
San Jose International Airport SJC San Jose Medium Hub 7,037,144
Oakland International Airport OAK Oakland Medium Hub 6,687,963
Sacramento International Airport SMF
Sacramento
 Medium Hub 5,907,901
Fresno Yosemite International Airport FAT
Fresno
 Small Hub 853,538
Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport STS Santa Rosa Non Hub 217,994
Monterey Regional Airport MRY Monterey Non Hub 188,046
Stockton Metropolitan Airport SCK Stockton Non Hub 99,258
Arcata-Eureka Airport
 ACV Arcata Non Hub 69,604
Redding Municipal Airport
 RDD Redding Non Hub 42,775
Mammoth Yosemite Airport MMH Mammoth Lakes Non Hub 23,522

Railroad

19th Street/Oakland
BART station in downtown Oakland

Major transit organizations

Major transit ferries

The historic San Francisco Ferry Building is the busiest ferry terminal on the West Coast and connects Downtown San Francisco to various parts of the Bay Area.

Freeways

See also: Category:San Francisco Bay Area freeways

Interstate highways

U.S. Routes

The Golden Gate Bridge is one of northern California's most well-known landmarks and one of the most famous bridges in the world.
I-80 and I-580 in Berkeley in the Bay Area
State Route 120 is one of the many highways that traverse the isolated areas of inner northern California.

Principal state highways

Communication

Telephone area codes

Sports

See also: Bay Bridge Series and Sports in California § Northern California–Southern California rivalry

Major league professional sports teams

Sport League Team Venue City
Baseball MLB Oakland Athletics (American League)
RingCentral Coliseum
 Oakland
San Francisco Giants (National League) Oracle Park San Francisco
Basketball NBA Golden State Warriors Chase Center San Francisco
Sacramento Kings Golden 1 Center Sacramento
Football NFL San Francisco 49ers Levi's Stadium Santa Clara
Ice hockey NHL San Jose Sharks
SAP Center
 San Jose
Soccer MLS San Jose Earthquakes
Avaya Stadium
 San Jose
Indoor football
 IFL Bay Area Panthers SAP Center San Jose

College sports teams

Sports venues

Sporting events

See also

References

  1. ^ Morgan, Neil (April 19, 1963). "Westward Tilt: Northern California". Lodi News-Sentinel. Lodi, California. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  2. ^ John E. Kent, ed. (1917). Kent Guide Manual (Harrison Narcotic Law) and Progressional Registry. San Francisco: The Service Press. p. 6.
  3. ^
    San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association
    . Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  4. ^ Sep 2019, Megan I. Gannon / 4 (September 4, 2019). "The Knotty Question of When Humans Made the Americas Home". SAPIENS. Retrieved July 29, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "Home | County of Sonoma". sonomacounty.ca.gov. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  6. ^ O'Keefe, Rob (August 9, 2017). "Finding California's Geographic Center". Rediscovering the Golden State. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  7. ^ Wiles, Tay (January 22, 2018). "A separatist state of mind". High Country News. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  8. ^ Myers, John (June 13, 2018). "Radical plan to split California into three states earns spot on November ballot". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  9. ^ R.F. Heizer (1966). "California Indian Tribes map". CaliforniaPrehistory.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2011. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
  10. ^ "Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo: A Voyage of Discovery". U.S. National Park Service. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
  11. ^ "Introduction--Early History of the California Coast--A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary". www.nps.gov. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  12. ^ "Russian Expansion to America (Russian American Company in California)".
  13. ^ "Hunters and Trappers at Upper Soda Springs". Museum of the Siskiyou Trail. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
  14. ^
    OCLC 9475460
    .
  15. ^ "Sutter's Fort Historic State Park". California Department of Parks & Recreation. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
  16. ^ a b "American Transition to Early Statehood". California Department of Parks & Recreation. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
  17. ^ "[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." "The Gold Rush of California: A Bibliography of Periodical Articles". California State University, Stanislaus. 2002. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2008.
  18. OCLC 23463043.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link
    )
  19. ^ "1860 Census: Population of the United States". The United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  20. ^ "Living shorelines could help California coasts adapt to rising sea levels". Grist. June 15, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  21. ^ "California Labor History Archive". California Labor Federation. October 29, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  22. ^ "Northern California". www.ccul.org. January 26, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  23. ^ Boxall, Bettina; St. John, Paige (November 10, 2018). "California's most destructive wildfire should not have come as a surprise". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  24. ^ "Advancing Drought Science and Preparedness across the Nation". National Integrated Drought Information System. Archived from the original on November 11, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  25. ^ "Historical census data by U.S. Census Bureau". Archived from the original on December 31, 2003. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  26. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  27. ^ The Northern California Megaregion, p.22, SPUR, 2007.
  28. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  29. 2010 United States Census
  30. ^ "San Jose's SJC flies past SFO to the top of rankings as America's best-run airport". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Archived from the original on May 17, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  31. ^ "Passenger Boarding (Enplanement) and All-Cargo Data for U.S. Airports – Airports". Faa.gov. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  32. ^ For current information, see nanpa.com, the North American Numbering Plan Administration site.

External links

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