Northern California

Northern California (sometimes NorCal) refers to the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, roughly covering all of those counties except for the ten counties which make up Southern California. It is characterized by its beautiful coastline, mediterranean climate, relatively low population density (apart from the San Francisco Bay Area and metropolitan Sacramento), and redwood forests.

NorCal Regions

• San Francisco Bay Area
• North Bay (Marin, Sonoma, Solano, and Napa counties)
• East Bay
• South Bay (Santa Clara Valley, "Silicon Valley")
• The Peninsula
• Santa Clara Valley
• Wine Country
• Salinas Valley, including Salinas and King City
• Gold Country
• Shasta Cascade
• Emerald Triangle
• Sacramento Valley
• San Joaquin Valley, with the exception of Kern County. However, the central San Joaquin Valley (consisting of San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, and Tulare counties) is often referred to as Central California.