page_title: Geography of California
section_title: Northern California
hierarchical_section_title: Geography of California / Northern California
caption_attribution_description: Mount Shasta, California, taken from Interstate 5.
context_page_description: California is a U.S. state on the western coast of North America. Covering an area of 163,696 sq mi, California is among the most geographically diverse states. The Sierra Nevada, the fertile farmlands of the Central Valley, and the arid Mojave Desert of the south are some of the major geographic features of this U.S. state. It is home to some of the world's most exceptional trees: the tallest, most massive, and oldest. It is also home to both the highest and lowest points in the 48 contiguous states.
  The state is generally divided into Northern and Southern California, although the boundary between the two is not well defined. San Francisco is decidedly a Northern California city and Los Angeles likewise a Southern California one, but areas in between do not often share their confidence in geographic identity. The US Geological Survey defines the geographic center of the state at a point near North Fork, California.
  Earth scientists typically divide the state into eleven distinct geomorphic provinces with clearly defined boundaries.
context_section_description: Northern California usually refers to the state's northernmost 48 counties.
  The main population centers of Northern California include San Francisco Bay Area (which includes the cities of San Francisco, Oakland, and the largest city of the region, San Jose), and Sacramento (the state capital) as well as its metropolitan area. It also contains redwood forests, along with the Sierra Nevada including Yosemite Valley and Lake Tahoe, Mount Shasta (the second-highest peak in the Cascade Range after Mount Rainier in Washington), and the northern half of the Central Valley, one of the world's most productive agricultural regions. The climate can be generally characterized by its marine to warm Mediterranean climates along the coast, to somewhat Continental Mediterranean Climate in the valley to alpine climate zones in the high mountains.  Apart from the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento metropolitan areas (and some other cities in the Central Valley), it is a region of relatively low population density. Northern California's economy is noted for being the de facto world leader in industries such as high technology (both software and semiconductor), as well as being known for clean power, biomedical, government, and finance.
caption: Mount Shasta from Interstate 5
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