Where does Northern California end and Southern California begin? (Sacramento: home, living)

[Sassberto]

Southern CA: from MX border to Santa Barbara
Central CA: from Santa Barbara to Monterey
Northern CA: from Monterey to Oregon

[Mvn2nc]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Southern CA: from MX border to Santa Barbara
Central CA: from Santa Barbara to Monterey
Northern CA: from Monterey to Oregon

Makes sense

[esmith143]

If you have to divide it in two parts (N & S):

Salinas is N, San Luis Obispo is S
Modesto is N, Fresno is S
Lake Tahoe is N, Yosemite is S

If you have to divide it in three parts (N, C, S):

San Jose is N, Salinas and San Luis Obispo are C, Santa Barbara is S
Modesto is N, Fresno is C, Bakersfield is S
Lake Tahoe is N, Death Valley is C, Barstow is S

[mmouwse]

Hmmmmm...interesting thread.
gonna toss my 2 cents in...
I grew up in SoCal; lived in NorCal when I was a young adult and settled in the Central Coast.
You would find that you would have to split the state into a number of regions. San Luis Obispo County and Northern Santa Barbara County folks consider themselves living on the Central Coast of Central California. They do not consider themselves as Southern Californians although they do lean towrds considering themselves a part of NorCal.. My experience of living in Monterey County is that they consider themselves a part of Northern California. Northern Cal folks are pretty vehement about not being at all similar to or a part of Southern Cal.

[Caliguy2007]

I live in Kern County and most of us here don't consider our area as a part of Southern California,but more of Central California.

Many of us feel that Southern California begins at the L.A County Line.

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

Every county fully visible in this map is Southern California.


Its irksome to see maps that actually claim San Jose, Monterey and Yosemite as part SoCal....as if.

[Caliguy2007]

Even though California does vary greatly from region to region,their is no way that i'll want California divided into 3 states.

Originally Posted by Taboo2

I believe it should be 3 states because it is that diverse socially, economically, and culturally. Central Cali should have it's own state somehow. Maybe starting at Monterey county and ending in Sonoma County?

[Winston Smith]

North and South famously meet, or more appropriately - divide, at the 38th Parallel, I always thought.

38th parallel north - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[jeevcy]

Originally Posted by esmith143

Yosemite is S

Yosemite South? It is in Northern California

Northern California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[MIKEETC]

This map from the website for the Southern California Associated Governments (SCAG) helps with the distinction. Curiously, San Diego County is not part of SCAG although I think most would agree that SD County is in Southern California.

[happ]

There is something to be said about how the entire San Joaquin valley is considered N. California. Also, as others have written, Monterey & San Luis Obispo counties definitely aren't S. California.

If driving south on the 101 you become aware of some changes around Gaviota pass. The highway returns to the ocean but the ocean is now due south instead of westward from Oregon border to Pt Conception.

Often one can feel the warmth of the air even smell it on much calmer winds.

Driving over the Grapevine on Interstate 5 is the generally accepted border between NorCal & SoCal. Once over the LA county line & on the other side of Tejon pass is quite different from the San Joaquin valley. During summer the heat combined with all the fruit & nut groves makes Bakersfield totally different from SoCal but just like all the other Central Valley towns [Fresno, Modesto, Madera, Stockton, Sacramento, Chico, Redding, etc].

Entering So California from the east means crossing vast & quite hot deserts unlike crossing over the Sierra [Lake Tahoe].

SoCal has the perfect climate & attracts lots of people. NoCal is still a lot more agriculture and open land [esp in extreme Northern California