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. Northern California usually refers to the state's northernmost 48 counties. Northern California Mount Shasta from Interstate 5 The eastern and south-eastern boundaries were decided upon during the debates of the California Constitutional Convention in 1849. From that point, 14 mi (23 km) south-southwest of Davis Dam on Lake Mohave, the southeast boundary follows the Colorado River to the international border west of Yuma. The eastern boundary consists of two straight lines: a north–south line from the northern border to the middle of Lake Tahoe, and a second line angling southeast to the Colorado River. The line is about 30 miles north of the former Alta California southern boundary. The southern boundary, between California and Mexico, was established by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the Mexican–American War in 1848. The states of Nevada and Utah, also originally part of Alta California, also use that line for their northern boundaries. The northern boundary of Spanish claims was set at 42 degrees latitude by the Adams–Onis Treaty of 1819. The boundaries of California were defined by Spanish claims of Mexico, as part of the province of Alta California. They are, from north to south, the Klamath Mountains, the Cascade Range, the Modoc Plateau, the Basin and Range, the Coast Ranges, the Central Valley, the Sierra Nevada, the Transverse Ranges, the Mojave Desert, the Peninsular Ranges, and the Colorado Desert. Įarth scientists typically divide the state into eleven distinct geomorphic provinces with clearly defined boundaries. The US Geological Survey defines the geographic center of the state at a point near North Fork, California. 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 state is generally divided into Northern and Southern California, although the boundary between the two is not well defined. It is also home to both the highest ( Mount Whitney) and lowest ( Death Valley) points in the 48 contiguous states. It is home to some of the world's most exceptional trees: the tallest ( coast redwood), most massive ( Giant Sequoia), and oldest ( bristlecone pine). 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. Covering an area of 163,696 sq mi (423,970 km 2), California is among the most geographically diverse states. state on the western coast of North America.

Map of California topography and geomorphic provinces California's major mountain rangesĬalifornia is a U.S.

County map california