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.

Northern California's largest metropolitan area is San Jose and its Silicon Valley suburbs. Other major cities include Oakland, Sacramento (the state capital) and San Francisco.

Northern California is home to two of the most prestigious universities in the United States, Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley. Other universities include the University of California, Davis, University of California, Santa Cruz, San Jose State University, University of San Francisco, Santa Clara University, Humboldt State University, University of the Pacific, California State University, East Bay (formerly California State University, Hayward), Sonoma State University, California State University, Sacramento, and California State University, Chico.

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

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