Editing Northern California (section)

== Description ==
===North–south divisions of California===
[[File:NorCal county map (labeled and colored).png|thumb|Map of northern California counties]]
California experienced a population boom during [[California gold rush|its gold rush]] (1848–1855), bringing more than 300,000 new residents, with very few of these settling in the southern part of the state. The northern two-thirds of the state was seen as the main part, and was often referred to as simply "California", while the southern third was called "Southern California".<ref name="Two Californias">{{cite book |last1=DiLeo |first1=Michael |last2=Smith |first2=Eleanor |title=Two Californias: The Myths And Realities Of A State Divided Against Itself |date=1983 |publisher=Island Press |location=[[Covelo, California]] |isbn=9780933280168 |pages=9–30 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OEqiYRm-ohMC&pg=PA27 }}</ref> At that time, the state was profoundly divided by the [[Tehachapi Mountains]] which were a barrier to travelers before highways were built, and remain a [[bioregion]] barrier. This geographical barrier curves from [[Point Conception]] at the Pacific Ocean eastward through the [[Transverse Ranges]] including [[Mount Pinos]] and [[Tejon Pass]], continuing through the Tehachapi Mountains including [[Tehachapi Pass]], then cutting northward through the southern [[Sierra Nevada]] mountain range to [[Mount Patterson (California)|Mount Patterson]] and the [[Nevada]] border. The [[Mojave Desert]] and the [[Great Basin Desert]] are separated from Northern California by mountain ranges in this definition of bioregions.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Thomas |date=2023-04-23 |title=Where Does Southern California Stop and Northern California Start? |url=https://bayareatelegraph.com/2023/04/23/where-does-southern-california-stop-and-northern-california-start/ |access-date=2023-04-25 |work=Bay Area Telegraph |language=en-US |archive-date=April 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425141209/https://bayareatelegraph.com/2023/04/23/where-does-southern-california-stop-and-northern-california-start/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dF4KBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA265 |page=265 |editor1=Cheryll Glotfelty |editor2=Eve Quesnel |title=The Biosphere and the Bioregion: Essential Writings of Peter Berg |author=Peter Berg |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781134504091 |access-date=October 9, 2023 |archive-date=October 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023205057/https://books.google.com/books?id=dF4KBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA265 |url-status=live }}</ref> Southern California in the 1850s was a backwater of mainly Spanish-speaking [[Californios]] who resented paying state taxes without receiving state projects.<ref name="Two Californias"/><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jcCrQC8rBPgC |title=Southern California: An Island on the Land |last=McWilliams |first=Carey |author-link=Carey McWilliams (journalist) |date=1946 |publisher=Gibbs-Smith |pages=15–20 |isbn=978-0-87905-007-8 }}</ref>

In 1859, as proposed by the Californio politician [[Andrés Pico]], the [[California State Legislature]] passed the Pico Act aiming to divide the state and create a new territory in the south. The border between the two parts was to be a straight line set at a latitude of six standard parallels south of [[Mount Diablo]]—meaning 144 miles south of Mount Diablo at the latitude of 35°45'N,<ref>{{cite book |title=Pacific Summary / Index: June 1, 1986 – July 31, 1987 |series=Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Activities |author=[[Minerals Management Service]] |date=1987 |publisher=[[U.S. Department of the Interior]] |page=6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CSJPAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA6 |access-date=February 21, 2023 |archive-date=February 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221022446/https://books.google.com/books?id=CSJPAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA6 |url-status=live }}</ref> currently the border between [[Monterey County, California|Monterey]] and [[San Luis Obispo County, California|San Luis Obispo]] counties. The new southern portion was to be called the [[Territory of Colorado (California)|Territory of Colorado]] because much of its eastern border was the [[Colorado River]]. This legislation was signed by Governor [[John B. Weller]] and sent to the [[United States Congress]] for ratification, but it never came to a vote. Congress was too divided with tensions which would soon break out into the [[American Civil War]], and despite the efforts of Senator [[Milton Latham]], the bill died. However, the proposed east-west line continued to define one of the views of north–south division of the state.<ref name="Two Californias"/>

"Northern California" may refer to the state's northernmost 48 counties, using the line established by the Pico Act, or it may refer to the portion north of the geographic barrier formed by the Transverse Ranges, the Tehachapi Mountains, and the Southern Sierras.<ref name="Two Californias"/> Because of California's large size and diverse geography, the state can be subdivided in other ways as well. For example, the [[Central Valley (California)|Central Valley]] is a region that is distinct both culturally and topographically from coastal California, though in northern versus southern California divisions, the [[Sacramento Valley]] and most of the [[San Joaquin Valley]] are usually placed in northern California. Some observers describe three partitions of California, with north and south sections separated by [[Central California]].

Technically, California's exact north–south midway division is around [[37th parallel north|37°N]], near the latitude of [[Morgan Hill, California|Morgan Hill]] and [[Chowchilla, California|Chowchilla]]. The [[Geographical centre|geographic center]] of California is at {{coord|37|09|58|N|119|26|58|W|display=inline}} near [[North Fork, California|North Fork]], northeast of Fresno.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rediscoveringthegoldenstate.com/finding-californias-geographic-center/ |title=Finding California's Geographic Center |last=O'Keefe |first=Rob |date=August 9, 2017 |website=Rediscovering the Golden State |access-date=May 12, 2023}}</ref> 

The state is often considered as having an additional division north of the urban areas of the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] and [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]] metropolitan areas. Extreme northern residents have felt under-represented in state government and, in 1941, attempted to form a new state with southwestern Oregon to be called [[Jefferson (Pacific state)|Jefferson]], or more recently to introduce legislation to [[Partition and secession in California|split California into two or three states]].

===Popular usage===
The coastal area north of the Bay Area is often referred to as the [[North Coast (California)|North Coast]], touching the counties of [[Mendocino County, California|Mendocino]], [[Lake County, California|Lake]], [[Humboldt County, California|Humboldt]], and [[Del Norte County, California|Del Norte]]. The interior region north of Sacramento metropolitan area is referred to by locals as the '''Northstate''', consisting of about 20 counties.<ref name="HCN2018">{{Cite web |url=https://www.hcn.org/issues/50.1/communities-rural-discontent-finds-a-home-in-the-state-of-jefferson |title=A separatist state of mind |last=Wiles |first=Tay |date=January 22, 2018 |website=High Country News |language=en-us |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617023048/https://www.hcn.org/issues/50.1/communities-rural-discontent-finds-a-home-in-the-state-of-jefferson |archive-date=June 17, 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=August 23, 2018 }}</ref>

"Northern California" was used by [[Tim Draper]] as the name of the northernmost state to be created by splitting California into three new states. The bill, [[Cal 3]], was prevented from appearing on the 2018 California ballot because of a constitutional review by the [[Supreme Court of California]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-california-split-three-states-20180612-story.html|title=Radical plan to split California into three states earns spot on November ballot|last=Myers|first=John|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=June 13, 2018|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref>