| Central California | |
| Region | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | California |
| Region | Northern California |
| Highest point | Mount Whitney |
| - location | Tulare County |
| - elevation | 14,505 ft (4,421 m) |
| - coordinates | 36°34′42.89″N 118°17′31.18″W / 36.5785806°N 118.2919944°W |
| Lowest point | Pacific Ocean |
| - location | Central Coast |
| - elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Timezone | Pacific Standard Time |
| - summer (DST) | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Area code | 805, 559, 831 |
 Central California is most commonly identified with 10 counties in Northern California south of the SF Bay Area and San Joaquin Delta and west of the Sierra crest
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Central California, sometimes referenced as Mid-State, is an area of California south of the San Francisco Bay Area and north of Southern California. It includes the southern portion of the San Joaquin Valley south of the San Joaquin River Delta, the Central Coast and central hills of the California Coast Ranges, and the foothills and mountain areas of the central Sierra Nevada.
Central California is generally considered a sub-region within Northern California. Both have their southern boundary where they meet Southern California at either the Tehachapi Mountains or the county lines which cross the state west to east below Kern and San Luis Obispo Counties. Central California is considered to be west of the crest of the Sierra Nevada. (East of the Sierras is Eastern California.)
The largest cities (over 50,000 population) in the region are Fresno, Modesto, Salinas, Visalia, Clovis, Merced, Turlock, Madera, Tulare, Porterville, and Hanford.
Contents |
Geography [edit]
Central California can have widely varying definitions depending on the context. Some divide the state by lines of latitude making northern, central and southern sections. Others divide by county lines or watershed boundaries. Some definitions include more of the San Joaquin Valley and even larger portions of the Central Valley. Some have less or none of Central Coast.
Generally the widest definition of Central California is the middle third of the state by latitude.[citation needed] The southern boundary of that area would be 35° 41', which nearly coincides with the county lines already used for the southern boundary that cross the state west-to-east below Monterey, Kings and Tulare Counties. The northern boundary of that area at 38° 51' crosses just north of the Sacramento metro area. However, the San Francisco Bay, Sacramento and Stockton metro areas are traditionally considered parts of Northern California, intuitively grouped together as the northern urban center within the state. That leaves the most accepted definitions of Central California to the areas south of there.[citation needed]
Counties [edit]
Central California as defined above includes the following 10 counties:
Cities [edit]
Area cities and towns listed below are major regional centers or county seats.
Sub-regions [edit]
The following regions are entirely contained within Central California:
- Big Sur
- Kings Canyon National Park
- Metropolitan Fresno
- Pinnacles National Monument
- Salinas Valley
- Sequoia National Park
- Yosemite National Park
The following regions are partly contained within Central California:
- California Coast Ranges
- Central Coast
- Diablo Range
- Gold Country
- San Francisco Bay Area
- San Joaquin Valley
- Sierra Nevada Mountains
Education [edit]
Central California has opened two new universities recently, one in each of the past two decades.
The University of California has one campus in the region. University of California, Merced opened on a newly-constructed site on the east side of Merced in 2005.
The California State University system has four campuses in the region. California State University, Monterey Bay opened on the site of the former Fort Ord army base in 1994. California State University, Bakersfield opened in 1970. California State University, Stanislaus in Turlock opened in 1957. California State University, Fresno opened in 1911.
The Monterey Institute of International Studies is a graduate school that offers eleven Master's degree programs in international policy, international management, language teaching, and translation and interpretation. The Monterey Institute of International Studies is a graduate school of Middlebury College.
San Joaquin College of Law is a private, nonprofit law school located in Clovis.
Fresno Pacific University is a private university in Fresno.
The Naval Postgraduate School and Defense Language Institute are located in Monterey.
The following community college campus sites are in the region:[1]
- Columbia College in Sonora, Tuolumne County
- Fresno City College in Fresno, Fresno County
- Hartnell College in Salinas, Monterey County
- Merced College in Merced, Merced County
- Modesto Junior College in Modesto, Stanislaus County
- Monterey Peninsula College, Monterey, Monterey County
- Porterville College in Porterville, Tulare County
- Reedley College in Fresno, Fresno County
- College of the Sequoias in Visalia, Tulare County
- West Hills College in Coalinga, Fresno County
- satellite campus in Lemoore, Kings County
There are no community colleges in Madera, Mariposa or San Benito Counties.
Transportation [edit]
Central California has road, rail, air and water transportation infrastructure.
Major highways [edit]
Most of the major highways in the region run north-south around the mountains. Interstate 5 and State Route 99 are the primary highways in the San Joaquin Valley. US 101 and State Route 1 are the major coastal highways.
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Rail [edit]
Passenger rail in the region consists of the Amtrak long-haul Coast Starlight and Amtrak California San Joaquin routes.
The California High-Speed Rail system is under planning. If built, it would have stations in Fresno and Merced on the initial line between San Francisco/San Jose and Los Angeles.
Freight rail is served by commercial railroads. Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway operate mainline freight through the region in the Central Valley.
Air [edit]
Major and regional airline service are available at Fresno Yosemite International Airport and Monterey Regional Airport. Regional airline service is also available at Modesto City-County Airport, Merced Municipal Airport and Visalia Municipal Airport.
General Aviation airports exist in all 10 counties. The largest are former military bases converted to civilian airports
- Castle Airport in Merced County
- Marina Municipal Airport in Monterey County
- Porterville Municipal Airport in Tulare County
- Salinas Municipal Airport in Monterey County
An active military air base is at Naval Air Station Lemoore in Kings County.
Notes [edit]
Variations on significant/influential definitions of the term Central California are collected in this section.
The following counties are self-described as being in Central California or central within California:
The following are definitions by influential organizations:
- The National Register of Historic Places splits California three ways with lines across the map, with Central California being approximately above Los Angeles County and below Santa Clara and Merced Counties.[6]
- The California Department of Transportation, or CalTrans, has a wide definition of the central portion of the state with several multi-county districts which have "central" in the name, combining the Central Coast and Central Valley. The "North Central" district covers Sacramento to Chico. The "Central" district covers Stockton to Merced, and Yosemite. The "South Central" district covers Madera, Fresno and Bakersfield. The "Central Coast" covers Santa Cruz and Monterey to San Luis Obispo.[7]
- The Central California chapter of the Better Business Bureau defines their Central California region to exclude the coastal counties and include Mono, Inyo and Kern Counties. Their definition is Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Mono and Tulare.[8]
References [edit]
- ^ "College Listings". California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
- ^ "About the County". Fresno County, California. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
- ^ "Madera County Statistical Information". Madera County, California. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
- ^ "Madera County Economic Development Commission". Madera County Economic Development Commission. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
- ^ "About Tulare County". Tulare County, California. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
- ^ "Map of California". National Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
- ^ "Highway Information Area Maps". California Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
- ^ "Contact Us". Central California Better Business Bureau. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
- Metcalf, Gabriel; Terplan, Egon (12 November 2007). "The Northern California Megaregion". Urbanist (San Francisco Planning & Urban Research) (466). Retrieved 2010-01-13.
External links [edit]
- Central Valley Tourism Association
- CA Central Valley & Foothills, project area of the American Land Conservancy
- Central California Coast Guide
Coordinates: 37°09′58″N 119°26′58″W / 37.16611°N 119.44944°W
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