Northern Boundary of Southern California

[cih1355]

What is considered to be the northern boundary of Southern California? The Tehachapi Mountains?

 

[Christusregnat]

What is considered to be the northern boundary of Southern California? The Tehachapi Mountains?

Gilroy?

 

[Mushroom]

Santa Barbara

 

[KMK]

It depends on your vantage point. Those in Humboldt will give a different answer than those in San Diego.

 

[sastark]

It depends on your vantage point. Those in Humboldt will give a different answer than those in San Diego.

 

[Stomata leontôn]

What is considered to be the northern boundary of Southern California? The Tehachapi Mountains?

Yes, traditionally.

However, there is a second definition. When Californians approved the secession of southern California (it was to be called "Colorado") from the north in 1859 and sent the paperwork into Wahsington for admission, the border was a straight line running due east from the northern boundary of San Luis Obispo County across the San Joaquin Valley.

The first proposal was from the northern boundary of San Luis Obispo County running along northern ridges of the Tehachapis eastward, but since the mountains dip south, this isolated San Luis Obispo County.

So the two definitions of what is southern California date at the latest to 1859. People usually say that southern California ends at the Tehachapis, but people in Bakersfield and maybe even in Fresno say they live in southern California; they are south of the line that is even with the northern San Luis Obispo County line.

 

[beej6]

What is considered to be the northern boundary of Southern California? The Tehachapi Mountains?

Gilroy?

Ah ha ha!

Seriously, having lived in SoCal, SLO, and now Modesto, I'd call Bakersfield and Santa Barbara the northernmost boundaries of SoCal... but

Part of the confusion for me is equating the Central Valley with "Central California." So Fresno is clearly Central Valley, but where does that leave San Luis Obispo? They get the LA TV stations and the LA Times, so I guess by default it's the northern end of SoCal... which makes no sense to me.

Though I have a hard time associating Northern California with anything other than the Bay Area. Sacramento, to me, is the northern end of the Central Valley

 

[Backwoods Presbyterian]

Any chance Cali will break in two any time soon?


(and not by earthquake)...

 

[Stomata leontôn]

Seriously, having lived in SoCal, SLO, and now Modesto, I'd call Bakersfield and Santa Barbara the northernmost boundaries of SoCal... but

Part of the confusion for me is equating the Central Valley with "Central California." So Fresno is clearly Central Valley, but where does that leave San Luis Obispo?

Don't SLO people call the area "Central Coast?"

 

[DMcFadden]

Bakersfield is de facto Southern California for the reasons articulated by Peter. Along the coast, SLO can either be counted as SoCal or Central California.

 

[beej6]

Seriously, having lived in SoCal, SLO, and now Modesto, I'd call Bakersfield and Santa Barbara the northernmost boundaries of SoCal... but

Part of the confusion for me is equating the Central Valley with "Central California." So Fresno is clearly Central Valley, but where does that leave San Luis Obispo?

Don't SLO people call the area "Central Coast?"

Yes, that's true.