California's Vast Regional Differences Explained

It is no surprise that California is often compared to a country, as within its borders lie some very different regions. Snowcapped mountains, swamps, deserts, islands, cities, pine forests and farmland are just a few of the very distinct places that sit within the state. Today, I look at how California's unique geography has shaped each of its regions, and the people who live there.

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[rmodjeski]

As a truck driver, and having trucked all sides to California, this state is so beautiful. Especially trucking along the 101. You can't beat that ocean view.

[pearsarecool]

Setting aside all of the drama like politics, high costs of living, traffic, crime and other issues, California is really an amazing, beautiful state. I never realized how different each part of the state is from other parts. Thanks for the video, I learned about geographical features of the state I've never even known existed. It may be crowded here in the southern coast as compared to other areas of the state, but I'm still proud to call California my home state! :)

[XGenKaneShiroX]

California is one of the fewest states in the US with plenty of mediterranean climate. In terms of area, California is bigger than Japan.

[NnRNoAh]

I lived for 5 years in CA... only 5 years... California is so beautiful... its lifestyle is so unique... different cultures coexist together... I miss it so much

[kaned]

As a Californian who has lived in or has family in almost all these regions, I gotta say this was probably the most thorough breakdown of California I've ever seen. Well done.

[ultragamer]

As a Californian in the San Joaquin Valley, this video is top notch. There is one thing though. The valley isn’t going through desertification. The area around Bakersfield and kings county were already deserts (precipitation is less than 10 inches) before canals were made. The rest of the San Joaquin Valley is grassland, wetlands, and riparian forests before agriculture came here.

[zonaryorange]

Also can’t forget that the Los Angeles-Long Beach port, usually just known as the Port of Los Angeles, is the largest and busiest port in the entire Americas

[michlo]

Reminds me of the time somebody actually tried to argue that Texas was more geographically diverse than CA. I was like "yeah sure, let me know when you find a 14, 000 foot, glaciated strato-volcano in Texas." He never replied, I assume he's still looking.

[kc_]

I’m not from California, but the Northern Coast region is my kind of place. I love that it's isolated, foggy, rainy, has dense forests, hills and valleys, and cliffs over looking the ocean.

[latetotheparty]

From Sacramento—it’s 90 min to wine country, 90 min to skiing, 90 min to the ocean and San Francisco. Gold country starts less than an hour away. Sacramento is in the Delta, and is an international port. Hwy 80 will take you through a different ecology every few minutes from Sacramento to Reno. I went to Maine once, the clerks at a store felt sorry for me living in California. They thought Maine must have been beautiful to me! It is beautiful—if you like the same view mile after mile. I’ll take the variety of ecologist any day.

[AdrianArmbruster]

"Logland, fogland, and smogland' were apparently nicknames for far-north, Bay Area, and South California back in the day.

[timomueller]

friends of mine did a California road trip about 10 years ago. They went skiing on day 1 and sunbathing on the next day. Thats how big that state is.

[stevyd]

To remain a long term Californian means accepting and living with change. Since I was born here 63 years ago, the population has increased by 27 million people. Huge areas that were once farmland, tiny rural towns, or empty land when I was young, are now thriving suburban areas or even small cities. My father told stories about the fruit orchards that surrounded the S F Bay when he was young, giving rise to the great fruit canneries like Del Monte, now covered over in houses and Silicon Valley Tech. When I returned to Oakland 35 years ago, areas within 1.5 miles of my home had abandoned properties the city gave away for $3.00 and a signed commitment to remain 10 years with improvements. Some of those homes now sell for nearly a million $. It never stops. Everywhere I go around here, new condo towers and apartment blocks rise up against the sky and all I can say is wasn't that my donut shop last week?

[uncanny_valley_girl]

Thank you for showing people that there is more to California than SoCal and the Bay Area!

[rdgr]

Raised in Granada Hills, went to High School in San Jose, stationed in Herlong, went to Fort Ord for leadership school, and sister living in Salinas, this video well describes the diverse regions of California.

[zzzz-ok]

Moved from Texas to California, it has so much more to offer then Texas! Never moving back. California is awesome...

[hectorcardenas]

California can be an entire country, itself. Bravo!

[alistairt]

I have visited California almost every year(sometimes multiple times a year) for more than a decade. There's *so* *much* to explore, to see, and to do, and that's an understatement. Outside it's major cities, there's so much varied landscape and geography that's incredible for anyone who's into/interested in the outdoors. There are a lot of quaint towns scattered throughout the state, and each geographic regions has it's own charms and beauty. The only areas I haven't visited(but have driven through them) are the Cascades, the Desert, and the Channel Islands. My personal favourite spots to visit time and time again are the Bay, Yosemite, Big Sur(plus Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea), Santa Barbara, and Napa-Sonoma Valleys. Regardless of politics, I highly recommend people to explore California, even outside SF and LA, there's so much to see.

[devin]

As a Californian, I can say this is almost 100% spot on. I live in Ventura and we definitely consider ourselves part of Southern California. I would say most people south of Point Conception (just north of Santa Barbara) would consider themselves part of the south coast.

[jeremybooth]

I'm so proud to be a Californian, lived all over the state.