Coastal California, also known as the California Coastline and the Golden Coast, refers to the coastal regions of the US state of California. The term is not primarily geographical as it also describes an area distinguished by cultural, economic and political attributes.
Geography
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The area includes the North Coast, San Francisco Bay Area (including Silicon Valley), Central Coast, and South Coast. During the 2000 Census, roughly a third of households in coastal California had incomes exceeding $75,000, compared to 17.6% in the Central Valley and 22.5% at the national average.
The region is known for being home to artisan communities such as Laguna Beach and Carmel as well as the natural environment of the Redwood Forests of the North Coast. While the area has always been relatively expensive, when compared to inland regions and the national average, the recent real estate boom has left it as the most expensive housing market in the nation. An October 2004 CNN Money publication found that a 2,200-square-foot (200Â m2) home in a "middle management neighborhood" would cost an average of $1.8Â million.
Politics
In contrast with most coastal counties of California, only Del Norte County, San Luis Obispo County, Ventura County, Orange County, and San Diego County voted for former Republican president George W. Bush in 2000; the same counties did so again in 2004. The City and County of San Francisco, the most Democratic county, voted 76% for Democrat Al Gore in 2000 and 83% for Democrat John Kerry in 2004.
In 2008, only Del Norte and Orange Counties voted for Republican John McCain with margins of less than 5% while San Francisco remained the most Democratic county, voting 84% for Democrat Barack Obama. In 2012, only Del Norte and Orange Counties voted for Republican Mitt Romney with margins of 9.4% and 6.3% respectively, while San Francisco remained the most Democratic county, again voting 84% for Obama. In 2016, every county, including traditionally Republican Orange County, voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton, except for Del Norte County.
Counties
The counties commonly seen as constituting coastal California are:
- Alameda County, California
- Contra Costa County, California
- Del Norte County, California
- Humboldt County, California
- Los Angeles County, California
- Marin County, California
- Mendocino County, California
- Monterey County, California
- Napa County, California
- Orange County, California
- San Benito County, California
- San Diego County, California
- San Francisco, California
- San Luis Obispo County, California
- San Mateo County, California
- Santa Barbara County, California
- Santa Clara County, California
- Santa Cruz County, California
- Sonoma County, California
- Ventura County, California
Two counties sometimes included in coastal California are:
- Lake County, California
- Solano County, California
See also
- California Coast Ranges
- California Coastal Records Project low altitude photographs of the entire coast
- California State Route 1
- California's congressional districts
- Greater Los Angeles Area
- Left Coast
References
External links
- Geology of the California Coast by geologist Andrew Alden
