While San Francisco and the larger Bay Area are considered to be Northern California, a glance at the map quickly dispells that notion. San Francisco lies nearly smack dab in the middle of California, as far as North and South are concerned. Recently there was a movement in (geographically) Northern California to adopt the name Upstate California for the counties north of Sacramento. Regardless of geographic squabbles, Northern California is more of an idea than a thing, and San Francisco (as well as the Bay Area as a whole) fits the description.