Northern California or Nor Cal has a lot of natural untouched beauty which includes the redwood forests, the Northern California coast, the Big Sur coastline area, the Sierra Nevada including Yosemite Valley and Lake Tahoe, and Mt. Shasta, the second-highest peak in the Cascade Range.
Nor Cal also houses the state capital building, the San Francisco Bay Area, home to 7.2 million people and the Wine Country known worldwide as a premium wine-growing region.
Silicon Valley is the southern part of the Bay Area. The term originally referred to the region's large number of silicon chip innovators and manufacturers, but eventually came to refer to all the high-tech businesses in the area; it is now generally used as a metonym for the high-tech sector. Silicon Valley continues to be the leading high-tech hub because of its large number of engineers and venture capitalists.
Northern California hosts a number of the most prestigious and renowned universities and academic institutions in the world. Five of the ten University of California campuses, eleven California State University campuses and private institutions include Stanford University, the University of San Francisco, Santa Clara University, St. Mary's College, Mills College and University of the Pacific.
Northern California is also home many world famous tourist attractions and state parks.
I can only speak about NorCal, Ive only been to SoCal a few times and always on the way to Vegas. I plan on moving down there soon, so Ill see how much they actually differ.