It encompasses the North Coast region and adjacent areas of the state.

It stretches from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border, and includes all of the portions of Highway 101 within California that are north of San Francisco, excepting a stretch in Sonoma County.

Cities in the district include San Rafael, Petaluma, Novato, Windsor, Healdsburg, Ukiah, Fort Bragg, Fortuna, Eureka, Arcata, McKinleyville, Crescent City, and northwestern Santa Rosa.

[1] From 2003 until the redistricting by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission that took effect in 2013, the 2nd district encompassed much of the far northern part of the state, from the Central Valley north of Sacramento to the Oregon border.

Also included is a small sliver of the City and County of San Francisco on the eastern end of Angel Island in San Francisco Bay; more than 99% of the island is in Marin County.