Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of the
U.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of
CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, is the largest (in area) and northernmost of the nine
San Francisco Bay AreaThe San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
countiesIn the United States, a county is a geographic subdivision of a state , usually assigned some governmental authority. The term "county" is used in 48 of the 50 states; Louisiana is divided into parishes and Alaska into boroughs. Parishes and boroughs are called "county-equivalents" by the U.S...
. Its population at the 2010 census was 483,878. Its largest city and
county seatA county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
is
Santa RosaSanta Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. The 2010 census reported a population of 167,815. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont and 26th...
.
Sonoma is the southwestern county of California's Wine Country region, which also includes
NapaNapa County is a county located north of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is coterminous with the Napa, California, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010 the population is 136,484. The county seat is Napa....
,
MendocinoMendocino County is a county located on the north coast of the U.S. state of California, north of the greater San Francisco Bay Area and west of the Central Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 87,841, up from 86,265 at the 2000 census...
, and
LakeLake County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of California, north of the San Francisco Bay Area. It takes its name from Clear Lake, the dominant geographic feature in the county and the largest natural lake wholly within California...
counties. It has 13 approved
American Viticultural AreaAn American Viticultural Area is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States distinguishable by geographic features, with boundaries defined by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau , United States Department of the Treasury....
s and over 250 wineries. In 2002, Sonoma County ranked as the 32nd county in the United States in agricultural production. As early as 1920, Sonoma County was ranked as the eighth most agriculturally productive U.S county and a leading producer of poultry products, hops, grapes, prunes, apples and dairy products, largely due to the abundance of high quality irrigation water. More than 7.4 million tourists visit each year, spending more than $1 billion in 2006. Sonoma County is the home of
Sonoma State UniversitySonoma State University is a public, coeducational business and liberal arts college affiliated with the California State University system. The main campus is located in Rohnert Park, California, United States and lies approximately south of Santa Rosa and north of San Francisco...
and
Santa Rosa Junior CollegeSanta Rosa Junior College is a community college located in the city of Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, California. Founded in 1918, it is the tenth oldest community college in the state. Santa Rosa Junior College was modeled as a "junior" version of nearby University of California at Berkeley...
.
Sonoma County was once home to several
Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
tribeA tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
s; by 1850, European
settlementA settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
had set a new direction that would prove to radically alter the course of
land useLand use is the human use of land. Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as fields, pastures, and settlements. It has also been defined as "the arrangements, activities and inputs people undertake in a certain land cover...
and resource management of this region. As of 2007, Sonoma County has rich agricultural land, albeit now largely divided between two nearly
monoculturalMonoculture is the agricultural practice of producing or growing one single crop over a wide area. It is also known as a way of farming practice of growing large stands of a single species. It is widely used in modern industrial agriculture and its implementation has allowed for large harvests from...
uses:
grapeA grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
s and pasturage. The voters have twice approved open space initiatives that have provided funding for public acquisition of natural areas, preserving forested areas, coastal
habitat* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
, and other open space.
History
The
PomoThe Pomo people are an indigenous peoples of California. The historic Pomo territory in northern California was large, bordered by the Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to Clear Lake, and mainly between Cleone and Duncans Point...
,
Coast MiwokThe Coast Miwok were the second largest group of Miwok Native American people. The Coast Miwok inhabited the general area of modern Marin County and southern Sonoma County in Northern California, from the Golden Gate north to Duncans Point and eastward to Sonoma Creek...
and
WappoThe Wappo are a group of Native Americans who traditionally lived in Northern California in the areas of Napa Valley, the south shore of Clear Lake, Alexander Valley, and Russian River. When Mexicans arrived to colonize California, Wappo villages existed near the present-day towns of Yountville,...
peoples were the earliest human settlers of Sonoma County, between 8000 and 5000 BC, effectively living within the natural carrying capacity of the land. Archaeological evidence of these First people includes a number of occurrences of rock carvings, especially in southern Sonoma County; these carvings often take the form of
Pecked curvilinear nucleatedPecked curvilinear nucleated, in archaeology, is a form of prehistoric rock carving. The term was originally proposed by Teresa Miller and Reed Haslam in 1976 to describe a widespread type of rock carving in western North America. The form is characterized by a circular or oval groove element,...
design.
SpaniardsThe Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
,
RussiansThe Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
, and other Europeans claimed and settled in the county from the late 16th to mid 19th century, seeking timber, fur, and farmland.
The Russians were the first newcomers to establish a permanent foothold in Sonoma County, with the
Russian-American CompanyThe Russian-American Company was a state-sponsored chartered company formed largely on the basis of the so-called Shelekhov-Golikov Company of Grigory Shelekhov and Ivan Larionovich Golikov The Russian-American Company (officially: Under His Imperial Majesty's Highest Protection (patronage)...
establishing
Fort RossFort Ross is a former Russian establishment on the Pacific Coast in what is now Sonoma County, California, in the United States. It was the hub of the southernmost Russian settlements in North America in between 1812 to 1841...
on the Sonoma Coast in 1812. This settlement and its outlying Russian settlements came to include a population of several hundred Russian and Aleut settlers and a stockaded fort with artillery. However, the Russians abandoned it in 1841 and sold the fort to
John SutterJohann Augus Sutter was a Swiss pioneer of California known for his association with the California Gold Rush by the discovery of gold by James W. Marshall and the mill making team at Sutter's Mill, and for establishing Sutter's Fort in the area that would eventually become Sacramento, the...
, settler and Mexican
land grantA land grant is a gift of real estate – land or its privileges – made by a government or other authority as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service...
ee of
SacramentoSacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
.
The
Mission San Francisco SolanoMission San Francisco Solano was founded on July 4, 1823, and named for Francis Solanus, a missionary to the Indians of Peru born in Montilla, Spain, known as the "Wonder Worker of the New World." Originally planned as an asistencia to Mission San Rafael Arcángel, it is the northernmost Alta...
, founded in 1823 as the last and northernmost of 21 California missions, is in the present
City of SonomaSonoma is a historically significant city in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA, surrounding its historic town plaza, a remnant of the town's Mexican colonial past. It was the capital of the short-lived California Republic...
, at the northern end of
El Camino RealEl Camino Real and sometimes associated with Calle Real usually refers to the 600-mile California Mission Trail, connecting the former Alta California's 21 missions , 4 presidios, and several pueblos, stretching from Mission San Diego de Alcalá in San Diego...
.
El Presidio de SonomaEl Presidio de Sonoma, or Sonoma Barracks, was a military outpost established in Alta California in 1836. It was built to house troops under General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, the Commandant of the Northern Frontier, as part of Mexico's strategy to subdue the Native Americans of the Sonoma Valley...
, or Sonoma Barracks (part of Spain's
Fourth Military District), was established in 1836 by Comandante General
Mariano Guadalupe VallejoMariano Guadalupe Vallejo was a Californian military commander, politician, and rancher. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of Mexico, and shaped the transition of California from a Mexican district to an American state...
. His duties included keeping an eye on the Russian traders at Fort Ross, secularizing the Mission, maintaining cooperation with the Native Americans of the entire region, and doling out the lands for large estates and ranches. The City of Sonoma was the site of the
Bear Flag RevoltThe California Republic, also called the Bear Flag Republic, is the name used for a period of revolt against Mexico initially proclaimed by a handful of American settlers in Mexican California on June 14, 1846, in Sonoma. This was shortly before news of the Mexican–American War had reached the area...
in 1846.
Sonoma was one of the original counties formed when California became a state in 1850, with its
county seatA county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
originally the town of Sonoma. However, by the early 1850s, the town of Sonoma had declined in importance in terms of both commerce and population, its county buildings were crumbling, and it was relatively remote. As a result, elements in the newer, rapidly growing towns of
PetalumaPetaluma is a city in Sonoma County, California, in the United States. In the 2010 Census the population was 57,941.Located in Petaluma is the Rancho Petaluma Adobe, a National Historic Landmark. It was built beginning in 1836 by General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, then Commandant of the San...
, Santa Rosa, and
HealdsburgHealdsburg is a city located in Sonoma County, California, in the United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a population of 11,254...
began vying to move the county seat to their towns. The dispute ultimately was between the bigger, richer commercial town of Petaluma and the more centrally located, growing agricultural center of Santa Rosa. The fate was decided following an election for the state legislature in which James Bennett of Santa Rosa defeated
Joseph HookerJoseph Hooker was a career United States Army officer, achieving the rank of major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Although he served throughout the war, usually with distinction, Hooker is best remembered for his stunning defeat by Confederate General Robert E...
of Sonoma and introduced a bill that ultimately resulted in Santa Rosa being confirmed as county seat in 1854. Allegedly, several Santa Rosans, not caring to wait, decided to take action and, one night, rode down the Sonoma Valley to Sonoma, took the county seals and records, and brought them to Santa Rosa.
Early post-1847 settlement and development focused primarily on the city of Sonoma, then the region's sole town and a common transit and resting point in overland travel between the region and Sacramento and the gold fields to the east. However, after 1850, a settlement that soon became the city of Petaluma began to grow naturally near the farthest navigable point inland up the
Petaluma RiverThe Petaluma River is a river in the California counties of Sonoma and Marin that becomes a tidal slough near its mouth. It springs from farmlands southwest of Cotati and flows generally southward through Petaluma's old town and of tidal marshes to end in northwest San Pablo Bay.-History:The word...
. Originally a hunting camp used to obtain game to sell in other markest, by 1854 Petaluma had grown into a bustling center of trade, taking advantage of its position in the river near a region of highly productive agricultural land that was being settled. Soon, other inland towns, notably Santa Rosa and Healdsburg began to develop similarly due to their locations along riparian areas in prime agricultural flatland. However, their development initially lagged behind Petaluma which, until the arrival of railroads in the 1860s, remained the primary commercial, transit, and break-of-bulk point for people and goods in the region. After the arrival of the
San Francisco and North Pacific RailroadSan Francisco and North Pacific Railroad provided the first extensive standard gauge rail service to Sonoma County and became the southern end of the regional Northwestern Pacific Railroad...
in 1870, Santa Rosa began to boom, soon equalling and then surpassing Petaluma as the region's population and commercial center. The railroad bypassed Petaluma for southern connections to
ferries of San Francisco BaySan Francisco Bay in California has been served by ferries of all types for over 150 years. Although the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge led to the decline in the importance of most ferries, some are still in use today for both commuters and...
.
Six nations have claimed Sonoma County from 1542 to the present:
|
Spanish EmpireThe Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
, 1542, by sea, voyage of Juan Rodríguez CabrilloJuan Rodriguez Cabrillo was a Portuguese explorer noted for his exploration of the west coast of North America on behalf of Spain. Cabrillo was the first European explorer to navigate the coast of present day California in the United States...
as far as the Russian RiverThe Russian River, a southward-flowing river, drains of Sonoma and Mendocino counties in Northern California. With an annual average discharge of approximately , it is the second largest river flowing through the nine county Greater San Francisco Bay Area with a mainstem 110 miles ...
. Later validated by voyage of Sebastián VizcaínoSebastián Vizcaíno was a Spanish soldier, entrepreneur, explorer, and diplomat whose varied roles took him to New Spain, the Philippines, the Baja California peninsula, the California coast and Japan.-Early career:...
, 1602. |
|
Kingdom of EnglandThe Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
, June 1579, voyage of the Golden HindThe Golden Hind was an English galleon best known for its circumnavigation of the globe between 1577 and 1580, captained by Sir Francis Drake...
under Captain Francis DrakeSir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...
at Bodega BayBodega Bay is a shallow, rocky inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of northern California in the United States. It is approximately across and is located approximately northwest of San Francisco and west of Santa Rosa...
(exact location disputed). |
|
Spanish EmpireThe Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
, October 1775, the Sonora at Bodega Bay, under Lt. Juan Francisco de la Bodega y QuadraJuan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra was a Spanish naval officer born in Lima, Peru. Assigned to the Pacific coast Spanish Naval Department base at San Blas, in the Viceroyalty of New Spain , this navigator explored the Northwest Coast of North America as far north as present day Alaska.Juan...
until 1821, when MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
gained Independence from Spain. |
|
Russian EmpireThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, by Russian-American Company expedition led by Ivan Alexandrovich Kuskov, the founder of Fort Ross and, from 1812 to 1821, its colonial administrator. Note: There is an overlap of rule with the Mexican Empire (next item), until the Russians sold Fort Ross in 1841 to John Sutter, before leaving the area in 1842. |
|
First Mexican EmpireThe Mexican Empire was the official name of independent Mexico under a monarchical regime from 1821 to 1823. The territory of the Mexican Empire included the continental intendencies and provinces of New Spain proper...
, 24 August 1821, under Emperor Agustin IturbideAgustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Aramburu , also known as Augustine I of Mexico, was a Mexican army general who built a successful political and military coalition that was able to march into Mexico City on 27 September 1821, decisively ending the Mexican War of Independence...
(October 1822, probable time new flag raised in California) until 1823. |
|
Mexican RepublicThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, 1823 until June 1846. |
|
California RepublicThe California Republic, also called the Bear Flag Republic, is the name used for a period of revolt against Mexico initially proclaimed by a handful of American settlers in Mexican California on June 14, 1846, in Sonoma. This was shortly before news of the Mexican–American War had reached the area...
, 14 June 1846 until 9 July 1846. |
|
United States of America, 9 July 1846 The history of California can be divided into several periods: the Native American period; European exploration period from 1542 to 1769; the Spanish colonial period, 1769 to 1821; the Mexican period, 1821 to 1848; and United States statehood, which continues to the present day...
to present. |
Sonoma County was severely shaken by the
1906 San Francisco earthquakeThe San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
. The displacements along the faultline averaged 15 feet (4.6 m).
Etymology
According to the book
California Place Names, "The name of the Indian tribe is mentioned in baptismal records of 1815 as
Chucuines o Sonomas, by Chamisso in 1816 as
Sonomi, and repeatedly in Mission records of the following years."
According to the Coast Miwok and the Pomo tribes that lived in the region, Sonoma translates "valley of the moon" or "many moons". Their legends detail this as a land where the moon nestled, hence the names
Sonoma ValleySonoma Valley is the birthplace of the California wine industry and often called The Valley of the Moon. Sonoma Valley is home to some of the earliest vineyards and wineries in the state, some of which survived the phylloxera epidemic of the 1870s and the impact of Prohibition...
and the "Valley of the Moon." This translation was first recorded in an 1850 report by General
Mariano Guadalupe VallejoMariano Guadalupe Vallejo was a Californian military commander, politician, and rancher. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of Mexico, and shaped the transition of California from a Mexican district to an American state...
to the California Legislature.
Jack LondonJohn Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...
popularized it in his 1913 novel
The Valley of the Moon.
In the native languages there is also a constantly recurring ending
tso-noma, from
tso, the earth; and
noma, village; hence
tsonoma, "earth village." Other sources say Sonoma comes from the Patwin tribes west of the
Sacramento RiverThe Sacramento River is an important watercourse of Northern and Central California in the United States. The largest river in California, it rises on the eastern slopes of the Klamath Mountains, and after a journey south of over , empties into Suisun Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay, and...
, and their
WintuWintu is an endangered Wintuan language spoken by the Wintu people of Northern California.Wintu is the northernmost member of the Wintun family of languages....
word for "nose". Per
California Place Names, "the name is doubtless derived from a Patwin word for 'nose', which Padre Arroyo (Vocabularies, p. 22) gives as
sonom (Suisun)."
Bowman (CFQ 5:300-302 [1946]) theorized that Spaniards found an Indian chief with a prominent protuberance and applied the nickname of
Chief Nose to the village and the territory (cf.
Alfred L. KroeberAlfred Louis Kroeber was an American anthropologist. He was the first professor appointed to the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, and played an integral role in the early days of its Museum of Anthropology, where he served as director from 1909 through...
, AAE 29:354 [1932]). Beeler believes the name applied originally to a nose-shaped geographic feature (WF 13:268-72 [1954]).
Geography and environment
According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 1768.23 square miles (4,579.7 km²), of which 1575.88 square miles (4,081.5 km²) (or 89.12%) is land and 192.35 square miles (498.2 km²) (or 10.88%) is water. Adjacent counties are
MarinMarin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...
(to the south),
MendocinoMendocino County is a county located on the north coast of the U.S. state of California, north of the greater San Francisco Bay Area and west of the Central Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 87,841, up from 86,265 at the 2000 census...
(to the north),
LakeLake County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of California, north of the San Francisco Bay Area. It takes its name from Clear Lake, the dominant geographic feature in the county and the largest natural lake wholly within California...
(northeast),
NapaNapa County is a county located north of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is coterminous with the Napa, California, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010 the population is 136,484. The county seat is Napa....
(to the east), and
SolanoSolano County is a county located in Bay-Delta region of the U.S. state of California, about halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento and is one of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. The county's population was reported by the U.S. Census to be 413,344 in 2010...
and
Contra CostaContra Costa County is a primarily suburban county in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,049,025...
(to the southeast).
The county lies in the North Coast Ranges of northwestern California. Its ranges include the Mayacamas and the
Sonoma MountainsThe Sonoma Mountains are a northwest-southeast trending formation of California Coast Ranges in Sonoma County, California, USA. The range is approximately fourteen miles long and separates the Sonoma Creek watershed from the Petaluma River and Tolay Creek watersheds...
, the southern peak of the latter being the prominent landform,
Sears PointSears Point is a prominent landform jutting into the historic reaches of San Pablo Bay in Sonoma County, California, USA. This hill is the southernmost peak of the Sonoma Mountains and forms the southwestern ridge above Tolay Lake...
. The highest peak in the Mayacamas within the county is
Hood MountainMount Hood, also known as Hood Mountain is a mountain near the southeastern edge of Santa Rosa, California at the northeast of the Sonoma Valley and attains a height of . The originally name was Mount Wilikos, an Indian name meaning "willows."...
. It has uncommon occurrences of
pygmy forestA pygmy forest is a forest which, for pedological and geological reasons, contains only miniature trees. Pygmy forests may occur over various world locations with notable occurrences being noted in the literature of the: California coastal terraces and inner coastal mountains of Northern...
, dominated by Mendocino Cypress. The highest peak of the Sonoma Mountains is
Sonoma MountainSonoma Mountain is a prominent landform within the Sonoma Mountains of southern Sonoma County, California. At elevation of , Sonoma Mountain offers expansive views of the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Sonoma Valley to the east...
itself, which boasts two significant public access properties:
Jack London State Historic ParkJack London State Historic Park, also known as Jack London Home and Ranch, is a California State Historic Park near Glen Ellen, California, United States, situated on the eastern slope of Sonoma Mountain...
and
Fairfield Osborn PreserveThe Fairfield Osborn Preserve is a 411 acre nature reserve situated on the northwest flank of Sonoma Mountain in Sonoma County, California. There are eight plant communities within the property, oak woodland being the dominant type...
.
The county includes the City of Sonoma and the Sonoma Valley, in which the City of Sonoma is located. However, these are not synonymous. The City of Sonoma is merely one of several incorporated cities in the county. The Sonoma Valley itself makes up only the southeastern portion of the county, which includes many other valleys and geographic zones. Moreover, the Sonoma Valley itself includes not only the City of Sonoma, but a portion of the City of Santa Rosa and the unincorporated communities of Kenwood, Agua Caliente, Boyes Hot Springs, and Fetters Hot Springs. Other regions of the county beyond the Sonoma Valley include, among others, the Petaluma Valley, the
Santa Rosa PlainsSanta Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. The 2010 census reported a population of 167,815. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont and 26th...
, the
Russian RiverThe Russian River, a southward-flowing river, drains of Sonoma and Mendocino counties in Northern California. With an annual average discharge of approximately , it is the second largest river flowing through the nine county Greater San Francisco Bay Area with a mainstem 110 miles ...
, the Alexander Valley, and the
Dry Creek ValleyThe Dry Creek Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area in Sonoma County, California, located northwest of the town of Healdsburg. The valley is formed by Dry Creek, a tributary of the Russian River, and is approximately long and wide...
.
Distinct habitat areas within the county include oak
woodlandEcologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
, redwood forest,
northern coastal scrubNorthern coastal scrub is a scrubland plant community of California and Oregon. It occurs along the Pacific Coast from Point Sur on the Central California coast in Monterey County, California, to southern Oregon...
,
grasslandGrasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
,
marshIn geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
land, oak
savannaA savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
and
riparian woodlandA riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the fifteen terrestrial biomes of the earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks are called riparian vegetation, characterized by...
. The
California oak woodlandCalifornia oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico...
in the upper
Yulupa CreekYulupa Creek is a southeast-flowing perennial stream that rises on the southeastern flanks of the northern Sonoma Mountains in Sonoma County, California, United States...
and
Spring CreekSpring Creek, in Sonoma County, California, is a stream that rises in the northern part of the Sonoma Mountains within Annadel State Park, draining the western slopes of Taylor Mountain and feeding into Matanzas Creek below the Matanzas Creek Reservoir....
watersheds in
Annadel State ParkAnnadel State Park is a state park of California, USA, situated at the northern edge of Sonoma Valley and offering many recreational activities within its property...
is a relatively undisturbed ecosystem with considerable
biodiversityBiodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
. These forested areas have been characterized as some of the best examples of such woodlands. An unusual characteristic of these forests is the high content of undisturbed prehistoric bunch grass
understoryUnderstory is the term for the area of a forest which grows at the lowest height level below the forest canopy. Plants in the understory consist of a mixture of seedlings and saplings of canopy trees together with understory shrubs and herbs...
, testifying to the absence of historic
grazingGrazing generally describes a type of feeding, in which a herbivore feeds on plants , and also on other multicellular autotrophs...
or other
agricultureAgriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
.
Trees of the oak woodland habitat include
Pacific MadroneArbutus menziesii, commonly known as the Pacific Madrone, is a species of Arbutus found on the west coast of North America, from British Columbia to California...
,
Douglas firDouglas-fir is one of the English common names for evergreen coniferous trees of the genus Pseudotsuga in the family Pinaceae. Other common names include Douglas tree, and Oregon pine. There are five species, two in western North America, one in Mexico, and two in eastern Asia...
,
Coast Live OakQuercus agrifolia, the Coast Live Oak, is an evergreen oak , native to the California Floristic Province. It grows west of the Sierra Nevada from Mendocino County, California, south to northern Baja California in Mexico. It is classified in the red oak section Quercus agrifolia, the Coast Live Oak,...
,
Garry oakQuercus garryana, the Garry Oak, Oregon White Oak or Oregon Oak, has a range from southern California to extreme southwestern British Columbia, particularly southeastern Vancouver Island and the adjacent Gulf Islands. It grows from sea level to 210 m altitude in the northern part of its range, and...
and California laurel. Common understory plants are
toyonHeteromeles arbutifolia , and commonly known as Toyon, is a common perennial shrub native to California down to Baja California....
,
poison oakPoison oak may refer to* Toxicodendron diversilobum, grows on West Coast of North America* Toxicodendron pubescens, grows in the Eastern United Statesdamnnnnn tissss is terribleee...
, and at the fringes
coast silk-tasselGarrya elliptica is a common evergreen shrub native to the coastal ranges of California and southern Oregon, that reaches a height of two to five meters. It is one of a small biological family of approximately twenty known species in the family Garryaceae, most of which are Garrya...
.
Climate
Sonoma County, as is often the case with coastal counties in California, has a great degree of climatic variation and numerous, often very different, microclimates. Key determining factors for local climate are proximity to the ocean, elevation, and the presence and elevation of hills or mountains to the east and west. This is in large part due to the fact that, as throughout California, the prevailing weather systems and wind come normally from the Pacific Ocean, blowing in from the west and southwest so that places closer to the ocean and on the windward side of higher elevations tend to receive more rain from autumn through spring and more summer wind and fog. This itself is partly a result of the presence of high and low pressures in inland California, with persistent high summer temperatures in the Central Valley, in particular, leading to low pressures, drawing in air moist air from the Pacific, cooling into damp cool breezes and fog over the cold coastal water. Those places further inland and particularly in the lee of significant elevations tend to receive less rain and less, in some cases no, fog in the summer.
The coast itself is typically cool and moist throughout summer, often foggy, with fog generally blowing in during the late afternoon and evening until it clears in the later morning to be sunny, before repeating. Coastal summer highs are typically in the mid to high 60s, warming to the low 70s further from the ocean.
Certain inland areas, including the Petaluma area and the Santa Rosa Plain, are also prone to this normal fog pattern in general. However, they tend to receive the fog later in the evening, the fog tends to be more short-lived, and mid-day tempertatures are significantly higher than they are on the coast, typically in the low 80s F. This is particularly true for Petaluma,
CotatiCotati is an incorporated city in Sonoma County, California, U.S.A., located about north of San Francisco in the 101 corridor between Rohnert Park and Petaluma....
and
Rohnert ParkRohnert Park is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located approximately north of San Francisco. The population at the 2010 United States Census was 40,971. It is an early planned city, modeled directly after Levittown, New York and Levittown, Pennsylvania. Rohnert Park is the...
, and, only slightly less so, Santa Rosa,
WindsorWindsor is an incorporated town in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 26,801 as of the 2010 census.-Geography:Windsor is located on U.S. Route 101 in the Russian River valley, about southeast of Healdsburg, California....
, and
SebastopolSebastopol is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, approximately north of San Francisco. The population was 7,379 at the 2010 census, but its businesses also serve surrounding rural portions of Sonoma County, totaling about 50,000 people...
. In large part this results from lower elevations and the prominent
Petaluma GapThe Petaluma Gap is a geographical region in Sonoma County, California which extends in a band from the Pacific Ocean to San Pablo Bay. It is an area of low land 22 to 31 miles wide in the coast ranges of the northern San Francisco Bay Area. The western edge of the gap is located in the coastal...
in the hills between the ocean to the west and the Petaluma Valley and Santa Rosa Plain to the east.
Areas north of Santa Rosa and Windsor, with larger elevations to the west and further from the fog path, tend to receive less fog and less summer marine influence. Healdsburg to the north of Windsor is less foggy and much warmer, with summer highs typically in the higher 80s to about 90 °F (32.2 °C). Sonoma and the Sonoma Valley, east of Petaluma, are similar, with highs typically in the very high 70s F to 80 °F (26.7 °C). This is in part due to the presence of the Sonoma Mountains between Petaluma and Sonoma.
CloverdaleCloverdale is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States. The San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad reached Cloverdale in 1872. The Cloverdale Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California is headquartered here...
far to the north out of the Santa Rosa Plain, is significantly hotter than any other city in the county, with rare evening-morning fog and highs often in the 90s, reaching 100 much more frequently than the other cities. Notably, however, the temperature differences among the different areas of the county are greatest for the highs during mid-day, with the diurnal lows much more even throughout the entire county. The lows are closely tied to the evening-morning cooling marine influence, in addition to elevation, bringing similarly cool temperatures to much of region.
These weather patterns contribute to high diurnal temperature fluctuations in much of the county. In summer, daily lows and highs are typically 30-40 degrees F apart in land, with highs for Petaluma, Cotati, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Windsor, and Sebastopol typically being in the very low 80s F and lows at or near 50 °F (10 °C). Healdsburg and Sonoma, with similar lows, have even greater diurnal fluctuations due to their significantly warmer highs. On the other hand, the coast, with strong marine influence, tends to have low diurnal temperature fluctuation, with summer highs much cooler than the inland towns, typically 65-75 F, yet lows in the high 40s to low 50s F, fairly comparable to most inland towns.
These microclimates are evident during the rainy seasons as well, with great variation in the amount of rainfall throughout the county. Generally, all of Sonoma County receives a fair amount of rain, with much of the county receiving between about 25 inches, comparable to areas such as Sonoma and Petaluma, and roughly 30 inches (762 mm) normal for Santa Rosa. However, certain areas, particularly in the north-west portion of the county around the Russian River, receive significantly more rainfall. The
GuernevilleGuerneville is a town in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County, California, USA. A popular vacation destination for couples and families as well as corporate retreats and family and friend reunions, Guerneville is well-known for its natural beauty, laid-back attitude, friendly population, good...
area, for example, typically receives about 50 inches of rain a year, with annual rain occasionally going as high as 70 inches (1,778 mm). Nearby Cazadero typically receives about 72 inches of rain a year, many times has reached over 100 inches (2,540 mm) a year, and sometimes over 120 inches (3,048 mm) of rain a year. The Cazadero region is the second wettest place in California after
GasquetGasquet is a census-designated place southwest of the Oregon border in Del Norte County, California, and northeast of Crescent City, with a population of 515. It lies at an elevation of 381 feet . The ZIP Code is 95543. Its area code is 707...
.
Snow is exceedingly rare in Sonoma County except in the higher elevations on and around the Mayacamas Mountains, particularly
Mount Saint HelenaMount Saint Helena is a peak in the Mayacamas Mountains with flanks in Napa, Sonoma, and Lake counties of California. Composed of uplifted 2.4-million-year-old volcanic rocks from the Clear Lake Volcanic Field, it is one of the few mountains in the San Francisco Bay Area to receive any snowfall...
, and
Cobb MountainCobb Mountain is the tallest mountain in the Mayacamas Mountains of California. Its 4720+ feet, main summit is located in Lake County, west of the town of Cobb...
in nearby Lake County.
Ocean, bays, rivers and streams
Sonoma County is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, and has 76 miles (122.3 km) of coastline. The major coastal hydrographic features are
Bodega BayBodega Bay is a shallow, rocky inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of northern California in the United States. It is approximately across and is located approximately northwest of San Francisco and west of Santa Rosa...
, the mouth of the Russian River, and the mouth of the
Gualala RiverThe Gualala River is a river on the northern coast of California. Most of the river is in Sonoma County, but a portion is in Mendocino County. The headwaters of the river are high in the Coast Range, and it empties into the Pacific Ocean...
, at the border with Mendocino County. All of the county's beaches were listed as the cleanest in the state in 2010.
Six of the county's nine cities, from Healdsburg south through Santa Rosa to Rohnert Park and Cotati, are in the Santa Rosa Plain. The northern Plain drains to the Russian River, or a tributary; the southern Plain drains to the Russian River via the
Laguna de Santa RosaThe Laguna de Santa Rosa is a long wetland complex that drains a 254-square mile watershed encompassing most of the Santa Rosa Plain in Sonoma County, California, USA.-Description:...
.
Russian River
Much of central and northern Sonoma County is in the watershed of the Russian River and its tributaries. The river rises in the coastal mountains of Mendocino County, north of the city of
UkiahThe average high temperature is 73.5 °F . Average low temperature is 46.1 °F . Temperatures reach 90 °F on an average of 65.6 days annually and 100 °F on an average of 14.4 days annually. Due to frequent low humidity, summer temperatures normally drop into the fifties at night. Freezing...
, and flows into
Lake MendocinoLake Mendocino is a large reservoir in Mendocino County, California, northeast of Ukiah. It covers and was formed by the construction of Coyote Dam in 1958. The lake and dam provide flood control, water conservation, hydroelectric power, and recreation.-Recreation:Lake Mendocino is administered by...
, a major flood control reservoir. The Russian flows south from the lake through Mendocino to Sonoma County, paralleled by Highway 101. It turns west at Healdsburg, receiving water from
Lake SonomaLake Sonoma is a reservoir west of Healdsburg in northern Sonoma County, California, U.S.A., created by the construction of Warm Springs Dam. Access from U.S. Route 101 is by way of Dry Creek Road from Healdsburg....
via Dry Creek, and empties into the Pacific Ocean at
JennerJenner is a small coastal town and census-designated place with a population of about 136 in Sonoma County, California, U.S. It is located on the Pacific coast near the mouth of the Russian River. State Route 1 runs through the town and State Route 116 runs nearby, along the Russian River...
.
Laguna de Santa Rosa
The Laguna de Santa Rosa is the largest tributary of the Russian River. It is 14 miles (22.5 km) long, running north from Cotati to the Russian River near Forestville. Its flood plain is more than 7500 acres (30.4 km²). It drains a 254 square miles (657.9 km²) watershed, including most of the Santa Rosa Plain.
The Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation says:
"The Laguna de Santa Rosa is Sonoma County's richest area of wildlife habitat, and the most biologically diverse region of Sonoma County (itself the second-most biologically diverse county in California)... It is a unique ecological system covering more than 30000 acres (121.4 km²) and a mosaic of creeks, open water, perennial marshes, seasonal wetlands, riparian forests, oak woodlands and grasslands... As the receiving water of a watershed where most of the county's human population lives, it is a landscape feature of critical importance to Sonoma County's water quality, flood control, and biodiversity."
The Laguna's largest tributary is
Santa Rosa CreekSanta Rosa Creek is a 22 mile long stream in Sonoma County, California which rises on Hood Mountain and discharges to the Laguna de Santa Rosa by way of the Santa Rosa Flood Control Channel...
, which runs through Santa Rosa. Its major tributaries are
Brush CreekBrush Creek or Rincon Creek is a tributary of Santa Rosa Creek in Sonoma County, California. Brush Creek rises in the southern slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains within Sonoma County. The lower reach of the creek is a suburban medium density residential area in the city of Santa Rosa, and that...
, Mark West Creek,
Matanzas CreekMatanzas Creek is an year-round stream in Sonoma County, California, United States, a tributary of Santa Rosa Creek.-Course:Matanzas Creek springs from the northern slope of Sonoma Mountain and flows northward into Bennett Valley to join the South Fork Matanzas Creek...
,
Spring CreekSpring Creek, in Sonoma County, California, is a stream that rises in the northern part of the Sonoma Mountains within Annadel State Park, draining the western slopes of Taylor Mountain and feeding into Matanzas Creek below the Matanzas Creek Reservoir....
and
Piner CreekPiner Creek is a stream in northeast Santa Rosa, California, United States which originates as an outlet of Fountaingrove Lake. Piner Creek discharges to Santa Rosa Creek which in turn joins the Laguna de Santa Rosa...
. Matanzas creek was shown to be polluted in Sonoma county first flush results.
Other water bodies
The boundary with Marin County runs from the mouth of the Estero Americano at
Bodega BayBodega Bay is a shallow, rocky inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of northern California in the United States. It is approximately across and is located approximately northwest of San Francisco and west of Santa Rosa...
, up Americano Creek, then overland to
San Antonio CreekSan Antonio Creek is an eastward-flowing stream in the California counties of Marin and Sonoma that forms part of the boundary between those counties. It empties into the Petaluma River....
and down the Petaluma River to its mouth at the northwest corner of
San Pablo BaySan Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in northern California in the United States. Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water channel approximately in mid bay, which allows access to Sacramento, Stockton, Benicia, Martinez, and...
, which adjoins
San Francisco BaySan Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
. The southern edge of Sonoma County comprises the northern shore of San Pablo Bay between the Marin County border at the Petaluma River and the border with Solano County at
Sonoma CreekSonoma Creek is a stream in northern California. It is one of two principal drainages of southern Sonoma County, California, with headwaters rising in the rugged hills of Sugarloaf Ridge State Park and discharging to San Pablo Bay, the northern arm of San Francisco Bay. The watershed drained by...
. Sonoma County has no incorporated communities directly on the shore of San Pablo Bay. At the present there is only a private marina with related facilities called Port Sonoma near the mouth of the
Petaluma RiverThe Petaluma River is a river in the California counties of Sonoma and Marin that becomes a tidal slough near its mouth. It springs from farmlands southwest of Cotati and flows generally southward through Petaluma's old town and of tidal marshes to end in northwest San Pablo Bay.-History:The word...
. However, the Petaluma River which flows into San Pablo Bay, is navigable up to the city of Petaluma.
The Petaluma River,
Tolay CreekTolay Creek is a southward-flowing stream in southern Sonoma County, California, USA, which flows through Tolay Lake and ends in north San Pablo Bay.-History:The Alaguali were a Coast Miwok community of northern San Pablo Bay in the Tolay Creek region...
, and Sonoma Creek enter the bay at the county's southernmost tip. The intertidal zone where they join the bay is the vast
Napa Sonoma MarshThe Napa Sonoma Marsh is a wetland at the northern edge of San Pablo Bay, which is a northern arm of the San Francisco Bay in California, USA. This marsh has an area of 48,000 acres , of which 13,000 acres are abandoned salt evaporation ponds...
.
Americano CreekAmericano Creek is a long westward-flowing stream in the California counties of Sonoma and Marin, which flows into the Estero Americano, a long estuary, and thence to the Pacific Ocean. This article covers both watercourses.-Course:...
, the Petaluma River, Tolay Creek, and Sonoma Creek are the principal streams draining the southern portion of the county. The Sonoma Valley is drained by Sonoma Creek, whose major tributaries are
Yulupa CreekYulupa Creek is a southeast-flowing perennial stream that rises on the southeastern flanks of the northern Sonoma Mountains in Sonoma County, California, United States...
,
Graham CreekGraham Creek is a perennial stream in Sonoma County, California, tributary to Sonoma Creek. Graham Creek rises in the northern Sonoma Mountains and flows generally northeasterly down the northeastern flank of Sonoma Mountain. Historically this watercourse was called Wild Water Creek, a name used...
,
Calabazas CreekCalabazas Creek is a stream in the Sonoma Valley, California, USA, that rises in the southern Mayacamas Mountains and empties into Sonoma Creek near Glen Ellen.-History:...
, Schell Creek and Carriger Creek;
Arroyo Seco CreekArroyo Seco Creek or simply Arroyo Seco is a tributary stream to Schell Creek in southern Sonoma County, California, United States. In the Spanish language arroyo seco means "dry creek"....
is tributary to Schell Creek.Other creeks include Foss, Felta,and Mill creeks.
Lakes and reservoirs in the county include
Lake SonomaLake Sonoma is a reservoir west of Healdsburg in northern Sonoma County, California, U.S.A., created by the construction of Warm Springs Dam. Access from U.S. Route 101 is by way of Dry Creek Road from Healdsburg....
,
Tolay LakeTolay Lake is a shallow freshwater lacustrine water body in southern Sonoma County, California, United States. The lake, nestled within the southern vestiges of the Sonoma Mountains, is the site of significant Native American prehistoric seasonal settlement...
,
Lake IlsanjoLake Ilsanjo is a man-made lake located in Annadel State Park east of Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, California, United States. It is a place for fishing and swimming, especially in the summer months. Entrepreneur Joe Coney originally owned the land that is now Annadel State Park and named the lake...
,
Santa Rosa Creek ReservoirSanta Rosa Creek Reservoir is a reservoir in Spring Lake Regional Park in the city of Santa Rosa, California, U.S.A.. It is impounded by an earthen dam built in 1963 and owned by the Sonoma County Water Agency.-See also:*Lake Ralphine...
,
Lake RalphineLake Ralphine is a reservoir in Howarth Memorial Park in the city of Santa Rosa, California, U.S.A..-Fishing:The Fish and Game stocks the lake annually with trout of catchable size...
, and
Fountaingrove LakeFountaingrove Lake is a reservoir in the city of Santa Rosa, California, United States. Formed by the Fountaingrove Dam, the lake is fed from the east by Piner Creek, which is also the lake's sole outlet.Fountaingrove Dam is an earthen dam built in 1953...
.
Threatened/endangered species
A number of endangered plants and animals are found in Sonoma County including the
California clapper railThe California Clapper Rail is an endangered subspecies of the Clapper Rail . It is found principally in California's San Francisco Bay, and also in Monterey Bay and Morro Bay...
,
Salt Marsh Harvest MouseThe Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse , also known as the Red-bellied Harvest Mouse and some times called by Saltmarsh Harvest Mouse, is an endangered rodent endemic to the San Francisco Bay Area salt marshes in California. There are two distinct subspecies, both endangered and listed together on federal...
,
Northern Red-legged FrogThe northern red-legged frog is a species of amphibian, whose range is the coastal region stretching from southwest British Columbia to Northern California, and is protected in British Columbia, Oregon and California. As a member of the genus Rana, this species is considered a true frog, with...
, Sacramento splittail, California freshwater shrimp, Showy Indian clover and
Hickman's potentillaPotentilla hickmanii is an endangered perennial herb of the rose family. This rare plant species is found in a narrowly restricted range in two locations in coastal northern California, in Monterey County, and in very small colonies in San Mateo County...
.
Species of special local concern include the
California Tiger SalamanderThe California tiger salamander is a vulnerable amphibian native to Northern California. Previously considered to be a Tiger Salamander subspecies, the California tiger salamander was recently designated a separate species again...
and some endangered plants, including Burke's Goldfields (
Lasthenia burkei), Sebastopol Meadowfoam (
Limnanthes vinculans), and Sonoma Sunshine or Baker's Stickyseed (
Blennosperma bakeriBlennosperma bakeri is a rare species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common names Baker's stickyseed and Sonoma sunshine. It is endemic to Sonoma County, California, where it is known from a few remaining vernal pool sites on the wet grasslands of the Laguna de Santa Rosa and...
).
Endangered species that are
endemicEndemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
to Sonoma County include Sebastopol Meadowfoam, Sonoma Sunshine, and Pitkin Marsh lily,
Lilium pardalinum subsp
Pitkinense.
The
Sonoma County Water AgencyThe Sonoma County Water Agency is the government agency responsible for managing the water resources of Sonoma County, California...
has had a Fisheries Enhancement Program since 1996. Its website says:
"The primary focus of the FEP is to enhance habitat for three salmonids: SteelheadThe rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
, Chinook salmonThe Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, is the largest species in the pacific salmon family. Other commonly used names for the species include King salmon, Quinnat salmon, Spring salmon and Tyee salmon...
, and Coho salmonThe Coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". It is the state animal of Chiba, Japan.-Description:...
. These three species are listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species ActThe Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...
. The California Department of Fish and Game considers the Coho salmon endangered."
Cities and towns
Sonoma County has nine incorporated municipalities.
| Incorporated communities | Population |
| City of Cloverdale Cloverdale is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States. The San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad reached Cloverdale in 1872. The Cloverdale Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California is headquartered here...
|
8,618 |
| City of Cotati Cotati is an incorporated city in Sonoma County, California, U.S.A., located about north of San Francisco in the 101 corridor between Rohnert Park and Petaluma....
|
7,265 |
| City of Healdsburg Healdsburg is a city located in Sonoma County, California, in the United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a population of 11,254...
|
11,254 |
| City of Petaluma Petaluma is a city in Sonoma County, California, in the United States. In the 2010 Census the population was 57,941.Located in Petaluma is the Rancho Petaluma Adobe, a National Historic Landmark. It was built beginning in 1836 by General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, then Commandant of the San...
|
57,941 |
City of Rohnert ParkRohnert Park is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located approximately north of San Francisco. The population at the 2010 United States Census was 40,971. It is an early planned city, modeled directly after Levittown, New York and Levittown, Pennsylvania. Rohnert Park is the...
|
40,971 |
City of Santa RosaSanta Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. The 2010 census reported a population of 167,815. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont and 26th...
|
167,815 |
| City of Sebastopol Sebastopol is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, approximately north of San Francisco. The population was 7,379 at the 2010 census, but its businesses also serve surrounding rural portions of Sonoma County, totaling about 50,000 people...
|
7,379 |
City of SonomaSonoma is a historically significant city in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA, surrounding its historic town plaza, a remnant of the town's Mexican colonial past. It was the capital of the short-lived California Republic...
|
10,648 |
| Town of Windsor Windsor is an incorporated town in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 26,801 as of the 2010 census.-Geography:Windsor is located on U.S. Route 101 in the Russian River valley, about southeast of Healdsburg, California....
|
26,801 |
| Unincorporated communities A-E |
Unincorporated communities F-K |
Unincorporated communities L-P |
Unincorporated communities R-Z |
- Agua Caliente
- Asti
Asti is an unincorporated community in Sonoma County, California, USA. It is located near U.S. Route 101 in the Alexander Valley between Cloverdale and Healdsburg....
- Bloomfield
Bloomfield is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, U.S. It is located in a rural area about southwest of Santa Rosa, California at the junction of Bloomfield Road and Valley Ford Road. Americano Creek flows westward along the south edge of the town.-History:Bloomfield is located...
- Bodega
Bodega is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in Sonoma County in the U.S. state of California. The town had a population of 220 as of the 2010 Census.Bodega is located on Bodega Highway, about west of Freestone, California...
- Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay is a town and census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,077 at the 2010 census. The town is on the eastern side of Bodega Harbor, an inlet of Bodega Bay on the Pacific coast....
- Bodega Harbour
- Boyes Hot Springs
Boyes Hot Springs is a census-designated place in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 6,656 people at the 2010 census...
- Bridgehaven
- Buena Vista
- Cadwell
- Camp Meeker
Camp Meeker, California is an unincorporated village located on the Bohemian Highway, between Occidental and Monte Rio. It has approximately 350 homes on properties ranging from a couple thousand square feet to many acres, some flat and sunny, some on steep narrow gauge railroad type one-way streets...
- Carmet
Carmet is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California. Carmet sits at an elevation of . The 2010 United States census reported Carmet's population was 47.-Geography:...
- Carneros
- Cazadero
Cazadero is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in western Sonoma County, California, United States with a population of 354 as of the 2010 Census. Nearby towns include Jenner, Annapolis, Stewart's Point, Duncans Mills, Villa Grande, Rio Nido, Guerneville, Monte Rio, and The Sea Ranch...
- Cozzens Corners
- Cunningham
- Diamond A Ranch
- Duncans Mills
Duncans Mills is an unincorporated town located in Sonoma County, California.-Geography:Duncans Mills is located at on the Russian River about from the Pacific Ocean...
- El Bonita
- El Verano
El Verano is a census-designated place in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 4,123 at the 2010 census....
- Eldridge
Eldridge is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,233 at the 2010 census. It is notably the home to the Sonoma Developmental Center, the largest facility serving the needs of persons with developmental disabilities in the...
|
Fetters Hot Springs
-Agua CalienteFetters Hot Springs-Agua Caliente is a census-designated place in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 4,144....
Forest Hills
ForestvilleForestville is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States. The town came into existence during the late 1860s and was originally named Forrestville, after one its founders, but the spelling long ago became standardized with one "r". The population was 3,293 at the 2010...
FreestoneFreestone is a small, unincorporated community in Sonoma County, California, USA located at the intersection of Bohemian Highway and Bodega Highway. It's west of Sebastopol along Salmon Creek on the U.S...
FultonFulton is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States. Fulton is just to the north of the city limits of Santa Rosa, and north-northeast of Sebastopol. Fulton has a post office with ZIP code 95439, which was established in 1871. The community is named after Thomas and...
The GeysersThe Geysers is a complex of 22 geothermal power plants, drawing steam from more than 350 wells, located in the Mayacamas Mountains north of San Francisco, California.The largest in the world, the Geysers has...
GeyservilleGeyserville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, USA. Located in the Wine Country, it is noted by tourists for its restaurants, bed and breakfast inns, and wineries...
Glen EllenGlen Ellen is a census-designated place in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA. The population was 784 at the 2010 census, down from 992 at the 2000 census. Glen Ellen is the location of Jack London State Historic Park , Sonoma Valley Regional Park, and a former home of Hunter S....
GratonGraton is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in west Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,707 at the 2010 census. Graton's ZIP code is 95444.-Geography:...
GuernevilleGuerneville is a town in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County, California, USA. A popular vacation destination for couples and families as well as corporate retreats and family and friend reunions, Guerneville is well-known for its natural beauty, laid-back attitude, friendly population, good...
Guernewood Park-East Guernewood-West Guernewood
Hacienda
Hessel
Hilton
Hollydale
JennerJenner is a small coastal town and census-designated place with a population of about 136 in Sonoma County, California, U.S. It is located on the Pacific coast near the mouth of the Russian River. State Route 1 runs through the town and State Route 116 runs nearby, along the Russian River...
Jimtown
Kellogg
KenwoodKenwood, California is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States, located on Sonoma Highway between the cities Santa Rosa and Sonoma. It lies east of Sonoma Creek in the upper part of Sonoma Valley, a region sometimes called the Valley of the...
Knowles Corner
Korbel |
LakevilleLakeville is an unincorporated community in Sonoma County, California, United States. It is located near the Petaluma River about southeast of Petaluma....
Larkfield-WikiupLarkfield-Wikiup is a census-designated place unincorporated area in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 8,884 at the 2010 census, up from 7,479 at the 2000 census...
Lytton
Mark WestMark West is an unincorporated community immediately north of Santa Rosa, California in Sonoma County, California, USA. Mark West is located along Mark West Springs Road adjacent to U.S. Highway 101...
Mark West Springs
Mercuryville
Mesa Grande
Mirabel Heights
Mirabel Park
Mission Highlands
Monte Cristo
Monte RioMonte Rio is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California along the Russian River near the Pacific Ocean. The town of Guerneville lies east of Monte Rio, and Jenner is slightly north-west. The population was 1,152 at the 2010 census, up from 1,104 at the 2000 census...
Montesano
Noel Heights
Northwood
Oakmont
OccidentalOccidental is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,115 at the 2010 census, down from 1,272 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Occidental is located at...
Odd Fellows Park
PenngrovePenngrove is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States, situated between the cities of Petaluma and Cotati, at the foot of Sonoma Mountain. It is part of the North Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area...
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Rio Dell Rio Dell is an unincorporated community in Sonoma County, California, United States. It is located on the south bank of the Russian River about north of Forestville. It adjoins Steelhead Beach Regional Park, which provides a beach, picnic area, and a small craft launching area.The main road is...
Rio NidoRio Nido, California is a small, unincorporated resort community on the Russian River, east of Guerneville, in Sonoma County. The town's name is meant to mean "river nest" in Spanish...
Rolands
RoselandRoseland is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States. It is located southwest of Santa Rosa. As of the 2010 census, the population was 6,325....
Russian River Terrace
Salmon CreekSalmon Creek is an unincorporated settlement and census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, U.S. It is located on the Pacific coast about 90 minutes drive north of San Francisco, between the towns of Jenner and Bodega Bay, California...
SchellvilleSchellville is an unincorporated community in Sonoma County, California, United States. Schellville is located at the junction of California State Route 12 and California State Route 121 south of Sonoma...
Sea Ranch
Serena del Mar
Soda Springs
Summerhome Park
TemelecTemelec is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,441 at the 2010 census.-Temelec Hall:...
Two RockTwo Rock is an unincorporated community in Sonoma County, California, United States. It is located on Stemple Creek in a rural area west of Petaluma...
Valley FordValley Ford is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in western Sonoma County, California, United States. It is located on State Route 1 in an area of rolling hills about 75 minutes north of San Francisco by automobile...
Venada
Vacation Beach
Villa GrandeVilla Grande is an unincorporated community in Sonoma County, California, United States. Villa Grande is located on the Russian River southwest of Guerneville. Villa Grande has a post office with ZIP code 95486, which was established in 1921....
VineburgVineburg is an unincorporated community in Sonoma County, California, United States. Vineburg is southeast of Sonoma. Vineburg has a post office with ZIP code 95487, which was established in 1897....
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Adjacent counties
- Mendocino County, California
Mendocino County is a county located on the north coast of the U.S. state of California, north of the greater San Francisco Bay Area and west of the Central Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 87,841, up from 86,265 at the 2000 census...
- north
- Lake County, California
Lake County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of California, north of the San Francisco Bay Area. It takes its name from Clear Lake, the dominant geographic feature in the county and the largest natural lake wholly within California...
- northeast
- Napa County, California
Napa County is a county located north of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is coterminous with the Napa, California, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010 the population is 136,484. The county seat is Napa....
- east
- Solano County, California
Solano County is a county located in Bay-Delta region of the U.S. state of California, about halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento and is one of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. The county's population was reported by the U.S. Census to be 413,344 in 2010...
- southeast
- Marin County, California
Marin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...
-south
- Contra Costa County, California
Contra Costa County is a primarily suburban county in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,049,025...
- southeast (across San Pablo Bay)
Major highways
U.S. Route 101
U.S. Route 101 is the westernmost
Federal highwayThe system of United States Numbered Highways is an integrated system of roads and highways in the United States numbered within a nationwide grid...
in the U.S.A. Running north/south through the states of California,
OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, and Washington, it generally parallels the coastline from the
Mexican borderThe United States–Mexico border is the international border between the United States and Mexico. It runs from Imperial Beach, California, and Tijuana, Baja California, in the west to Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and Brownsville, Texas, in the east, and traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from major...
to the Canadian border. Highway 101 links seven of the county's nine incorporated cities: Cloverdale, Healdsburg, Windsor, Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Cotati, and Petaluma. It is a freeway for almost its entire length within the county, except for a section south of Petaluma.
The four-lane sections of the highway have been heavily congested during peak commute hours for many years. The part of the highway between Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park was widened to six lanes, with the section within Santa Rosa (between Highway 12 and Steele Lane) being completed in late 2008. The two new inner lanes are designated for vehicles with two or more occupants during commute hours. The next section due to be expanded from four to six lanes is between Santa Rosa and Windsor.
State Route 1State Route 1 , more often called Highway 1, is a state highway that runs along much of the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. It is famous for running along some of the most beautiful coastlines in the world, leading to its designation as an All-American Road.Highway 1 does not run...
Within Sonoma County, Highway 1 follows the coastline from the Mendocino County border, at the mouth of the Gualala River, to the Marin County border, at the Estero Americano (
Americano CreekAmericano Creek is a long westward-flowing stream in the California counties of Sonoma and Marin, which flows into the Estero Americano, a long estuary, and thence to the Pacific Ocean. This article covers both watercourses.-Course:...
), east of Bodega Bay.
State Route 12
Highway 12 runs eastward from its intersection with Highway 116 in Sebastopol to Santa Rosa. There it turns south through the Valley of the Moon to Sonoma, then east into Napa County. The four-lane freeway section within Santa Rosa, between Fulton Road and Farmers Lane, is called the Luther Burbank Memorial Highway. That section, especially where it crosses Highway 101, is severely congested during peak commute hours.
The two-lane Bodega Highway runs west from the intersection of Highways 12 and 116 in Sebastopol, through the coastal hills to its intersection with Highway 1, east of Bodega Bay. East of Santa Rosa, Highway 12 is also called Sonoma Highway; and east of Sonoma, Carneros Highway.
State Route 37State Route 37 is a state highway in the northern part of the U.S. state of California that runs 21 miles along the northern shore of San Pablo Bay. It is built from U.S. Route 101 in Novato and runs through the southern tips of Sonoma and Napa Counties to Interstate 80 in Vallejo...
Highway 37 connects Highway 101 at Novato, in Marin County, with Interstate 80 in Vallejo, in Solano County, at the top of San Pablo Bay. Within Sonoma County, it is also called Sears Point Road.
State Route 116State Route 116 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California in Sonoma County. The route runs from State Route 1 on the Pacific coast near Jenner to State Route 121 south of Sonoma.-Route description:...
Highway 116 is a winding, two-lane rural route that runs from Jenner, at the mouth of the Russian River on the coast, southeast to Arnold Drive near Sonoma. It is also called Guerneville Highway, between Guerneville and Forestville; Gravenstein Highway North, between Forestville and Sebastopol; and Gravenstein Highway South, between Sebastopol and Stony Point Road, west of Rohnert Park. East of Petaluma it is Lakeville Highway, then Stage Gulch Road.
State Route 121State Route 121 is a California state highway in the Wine Country that runs northerly from its junction with State Route 37 at Sears Point, past the Tolay Lake basin and across Tolay Creek near Infineon Raceway, veers east at a junction with State Route 116 and Bonneau Road at Schellville, runs...
Highway 121 is a two-lane rural route running from Highway 37 near Sears Point Raceway to Highway 128 in Lake Berryessa.
State Route 128State Route 128 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California, connecting the Mendocino coast to the Central Valley through the state's Wine Country.-Route description:...
The northernmost section of Highway 128 is a two-lane rural route running southeast from Highway 101 at Geyserville, north of Healdsburg, through the Alexander Valley into Napa County.
Public transportation
- Sonoma County Transit
Sonoma County Transit is a public transportation system based in Sonoma County, California.-Cities and communities served:As the primary bus system in the county, Sonoma County Transit operates to the following communities, listed by zones from south to north:Sonoma Coast and Russian River:*...
is the countywide transit operator, providing service to all cities in Sonoma County.
- Santa Rosa Transit provides bus routes in and near the city of Santa Rosa.
- The cities of Healdsburg and Petaluma also provide their own local bus service.
- Golden Gate Transit
Golden Gate Transit is a public transportation system serving the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in California, United States. It mainly serves Marin and Sonoma Counties, and also provides limited service to San Francisco and Contra Costa County.Golden Gate Transit is one of three...
connects Santa Rosa and points south with Marin County and San Francisco.
- Mendocino Transit Authority
The Mendocino Transit Authority is a public bus system that serves Ukiah, the Mendocino Valley, and coastal regions of Mendocino County, California.-Routes:MTA operates several routes, most of which radiate from Ukiah.-External links:*...
runs north from Santa Rosa to Ukiah (via US 101) and to the coast (via California Routes 12 and 1).
- Valley of the Moon Commuter Club express service to San Francisco
Sonoma-Marin Area Rail TransitThe SMART or Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit project is a future passenger rail service and high density housing project in Northern California, USA, to serve Sonoma and Marin counties. The project was approved with passage of Measure "Q" by the voters in 2008 by the required 2/3 vote...
/SMART is a commuter rail system planned to go between
LarkspurLarkspur is a city in Marin County, California, United States. Larkspur is located south of San Rafael, at an elevation of . As of the 2010 Census, the city's population was 11,926. Larkspur is located north of San Francisco near Mount Tamalpais. Larkspur's Police Department is shared with that...
in Marin County and Cloverdale in Sonoma County. A sales tax surcharge measure to finance it narrowly failed in the 2006 election, but passed in 2008.
Airports
- The Charles M. Schulz - Sonoma County Airport
Charles M. Schulz – Sonoma County Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located 6 nautical miles northwest of downtown Santa Rosa, a city in Sonoma County, California, United States. It serves the county and surrounding areas of Wine Country in California.The airport is named after Charles M...
is at 2290 Airport Boulevard, west of Highway 101, between Santa Rosa and Windsor. Its main runway is 5,115 feet (1559 m) long and 150 feet (46 m) wide, and can accommodate planes up to 95,000 pounds (43,000 kg) maximum gross take off weight. It offers fuel, major maintenance, hangarA hangar is a closed structure to hold aircraft or spacecraft in protective storage. Most hangars are built of metal, but other materials such as wood and concrete are also sometimes used...
space, and tie-downs for local and transient aircraftAn aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
. Horizon AirHorizon Air Industries, Inc. is a regional low-cost airline based in SeaTac, Washington, United States. It is the eighth largest regional airline in the USA, serving 52 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico....
, of Seattle, Washington, offers regular daily commercial flights.
- Cloverdale Municipal Airport
Cloverdale Municipal Airport is a public airport located three miles southeast of Cloverdale, serving Sonoma County, California, USA. The airport is mostly used for general aviation...
- Healdsburg Municipal Airport
Healdsburg Municipal Airport is a public airport located three miles northwest of Healdsburg, serving Sonoma County, California, USA...
- Petaluma Municipal Airport
Petaluma Municipal Airport is a public airport located one mile northeast of the central business district of Petaluma, a city in Sonoma County, California, USA. The airport covers and has one runway 3601 x 75 feet. It is mostly used for general aviation.-External links:*-See also:*List of...
- Sonoma Skypark
Sonoma Skypark is a public-use airport located three miles southeast of the central business district of Sonoma, a city in Sonoma County, California, United States...
- Sonoma Valley Airport
Sonoma Valley Airport is a public-use airstrip opened on August 1959 in Schellville, Sonoma, California, USA. Located south of central district of Sonoma and north of San Francisco , the airfield offers two asphalt runways, of which the 17/35 is restricted, with prior permission required.Open...
Railroads
The Petaluma and Haystack Railroad connected the city of Petaluma to a
ferries of San Francisco BaySan Francisco Bay in California has been served by ferries of all types for over 150 years. Although the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge led to the decline in the importance of most ferries, some are still in use today for both commuters and...
landing at the head of navigation on the Petaluma River in 1864.
The
San Francisco and North Pacific RailroadSan Francisco and North Pacific Railroad provided the first extensive standard gauge rail service to Sonoma County and became the southern end of the regional Northwestern Pacific Railroad...
(SF&NP) connected the City of Santa Rosa to ferry connections at Donahue landing on the Petaluma River in 1870. Rail service was extended north to Healdsburg in 1871 and Cloverdale in 1872. In 1884 the railroad was extended south to an alternate ferry connection in
TiburonTiburon is an incorporated town in Marin County, California. It occupies most of the Tiburon Peninsula, which reaches south into the San Francisco Bay. The smaller city of Belvedere occupies the south-east part of the peninsula and is contiguous with Tiburon...
. This rail line will be used by the
Sonoma-Marin Area Rail TransitThe SMART or Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit project is a future passenger rail service and high density housing project in Northern California, USA, to serve Sonoma and Marin counties. The project was approved with passage of Measure "Q" by the voters in 2008 by the required 2/3 vote...
.
The 3-foot-gauge
North Pacific Coast RailroadThe North Pacific Coast Railroad was a common carrier narrow gauge steam railroad begun in 1874 and sold in 1902 to new owners who renamed it the North Shore Railroad and which rebuilt the southern section into a standard gauge electric railroad.The NPC operated in the northern California...
extended northward in 1876 from a ferry connection at Sausalito through Valley Ford, Freestone and Occidental to Monte Rio on the lower Russian River. Service was extended to Duncan Mills in 1877 and Cazadero in 1885. The
standard gaugeThe standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
Fulton and Guerneville Railroad left the SF&NP at Fulton to reach Korbel in 1876 and Guerneville in 1877. Standard-gauge rails were extended down-river to Duncan Mills in 1909 after the
Northwestern Pacific RailroadThe Northwestern Pacific Railroad is a regional railroad serving California's North Coast. The railroad currently runs on 62 miles of the 462 mile main line, stretching from Schellville, California to Eureka, California...
merger, and narrow-gauge service was discontinued in 1930.
The unique Sonoma Valley Prismoidal Railway linked the city of Sonoma to bay ferries in 1876, and was replaced in 1879 by the 3 foot (0.9144 m)-gauge Sonoma Valley Railroad to a ferry landing near the mouth of the Petaluma River. Service was extended from Sonoma to Glen Ellen in 1882. The southern end of the line was extended westward in 1888 to a connection with the SF&NP at
IgnacioIgnacio is an unincorporated community in Marin County, California. It is located southeast of downtown Novato, at an elevation of 30 feet ....
. This line was converted to standard-gauge in 1890 and remains (in 2009) as Sonoma County's connection to the national rail system at Schellville.
Southern Pacific subsidiary Santa Rosa and Carquinez Railroad extended eastward in 1888 to link Santa Rosa with the national rail system.
A SF&NP branch line from Santa Rosa brought rail service to Sebastopol in 1890. The
Petaluma and Santa Rosa RailroadThe Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railroad was an electric interurban railway in Sonoma County, California, United States. It operated between the cities of Petaluma, Sebastopol, Forestville, and Santa Rosa...
extended
interurbanAn interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...
service north from a ferry connection in Petaluma to reach Sebastopol in 1904, Santa Rosa in 1905, and Forestville in 1906.
Demographics
2010
The 2010 United States Census reported that Sonoma County had a population of 483,878. The racial makeup of Sonoma County was 371,412 (76.8%) White, 7,610 (1.6%) African American, 6,489 (1.3%) Native American, 18,341 (3.8%) Asian, 1,558 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 56,966 (11.8%) from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 21,502 (4.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 120,430 persons (24.9%).
| Population reported at 2010 United States Census |
| The County |
Total
Population |
White |
African
American |
Native
American |
Asian |
Pacific
Islander |
other
racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
|
two or
more races |
Hispanic
or Latino
(of any race) |
| Sonoma County |
483,878 |
371,412 |
7,610 |
6,489 |
18,341 |
1,558 |
56,966 |
21,502 |
120,430 |
Incorporated
cities and towns |
Total
Population |
White |
African
American |
Native
American |
Asian |
Pacific
Islander |
other
racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
|
two or
more races |
Hispanic
or Latino
(of any race) |
| Cloverdale Cloverdale is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States. The San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad reached Cloverdale in 1872. The Cloverdale Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California is headquartered here...
|
8,618 |
6,458 |
48 |
156 |
98 |
7 |
1,530 |
321 |
2,824 |
| Cotati Cotati is an incorporated city in Sonoma County, California, U.S.A., located about north of San Francisco in the 101 corridor between Rohnert Park and Petaluma....
|
7,265 |
5,929 |
122 |
75 |
283 |
30 |
427 |
399 |
1,255 |
| Healdsburg Healdsburg is a city located in Sonoma County, California, in the United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a population of 11,254...
|
11,254 |
8,334 |
56 |
205 |
125 |
18 |
2,133 |
383 |
3,820 |
| Petaluma Petaluma is a city in Sonoma County, California, in the United States. In the 2010 Census the population was 57,941.Located in Petaluma is the Rancho Petaluma Adobe, a National Historic Landmark. It was built beginning in 1836 by General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, then Commandant of the San...
|
57,941 |
46,566 |
801 |
353 |
2,607 |
129 |
5,103 |
2,382 |
12,453 |
Rohnert ParkRohnert Park is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located approximately north of San Francisco. The population at the 2010 United States Census was 40,971. It is an early planned city, modeled directly after Levittown, New York and Levittown, Pennsylvania. Rohnert Park is the...
|
40,971 |
31,178 |
759 |
407 |
2,144 |
179 |
3,967 |
2,337 |
9,068 |
Santa RosaSanta Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. The 2010 census reported a population of 167,815. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont and 26th...
|
167,815 |
119,158 |
4,079 |
2,808 |
8,746 |
810 |
23,723 |
8,491 |
47,970 |
| Sebastopol Sebastopol is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, approximately north of San Francisco. The population was 7,379 at the 2010 census, but its businesses also serve surrounding rural portions of Sonoma County, totaling about 50,000 people...
|
7,379 |
6,509 |
72 |
60 |
120 |
19 |
298 |
301 |
885 |
SonomaSonoma is a historically significant city in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA, surrounding its historic town plaza, a remnant of the town's Mexican colonial past. It was the capital of the short-lived California Republic...
|
10,648 |
9,242 |
52 |
56 |
300 |
23 |
711 |
264 |
1,634 |
| Windsor Windsor is an incorporated town in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 26,801 as of the 2010 census.-Geography:Windsor is located on U.S. Route 101 in the Russian River valley, about southeast of Healdsburg, California....
|
26,801 |
19,798 |
227 |
594 |
810 |
51 |
4,052 |
1,269 |
8,511 |
Census-designated
placesA census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
|
Total
Population |
White |
African
American |
Native
American |
Asian |
Pacific
Islander |
other
racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
|
two or
more races |
Hispanic
or Latino
(of any race) |
BloomfieldBloomfield is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, U.S. It is located in a rural area about southwest of Santa Rosa, California at the junction of Bloomfield Road and Valley Ford Road. Americano Creek flows westward along the south edge of the town.-History:Bloomfield is located...
|
345 |
282 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
52 |
7 |
62 |
BodegaBodega is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in Sonoma County in the U.S. state of California. The town had a population of 220 as of the 2010 Census.Bodega is located on Bodega Highway, about west of Freestone, California...
|
220 |
209 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
9 |
Bodega BayBodega Bay is a town and census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,077 at the 2010 census. The town is on the eastern side of Bodega Harbor, an inlet of Bodega Bay on the Pacific coast....
|
1,077 |
951 |
2 |
4 |
33 |
4 |
49 |
34 |
126 |
| Boyes Hot Springs Boyes Hot Springs is a census-designated place in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 6,656 people at the 2010 census...
|
6,656 |
4,505 |
48 |
91 |
84 |
9 |
1,674 |
245 |
3,270 |
| Carmet Carmet is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California. Carmet sits at an elevation of . The 2010 United States census reported Carmet's population was 47.-Geography:...
|
47 |
43 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
CazaderoCazadero is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in western Sonoma County, California, United States with a population of 354 as of the 2010 Census. Nearby towns include Jenner, Annapolis, Stewart's Point, Duncans Mills, Villa Grande, Rio Nido, Guerneville, Monte Rio, and The Sea Ranch...
|
354 |
318 |
1 |
7 |
5 |
0 |
5 |
18 |
23 |
| El Verano El Verano is a census-designated place in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 4,123 at the 2010 census....
|
4,123 |
3,054 |
22 |
22 |
101 |
12 |
717 |
195 |
1,559 |
| Eldridge Eldridge is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,233 at the 2010 census. It is notably the home to the Sonoma Developmental Center, the largest facility serving the needs of persons with developmental disabilities in the...
|
1,233 |
988 |
10 |
3 |
36 |
6 |
144 |
46 |
325 |
| Fetters Hot Springs-Agua Caliente Fetters Hot Springs-Agua Caliente is a census-designated place in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 4,144....
|
4,144 |
2,926 |
25 |
39 |
68 |
8 |
895 |
183 |
1,925 |
| Forestville Forestville is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States. The town came into existence during the late 1860s and was originally named Forrestville, after one its founders, but the spelling long ago became standardized with one "r". The population was 3,293 at the 2010...
|
3,293 |
2,914 |
32 |
36 |
53 |
6 |
153 |
99 |
406 |
| Fulton Fulton is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States. Fulton is just to the north of the city limits of Santa Rosa, and north-northeast of Sebastopol. Fulton has a post office with ZIP code 95439, which was established in 1871. The community is named after Thomas and...
|
541 |
349 |
3 |
12 |
11 |
1 |
149 |
16 |
186 |
| Geyserville Geyserville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, USA. Located in the Wine Country, it is noted by tourists for its restaurants, bed and breakfast inns, and wineries...
|
862 |
609 |
5 |
7 |
14 |
0 |
192 |
35 |
328 |
Glen EllenGlen Ellen is a census-designated place in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA. The population was 784 at the 2010 census, down from 992 at the 2000 census. Glen Ellen is the location of Jack London State Historic Park , Sonoma Valley Regional Park, and a former home of Hunter S....
|
784 |
693 |
3 |
9 |
16 |
3 |
18 |
42 |
67 |
| Graton Graton is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in west Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,707 at the 2010 census. Graton's ZIP code is 95444.-Geography:...
|
1,707 |
1,402 |
10 |
29 |
25 |
3 |
144 |
94 |
322 |
GuernevilleGuerneville is a town in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County, California, USA. A popular vacation destination for couples and families as well as corporate retreats and family and friend reunions, Guerneville is well-known for its natural beauty, laid-back attitude, friendly population, good...
|
4,534 |
3,926 |
31 |
68 |
47 |
12 |
226 |
224 |
553 |
JennerJenner is a small coastal town and census-designated place with a population of about 136 in Sonoma County, California, U.S. It is located on the Pacific coast near the mouth of the Russian River. State Route 1 runs through the town and State Route 116 runs nearby, along the Russian River...
|
136 |
125 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
8 |
KenwoodKenwood, California is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States, located on Sonoma Highway between the cities Santa Rosa and Sonoma. It lies east of Sonoma Creek in the upper part of Sonoma Valley, a region sometimes called the Valley of the...
|
1,028 |
930 |
1 |
1 |
23 |
2 |
45 |
26 |
79 |
| Larkfield-Wikiup Larkfield-Wikiup is a census-designated place unincorporated area in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 8,884 at the 2010 census, up from 7,479 at the 2000 census...
|
8,884 |
7,042 |
81 |
168 |
292 |
19 |
878 |
404 |
1,979 |
| Monte Rio Monte Rio is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California along the Russian River near the Pacific Ocean. The town of Guerneville lies east of Monte Rio, and Jenner is slightly north-west. The population was 1,152 at the 2010 census, up from 1,104 at the 2000 census...
|
1,152 |
1,047 |
10 |
6 |
11 |
1 |
16 |
61 |
79 |
OccidentalOccidental is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,115 at the 2010 census, down from 1,272 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Occidental is located at...
|
1,115 |
992 |
7 |
7 |
31 |
0 |
23 |
55 |
81 |
PenngrovePenngrove is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States, situated between the cities of Petaluma and Cotati, at the foot of Sonoma Mountain. It is part of the North Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area...
|
2,522 |
2,212 |
19 |
24 |
54 |
2 |
112 |
99 |
292 |
| Roseland Roseland is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States. It is located southwest of Santa Rosa. As of the 2010 census, the population was 6,325....
|
6,325 |
3,235 |
130 |
224 |
276 |
15 |
2,078 |
367 |
3,773 |
Salmon CreekSalmon Creek is an unincorporated settlement and census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, U.S. It is located on the Pacific coast about 90 minutes drive north of San Francisco, between the towns of Jenner and Bodega Bay, California...
|
86 |
86 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Sea Ranch |
1,305 |
1,220 |
15 |
3 |
10 |
0 |
37 |
20 |
117 |
| Sereno del Mar Sereno del Mar is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California. Sereno del Mar sits at an elevation of . The 2010 United States census reported Sereno del Mar's population was 126.-Geography:...
|
126 |
118 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
8 |
| Temelec Temelec is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,441 at the 2010 census.-Temelec Hall:...
|
1,441 |
1,376 |
4 |
4 |
31 |
5 |
5 |
16 |
68 |
| Timber Cove Timber Cove is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California. Timber Cove sits at an elevation of . The 2010 United States census reported Timber Cove's population was 164.-Geography:...
|
164 |
152 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
9 |
| Valley Ford Valley Ford is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in western Sonoma County, California, United States. It is located on State Route 1 in an area of rolling hills about 75 minutes north of San Francisco by automobile...
|
147 |
105 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
33 |
8 |
52 |
Unincorporated
communitiesIn law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
|
Total
Population |
White |
African
American |
Native
American |
Asian |
Pacific
Islander |
other
racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
|
two or
more races |
Hispanic
or Latino
(of any race) |
| All others not CDPs (combined) |
90,835 |
76,431 |
930 |
1,008 |
1,871 |
183 |
7,375 |
3,037 |
16,303 |
2000
At the 2000
censusA census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, there were 458,614 people, 172,403 households, and 112,406 families in Sonoma County. The population density was 291/sq mi (112/km²). There were 183,153 housing units at an average density of 116/sq mi (45/km²).
Of the 172,403 households, 50.3% were married couples living together, 34.8% were non-families, and 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present. 31.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.7% were individuals, and 10.00% were 65 years of age or older living alone. The average household size was 2.60, and the average family size was 3.12.
The median age was 38 years. 24.5% were under 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94 males.
The median household income was $53,076, and the median family income was $61,921. Males had a median income of $42,035, females $32,022. The
per capita incomePer capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the county was $25,724. About 4.7% of families and 8.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.4% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Sonoma County's governing board and legislative body is a five-member Board of Supervisors. Supervisors are elected by district at the Consolidated Primary Election, and serve for four years. The Supervisors also sit as directors of several local jurisdictions, such as the Water Agency, and Agricultural Preservation & Open Space District.
Three current Supervisors were elected in 2008: Valerie Brown (Sonoma Valley—1st District), Shirlee Zane (Santa Rosa—3rd District), and Efren Carrillo (Sebastopol/West County—5th District); and two in 2010: David Rabbitt (Petaluma—2nd District) and Mike McGuire (Healdsburg—4th District). Carrillo is the current Chair (2010). Rabbitt and McGuire are freshman supervisors.
The Supervisors appoint the members of 59 boards, commissions, and committees.
The County Administrator is the county's chief executive officer, reporting to the Board of Supervisors. The administrator manages the county's departments, such as the regional parks department.
On December 15, 2009, the Board announced the appointment of Veronica Ferguson to be the first woman County Administrator. She assumed office on February 1, 2010.
Places of interest
- Sonoma Coast State Beach
Sonoma Coast State Beach is a State of California property in Sonoma County consisting of public access use on lands adjoining the Pacific Ocean. This extent of beach runs from a coastal point about north of Jenner and continues for approximately to the south to terminate at Bodega Head...
, including Arched Rock Beach, Gleason Beach and Goat Rock BeachGoat Rock Beach is a sand beach in northwestern Sonoma County, California, United States.This landform is a sub-unit of Sonoma Coast State Beach, owned and managed by the State of California...
.
- Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay is a shallow, rocky inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of northern California in the United States. It is approximately across and is located approximately northwest of San Francisco and west of Santa Rosa...
- Fort Ross, former Russian fur trade outpost
- Luther Burbank
Luther Burbank was an American botanist, horticulturist and a pioneer in agricultural science.He developed more than 800 strains and varieties of plants over his 54-year career. Burbank's varied creations included fruits, flowers, grains, grasses, and vegetables...
Home and GardensLuther Burbank Home and Gardens is a city park containing the former home, greenhouse, gardens, and grave of noted American horticulturist Luther Burbank . It is located at the intersection of Santa Rosa Avenue and Sonoma Avenue in Santa Rosa, California, in the United States. The park is open...
- Luther Burbank
Luther Burbank was an American botanist, horticulturist and a pioneer in agricultural science.He developed more than 800 strains and varieties of plants over his 54-year career. Burbank's varied creations included fruits, flowers, grains, grasses, and vegetables...
Gold Ridge Experiment FarmLuther Burbank's Gold Ridge Experiment Farm is the official name of the that remain of the farm originally purchased in 1885 by famed plant breeder, Luther Burbank , in an area of Sebastopol, California, formerly known as the "Gold Ridge District". To these , Burbank added in 1904 and in 1906...
- Quarryhill Botanic Garden
The Quarryhill Botanical Garden is a research botanical garden housing one of the largest collections of temperate Asian plants in North America...
- Lake Sonoma
Lake Sonoma is a reservoir west of Healdsburg in northern Sonoma County, California, U.S.A., created by the construction of Warm Springs Dam. Access from U.S. Route 101 is by way of Dry Creek Road from Healdsburg....
- Tolay Lake Regional Park
Tolay Lake is a shallow freshwater lacustrine water body in southern Sonoma County, California, United States. The lake, nestled within the southern vestiges of the Sonoma Mountains, is the site of significant Native American prehistoric seasonal settlement...
- Jack London State Historic Park
Jack London State Historic Park, also known as Jack London Home and Ranch, is a California State Historic Park near Glen Ellen, California, United States, situated on the eastern slope of Sonoma Mountain...
, author Jack London's Beauty Ranch, in Glen EllenGlen Ellen is a census-designated place in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA. The population was 784 at the 2010 census, down from 992 at the 2000 census. Glen Ellen is the location of Jack London State Historic Park , Sonoma Valley Regional Park, and a former home of Hunter S....
- Rancho Petaluma Adobe
Rancho Petaluma Adobe is the name of a historic ranch house built from adobe bricks that was owned and constructed by General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, commandant of the Sonoma Pueblo from 1834 to 1857. It is the largest example of the Monterey Colonial style of architecture in the United States...
- Mission San Francisco Solano
Mission San Francisco Solano was founded on July 4, 1823, and named for Francis Solanus, a missionary to the Indians of Peru born in Montilla, Spain, known as the "Wonder Worker of the New World." Originally planned as an asistencia to Mission San Rafael Arcángel, it is the northernmost Alta...
, across from Sonoma Plaza
- Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve
Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve is a state park of California, USA, preserving of Coast redwood trees . The reserve is located in Sonoma County just north of Guerneville, California....
- Stillwater Cove
Stillwater Cove is an inlet between the museum and town of Fort Ross, California and Salt Point State Park. This cove has beautiful views, a beach marked as having dangerous currents, and nearby plentiful red abalone. A loading zone but no parking is available at the cove...
- Sonoma TrainTown Railroad Miniature train amusement park opened in 1968. Train gauge is 1/4 scale.
Economy
Forbes Magazine ranked the Santa Rosa metropolitan area—essentially the entire county—185th out of 200, on its 2007 list of Best Places For Business And Careers. It was second on the list five years before. Sonoma County was downgraded because of an increase in the cost of doing business, and reduced job growth, both blamed on increases in the cost of housing.
Viticulture
WinemakingWinemaking, or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruit or non-toxic plant material...
—both the growing of the grapes and their vinting—is an important part of the economic and cultural life of Sonoma County. In 2004, growers harvested 165,783
tonsThe short ton is a unit of mass equal to . In the United States it is often called simply ton without distinguishing it from the metric ton or the long ton ; rather, the other two are specifically noted. There are, however, some U.S...
(150,396
tonneThe tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
s) of wine grapes worth US$310 million. In 2006 the Sonoma County grape harvest amounted to over 185,000 tons, exceeding Napa County's harvest by over 30 percent. About 80 percent of non-pasture agricultural land in the county is for growing wine grapes—59,973 acres (242.70 km²) of
vineyardA vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
s, with over 1100 growers. The most common varieties planted are
ChardonnayChardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...
,
Cabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
, and
Pinot NoirPinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...
, though the area is also known for its
MerlotMerlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...
and
ZinfandelZinfandel is a variety of red grape planted in over 10 percent of California vineyards. DNA fingerprinting revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grape Crljenak Kaštelanski, and also the Primitivo variety traditionally grown in Puglia , where it was introduced in the 18th century...
.
Sonoma County is home to more than 250 wineries with eleven distinct and two shared
American Viticultural AreaAn American Viticultural Area is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States distinguishable by geographic features, with boundaries defined by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau , United States Department of the Treasury....
s, including the
Sonoma Valley AVAThe Sonoma Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area in Sonoma County, California, USA which centers on the Sonoma Valley in the southern portion of the county...
,
Russian River Valley AVAThe Russian River Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area in Sonoma County, California. Centered around the Russian River, the Russian River Valley AVA accounts for about one-sixth of the total planted vineyard acreage in Sonoma County. The appellation was granted AVA status in 1983 and...
, Alexander Valley AVA,
Bennett Valley AVAThe Bennett Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Sonoma County, California. The boundaries of this appellation lie completely within the North Coast AVA, almost completely within the Sonoma Valley AVA and overlaps into some areas of the Sonoma Coast AVA and Sonoma Mountain AVA...
and Dry Creek Valley AVA, the last of which is known for the production of high-quality
zinfandelZinfandel is a variety of red grape planted in over 10 percent of California vineyards. DNA fingerprinting revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grape Crljenak Kaštelanski, and also the Primitivo variety traditionally grown in Puglia , where it was introduced in the 18th century...
s.
Tourism
In addition, the county's progressive political environment have made the Guerneville area along the Russian River the home of a number of gay and lesbian resorts, which have catered to the San Francisco-area
LGBTLGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
weekend-getaway tourists since the 1970s.
Politics
Sonoma County vote
by party in presidential elections
| Year |
GOPThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
|
DEM The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
|
Others |
2008The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
|
73.7% 168,888 |
2.5% 5,817 |
| 2004 The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...
|
67.1% 148,261 |
1.9% 4,225 |
2000The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
|
59.4% 117,295 |
8.2% 16,182 |
1996The United States presidential election of 1996 was a contest between the Democratic national ticket of President Bill Clinton of Arkansas and Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee and the Republican national ticket of former Senator Bob Dole of Kansas for President and former Housing Secretary Jack...
|
55.6% 100,738 |
14.9% 27,004 |
1992The United States presidential election of 1992 had three major candidates: Incumbent Republican President George Bush; Democratic Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, and independent Texas businessman Ross Perot....
|
52.8% 104,334 |
23.1% 45,738 |
1988The United States presidential election of 1988 featured no incumbent president, as President Ronald Reagan was unable to seek re-election after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the Twenty-second Amendment. Reagan's Vice President, George H. W. Bush, won the Republican nomination, while the...
|
56.5% 91,262 |
1.6% 2,596 |
1984The United States presidential election of 1984 was a contest between the incumbent President Ronald Reagan, the Republican candidate, and former Vice President Walter Mondale, the Democratic candidate. Reagan was helped by a strong economic recovery from the deep recession of 1981–1982...
|
47.6% 71,295 |
1.3% 1,915 |
1980The United States presidential election of 1980 featured a contest between incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter and his Republican opponent, Ronald Reagan, as well as Republican Congressman John B. Anderson, who ran as an independent...
|
36.2% 45,596 |
15.6% 19,667 |
1976The United States presidential election of 1976 followed the resignation of President Richard Nixon in the wake of the Watergate scandal. It pitted incumbent President Gerald Ford, the Republican candidate, against the relatively unknown former governor of Georgia, Jimmy Carter, the Democratic...
|
47.5% 50,353 |
4.8% 5,044 |
1972The United States presidential election of 1972 was the 47th quadrennial United States presidential election. It was held on November 7, 1972. The Democratic Party's nomination was eventually won by Senator George McGovern, who ran an anti-war campaign against incumbent Republican President Richard...
|
41.5% 43,746 |
3.8% 3,991 |
1968The United States presidential election of 1968 was the 46th quadrennial United States presidential election. Coming four years after Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson won in a historic landslide, it saw Johnson forced out of the race and Republican Richard Nixon elected...
|
43.0% 33,587 |
8.2% 6,384 |
1964The United States presidential election of 1964 was held on November 3, 1964. Incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had come to office less than a year earlier following the assassination of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy. Johnson, who had successfully associated himself with Kennedy's...
|
61.5% 44,354 |
0.2% 105 |
1960The United States presidential election of 1960 was the 44th American presidential election, held on November 8, 1960, for the term beginning January 20, 1961, and ending January 20, 1965. The incumbent president, Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, was not eligible to run again. The Republican Party...
|
45.5% 29,147 |
0.4% 244 |
1956The United States presidential election of 1956 saw a popular Dwight D. Eisenhower successfully run for re-election. The 1956 election was a rematch of 1952, as Eisenhower's opponent in 1956 was Democrat Adlai Stevenson, whom Eisenhower had defeated four years earlier.Incumbent President Eisenhower...
|
37.9% 20,616 |
0.2% 86 |
1952The United States presidential election of 1952 took place in an era when Cold War tension between the United States and the Soviet Union was escalating rapidly. In the United States Senate, Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin had become a national figure after chairing congressional...
|
32.8% 17,675 |
1.1% 594 |
1948The United States presidential election of 1948 is considered by most historians as the greatest election upset in American history. Virtually every prediction indicated that incumbent President Harry S. Truman would be defeated by Republican Thomas E. Dewey. Truman won, overcoming a three-way...
|
40.1% 16,026 |
4.7% 1,881 |
1944The United States presidential election of 1944 took place while the United States was preoccupied with fighting World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had been in office longer than any other president, but remained popular. Unlike 1940, there was little doubt that Roosevelt would run for...
|
49.3% 15,949 |
0.3% 111 |
1940The United States presidential election of 1940 was fought in the shadow of World War II as the United States was emerging from the Great Depression. Incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt , a Democrat, broke with tradition and ran for a third term, which became a major issue...
|
47.0% 15,230 |
1.0% 330 |
1936The United States presidential election of 1936 was the most lopsided presidential election in the history of the United States in terms of electoral votes. In terms of the popular vote, it was the third biggest victory since the election of 1820, which was not seriously contested.The election took...
|
60.2% 17,273 |
0.9% 248 |
1932The United States presidential election of 1932 took place as the effects of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, the Revenue Act of 1932, and the Great Depression were being felt intensely across the country. President Herbert Hoover's popularity was falling as...
|
61.1% 15,686 |
3.2% 822 |
1928The United States presidential election of 1928 pitted Republican Herbert Hoover against Democrat Al Smith. The Republicans were identified with the booming economy of the 1920s, whereas Smith, a Roman Catholic, suffered politically from Anti-Catholic prejudice, his anti-prohibitionist stance, and...
|
39.4% 8,506 |
0.9% 194 |
1924The United States presidential election of 1924 was won by incumbent President Calvin Coolidge, the Republican candidate.Coolidge was vice-president under Warren G. Harding and became president in 1923 when Harding died in office. Coolidge was given credit for a booming economy at home and no...
|
10.4% 1,767 |
33.6% 5,726 |
1920The United States presidential election of 1920 was dominated by the aftermath of World War I and a hostile response to certain policies of Woodrow Wilson, the Democratic president. The wartime economic boom had collapsed. Politicians were arguing over peace treaties and the question of America's...
|
26.2% 4,070 |
6.9% 1,065 |
Sonoma County was strongly
RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
for most of the 20th century; between 1920 and 1984 the only Democrats to carry Sonoma were
Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
in 1932 and 1936 and
Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
in 1964. But as a result of demographic changes in recent decades, it is now a strongly Democratic county in
PresidentialThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
and
congressionalThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
elections. The last Republican to win a majority in the county was
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
in
1984The United States presidential election of 1984 was a contest between the incumbent President Ronald Reagan, the Republican candidate, and former Vice President Walter Mondale, the Democratic candidate. Reagan was helped by a strong economic recovery from the deep recession of 1981–1982...
, and the last Republican to represent a significant part of the county in Congress was
Donald H. ClausenDonald Holst Clausen is a former U.S. Representative from California.Born in Ferndale, California, Clausen graduated from elementary and high schools of Ferndale. He attended San José State University, California Polytechnic State University , Weber State University , and Saint Mary's College of...
.
Sonoma is part of California's
1stCalifornia's 1st congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S. state of California and presently consists of the northern coastline and includes Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino and Napa counties and parts of Sonoma and Yolo counties.The district is currently...
and
6thCalifornia's 6th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California that stretches up the Pacific coast north of the San Francisco Bay...
congressional districts, which are held by Democrats
Mike ThompsonMichael C. Thompson , is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes Napa, Lake, Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte Counties as well as parts of Yolo and Sonoma Counties....
and
Lynn WoolseyLynn C. Woolsey is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes all of Marin County and most of Sonoma County. She is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and its co-chair...
, respectively. In the
State AssemblyThe California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
, Sonoma is in the 1st 6th, and 7th districts, which are held by Democrats Wes Chesbro,
Jared HuffmanJared Huffman is the assemblyman for California's 6th State Assembly district, which includes all of Marin and southern Sonoma counties...
, and
Michael AllenMichael Allen is an American politician currently serving in the California State Assembly. He is a Democrat representing the 7th district, encompassing Napa County and parts of Solano and Sonoma counties...
, respectively. In the
State SenateThe California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...
, Sonoma is part of the 2nd and 3rd districts, which is held by Democrats
Noreen EvansNoreen Evans is an American politician in the California State Senate. She is a Democrat representing the 2nd district, encompassing Humboldt, Mendocino, Lake, and Napa counties, as well as parts of Sonoma and Solano counties....
and
Mark LenoMark Leno is an American politician, representing California's 3rd Senate district, which includes parts of San Francisco and Sonoma County, as well as the entirety of Marin County. He was elected in 2008 and is the first openly gay man to serve in the Senate...
, respectively.
On Nov. 4, 2008 Sonoma County voted 66.1 % against Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.
According to the California Secretary of State, as of April 2008, there are 235,175 registered voters in Sonoma County. Of those, 121,067 (51.5%) are registered Democratic, 58,410 (24.8%) are registered Republican, 4,871 (5.5%) are registered with other political parties, and 42,647 (18.1%) declined to state a political party. Every city, town, and the unincorporated areas of Sonoma County have more registered Democrats than Republicans.
Higher education
- Empire College
Empire College, located in Santa Rosa, California, is a private college accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools. The College began in 1961 with its School of Business, which offers an alternative to the traditional two- or four-year college program...
, Santa Rosa
- Golden Gate University
Golden Gate University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in the South of Market district, immediately south of the Financial District of downtown San Francisco, California...
(Rohnert Park satellite of Walnut CreekWalnut Creek is an incorporated city located east of the city of Oakland. It lies in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. While not as large as neighboring Concord, Walnut Creek serves as the business and entertainment hub for the neighboring cities within central Contra Costa...
Campus)
- Santa Rosa Junior College
Santa Rosa Junior College is a community college located in the city of Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, California. Founded in 1918, it is the tenth oldest community college in the state. Santa Rosa Junior College was modeled as a "junior" version of nearby University of California at Berkeley...
- Sonoma State University
Sonoma State University is a public, coeducational business and liberal arts college affiliated with the California State University system. The main campus is located in Rohnert Park, California, United States and lies approximately south of Santa Rosa and north of San Francisco...
, Rohnert Park
- University of Northern California, Santa Rosa
- University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco , is a private, Jesuit/Catholic university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco. It is the second oldest institution for higher learning in California and the tenth-oldest university of...
(Santa Rosa Campus)
The educational system of Sonoma County is similar to that of other counties in California.
Library system
The
Sonoma County Library system offers a Central Library in downtown Santa Rosa, as well as ten branch libraries and two rural stations. The system is also a member of the North Bay Cooperative Library System. More than half of Sonoma County's residents have library cards. They borrow over 2.5 million items a year. Expert reference librarians answer nearly half a million reference questions annually for individuals, businesses and government agencies. They offer instruction in the use of Library resources in such fields as genealogy, grant writing, and use of the Internet. During a typical school year over 750 classes, more than half the county total, either visit a library or are visited by a children's librarian. The Library operates an adult literacy program, training volunteers to tutor individuals who lack basic reading ability. Computer terminals are made available for free Internet access.
Museums
- The Pacific Coast Air Museum
The Pacific Coast Air Museum, in Santa Rosa, California, is dedicated to promoting and preserving aviation history through the acquisition, restoration, and display of historic aircraft. Founded in 1989, the museum is a non-profit organization, located about 8.5 miles northwest of downtown Santa...
is located on the southeast corner of the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport, next to the airplane hangar used in the 1963 Hollywood all-star comedy movie, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad WorldIt's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a 1963 American comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer about the madcap pursuit of $350,000 in stolen cash by a diverse and colorful group of strangers...
.
- Charles M. Schulz Museum Santa Rosa
- Sonoma County Museum
The Sonoma County Museum, in Santa Rosa, California, is dedicated to the Sonoma County region's history, art, and culture. Featuring between 15 and 18 exhibitions in art and history annually, the SCM is the only collecting art museum in the North Bay region. The museum presents tours, lectures,...
Santa Rosa
- Luther Burbank Home and Gardens
Luther Burbank Home and Gardens is a city park containing the former home, greenhouse, gardens, and grave of noted American horticulturist Luther Burbank . It is located at the intersection of Santa Rosa Avenue and Sonoma Avenue in Santa Rosa, California, in the United States. The park is open...
Santa Rosa
- Healdsburg Museum Healdsburg
- Hand Fan Museum of Healdsburg Healdsburg
- Petaluma Museum Petaluma
- Petaluma Wildlife & Natural Science Museum Petaluma
- Military Antiques Museum Petaluma
- Sonoma Valley Museum of Art
The Sonoma Valley Museum of Art is an art museum located in Sonoma, California, United States. Founded in 1998, the museum exhibits works by regional, national and international modern and contemporary artists.-History:...
Sonoma
- Depot Park Museum Sonoma
- West County Museum Sebastopol
- Cloverdale Historical Museum (aka The Gould-Shaw House Museum) Cloverdale
- California Indian Museum and Cultural Center Santa Rosa
Film locations
Due to the varied scenery in Sonoma County and proximity to the city of San Francisco, a large number of motion pictures have been filmed using venues within the county. Some of the earliest U.S. filmmaking occurred in Sonoma County such as
Salomy Jane (1914) and one of
Broncho Billy AndersonGilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson was an American actor, writer, film director, and film producer, who is best known as the first star of the Western film genre.-Early life:...
's 1915 Westerns. Many of these films are classics in American
cinematographyCinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
such as the 1947 film
The Farmer's Daughter (starring
Joseph CottenJoseph Cheshire Cotten was an American actor of stage and film. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original productions of The Philadelphia Story and Sabrina Fair...
and
Loretta YoungLoretta Young was an American actress. Starting as a child actress, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953...
) and two
Alfred HitchcockSir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
films,
Shadow of a DoubtShadow of a Doubt is a 1943 American thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten. Written by Thornton Wilder, Sally Benson, and Alma Reville, the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Story for Gordon McDonell...
of 1943, filmed and set in Santa Rosa and
The BirdsThe Birds is a 1963 horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on the 1952 short story "The Birds" by Daphne du Maurier. It depicts Bodega Bay, California which is, suddenly and for unexplained reasons, the subject of a series of widespread and violent bird attacks over the course of a few...
of 1963, filmed largely in Bodega Bay and Bodega. Many other modern classics have used Sonoma County as a filming venue, including
American GraffitiAmerican Graffiti is a 1973 coming of age film co-written/directed by George Lucas starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips and Harrison Ford...
, filmed largely in Petaluma.
A few other representative films produced partially in Sonoma County are:
Sonoma County
- 1965 The Third Day
The Third Day is a feature film released in 1965. It stars George Peppard and his then wife Elizabeth Ashley, and is a suspense thriller. It was largely ignored in cinemas and is rarely seen on television. It was directed by Jack Smight from a book by Joseph Hayes.-Plot:Steve Mallory has been...
- 1986 Peggy Sue Got Married
Peggy Sue Got Married is a 1986 American comedy-drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Kathleen Turner as a woman on the verge of a divorce, who finds herself transported back to the days of her senior year in high school...
- Petaluma, including a 1950s makeover of Washington St., the diner "Millie's Chili Bar" (rechristened as "The Donut Hole"), and exterior and interior shots of Santa Rosa High SchoolSanta Rosa High School is a secondary school located in Santa Rosa, California. It is part of the Santa Rosa City High School District, which is itself part of Santa Rosa City Schools. The main administration is formed by the Principal , a Vice Principal and an Assistant Principal...
.
- 1993 Nowhere to Run - Coleman Valley Road, Occidental, for farmhouse and pond scenes.
- 2001 The Man Who Wasn't There
The Man Who Wasn't There is a 2001 neo-noir film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Billy Bob Thornton stars in the title role. Also featured are James Gandolfini, Tony Shalhoub, Scarlett Johansson, Adam Alexi-Malle and Coen regulars Frances McDormand, Michael Badalucco, and Jon...
- 2001 Bandits
Bandits is a 2001 American crime-comedy drama film directed by Barry Levinson. It stars Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, and Cate Blanchett. Filming began in October 2000 and ended in February 2001. It helped Thornton earn a National Board of Review Best Actor Award for 2001...
- Flamingo Hotel, Clover milk truck featuring local icon "Clo the cow", and rural county roads.
Cloverdale
- 1993 So I Married an Axe Murderer
So I Married an Axe Murderer is a 1993 American comedy-horror film starring Mike Myers and Nancy Travis. Myers plays Charlie McKenzie, a man afraid of commitment until he meets Harriet , who works at a butcher shop and may be a serial killer...
- Cloverdale Airport.
Glen Ellen
- 1982 Shoot the Moon
Shoot the Moon is the title of the fourth album by singer-songwriter Judie Tzuke, released in April 1982. It was Tzuke's first album for Chrysalis Records, after leaving Elton John's label Rocket Records...
- Glen Ellen and Jack London's Wolf House. |
Petaluma
- 1977 Heroes
Heroes is a 1977 comedy drama film directed by Jeremy Kagan and starring Henry Winkler and co-starring Sally Field and Harrison Ford...
- Bus stop at corner of Kentucky and C streets. Walnut Street.
Russian River
- 1925 Braveheart - Along the river.
- 1942 Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn is a 1942 American musical film starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, with music by Irving Berlin. The film has twelve songs written expressly for the film, the most notable being "White Christmas"...
- Village Inn Lodge in Monte Rio as the "Holiday Inn" with tons of artificial snow.
Santa Rosa
- 1963 It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a 1963 American comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer about the madcap pursuit of $350,000 in stolen cash by a diverse and colorful group of strangers...
- Sequence involving the plane flying full bore, at about 150 knots, through an airplane hangar in less than a second, was shot at the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport.
Sebastopol
- 1949 Thieves' Highway
Thieves' Highway is a 1949 film noir directed by Jules Dassin. The screenplay was written by A. I. Bezzerides, based on his novel Thieves' Market.-Plot:...
- Gold Ridge Road.
Sonoma
- 1988 Tucker: The Man and His Dream
Tucker: The Man and His Dream is a 1988 biographical film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Jeff Bridges. The film recounts the story of Preston Tucker and his attempt to produce and market the 1948 Tucker Sedan, which was met with scandal between the "Big Three automobile...
.
- 1996 Scream
Scream is a 1996 American slasher film written by Kevin Williamson and directed by Wes Craven. The film stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Drew Barrymore, and David Arquette...
- Sonoma Community Center on East Napa Street. |
The town of Sonoma in southeast Sonoma County hosts the annual
Sonoma Valley Film FestivalThe Sonoma Valley Film Festival traditionally takes place in April in Sonoma, California and is hosted by the Sonoma Valley Film Society. The 10th anniversary of the film festival in 2007 honored two-time Academy Award winning director John Lasseter of Pixar and Disney Animation studios.The 11th...
, a nationally recognized event.
Law enforcement and crime
The Sonoma County Sheriff's Department is the law enforcement agency for the unincorporated area of the county. It also contracts to provide the police forces of the City of Sonoma and the Town of Windsor. The department has more than 1,000 employees, including more than 275 Deputy Sheriffs, in four Bureaus. More than 300 Correctional Officers and staff work in two jail facilities; Main Area Detention Facility ant the North County Detention Facility, with a total daily population of nearly 1,200 inmates. Police shootings in 2007 have led to calls for an independent civilian police review board.
See also
Further reading
- California Gazetteer. Wilmington: American Historical Publications, 1985.
- Finley, Ernest L. History of Sonoma County, California: Its People and Its Resources. Santa Rosa: Press Democrat Pub. Co., 1937
- Gille, Frank H. ed. The Encyclopedia of California, 1999. St. Clair Shores: Somerset Publishers, Inc., 1999.
- Gregory, Thomas Jefferson. History of Sonoma County, California, with Biographical Sketches of the Leading Men and Women of the County, Who Have Been Identified with Its Growth and Development from the Early Days to the Present Time. Los Angeles: Historic Record Company, 1911.
- Hansen, Harvey J. Wild Oats in Eden; Sonoma County in the 19th Century. Santa Rosa, 1962.
- Historical Atlas Maps of Sonoma County, California. Oakland: Thos. H. Thompson & Co., 1877.
- Taber, George M. Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting that Revolutionized Wine. NY: Scribner, 2005.
- Thompson, Robert A. Historical and Descriptive Sketch of Sonoma County, California. Philadelphia: L.H. Everts & Co., 1877.
- Tuomey, Honoria. History of Sonoma County, California. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1926.
External links