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California
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Sonoma County ca sealpng
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California map showing Sonoma Countypng
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250
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1850
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Santa Rosa
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4,580 Km&2 (1,768 Mi&2 )
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4,082 km&2 (1,576 mi&2)
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498 km&2 (192 mi&2)
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1088%
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2000
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458,614
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112
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is on the northwest coast of
California , one of the northernmost parts of the greater
San Francisco Bay Area ,
U.S. Its population at the 2000 census was 458,614. Its largest city and
County Seat is
Santa Rosa .
Sonoma is the southwestern county of California's and
Santa Rosa Junior College .
In earlier times, Sonoma County was the home to several distinct ed areas,
Coast al
Habitat , and other open space.
with
Vineyard s in foreground.]]
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau , Sonoma County has a total area of 1,768
Mi&2 (4,580
Km&2 ). 1,576 mi&
2 (4,082 km&
2) is land, and 192 mi&
2 (498 km&
2) (10.88%) is water. Adjacent counties are
Marin (to the south),
Mendocino (to the north),
Lake (northeast),
Napa (to the east) and
Solano (to the southeast).
The county lies in the and
Fairfield Osborn Preserve .
Distinct habitat areas within the county include oak
Understory , testifying to the absence of historic
Grazing or other
Agriculture .
Trees of the oak woodland habitat include
Pacific Madrone ,
Douglas Fir ,
Coast Live Oak ,
Garry Oak and
California Laurel . Common understory plants are
Toyon ,
Poison Oak , and at the fringes
Coast Silk-tassel .
, a native of the
Napa Sonoma Marsh .]]
A number of endangered plants and animals are found in Sonoma County including the
California Clapper Rail ,
Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse ,
Northern Red-legged Frog ,
Sacramento Splittail ,
California Freshwater Shrimp ,
Showy Indian Clover and
Hickman's Potentilla .
Species of special local concern include the
California Tiger Salamander and some endangered plants, including Burke's Goldfields (''Lasthenia burkei''), Sebastopol Meadowfoam (''
Limnanthes Vinculans ''), and Sonoma Sunshine or Baker's Stickyseed (''Blennosperma bakeri'').
Endangered species that are
Endemic to Sonoma County include Sebastopol Meadowfoam, Sonoma Sunshine, and
Pitkin Marsh Lily , ''Lilium pardalinum'' subsp ''Pitkinense''.
The Sonoma County Water Agency has had a Fisheries Enhancement Program since 1996. Its website says
{Link without Title} :
:"The primary focus of the FEP is to enhance habitat for three ,
Chinook Salmon , and
Coho Salmon . These three species are listed as threatened under the U.S.
Endangered Species Act . The California Department of Fish and Game considers the Coho salmon endangered."
as viewed from the Jenner Cliffs looking south, showing the mouth of the
Russian River at the
Pacific Ocean .]]
Sonoma County is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, and has 76 miles of coastline. The major coastal hydrographic features are
Bodega Bay , the mouth of the
Russian River , and the mouth of the
Gualala River , at the border with
Mendocino County .
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 Rosa .
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
Ukiah , and flows into
Lake Mendocino , a major flood control reservoir. The Russian flows south from the lake through Mendocino to Sonoma County, parallelled by Highway 101. It turns west at
Healdsburg , receiving water from
Lake Sonoma via
Dry Creek , and empties into the Pacific Ocean at
Jenner .
The
Laguna De Santa Rosa is the largest tributary of the Russian River. It is 14 miles (23 km) long, running north from Cotati to the Russian River near Forestville. Its flood plain is more than 7,500 acres (30 km&
2). It drains a 254 square mile (658 km&
2) watershed, including most of the Santa Rosa Plain.
The Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation says
{Link without Title} ,
:"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 30,000 acres (120 km&
2) and comprised of 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 Creek , which runs through Santa Rosa. Its major tributaries are
Brush Creek , Mark West Creek,
Matanzas Creek ,
Spring Creek and
Piner Creek .
The southwestern boundary with Marin County runs from the mouth of
Americano Creek at Bodega Bay, to the northwestern corner of
San Pablo Bay . The
Petaluma River ,
Tolay Creek , 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 Marsh .
Americano Creek , 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 Creek ,
Graham Creek ,
Calabazas Creek , Schell Creek and
Carriger Creek ;
Arroyo Seco Creek is tributary to Schell Creek.
Lakes and reservoirs in the county include
Lake Sonoma ,
Tolay Lake , and
Fountaingrove Lake .
The
Pomo ,
Coast Miwok and
Wappo peoples were the earliest human settlers of Sonoma County, between 5000 to 8000 BC, effectively living within the natural
Carrying Capacity of the land.
Spaniards ,
Russians , and other
Europe ans claimed and settled in the county from the late 16th to mid 19th century, seeking timber, fur, and farmland. Sonoma was one of California's original counties, created at the time of statehood in 1850. It contains many
Historical Monuments .
The
Mission San Francisco Solano , founded in 1823 as the last and northernmost of 21
California Missions , is in the present City of Sonoma, at the northern end of
El Camino Real .
El Presidio De Sonoma , or Sonoma Barracks (part of Spain's
''Fourth Military District'' ), was established in 1836 by Comandante General
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo . His duties included keeping an eye on the
Russia n 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 Revolt in 1846.
Seven distinct nations have claimed Sonoma County from 1579 to the present:
girl photographed by
Edward S. Curtis in 1924.]]
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."
1
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 Valley and
The Valley Of The Moon .
(May,''Indian Country'') This translation was first recorded in an 1850 report by General
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo to the California Legislature. (
Hanna, P. 311 ).
Jack London 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’.Alfred Louis Kroeber, ''Handbook of the Indians of California'', Dover Publications, New York City, N.Y. (1976) Other sources say Sonoma comes from the Patwin tribes west of the
Sacramento River , and their
Wintu 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
theorizes 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. Kroeber , AAE 29:354 [1932 ). Beeler believes the name applied originally to a nose-shaped geographic feature (WF 13:268-72 [1954])
2
At the 2000
Census &2 , there were 458,614 people, 172,403 households, and 112,406 families in Sonoma County. The
Population Density was 291/mi&
2 (112/km&
2). There were 183,153 housing units at an average density of 116/mi&
2 (45/km&
2).
The racial makeup was 81.60%
White , 1.42%
Black or
African American , 1.18%
Native American , 3.07%
Asian , 0.20%
Pacific Islander , 8.44% of
Other Races , and 4.09% of two or more races. 17.34% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race. 80.4% spoke
English and 13.8%
Spanish as their first language.
Of the 172,403 households, 50.30% were
Married Couples living together, 34.80% were non-families, and 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present. 31.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.70% 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. 24.50% were under 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 29.20% from 25 to 44, 24.90% from 45 to 64, and 12.60% 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 Income for the county was $25,724. About 4.70% of families and 8.10% of the population were below the
Poverty Line , including 8.40% of those under age 18 and 5.70% of those age 65 or over.
Sonoma County's governing board and legislative body is a five-member Board of Supervisors [http://www.sonoma-county.org/board/index.htm]. Supervisors are elected by district [http://www.sonoma-county.org/board/district.htm], 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 [http://www.sonomaopenspace.org/ .
Three current Supervisors were elected in 2004: Valerie Brown (1st District), Tim Smith (3rd District), and Mike Reilly (5th District); and two in 2006: Mike Kerns (2nd District) and Paul L. Kelley (4th District). Supervisor Brown is the current Chairwoman. The Supervisors appoint the members of 59 boards, commissions, and committees
{Link without Title} .
The County Administrator
{Link without Title} is the county's chief executive officer, reporting to the Board of Supervisors manage the county's departments.; the current Administrator is Bob Deis.
Sonoma County has nine incorporated cities, including the Town of Windsor. In order of population, they are:
Santa Rosa (156,200),
Petaluma (56,727),
Rohnert Park (42,236),
Windsor (22,744),
Healdsburg (10,722),
Sonoma (9,128),
Sebastopol (7,774),
Cloverdale (7,636), and
Cotati (6,471).
]]
U.S. Highway 101
U.S. Route 101 is the westernmost
Federal Highway in the U.S.A. Running north/south through the states of California,
Oregon , and Washington, it generally parallels the coastline from the
Mexican to the
Canadia n 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 the section south of Petaluma.
The four-lane highway has been heavily congested during peak commute hours for many years. The section between Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park was recently widened to six lanes; and widening within Santa Rosa, between Highway 12 and Steele Lane, is in progress in 2007. The two new inner lanes are designated for vehicles with two or more occupants during commute hours.
California State Route 1
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 Creek ), east of Bodega Bay.
California 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.
California State Route 37
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.
California State Route 116
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.
California State Route 128
The northernmost section of Highway 128 is a two-lane rural routh running southeast from Highway 101 at Geyserville, north of Healdsburg, through the Alexander Valley into Napa County.
- Sonoma County Transit 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 connects Santa Rosa and points south with Marin County and San Francisco.
- Mendocino Transit Authority runs north from Santa Rosa to Ukiah (via US 101) and to the coast (via California Routes 12 and 1).
in
Marin County and
Cloverdale in Sonoma. A sales tax surcharge measure to finance it narrowly failed in the 2006 election, and the SMART directors are considering a new measure sometime in 2008.
- The space, and tie-downs for local and transient Aircraft . Horizon Air, of Seattle, Washington, began regular daily commercial flights from the Charles M. Schulz Airport to Los Angeles and Seattle March 21, 2007. Horizon is flying a 74-seat, Bombardier Q400 Turboprop plane. There had been no commercial air service since United Express ceased flying to San Francisco and Los Angeles in 2001. The County has agreed to use $500,000 in federal funds to subsidize Horizon's flights for the first six months. Sponsored by the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce, and Redwood Credit Union (formerly the Sonoma County Employees credit union), local businesses have spent more than $500,000 to buy tickets in advance. If revenues levels are unsatisfactory, Horizon can terminate service after 45 days.
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
{Link without Title} . 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.
on northwest flank of
Sonoma Mountain .]]
''See main article: ''
s, with over 1100 growers. The most common varieties planted are
Chardonnay ,
Cabernet Sauvignon , and
Pinot Noir , though the area is also known for its
Merlot and
Zinfandel .
Sonoma County is home to more than 250 wineries with eleven distinct and two shared
American Viticultural Area s, including the
Sonoma Valley ,
Russian River Valley ,
Alexander Valley ,
Bennett Valley and
Dry Creek Valley , the last of which is known for the production of high-quality
Zinfandel s.
''See main article: ''
In addition, the county's tolerant 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
LGBT weekend-getaway community since the 1970s.
The Sonoma County Library System offers a Central Library in downtown Santa Rosa, as well as ten branch libraries, two rural stations and bookmobile service. The Library 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.
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, with a total daily population of nearly 1,200 inmates.
{Link without Title} . Police shootings in 2007 have led to calls for an independent civilian police review board. Santa Rosa Press Democrat, 3/30/07: ''Fatal police shootings rekindle review debate/Recent cases raise decade-old concerns over agencies’ abilities to investigate each other''.
''see main article
Due to the varied scenery in Sonoma County and proximity to the city of San Francisco, a large number of
Motion Picture s have been filmed using venues within the county. Some of the earliest U.S. filmaking occurred in Sonoma County such as the 1914 production 1914 ''Salomy Jane'' and ''
Bronco Billy Anderson '' produced in 1915. Many of these films are classics in American
Cinematography such as the 1947 film ''
The Farmer's Daughter '', starring
Joseph Cotten and
Loretta Young and
Alfred Hitchcock 's ''
The Birds '' produced in 1963, which film was also partially filmed in adjacent
Marin County . Many other more modern classics have used Sonoma County as a filming venue, including the 1990 production of the ''
Flatliners '' and the 1992 film ''
Basic Instinct ''. A few of the other representative films produced partially in Sonoma County are:
- ''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.
- Gudde, Erwin Gustav. ''California place names: the origin and etymology of current geographical names''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998.
- Hanna, Phil Townsend. ''The dictionary of California land names''. Los Angeles: The Automobile Club of Southern California, 1951.
- 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.
- May, James, 'Why Graton...' Indian Country - Legend Valley of the Moon , 2003.
- 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.
