MENDOCINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

'Mendocino County' is a county located on the north coast of the U.S. state of California, north of the San Francisco Bay Area and Sonoma County and west of the Central Valley. As of 2000, the population was 86,265. The county seat is Ukiah.
The county is noted for its distinctive Pacific Ocean coastline and is the location of the Mendocino American Viticultural Area.

Contents

History

Geography

Cities and towns

Adjacent Counties

Transportation Infrastructure

Major Highways

Public Transportation

Airports

Demographics

Government

Politics

Rivers

Beaches

Parks, Reserves and related places

See also

External links

General information

Vineyards

History

Mendocino County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. Due to an initially low population, it did not have a separate government until 1859 and was under the administration of Sonoma County prior to that. The county contains several of the original Spanish land grants of Alta California including the Sanel Rancho in Hopland, and the Yokayo Rancho that forms the majority of the Ukiah Valley.
The county derives its name from Cape Mendocino, which was probably named in honor of either Antonio de Mendoza, Viceroy of New Spain, 1535–1542 (who sent the Juan Cabrillo Expedition to this coast in 1542), or Lorenzo Suárez de Mendoza, Viceroy from 1580 to 1583. ''Mendocino'' is the adjectival form of the family name of Mendoza.
In the nineteenth century, the county witnessed many of the most serious atrocities in the extermination of the Californian Native American tribes who originally lived in the area, like the Yuki, the Pomo and the Wintun. The systematical occupation of their lands, the reduction of many of their members into slavery and the raids against their settlements led to the Mendocino War in 1859, where hundreds of Indians were killed. The segregation continued well into the 20th century.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 10,044 km² (3,878 mi²). 9,088 km² (3,509 mi²) of it is land and 956 km² (369 mi²) of it (9.52%) is water.

Cities and towns

★ Albion ★ Anchor Bay ★ Boonville ★ Branscomb ★ Calpella ★ Caspar ★ Cleone ★ Comptche ★ Covelo ★ Dos Rios ★ Elk ★ Fort Bragg ★ Gualala ★ Hopland ★ Inglenook ★ Laytonville ★ Leggett

★ Little River ★ Longvale ★ Manchester ★ Mendocino ★ Navarro ★ Noyo ★ Old Hopland ★ Philo ★ Point Arena ★ Potter Valley ★ Redwood Valley ★ Rockport ★ Talmage ★ Ukiah ★ Willits ★ Westport ★ Yorkville

Adjacent Counties

★ Sonoma County, California - south

★ Lake County, California - east

★ Glenn County, California - east

★ Tehama County, California - northeast

★ Trinity County, California - north

★ Humboldt County, California - north

Transportation Infrastructure

Major Highways

★ U.S. Highway 101

★ California State Route 1

★ California State Route 20

★ California State Route 128

★ California State Route 253

Public Transportation

The Mendocino Transit Authority provides local and intercity bus service within Mendocino County.
Limited service also connects with transit in Sonoma County

Airports

★ Ukiah Regional Airport is a general aviation airport owned by the City of Ukiah. It is located south of downtown Ukiah.

★ Little River Airport is a general aviation airport serving the Mendocino coast.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 86,265 people, 33,266 households, and 21,855 families residing in the county. The population density was 9/km² (25/mi²). There were 36,937 housing units at an average density of 4/km² (10/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 80.76% White, 0.62% Black or African American, 4.76% Native American, 1.20% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 8.61% from other races, and 3.90% from two or more races. 16.48% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 12.2% were of German, 10.8% English, 8.6% Irish, 6.1% Italian and 5.6% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 84.4% spoke English and 13.2% Spanish as their first language.
There were 33,266 households out of which 31.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.90% were married couples living together, 11.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.30% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the county the population was spread out with 25.50% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 25.60% from 25 to 44, 27.10% from 45 to 64, and 13.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 98.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $35,996, and the median income for a family was $42,168. Males had a median income of $33,128 versus $23,774 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,443. About 10.90% of families and 15.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.50% of those under age 18 and 7.70% of those age 65 or over.

Government

★ 'Chief Executive Officer'- Albert P. Beltrami

★ 'Board of Supervisors'

★
★ 1st District-Michael Delbar

★
★ 2nd District-Jim R. Wattenburger

★
★ 3rd District-John Pinches

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★ 4th District-Kendall Smith

★
★ 5th District-J. David Colfax

Politics

In 2000, Mendocino County approved de-facto legalization for marijuana cultivation and possession for personal use. Measure G passed with a 58% majority vote, making it the first county in the United States to declare prosecution of small-scale marijuana offenses the "lowest priority" for local law enforcement. [1] (The city of Berkeley has had a similar law since 1979 which has generally been found to be unenforceable [2])
In 2004, Measure H was passed in Mendocino County with a 57% majority, making it the first county in the United States to ban the production and cultivation of genetically modified organisms.

Rivers

''from south to north''

★ Russian River (inland)

★ Gualala River

★ Garcia River

★ Elk Creek

★ Navarro River

★ Albion River

★ Little River

★ Big River

★ Noyo River

★ Pudding Creek

★ Ten Mile River

★ Eel River (inland)

Beaches

★ Big River Beach

★ Van Damme Beach

★ Greenwood State Beach

★ Seaside Beach

★ Wesport-Union Landing State Beach

★ Manchester State Beach

★ Navarro Beach

★ Portuguese Beach

★ Long Valley Creek

★ 10 Mile Creek

Parks, Reserves and related places

★ Hendy Woods State Park

★ Jughandle State Reserve

★ Manchester State Park

★ Mendocino National Forest

★ Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens

★ Montgomery Woods State Reserve

★ Round Valley Indian Reservation

★ Russian Gulch State Park

See also

★ List of school districts in Mendocino County, California

External links

General information

★ Mendocino.com - Vacation Information

★ County of Mendocino official website

★ Mendocino WineCountry website

★ Mendocino California Events Network website

★ Know Your Mendocino

★ Mendocino County Travel Information

★ Mendocino Connection

Vineyards

★ Barra of Mendocino

★ Braren Pauli

★ Brutocao Cellars & Vineyards

★ Christine Woods Vineyards

★ Frey Vineyards

★ Navarro Vineyards

★ Parducci

★ Roederer Estate Vineyards

★ Scharffenberger Cellars