 |
|
|
|
||
|
|
History
Geography
Major
Highways |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Sonoma County is located on the Pacific coast of California, north of Marin County and the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the year 2000, Sonoma had a population of 458,614. The county seat is Santa Rosa. Sonoma County is in the heart of California's world-famous Wine Country region. There are over 200 Sonoma County Wineries producing a wide variety of wines. Sonoma County is also home to 13 approved American Viticultural Areas. Sonoma County is the home of several public and private higher education institutions, including Sonoma State University and Santa Rosa Junior College. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
St. George Cross of England, June 1579, voyage of the Golden Hind under Captain Francis Drake at Bodega Bay (exact location disputed) |
 |
Spanish Empire, 1602, by sea, voyage of the San Agustin under Vizcaino. October 1775, the Sonora at Bodega Bay, under Lt. Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra until 1821, when Mexico gained Independence from Spain |
 |
Russian-American Company, 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, and subsequent leaving the area in 1842 |
 |
Mexican Empire, 24 August 1821, Mexico under Emperor Agustin Iturbide (October 1822, probable time new flag raised in California) until 1823 |
 |
Mexican Republic, 1823 until June 1846 at Sonoma |
 |
Bear Flag of the California Republic, June 1846, at Sonoma until 9 July 1846 |
 |
United States of America/California, 9 July 1846 |
Sonoma was the location of Mission San Francisco Solano, founded in 1823 as the last and northernmost of 21 California missions, built on the end of El Camino Real. The El Presidio de Sonoma, or Sonoma Barracks (part of Spain's Fourth Military District), was established in 1836 by Comandante General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo whose 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 in large estates and ranches. Among the most notable events, the Bear Flag Revolt took place in this County in 1846, and it is the site of many historical monuments.
Geography and environment
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,580 km² (1,768 mi²). 4,082 km² (1,576 mi²) of it is land and 498 km² (192 mi²) of it (10.88%) is water. Principal rivers draining the southern portion of the county are Sonoma Creek and the Petaluma River.
Environment
Sonoma County has several watersheds, including those drained by the Petaluma River and Sonoma Creek. There are also several scenic mountain ranges including the Mayacmas Mountains, whose highest peak in the county is Hood Mountain, and the Sonoma Mountains, whose highest peak is Sonoma Mountain. There are a number of distinct habitat areas within the county such as oak woodland, Northern coastal scrub, grassland, marshland, oak savanna and riparian woodland. 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 and Hickman's potentilla.
In the oak woodland habitat there are found Pacific Madrone, Douglas fir, Coast live oak, Garry oak and California laurel among other tree varieties. Common understory plants are toyon, poison oak and at the fringes Coast silk-tassel.
Major Highways
-
.svg/23px-US_101_(CA).svg.png)
U.S. Highway 101 -
California State Route 1 -
California State Route 12 -
California State Route 37 -
California State Route 116 -
California State Route 128
.svg){kind=small}
Adjacent Counties
- Marin County, California - south
- Solano County, California - southeast
- Napa County, California - east
- Lake County, California - northeast
- Mendocino County, California - north
Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 458,614 people, 172,403 households, and 112,406 families residing in the county. The population density was 112/km² (291/mi²). There were 183,153 housing units at an average density of 45/km² (116/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 81.60% White, 1.42% Black or African American, 1.18% Native American, 3.07% Korean, 0.20% Pacific Islander, 8.44% from other races, and 4.09% from two or more races. 17.34% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 172,403 households out of which 31.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.30% were married couples living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.80% were non-families. 25.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the county the population was spread out with 24.50% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 29.20% from 25 to 44, 24.90% from 45 to 64, and 12.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $53,076, and the median income for a family was $61,921. Males had a median income of $42,035 versus $32,022 for females. 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.
Politics
| Year | GOP | Dems |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 30.9% 68,204 | 67.2% '148,261 |
| 2000 | 32.2% 63,529 | 59.5% 117,295 |
| 1996 | 29.5% 53,555 | 55.6% 100,738 |
| 1992 | 24.1% 47,619 | 52.8% 104,334 |
| 1988 | 41.9% 67,725 | 56.5% 91,262 |
| 1984 | 51.1% 76,447 | 47.6% 71,295 |
| 1980 | 48.2% 60,722 | 36.2% 45,596 |
| 1976 | 47.7% 50,555 | 47.5% 50,353 |
| 1972 | 54.7% 57,697 | 41.5% 43,746 |
| 1968 | 48.8% 38,088 | 43.0% 33,587 |
| 1964 | 38.4% 27,677 | 61.5% 44,354 |
| 1960 | 54.1% 34,641 | 45.5% 29,147 |
Cities and towns
Incorporated cities
Unincorporated towns and locales
Education
Elementary and Secondary Education
Higher Education
- Sonoma State University
- Santa Rosa Junior College
- Empire College
- New College of California (Santa Rosa Campus)
- University of Northern California
- Chapman University (Petaluma Campus)
- Golden Gate University (Rohnert Park Campus)
- University of San Francisco (Santa Rosa Campus)
- Western Institute of Science and Health
Sonoma County winemaking and wineries
Winemaking -- 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 short tons (150,396 tonnes) of wine grapes worth $310 million. About 80% of non-pasture agricultural land in the county is for growing wine grapes—59,973 acres (242.70 km²) of vineyards, 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 191 wineries and 11 distinct (and 2 shared) American Viticultural Areas, including the Sonoma Valley, Russian River Valley, Alexander Valley, and Dry Creek Valley (the last famed for its production of high-quality Zinfandel).
A partial list of Sonoma County wineries:
|
|
|
Places of interest
Sonoma county has a very beautiful coastline, alternating with cliffs and beaches.
- Sonoma County
Beaches
- Goat Rock Beach The Russian River joins the Pacific Ocean at this beach.
-
Sonoma County Regional Parks
- Sonoma Lake recreational area
- Bodega Bay
- Luther Burbank Home and Gardens in Santa Rosa *
- Luther Burbank Gold Ridge Experiment Farm in Sebastopol **
- Fort Ross, former Russian fur trade outpost *
- Jack London Home, Beauty Ranch, in Glen Ellen *
- Rancho Petaluma Adobe, Petaluma *
- Mission San Francisco Solano, across from Sonoma Plaza, Sonoma *
External links
- Sonoma County official website
- Sonoma County website directory (20,000 links in all)
- Luther Burbank Home and Gardens
- Sonoma Coast State Beach official website
- Parks and Recreation in Sonoma County
- Sonoma County Local History and Genealogy Library
- Western Sonoma County Historical Society
- Sonoma County Miwok Indian Tribes
- Local discussion groups