North Coast, California
Encyclopedia
The North Coast of California
(also called the Redwood Empire or the Redwood Coast) is a region which commonly includes Marin
, Sonoma
, Mendocino
, Humboldt
, and Del Norte
counties. In other words, the Pacific coast from San Francisco Bay
north to the Oregon
border.
. Despite their size, many of the region's cities and towns have historical importance to the State and/or regional importance.
coast stretches from San Francisco Bay
northwards to Humboldt Bay
and on to the border of Oregon
. The coastline is often inaccessible, and includes rocky cliffs and hills, streams and tide pool
s. Territory further inland is characterized by rugged, often steep mountains, dissected by rivers and their typically narrow valleys and canyons, and dense redwood, Douglas fir
, and oak forests. The climate can range from coast side lands drenched with fog in mild winters and summers to inland reaches baked by hot sunshine on long summer days, which, at higher elevations, can be blanketed with snow in winter.
The southern portion of the North Coast is largely urbanized
while the rest is mostly rural. The more remote northern areas are often referred to as the being located "behind the Redwood Curtain." Notable seaside beaches can be found at Marin Headlands
and Point Reyes National Seashore
in the south, with innumerable examples of remote or less used beaches north of the SF Bay Area.
The grandeur of the redwoods can be experienced from Muir Woods National Monument
in the south to Humboldt Redwoods State Park
and the Avenue of the Giants in the north. Redwoods are also found in many other State and local parks, most of which are located along Highway 101 throughout the far North Coast. These, along with the region's Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve
, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park
, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
and Redwood National and State Parks
, contain more than 45 percent of all remaining old-growth redwoods.
Regions contained entirely within the North Coast:
The North Coast region is completely contained within:
California
California 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...
(also called the Redwood Empire or the Redwood Coast) is a region which commonly includes Marin
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...
, Sonoma
Sonoma County, California
Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of the U.S. state of California, is the largest and northernmost of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Its population at the 2010 census was 483,878. Its largest city and county seat is Santa Rosa....
, Mendocino
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...
, Humboldt
Humboldt County, California
Humboldt County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located on the far North Coast 200 miles north of San Francisco. According to 2010 Census Data, the county’s population was 134,623...
, and Del Norte
Del Norte County, California
Del Norte County is a county located at the far northwest corner of the U.S. state of California on the Pacific adjacent to the Oregon border. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 28,610. The county seat is Crescent City, the county's only incorporated city. Del Norte is the abbreviated...
counties. In other words, the Pacific coast from San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San 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...
north to the Oregon
Oregon
Oregon 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...
border.
Cities
Much of the area is rural, and the only city within the region with a population of over 100,000 is Santa RosaSanta Rosa, California
Santa 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...
. Despite their size, many of the region's cities and towns have historical importance to the State and/or regional importance.
County seats
- Del Norte: Crescent CityCrescent City, CaliforniaCrescent City is the county seat and only incorporated city in Del Norte County, California. Named for the crescent-shaped stretch of sandy beach south of the city, Crescent City had a total population of 7,643 in the 2010 census, up from 4,006 in the 2000 census...
- Humboldt: EurekaEureka, CaliforniaEureka is the principal city and the county seat of Humboldt County, California, United States. Its population was 27,191 at the 2010 census, up from 26,128 at the 2000 census....
- Marin: San RafaelSan Rafael, CaliforniaSan Rafael is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
- Mendocino: UkiahUkiah, CaliforniaThe 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...
- Sonoma: Santa RosaSanta Rosa, CaliforniaSanta 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...
Geography
The region's Pacific OceanPacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
coast stretches from San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San 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...
northwards to Humboldt Bay
Humboldt Bay
Humboldt Bay is a natural bay and a multi-basin, bar-built coastal lagoon located on the rugged North Coast of California, United States entirely within Humboldt County. The regional center and county seat of Eureka and the college town of Arcata adjoin the bay, which is the second largest enclosed...
and on to the border of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon 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...
. The coastline is often inaccessible, and includes rocky cliffs and hills, streams and tide pool
Tide pool
Tide pools are rocky pools by oceans that are filled with seawater. Many of these pools exist as separate entities only at low tide.Tide pools are habitats of uniquely adaptable animals that have engaged the special attention of naturalists and marine biologists, as well as philosophical...
s. Territory further inland is characterized by rugged, often steep mountains, dissected by rivers and their typically narrow valleys and canyons, and dense redwood, Douglas fir
Coast Douglas-fir
Pseudotsuga menziesii, known as Douglas-fir, Oregon Pine, or Douglas spruce, is an evergreen conifer species native to western North America. Its variety Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii, also known as coast Douglas-fir grows in the coastal regions, from west-central British Columbia, Canada...
, and oak forests. The climate can range from coast side lands drenched with fog in mild winters and summers to inland reaches baked by hot sunshine on long summer days, which, at higher elevations, can be blanketed with snow in winter.
The southern portion of the North Coast is largely urbanized
Urbanization
Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....
while the rest is mostly rural. The more remote northern areas are often referred to as the being located "behind the Redwood Curtain." Notable seaside beaches can be found at Marin Headlands
Marin Headlands
The Marin Headlands is a hilly area at the southernmost end of Marin County, California, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. The Headlands are located just north of San Francisco, immediately across the Golden Gate Bridge. The entire area is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...
and Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes National Seashore is a park preserve located on the Point Reyes Peninsula in Marin County, California, USA. As a national seashore, it is maintained by the US National Park Service as a nationally important nature preserve within which existing agricultural uses are allowed to continue...
in the south, with innumerable examples of remote or less used beaches north of the SF Bay Area.
The grandeur of the redwoods can be experienced from Muir Woods National Monument
Muir Woods National Monument
Muir Woods National Monument is a unit of the National Park Service on the Pacific coast of southwestern Marin County, California, north of San Francisco and part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...
in the south to Humboldt Redwoods State Park
Humboldt Redwoods State Park
Humboldt Redwoods State Park is located south of Eureka, California in southern Humboldt County, within northern California. Established by the Save-the-Redwoods League in 1921 with the dedication of the Raynal Bolling Memorial Grove, it has grown to become the third largest park in the California...
and the Avenue of the Giants in the north. Redwoods are also found in many other State and local parks, most of which are located along Highway 101 throughout the far North Coast. These, along with the region's Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve
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....
, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park is a state park, located in Humboldt County, California, near the town of Orick and 50 miles north of Eureka...
, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park
Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park
Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park is a state park located in California. The park, established in 1927, is with approximately 50% old-growth coast redwood and of wild coastline. The park is a World Heritage Site & Biosphere Preserve....
, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
Jedediah Smith Redwoods Park, established in 1929, was named after the noted fur trapper Jedediah Smith, who visited its location during an 1826 expedition. It is located in the northern part of the U.S. state of California, nine miles east of Crescent City, on U.S. Route 199...
and Redwood National and State Parks
Redwood National and State Parks
The Redwood National and State Parks are located in the United States, along the coast of northern California. Comprising Redwood National Park and California's Del Norte Coast, Jedediah Smith, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Parks , the combined RNSP contain...
, contain more than 45 percent of all remaining old-growth redwoods.
Major highways
- Interstate 580
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Interstate 580 (California)Interstate 580 is an 80-mile east–west Interstate Highway in Northern California. The heavily traveled spur route of Interstate 80 runs from San Rafael in the San Francisco Bay Area to Interstate 5 near Tracy in the Central Valley... - U.S. Route 101
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- State Route 1
California 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... - State Route 37
California 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... - State Route 131
California State Route 131State Route 131 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California in Marin County. It is a short route that connects U.S. Route 101 with the town of Tiburon. It is named Tiburon Boulevard along its entire length.-Route description:...
(Tiburon Boulevard) - State Route 12
- State Route 37California 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...
- State Route 116
California 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:... - State Route 121
California 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... - State Route 128
California 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:... - U.S. Route 199
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U.S. Route 199U.S. Route 199 is a U.S. highway in the U.S. states of California and Oregon. The highway was established in 1926 as a spur of U.S. Route 99, which has since been replaced by Interstate 5. US 199 stretches from U.S. Route 101 near Crescent City, California northeast to Interstate 5 in Grants... - State Route 20
- State Route 128California 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:...
- State Route 162
- State Route 175
- State Route 222
California State Route 222State Route 222 , also known as Talmage Road, is a short state highway in the U.S. state of California in Mendocino County.-Route description:...
(unsigned) - State Route 253
California State Route 253State Route 253, also known as the Ukiah–Boonville Road, is a highway in Mendocino County, California. It runs from California State Route 128 near Boonville to U.S. Route 101 near Ukiah, connecting the Anderson Valley to the Ukiah Valley across the mountains of the Mendocino Range.-Route... - State Route 271
California State Route 271State Route 271 is a state highway in northern California, USA. It is a former routing of U.S. Route 101 , now reduced to being a frontage road for that route in discontiguous segments. It also connects with Route 1 just before that route's terminus with US 101 in Leggett... - State Route 36
California State Route 36State Route 36 is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of California that is routed from U.S. Route 101 in Humboldt County to U.S. Route 395 just east of Susanville in Lassen County. The portion of SR 36 travelling past Lassen Volcanic National Park and Lake Almanor is part of the... - State Route 96
California State Route 96State Route 96 follows the Trinity and Klamath Rivers in Northern California. For most of the route it goes through the Karuk Tribal Reservation, the Yurok Tribal Reservation, and the Hoopa Tribal Reservation... - State Route 169
- State Route 200
California State Route 200State Route 200 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California near Arcata in Humboldt County. It is a cut-off connecting U.S. Route 101 and State Route 299. It runs along the north bank of the Mad River, to the north of the 101-299 junction....
(unsigned) - State Route 211
California State Route 211State Route 211 is a California state highway in Humboldt County that connects Ferndale with U.S. 101.This route is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System.-Route description:...
(maybe unsigned (?)) - State Route 254
California State Route 254The Avenue of the Giants is a scenic highway in Northern California, U.S.A., running through Humboldt Redwoods State Park. It is an old alignment of U.S. Route 101, and continues to be maintained by the state as State Route 254.-Route description:...
(Avenue of the Giants - the old U.S. 101) - State Route 255
California State Route 255State Route 255 is a state highway in Humboldt County, California, United States.-Route description:It is a western alternate route of U.S. Route 101 between Eureka and Arcata, routed via the three bridges over Humboldt Bay and Indian Island and Woodley Islands, rather than motorists having to... - State Route 271California State Route 271State Route 271 is a state highway in northern California, USA. It is a former routing of U.S. Route 101 , now reduced to being a frontage road for that route in discontiguous segments. It also connects with Route 1 just before that route's terminus with US 101 in Leggett...
- State Route 283California State Route 283State Route 283 is the shortest state highway in the U.S. state of California, extending only 0.36 miles . Unsigned along its entire length, SR 283 runs from U.S. Route 101 south of Rio Dell to the north end of the Eel River Bridge in Rio Dell...
(the old U.S. 101) - State Route 299
California State Route 299State Route 299 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs across the northern part of the state. It runs from Arcata on the Pacific Ocean to the border with Nevada. Between Arcata and Redding, Route 299 junctions with State Route 96 and is briefly co-signed with State Route 3. In... - State Route 169
- State Route 197
Related regions
Parts of these regions overlap parts of the North Coast:- Emerald TriangleEmerald TriangleThe Emerald Triangle refers to a region in Northern California so named because it is the largest region in The United States that produces illegal cannabis. Mendocino County, Humboldt County, and Trinity County are the three counties in Northern California that make up this region...
- North BayNorth Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)The North Bay is a subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States. The largest city is Santa Rosa. It is by far the least populous and least urbanized part of the Bay Area...
- San Francisco Bay AreaSan 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...
- Upstate CaliforniaUpstate CaliforniaUpstate California is a region of California consisting of its northernmost 20 counties, most of which are rural. Generally, this area consists of all territory within California north of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento areas....
- Wine Country
Regions contained entirely within the North Coast:
- Lost CoastLost CoastThe Lost Coast is a mostly undeveloped section of the California North Coast in Mendocino and Humboldt Counties, which includes the King Range. It was named the "Lost Coast" after the area experienced depopulation in the 1930s...
The North Coast region is completely contained within:
- Northern CaliforniaNorthern CaliforniaNorthern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
See also
- California's 1st congressional districtCalifornia's 1st congressional districtCalifornia'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...
- North Coast AVANorth Coast AVAThe North Coast AVA is an American Viticultural Area in the state of California that encompasses grape-growing regions in six counties located north of San Francisco: Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Sonoma, and Solano...
- West coast lumber tradeWest coast lumber tradeThe West Coast lumber trade was a maritime trade route on the West Coast of the United States. It carried lumber from the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and Northern and Central California mainly to the port of San Francisco.-Lumber schooners:...
- South Coast (California)
- Central Coast of CaliforniaCentral Coast of CaliforniaThe Central Coast is an area of California, United States, roughly spanning the area between the Monterey Bay and Point Conception. It extends through Santa Cruz County, San Benito County, Monterey County, San Luis Obispo County, and Santa Barbara County...