Russian River (California) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

For other uses, see Russian River
Russian River
Russian River may refer to one of the following rivers in the United States:* Russian River * Russian River Russian River may also refer to a brewpub in Santa Rosa, California:* Russian River Brewing Company...

.

The Russian River, a southward-flowing river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

, drains 1485 square miles (3,846.1 km²) of 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....

and 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...

counties in Northern California

Northern California

Northern 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...

. With an annual average discharge of approximately 1600000 acre.ft, it is the second largest river (after the Sacramento River

Sacramento River

The 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...

) flowing through the nine county Greater San Francisco Bay Area

San Francisco Bay Area

The 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...

with a mainstem 110 miles (177 km.) long.

Course

The Russian River springs from the Laughlin Range about 5 mi (8 km) east of Willits

Willits, California

Willits is a city in Mendocino County, California, United States. Willits is located north-northwest of Ukiah, at an elevation of 1391 feet . The population was 4,888 at the 2010 census, down from 5,073 at the 2000 census. Willits is at the center of Mendocino County and its redwood forests...

in Mendocino County. It flows generally southward to Redwood Valley

Redwood Valley, California

Redwood Valley is a census-designated place in Mendocino County, California. It is located southwest of Potter Valley, at an elevation of 722 feet . It comprises the northern portion of the Ukiah Valley. It is about 8 mi north of Ukiah and 12 mi south of Willits. Potter Valley is to...

, then parallels U.S. Route 101 past Calpella

Calpella, California

Calpella is a census-designated place in Mendocino County, California. It is located on the Russian River north of Ukiah, at an elevation of 682 feet . It is within the Ukiah Valley where U.S. Route 101 and State Route 20 intersect. The population was 679 at the 2010 census...

, to join the East Fork Russian River just below Lake Mendocino

Lake Mendocino

Lake 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...

.

From there the Russian River flows south, past Ukiah

Ukiah, California

The 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 Hopland

Hopland, California

Hopland is a census-designated place in Mendocino County, California. It is located on the west bank of the Russian River south-southeast of Ukiah, at an elevation of 502 feet . The population was 756 at the 2010 census....

, and crosses into Sonoma County just north of Cloverdale

Cloverdale, California

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...

. Closely paralleled by U.S. Route 101, it descends into the Alexander Valley, where it is joined by Big Sulphur Creek

Big Sulphur Creek

Big Sulphur Creek is a westward-flowing stream in northern Sonoma County, California, U.S.A. which springs from The Geysers in the Mayacamas Mountains and runs to empty into the Russian River.-Course:...

. It flows south past Cloverdale, Asti

Asti, California

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....

, and Geyserville

Geyserville, California

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...

.

East of Healdsburg

Healdsburg, California

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...

, Maacama Creek

Maacama Creek

Maacama Creek is a stream in northern Sonoma County, California, U.S.A., which empties into the Russian River near the city of Healdsburg.-Course:...

joins the Russian River. After a series of sweeping bends, the river flows under U.S. Route 101 and receives water from Lake Sonoma

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....

via Dry Creek. The river then turns westward and joins Mark West Creek

Mark West Creek

Mark West Creek is a stream that rises in the Mayacamas Mountains of Sonoma County, California, USA. Tributaries of Mark West Creek include Porter Creek and Hummingbird Creek, both of which originate in the same mountain range. Discharge waters of Mark West Creek reach the Russian River after a...

north of Forestville

Forestville, California

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...

. The river passes Rio Dell

Rio Dell, Sonoma County, California

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 Nido

Rio Nido, California

Rio 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...

, and Guerneville

Guerneville, California

Guerneville 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...

, where it meets State Route 116

California State Route 116

State 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:...

. Paralleled by State Route 116, it continues past Guernewood Park

Guernewood Park, California

Guernewood Park is an unincorporated community in western Sonoma County, California, on the Russian River, west of Santa Rosa, and west of Guerneville, just off State Route 116. Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve and Austin Creek State Recreation Area are to the north.-History:In 1867, George E....

and Monte Rio

Monte Rio, California

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...

. Austin Creek

Austin Creek

Austin Creek is a southward-flowing stream in the mountains of western Sonoma County, California which empties into the Russian River about from the Pacific Ocean.-Course:...

enters from the north before passing through Duncans Mills

Duncans Mills, California

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...

then the Russian River flows under State Route 1

California State Route 1

State 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...

and empties into the Pacific Ocean

Pacific 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...

between Jenner

Jenner, California

Jenner 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...

and Goat Rock Beach

Goat Rock Beach

Goat 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...

. Russian River estuary is recognized for protection by the California Bays and Estuaries Policy

California Bays and Estuaries Policy

The Water Quality Control Policy for the Enclosed Bays and Estuaries of California is published by the California State Water Resources Control Board as guidelines to prevent water quality degradation. The policy is revised as needed.-Geography:...

. Its mouth is about 60 mi (96.6 km) north of the 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...

's Golden Gate

Golden Gate

The Golden Gate is the North American strait connecting San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. Since 1937 it has been spanned by the Golden Gate Bridge...

bridge.

The lower Russian River is a popular spring, summer, and fall destination for tourists as the river is very safe then for swimming and boating, with a gentle current. The river is dangerous in the winter, with swift current and muddy water.

History

The river was originally known among the Southern Pomo

Southern Pomo language

Southern Pomo is one of seven mutually unintelligible Pomoan languages which were formerly spoken by the Pomo people in Northern California along the Russian River and Clear Lake. The Pomo languages have been grouped together with other so-called Hokan languages...

as Ashokawna (ʼaš:oʼkʰawna), "east water place" or "water to the east", and as Bidapte, "big river". In 1827 it was called the San Ygnacio by the Spanish, and in 1843 Spanish land grant referred to it as Rio Grande.

The river takes its current name from the Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n of the Russian-American Company

Russian-American Company

The 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)...

who explored the river in the early 19th century, and established the Fort Ross colony 10 mi (16 km) northwest of its mouth. They called it the Slavianka River, which means "Slav woman". The Russians established three ranches near Fort Ross, one of which, the Kostromitinov Ranch, was along the Russian River near the mouth of Willow Creek. The redwoods that lined its banks drew loggers to the river in the late 19th century.

According to the USGS, variant names of the Russian River include Misallaako, Rio Ruso, Shabaikai, and Slavyanka.

River modifications

A portion of the Eel River

Eel River (California)

The Eel River is a major river system of the northern Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. Approximately 200 miles long, it drains a rugged area in the California Coast Ranges between the Sacramento Valley and the ocean. For most of its course, the river flows northwest, parallel to the...

is diverted to headwaters of the Russian River in Potter Valley

Potter Valley, California

Potter Valley is a census-designated place in Mendocino County, California, United States. It is located north-northeast of Ukiah, at an elevation of 948 feet . It is located at the headwaters of the East Fork of the Russian River...

. The Sonoma County Water Agency

Sonoma County Water Agency

The Sonoma County Water Agency is the government agency responsible for managing the water resources of Sonoma County, California...

draws drinking water

Drinking water

Drinking water or potable water is water pure enough to be consumed or used with low risk of immediate or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard, even though only a very small proportion is actually...

from the Russian River for sale to residents of Sonoma, Mendocino, and northern 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...

counties. Santa Rosa's

Santa 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...

Laguna Wastewater Treatment Plant treats sewage

Sewage treatment

Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...

from several communities to tertiary standards and returns some of it to the river by way of the Laguna de Santa Rosa

Laguna de Santa Rosa

The 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:...

Ecology

Historically it is interesting as one of two Northern California coastal rivers mentioned in the early nineteenth century by Russian explorer K. T. Khlebnikov as hosting sturgeon, presumably White sturgeon

White sturgeon

The white sturgeon , also known as the Pacific sturgeon, Oregon sturgeon, Columbia sturgeon, Sacramento sturgeon, and California white sturgeon, is a sturgeon which lives along the west coast of North America from the Aleutian Islands to Central...

(Acipenser transmontanus), along with the Pajaro River

Pajaro River

The Pajaro River is a river in Northern California, forming part of the border between Santa Cruz County and Monterey County and between San Benito County and Santa Clara County.-History:...

. Khlebnikov stated in his "1820 Travel Notes", "Mr. Kuskov

Ivan Kuskov

Ivan Aleksandrovich Kuskov was the senior assistant to Aleksandr Baranov, the Chief Administrator of the Russian-American Company A native of Totma, Russia, he served in the RAC for 31 years, attaining the rank of Commerce Counselor and being awarded the gold medal "for zealous service" from...

had sent two baidarka

Baidarka

Baidarka is the Russian name used for Aleutian style sea kayak. The ancient Unangan name is Iqyax. The word has its origins from early Russian settlers in Alaska. Iqya-x builders who kept the tradition of building skin-on-skeleton boats alive in the 20th century include Sergie Sovoroff.A prominent...

s to the Slavianka River to catch sturgeon, and they returned today with ten fish...the largest one exceeding two arshins (4.67 feet) long". Moyle's Inland Fishes of California states that there were historic runs of white, but not green, sturgeon in the Russian River. White sturgeon are the largest freshwater fish in the United States.

The Russian River is the largest river in the Central California Coast Steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Distinct population segment

Distinct population segment

A distinct population segment is the smallest division of a taxonomic species permitted to be protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Species, as defined in the Act for listing purposes, is a taxonomic species or subspecies of plant or animal, or in the case of vertebrate species, a...

. Natural waterfalls and the two major dams, Warm Springs (built in 1982) and Coyote (built in 1959), have isolated anadromous steelhead from its non-ocean going rainbow trout form above the impassable barriers. Recent genetic studies on steelhead collected at 20 different sites both above and below passage barriers in the watershed found that despite the fact that 30 million hatchery trout were stocked in the river from 1911 to 1925, the steelhead remain of native and not hatchery stock.

Until recently, most reviews indicated that Chinook salmon

Chinook salmon

The 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...

(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) were always scarce on the Russian River. However, in 2007, the Sonoma County Water Agency

Sonoma County Water Agency

The Sonoma County Water Agency is the government agency responsible for managing the water resources of Sonoma County, California...

completed a comprehensive re-evaluation of historical records coupled with a 5-year monitoring program utilizing underwater cameras at two fish ladders just north of Forestville

Forestville, California

. They found that Chinook always were, and still are, "a relatively abundant, widely distributed, and naturally self-sustaining population". The authors found historic information dating to 1881 suggesting the presence of an ancestral population and their genetic analysis found the Chinook both above and below barriers to fish passage to be of native, and not hatchery stock.

In 2001 the Coho salmon

Coho salmon

The 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:...

(Oncorhynchus kisutch) had dwindled to less than four returning spawners per year. These low numbers were the catalyst for the Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock Program, a recovery effort in which offspring from hatchery-reared adults are released into the river system. In 2011, biologists estimate that more than 190 adult coho may have returned to the Russian River watershed, beginning with early storms in October and peaking in December. High priority tributaries for restoration of stream flows and habitat for Coho include Dutch Bill

Dutch Bill Creek

Dutch Bill Creek is a north-flowing stream in the hills of western Sonoma County, California which empties into the Russian River at Monte Rio about from the Pacific Ocean.-Course:...

, Grape, Green Valley

Green Valley Creek

Green Valley Creek is a stream in Sonoma County, California, U.S.A., which springs from the hills above the Bohemian Grove and is a tributary of the Russian River.-Course:...

, Mark West

Mark West Creek

and Mill Creeks.

Similarly, early twentieth century naturalists were skeptical that California Golden beaver (Castor canadensis subauratus) were extant in the coastal streams of the Bay Area. However, the Russian-American Company

Russian-American Company

's Ivan Kuskov

Ivan Kuskov

sailed into Bodega Bay

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...

in 1809 on the Kodiak and, after exploring fifty miles of the Russian River, returned to Novo Arkhangelsk, Alaska (Sitka), with beaver skins and over 2,000 sea otter

Sea Otter

The sea otter is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between 14 and 45 kg , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the smallest marine mammals...

(Enhydra lutris) pelts. In fact, the Russians' stated reason for establishing a settlement in Alta California

Alta California

Alta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...

was, "La Bodega, near San Francisco, was occupied by the Russians early in the year 1812, by permission of the Spanish government. The rich, fertile soil [and] the abundance of seal, otter and beaver were the principal factors which favored this colonization." Before establishing a southern colony at Fort Ross

Fort Ross, California

Fort 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...

, the Russian-American Company contracted with American ships beginning in 1810, providing them with Aleuts and their baidarka

Baidarka

s (kayaks) to hunt otter on the coast of Spanish California. Hudson's Bay Company's Alexander R. McLeod reported in 1829, "The Country to the northward of Bodega is said to be rich in Beaver and no encouragement given to the Indians to hunt." However, by 1832-1833 John Work's Hudson's Bay Company expedition, after visiting Sonoma Mission and Fort Ross, searched the coast line to the north for furs as far as Cape Mendocino but found none. Finally, the Southern Pomo

Southern Pomo language

, who inhabited the lower half of the Russian River, had a word for beaver ṱ’ek:e (N. ALexander Walker, personal communication, 2011-01-23) and beavers in their "Coyote Stories". In 1881 the Sacramento Daily Union

Sacramento Union

The Sacramento Union was a daily newspaper founded in 1851 in Sacramento, California. It was the oldest daily newspaper west of the Mississippi River before it closed its doors after 143 years in January 1994, no longer able to compete with The Sacramento Bee, which was founded in 1857, just six...

newspaper reported, "Beavers are being trapped near Healdsburg" (placing them on the Russian River

Russian River

Russian River may refer to one of the following rivers in the United States:* Russian River * Russian River Russian River may also refer to a brewpub in Santa Rosa, California:* Russian River Brewing Company...

Russian River Valley

The river's floodplain includes many vineyards, and an area of the Russian River Valley

Russian River Valley AVA

The 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...

was approved as an American Viticultural Area

American Viticultural Area

An 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....

in 1983 and enlarged in 2006. It produces award-winning Chardonnay

Chardonnay

Chardonnay 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...

and Pinot noir

Pinot Noir

Pinot 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...

wines in addition to other wine varietals, and is home to many small and several large commercial wineries.

External links