Mendocino County, California

Mendocino County is a located on the north coast of the  of, north of the greater  and west of the. As of 2000, the population was 86,265. The is.

The county is noted for its distinctive coastline and is the location of the Mendocino.

History
Mendocino County was one of the original counties of California, created in at the time of statehood. Due to an initially low population, it did not have a separate government until and was under the administration of Sonoma County prior to that. The county contains several of the original Spanish land grants of including the Sanel Rancho in Hopland, and the Yokayo Rancho that forms the majority of the Ukiah Valley.

The county derives its name from, which was probably named in honor of either , of , – (who sent the  Expedition to this coast in ), or , Viceroy from  to. Mendocino is the adjectival form of the of Mendoza.

In the, the county witnessed many of the most serious atrocities in the extermination of the Californian tribes who originally lived in the area, like the , the  and the. The systematical occupation of their lands, the reduction of many of their members into slavery and the raids against their settlements led to the in, where hundreds of Indians were killed. The segregation continued well into the.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 10,044 (3,878 ). 9,088 km² (3,509 sq mi) of it is land and 956 km² (369 sq mi) of it (9.52%) is water.

Cities and towns






Adjacent Counties

 * - south
 * - east
 * - east
 * - northeast
 * - north
 * - north

Major Highways

 * [[Image:US 101 (CA).svg|23px]]
 * [[Image:California 1.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 20.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 128.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 253.svg|20px]]

Public Transportation
The provides local and intercity bus service within Mendocino County. Limited service also connects with transit in

Airports

 * is a general aviation airport owned by the City of Ukiah. It is located south of downtown Ukiah.
 * is a general aviation airport serving the Mendocino coast.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 86,265 people, 33,266 households, and 21,855 families residing in the county. The was 9/km² (25/sq mi). There were 36,937 housing units at an average density of 4/km² (10/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 80.76%, 0.62% or , 4.76% , 1.20% , 0.15% , 8.61% from , and 3.90% from two or more races. 16.48% of the population were or  of any race. 12.2% were of, 10.8% , 8.6% , 6.1% and 5.6%  ancestry according to. 84.4% spoke and 13.2%  as their first language.

There were 33,266 households out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.4% 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 25.5% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 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 for the county was $19,443. About 10.9% of families and 15.9% of the population were below the, including 21.5% of those under age 18 and 7.7% 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
 * 4th District-Kendall Smith
 * 5th District-J. David Colfax

Politics
Mendocino is a strongly county in  and  elections. The last Republican to win a majority in the county was  in. It is part of, which is held by Democrat. In the Mendocino is in the 1st Assembly district, which is held by Democrat, and the 2nd Senate district, which is held by Democrat.

In, Mendocino County voters approved Measure G, which calls for the decriminalization of marijuana when used and cultivated 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. Measure G does not protect individuals who cultivate, transport or possess marijuana for sale. However, Measure G was passed at the local government level affecting only Mendocino County, and therefore does not affect existing state or federal laws. (The city of has had a similar law since 1979 which has generally been found to be unenforceable )

In, 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 s.

Rivers
from south to north
 * (inland)
 * Elk Creek
 * Little River
 * Pudding Creek
 * Ten Mile River
 * (inland)
 * Little River
 * Pudding Creek
 * Ten Mile River
 * (inland)
 * Ten Mile River
 * (inland)

Parks, Reserves and related places




General information

 * Mendocino.com - Vacation Information
 * MendocinoFun.com - Information about Mendocino Coast
 * County of Mendocino official website
 * Mendocino WineCountry website
 * Mendocino California Events Network website
 * Know Your Mendocino
 * Mendocino County Travel Information
 * Mendocino Connection
 * Mendocino County Musem

Vineyards

 * Barra of Mendocino
 * Braren Pauli
 * Brutocao Cellars & Vineyards
 * Christine Woods Vineyards
 * Frey Vineyards
 * Navarro Vineyards
 * Parducci
 * Roederer Estate Vineyards
 * Scharffenberger Cellars