Sonoma County by the Numbers

You can learn a lot about a place by looking at the numbers. This can also help clear up some misconceptions. Of course, visiting is the easiest way to learn about an area.

Sonoma Coast

 Location

• Sonoma County is considered part of the San Francisco Bay Area; also part of what's called the North Bay or the Redwood Empire. 
• Sonoma County begins 30 miles north of the Golden Gate.
• The county is surrounded by (beginning in the south and going counter-clockwise) Marin County, San Pablo Bay (part of San Francisco Bay), Napa County, Lake County, Mendocino County, and the Pacific Ocean.

 Geography

• There is 50 miles of ocean coastline, three rivers, and one (man-made) lake.
• The county is 1,500 square miles (larger than the state of Rhode Island).
• There are several coastal mountain ranges. The highest peak is Mt St. Helena at 4,300 ft. It sits on the county line with Lake County and the park with access to the peak is in Lake. 
• There are 11 California State Parks; 53 regional parks; 20 coastal beaches.

Climate

• It's a Mediterranean Climate with warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters.
• Variance is the key to the climate: It's not unusual to have a 40 degree swing in day-to-night temperatures in the inland areas. It's not unusual to have a 40 degree swing in summer high temperatures within the county with the coast being quite cool while inland and northern areas are hot.
• This climate is what makes Sonoma County a great place for premium wine grapes.

Vineyard near the Russian River in Autumn

 Regions

• There is the coastal area with cities such as Bodega Bay (not to be confused with the nearby town of Bodega) and Jenner.
• The river area centers around the part of the Russian River nearest the coast with towns like Guerneville (pronounced gern-vill) and Monte Rio.
• There are many well known valleys because of the wine grapes grown there such as Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Russian River Valley, and Sonoma Valley (not to be confused with the town of Sonoma). 

People

• County population is 490,000. 
• The largest city, Santa Rosa is 177,000, the largest city between San Francisco and Portland, OR. Next biggest is Petaluma at 60,000.

Travel

• Sonoma County Airport (STS) has several airlines with flights to cities in the western U.S. San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and Sacramento Airports are all within driving distance.
• Highway U.S. 101 travels north-south through the county and the state. There are a half dozen state roads, including Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway.

Wine

• There are about 425 wineries in the county. And about the same number next door in Napa.
• About 6% of the land area is planted to wine grapes divided among 1,300 grape growers.
• About 60 grape varieties are planted, but 94% is made up of six varieties: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Zinfandel.

A very old vine in Sonoma Valley

Some of this information comes from sonomacounty.com, published by Sonoma County Tourism