Russian River (California)
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- For other uses, see Russian River.
The Russian River rises in the coastal mountains of Mendocino County, north of Ukiah, in Northern California. It flows into Lake Mendocino, a reservoir formed by the construction in 1958 of Coyote Dam, for winter flood control.
The river flows south from the lake through Mendocino and Sonoma County, parallelled by Highway 101. It turns west at Healdsburg, receiving water from Lake Sonoma via Dry Creek, and empties into the Pacific Ocean at Jenner. Its mouth at Jenner is about 60 miles (100 km) north of the San Francisco Bay's Golden Gate.
The river takes its name from the Russian trappers who explored the river in the early 19th century, and established their Fort Ross trade colony a few miles north of its mouth. They called it the Slavyanka River. The redwoods that lined its banks drew loggers to the river in the late 19th century.
In the 1920s and 1930s, the Russian River Valley became a summer resort destination for vacationers from San Francisco and Oakland. Guerneville is still the main resort town on the river.
The Sonoma County Water Agency draws drinking water from the Russian, for sale to Santa Rosa and other Sonoma and Marin County cities. Santa Rosa treats its sewage to tertiary standards, and returns some of it to the river via the Laguna de Santa Rosa.
Its banks are lined with vineyards, and the Russian River Valley was approved as an American Viticultural Area in 1983. It produces award-winning Chardonnay and pinot noir wines in addition to other wine varietals, and is home to many small and several large commercial wineries.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Russian River Chamber of Commerce
- Russian River Valley Winegrowers
- Winery List for Russian River (California) at the Open Directory Project (suggest site)
- Russian River Valley Section at Appellation America
- Guide to Exploring Sonoma's Outdoors
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