Coast Ranges – North

The coast ranges north of the Bay Area are much like their counterparts to the south. The main difference is that the mountains here grow taller and their slopes grow wetter as one moves north. The coastal population of this region is also much smaller and more spread out. Besides Eureka, there are no medium to large cities on the California coast north of San Francisco.

At one time a nearly unbroken redwood forest stretched from the Golden Gate north into Oregon. While many of the redwood groves have fallen to the axe, the legacy of the Redwood Empire lives on. The north coast has seen its share of booms and busts. As such, the region is characterized by a fierce individualism that straddles both sides of the political spectrum. But like many of the other more rural and remote sections of the state, the economy is often dependant on forces beyond local control.

Lumbering Operations

The processing of timber into lumber is still an anchor in the economy of the north coast but a far cry from what it was in decades past. Timber production here peaked in the late 1950s . The following decades brought changes in public attitudes about forests and forest management. Except for a brief period in the mid to late 1980s, the forest products industry has been in steady decline for half a century. You can find many shuttered mills along the byways of the north country.

Marine Terraces

This former sea stack is high and dry now due to the emergent coast of the region. But at one point in the past, waves lapped at this rocky outcrop.

Mendocino

This small, quaint town boasts many art galleries and historic homes.

Mendocino Coast

Sandy beaches are few and far between on the rugged Sonoma and Mendocino Coasts. If and when they do exist here, they are very localized features in close proximity to a sediment source, namely a river.

Mendocino Coast

Nobody knows for sure how many sea stacks litter the Mendocino Coast. But their existence here gives testament to the power of waves and currents as erosional forces.

« ‹ 4 of 8 › »