Bennett Mountain

Bennett Valley is a northwest- to southeast-trending valley in Sonoma County, California, US, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) wide in its northwestern portion, where the southeast extremity of Santa Rosa, California is located. The axis of the valley floor slopes 40 feet (12 m) per mile (a gradient of 0.008 or 7.6 m per km) from the pinched central portion of the valley, where knolls divide the northwestern from the southeastern segment of the valley. Bennett Valley is drained by Matanzas Creek which is incised into the valley floor; an unnamed stream and Spring Creek drain into Matanzas Creek from the east side of Bennett Valley below the Matanzas Creek Reservoir. A flood-control reservoir on Matanzas Creek in the central portion of the valley collects water from the drainage of the upper portion of the valley. Precipitation in the valley varies from approximately 35 to 40 inches (90 to 100 cm) per year. The latter amount falls on Taylor Mountain, located immediately above Bennett Valley, in an outlier spur of the Sonoma Mountains sometimes called the Los Gullicos Range. Rainfall occurs primarily during winters (November to April), separated by warm dry summers. Bennett Valley is accessed chiefly via Bennett Valley Road, which traverses the valley floor to connect southeast Santa Rosa with Warm Springs Road in Glen Ellen.

Trione-Annadel State Park is a state park of California in the United States. It is situated at the northern edge of Sonoma Valley and is adjacent to Spring Lake Regional Park in Santa Rosa. It offers many recreational activities within its 5,092-acre (2,061 ha) property. The rock formations of Trione-Annadel have played a central role in its history: its volcanic origins, the Native American use of obsidian, the early 1900s mining of cobblestones, and modern hikers' appreciation of its volcanic rock outcrops. These lands were occupied by the Wappo and Pomo people in prehistoric times, who would have primarily inhabited the riparian zones and the marsh perimeter. Annadel includes what some biologists consider the best example of undisturbed northern oak woodlands in existence. Visitors can enjoy the park's diverse wildlife and scenery during any time of the year but are perhaps most rewarded from April through June when most wildflowers are in bloom. The park has gone through two Wildfires in its history, the 2017 Nuns fire that burned the majority of the park and the most recent Glass fire in 2020.

Lake Ilsanjo is a man-made lake located in Annadel State Park east of Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, California, United States. It is a place for fishing and swimming, especially in the summer months. Entrepreneur Joe Coney originally owned the land that is now Annadel State Park and named the lake after his wife Ilsa and himself. Thus it came to be called Lake Ilsanjo. It drains into Spring Creek. The lake is formed by a dam constructed in the 1950s. Originally the overflow drained to a gully during the winter months, but in 2003, the state spent almost $400,000 building a spillway and release valve to reduce downstream erosion. During the winter of 2007–08, park officials accidentally left the release valve open, causing the lake level to drop far below normal, exposing mudflats that would normally be underwater.

The Bennett Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Sonoma County, California. The boundaries of this appellation lie completely within the North Coast AVA, almost completely within the Sonoma Valley AVA and overlaps into some areas of the Sonoma Coast AVA and Sonoma Mountain AVA. The region was granted AVA status on December 23, 2003 following the petition of Matanzas Creek Winery. The AVA is surrounded to the south, east and west by the Sonoma Mountains and to the north by the city of Santa Rosa, California. The region receives a moderating effect on its climate from Pacific Ocean through the cool coastal fogs and breeze that creep into the area from the southwest through Crane Canyon between Sonoma Mountain and Taylor Mountain. Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Grenache, Merlot, Pinot noir, Sauvignon blanc and Syrah are the leading grape varieties planted.

Ledson Marsh is a 30-acre (0.1 km2) freshwater marsh in Annadel State Park east of Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, California, United States. Located on the east flank of Bennett Mountain, it drains into Schultz Creek, a tributary of Yulupa Creek.

Spring Lake Regional Park is a 320-acre (130 ha) public park in southeastern Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California, United States. Centered on the Santa Rosa Creek Reservoir, the park is administered by the Sonoma County Regional Parks Department. Its coordinates are 38.45°N 122.65°W / 38.45; -122.65, and its official address is 391 Violetti Drive.

Santa Rosa Creek Reservoir is a reservoir in Spring Lake Regional Park in the city of Santa Rosa, California, USA. It is impounded by an earthen dam built in 1963 (1963) and owned by the Sonoma County Water Agency.

Taylor Mountain is a summit at the northern extreme of the Sonoma Mountains in California. The mountain lies in the Laguna de Santa Rosa drainage basin; its east flank drains to Matanzas Creek, a northwestward flowing stream running the length of Bennett Valley, and its west flank drains to Five Creek. The mountain is named after California Gold Rush pioneer John Shackleford Taylor, who settled on the mountain slopes in 1853 to raise dairy cows and plant a vineyard.North of Taylor Mountain, Taylor Ridge descends toward the city of Santa Rosa. Some of Santa Rosa's urban expansion is taking place to the east of this ridge. Taylor Mountain is readily visible from Sonoma Mountain, Bennett Valley, the Santa Rosa Plain and from as far north as the Alexander Valley.The peak of Taylor Mountain defines (in part) the boundary between the Sonoma Coast AVA and the Sonoma Valley AVA, two federally designated grape-growing regions. Wines made from grapes grown on its western slopes would qualify for the Sonoma Coast appellation, whereas those made from grapes grown on its eastern slopes would qualify for the Sonoma Valley appellation.

Rancho Los Guilicos was a 18,834-acre (76.22 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Sonoma County, California given in 1837 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to John (Juan) Wilson. The grant extended along Sonoma Creek, south of Santa Rosa from Santa Rosa Creek south to almost Glen Ellen, and encompassed present day Oakmont, Kenwood and Annadel State Park.

The John Medica Gardens are a collection of folk art stoneworks and gardens created by John Medica in Santa Rosa, California in the United States. The gardens are on the list of California Historical Landmarks. The garden is located on a private property. It took Medica 20 years to create the gardens.

The William Hood House was built in 1858 by William Hood. Its California Historical Landmark number is 692. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 6, 1998.The house was built from bricks that were made on the property. An adobe building, a vineyard and a winery were built with the house, none of which remain. The Knights of Pythias bought the house in 1924, after several different owners including United States Senator mining magnate, railroad and newspaper owner Thomas Kearns. The Los Guilicos School for Girls purchased the land in 1943. A sign posted in November 2008 states that, after restoration, the house would be opened to the public.

Lake Ralphine is a reservoir in Howarth Memorial Park in the city of Santa Rosa, in the U.S. state of California.