Yorkville, California

Yorkville Highlands is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in southern Mendocino County, California and is the county border between Sonoma's Alexander Valley AVA and Mendocino's Anderson Valley AVA. It was established as the nation's 133rd, the state's 79th and the county's ninth appellation on April 7, 1998 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Treasury after reviewing a petition submitted by Mr. William J.A. Weir on behalf of the Yorkville Highlands Appellation Committee proposing a viticultural area within southern Mendocino County known as " Yorkville Highlands." In addition, a related petition was filed by Ms. Bernadette A. Byrne, Executive Director of the Mendocino Winegrowers Alliance proposing to extend the southern boundary of the Mendocino viticultural area to coincide with the Yorkville Highlands' boundary. The petitions requested the Yorkville Highlands area be entirely contained within both the Mendocino AVA and the county borders. Yorkville Highlands covers approximately 40,000 acres (63 sq mi) of which 70 acres (28 ha) are devoted to viticulture. At the outset, there were seven growers and two wine producers within the area, with two new growers planning vineyards and some existing growers planning to plant more vineyards. The expansion of the Mendocino viticultural area adds approximately 10,000 acres (16 sq mi) to that area. The soil in the Yorkville Highlands is rocky with a high gravel content, which provides excellent drainage. During the day, the climate is cooler than Alexander Valley but warmer than Anderson Valley, while at night the highlands are cooler than the surrounding areas. As of 2025, there are twelve growers and five wineries within the area.

Beebe Creek is a stream located in the U.S. state of California. It is located in Mendocino County.

The Galbreath Wildlands Preserve is a 3,670-acre (14.9 km2) nature reserve in Mendocino County, California, United States, established in 2004 in honor of Fred Burckhalter Galbreath (1901-2000). The preserve, a former sheep ranch, is located in the Outer Coast Range 17 miles (27 km) from the coast, near Yorkville. The Preserve features woodland, forest and grassland communities that lie at the edge of coastal fog influence. Lands are in the upper Rancheria sub-basin of the Navarro Watershed and contain 1st - 5th order streams. The Preserve's forests are primarily second-growth coniferous forest and hardwood.

The Rotchev House is a historic house at Fort Ross State Historic Park in the U.S. state of California. Built in 1812, it is the fort's only building to survive from the period of the Russian-American Company's California settlement. It is one of a very small number of Russian-built structures in the United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970 as the Commander's House, Fort Ross. (Fort Ross as a whole is also a National Historic Landmark.)

The Elk Range is a mountain range in Mendocino County, California in the United States.

Duncan Springs (formerly, Duncan Mineral Springs) is a set of springs and the site of a resort from the 1880s in Mendocino County, California, United States. Waring 1915, p. 167 It is located 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south-southwest of Hopland, at an elevation of 781 feet (238 m). Duncan Springs was a resort by the 1880s.

Beasley Creek is a stream in the U.S. state of California. It is located in Mendocino County.

Hopland (formerly Sanel) is a census-designated place in Mendocino County, California, United States. It is located on the west bank of the Russian River, 13 miles (21 km) south-southeast of Ukiah, in the Sanel Valley, at an elevation of 502 feet (153 m). The population was 661 at the 2020 census, down from 756 at the 2010 census. Hopland is located at the start of the North Coast or Redwood Coast region of Northern California. It is 100 miles (161 km) north of San Francisco along U.S. Route 101 and a 30-minute drive (17 miles [27 km] east along State Route 175) to California's largest natural lake, Clear Lake. Hopland is a rustic farming community situated among oak-covered coastal foothills. Summer temperatures can exceed 100 °F (38 °C). Historic buildings in town include the old Hopland High School (c. 1923–1965), as well as the Thatcher Hotel, built in the late 1800s and recently reopened after undergoing a complete renovation. Approximately 5 mi (8 km) east of Hopland is the University of California's Hopland Research and Extension Center (formerly called the "Hopland Field Station"), a 5,300-acre (21.4 km2) research and education facility that UC has operated since 1951.

Rancho Sanel was a 17,754-acre (71.85 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Mendocino County, California, given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Fernando Feliz (or Felix). The grant extended along the Russian River and encompassed present-day Hopland. It is named after a village of the Pomo people near Hopland; the name means sweat-house in the Pomo language. Neither Spanish nor Mexican influence extended into Mendocino County beyond establishing two ranchos in southern Mendocino County: Rancho Sanel in the Sanel Valley in 1844 and Rancho Yokaya in the Ukiah Valley in 1845.

The Sanel Valley in Mendocino County, California, is a valley along the Russian River containing the town of Hopland. The river flows through the valley for approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) from the northeast (where it connects from its headwaters and the Ukiah Valley through a rocky constriction) to the southwest, and it is met near Hopland by two tributaries, Feliz Creek on the west side of the river and McDowell Creek on the east. The valley is approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) wide, and covers an area of 8.4 square miles (22 km2). The valley is served by U.S. Route 101, which passes through the valley near the west bank of the river, and by California State Route 175, which connects Hopland through the Mayacamas Mountains to Lakeport and Clear Lake to the east. The name Sanel comes from a Pomo language word for a sweat lodge. A village of the Hopland Pomo was located at what is now Old Hopland and gave its name to the valley and the Rancho Sanel that encompassed it.

Frog Woman Rock (Pomo: Bi-tsin’ ma-ca Ka-be) is a distinctive volcanic monolith located in Mendocino County, California, in the Russian River canyon through the California Coast Ranges. The California Historical Landmark, adjacent to U.S. Route 101, is a popular recreational site for rock-climbing and whitewater kayaking.

Pieta is an archaic placename, former crossroads, and former railroad depot in Mendocino County, California. It is located near the mouth of Pieta Creek 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Hopland, at an elevation of 476 feet (145 m).A post office, located on the east side of the San Francisco and North Pacific railroad tracks, operated at Pieta from 1891 to 1897. The name allegedly honors a local Native American chief. In 1891 a toll road was built at Pieta that led to Lake County. In 1896 the California Camera Club planned an outing to Pieta to photograph the "picturesque" scenery. In the 1900s, Hopland and Pieta were rivals for the traffic that came with mail delivery and stage service. Pieta was the rail stop for travelers to Bartlett Springs spa, which offered "medicinal soda magnesia baths". Stages connected from Pieta to Bartlett Springs, Highland Springs, Kelseyville, Soda Bay, and Lakeport. At least one proposed-but-never-built railroad through Lake County intended to use the Pieta stage stop as a terminus and then follow the old stage route along Pieta Creek.