Rancho Novato

Novato (Spanish for "Novatus") is a city in Marin County, California, United States, situated in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. At the 2020 census, Novato had a population of 53,225.

The Flatiron Building is a historic building in the "Old Town" of Novato, California. Built in 1908 by Abraham Yelmorini, a Swiss immigrant and dairy farmer, who also operated a saloon behind it. It was designed to attract the attention of passengers arriving at the nearby Novato train station and prevent them from seeing the other saloons in town. After Mr. Yelmorini's saloon ceased operations, a Wells Fargo express office opened in its place. Below street level are several black doors, for purposes unknown. It served as offices of the local newspaper, the Marin County Banner, and in 1922, for the Novato Advance. In 1918, it housed a market; in 1958, a thrift shop; in 2007, a gift shop; a home furnishings store; and in 2012, a bookshop.

Novato Downtown station is a train station in Novato, California. It opened as an infill station for the Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) service in December 2019. Prior to that, it was in operation from 1879 to 1958 by the Northwestern Pacific Railroad.

Novato San Marin is a Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit station in Novato, California. It opened to preview service on June 29, 2017; and full commuter service commenced on August 25, 2017. It is located on the north side of the city, near where San Marin Drive becomes Atherton Avenue at Redwood Avenue. This was one of two stations planned for Novato in the Initial Operating Segment of SMART service until a third was announced to be partially built for opening at a later date.This site was selected for its proximity to Fireman's Fund Insurance Company headquarters, then one of the largest employers in the county. In SMART's planning phase, the company pledged their employees would heavily patronize the line, but would go on to move corporate operations to Petaluma before the commencement of service. Service to the station was planned to be reduced upon completion of the Novato Downtown station. However, full service to Novato San Marin was retained after Novato Downtown opened in December 2019.

The Harkleroad wind turbine was a noted landmark in Novato, California. It was built to generate electricity for the workshop on which it was mounted. It was visible from U.S. Route 101, a heavily traveled freeway. In 2021, the turbine was removed from the roof of the workshop, and it is no longer visible from the freeway.

Novato High School (NHS) is a public high school located in Novato, California, in Marin County. It is one of three high schools part of the Novato Unified School District.

The Buck Institute for Research on Aging is an independent biomedical research institute that researches aging and age-related disease. The mission of the Buck Institute is to extend the healthy years of life. The Buck Institute is one of nine centers for aging research of the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research.The institute, a nonprofit organization located in Novato, California, began its research program in 1999, making it the world's first institute founded primarily to study intervention into the aging process. It is named for Marin County philanthropists Leonard and Beryl Hamilton Buck, whose estate funded the endowment that helped establish the institute, and the Buck Trust currently contributes approximately $6 million annually to support the institute's work. The campus of the Buck Institute was designed by architect I. M. Pei.In May 2007, the institute established a cooperative agreement with the University of California's Davis and Merced campuses to coordinate stem-cell research.

The Rush Creek Open Space Preserve or just the Rush Creek Preserve is a nature reserve and open space near Novato, California. It is named for Rush Creek. The 522 acre lot of public land has a host of hiking trails as well as a marsh in the center, and is bordered by various marshes and shallow lakes owned by the California Department of Fish and Game. Due to the proximity of marshes and shallow lakes, all kinds of birds and waterfowl live in the area, with close to 200 species. This makes the preserve a popular destination for birdspotters. Open 24 hours a day, the preserve is also popular for running, hiking, biking, dog walking, and horse riding, as all are allowed on most of the trails. A rare Blue Oak woodland is also located near the Bahia Marsh.

The Novato meteorite is an ordinary chondrite which entered the Earth's atmosphere and broke up over Northern California at 19:44 Pacific Time on 17 October 2012. The falling bolide created a bright fireball and sonic booms and fragmented into smaller pieces as the intense friction of passing through the atmosphere heated it and absorbed its kinetic energy. The meteoroid was about 35 centimeters (14 in) across.

Deer Island is a former island in Marin County, California, close to (and formerly surrounded by wetlands of) the Novato Creek, upstream of San Pablo Bay (an embayment of San Francisco Bay). It is now the location of Deer Island Preserve. It used to be inhabited by Antonio DeBorba, who hiked the nearby wetlands to avoid having to use a boat to get home. The building is still there on the Northeastern part of the island. Deer Island's coordinates are 38°05′52″N 122°32′13″W, and its elevation is 167 ft (51 m).

Rush Creek is a stream in eastern Marin County, California, United States. It originates on the north edge of Novato, California and flows 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northeasterly through wetlands into Black John Slough and then the Petaluma River. The name is associated with Peter Rush who bought land near Novato in 1862.

The Marin School of Arts and Technology (MSAT) was a small charter school in Marin County, California, that existed between 2003 and 2007. Located in the College of Marin's Indian Valley campus in Novato, California, it was operated by Envision Schools, an organization funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Conceived as a "small high school," the school's focus was on teaching a rigorous, project-based curriculum, using art and technology as tools for learning.