Hopland, California

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.

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.

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.

The Hopland Band of Pomo Indians of the Hopland Rancheria is a federally recognized tribe of Pomo people in Mendocino County, California, south of Ukiah. The Hopland Band Pomos traditionally lived in the Sanel Valley.

Nacomis Indian Rancheria is an unincorporated community in Mendocino County, California. It lies at an elevation of 768 feet (234 m).

The McDowell Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in southeastern Mendocino County, California near Hopland. The wine appellation is located on sloped bench land at elevations as high as 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level that overlook the Russian River to the west. McDowell Valley is slightly cooler than the surrounding areas of Mendocino County. McDowell Valley Vineyards is currently the only winery operating within the boundaries of the AVA.

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.

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.

The Coast Range Geomorphic Province is a portion of coastal California, United States. This orogen geomorphic province constitutes a barrier between the Pacific Ocean and the San Joaquin Valley which trends northwest from Point Conception to the border with Oregon, with a significant break in the San Francisco Bay Area by the basins of the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River that discharge into the Pacific. The province consists of mountain ranges and the corresponding valleys and basins. The San Francisco Bay Area naturally subdivides the province into the North Coast Ranges and South Coast Ranges. The province is formed as an interaction between the North American and Pacific tectonic plates. The Pacific Plate moves northwest relatively to the North American one with speed of about 35–38 mm/year, with the majority of motion occurring during large earthquakes, with some aseismic fault creep. The overlap of the plates is about 100 km wide and contains all major geologic faults of the Northern California. The mountain ranges of the province are composed primarily of late Mesozoic (200 to 70 million years old) Cenozoic (less than 70 million years old) sedimentary strata.

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.

Yorkville is an unincorporated community in Mendocino County, California, United States. It is located 7.5 miles (12 km) southwest of Hopland, at an elevation of 922 feet (281 m). The original townsite was approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of the present site at 38°54′50″N 123°15′40″W. The Yorkville post office opened in 1868 and moved to the new site with the town in 1937. "The Late Pomo or Ma-cu-maks of the present day Yorkville area spoke the central Pomo language." The name honors R.H. York, the town's founder. The Yorkville Highlands AVA was established in 1998. The Galbreath Wildlands Preserve, which is owned and managed by Sonoma State University as an educational site, is located nearby.

Ukiah Rancheria is an unincorporated community in Mendocino County, California. It lies at an elevation of 636 feet (194 m).