Ukiah Valley is a valley located in Mendocino County

Mendocino County, California

Mendocino County is a county located on the north coast of the U.S. state of California, north of the greater San Francisco Bay Area and west of the Central Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 87,841, up from 86,265 at the 2000 census...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It contains the Mendocino County seat of Ukiah

Ukiah, California

The average high temperature is 73.5 °F . Average low temperature is 46.1 °F . Temperatures reach 90 °F on an average of 65.6 days annually and 100 °F on an average of 14.4 days annually. Due to frequent low humidity, summer temperatures normally drop into the fifties at night. Freezing...

. It also is home to the unincorporated towns of Redwood Valley

Redwood Valley, California

Redwood Valley is a census-designated place in Mendocino County, California. It is located southwest of Potter Valley, at an elevation of 722 feet . It comprises the northern portion of the Ukiah Valley. It is about 8 mi north of Ukiah and 12 mi south of Willits. Potter Valley is to...

, Calpella

Calpella, California

Calpella is a census-designated place in Mendocino County, California. It is located on the Russian River north of Ukiah, at an elevation of 682 feet . It is within the Ukiah Valley where U.S. Route 101 and State Route 20 intersect. The population was 679 at the 2010 census...

, Potter Valley

Potter Valley, California

Potter Valley is a census-designated place in Mendocino County, California, United States. It is located north-northeast of Ukiah, at an elevation of 948 feet . It is located at the headwaters of the East Fork of the Russian River...

 and Talmage

Talmage, California

Talmage is a census-designated place in Mendocino County, California, United States. Talmage is located east-southeast of Ukiah, at an elevation of 627 feet . The population was 1,130 at the 2010 census, down from 1,141 at the 2000 census...

. Lake Mendocino

Lake Mendocino

Lake Mendocino is a large reservoir in Mendocino County, California, northeast of Ukiah. It covers and was formed by the construction of Coyote Dam in 1958. The lake and dam provide flood control, water conservation, hydroelectric power, and recreation.-Recreation:Lake Mendocino is administered by...

 and the headwaters of the Russian River

Russian River (California)

The Russian River, a southward-flowing river, drains of Sonoma and Mendocino counties in Northern California. With an annual average discharge of approximately , it is the second largest river flowing through the nine county Greater San Francisco Bay Area with a mainstem 110 miles ...

 are located in the greater Ukiah valley.

While part of the greater Ukiah area, Willits

Willits, California

Willits is a city in Mendocino County, California, United States. Willits is located north-northwest of Ukiah, at an elevation of 1391 feet . The population was 4,888 at the 2010 census, down from 5,073 at the 2000 census. Willits is at the center of Mendocino County and its redwood forests...

 is located to the north of the Ukiah Valley in Little Lake Valley, part of the Eel River

Eel River (California)

The Eel River is a major river system of the northern Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. Approximately 200 miles long, it drains a rugged area in the California Coast Ranges between the Sacramento Valley and the ocean. For most of its course, the river flows northwest, parallel to the...

 drainage basin.

Linguistically, "Ukiah Valley" is redundant: "Ukiah" comes from words in the language of the Pomo people

Pomo people

The Pomo people are an indigenous peoples of California. The historic Pomo territory in northern California was large, bordered by the Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to Clear Lake, and mainly between Cleone and Duncans Point...

meaning "south valley".