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Bulletin 160~98 Public Review Draft 003384 Chapter 7, Coastal Regions Chapter 7. Options for Meeting Future Water Needs in Coastal Regions of California This chapter covers the Coastal hydrologic regions of the State: the North Coast, San Francisco Bay, Central Coast, and South Coast (Figure 7-1). These four regions make up 29 percent of the State's land area but was home to 78 percent of the State's population in 1995. North Coast Hydrologic Region Description of the Area The North Coast Region comprises the Pacific Ocean coastline from Tomales Bay to the Oregon border, extending inland to the crest of coastal watersheds. The region includes all or large portions ofModoc, Siskiyou, Del Norte, Trinity, Humboldt, Mendocino, Lake, and Sonoma counties. Small areas of Shasta, Tehama, Glenn, Colusa, and Marin counties are also within the North Coast Region (see Figure 7-2). Most of the region is comprised of rugged mountains; the dominant topographic features are the Klamath Mountains and the Coast Range. Mountain elevations range from 5,000 feet along the coast to more than 8,000 feet in the Klamath River watershed. Valley areas include the high plateau of the Klamath River basin in Modoc County, the Eureka/Arcata area, Hoopa Valley in Humboldt County, Anderson Valley, the Ukiah area, Alexander Valley, and the Santa Rosa plain. Precipitation in the region varies depending on location and elevation. In the Modoc Plateau of the Klamath River basin, annual precipitation averages 10 inches, while higher elevation lands of the Smith River basin in Del Norte County average more than 100 inches of rain a year. The southern portion of the region is drier; Santa Rosa averages about 29 inches of rain annually. 7-] DRAFT