Covelo, California

Geography

Covelo is located in northeastern Mendocino County at . It is accessible via California State Route 162, which leads southwest 29 mi to U.S. Route 101 at Longvale. To the east, Mendocino Pass Road (becoming Alder Springs Road) leads 66 mi over the mountains of Mendocino National Forest to Elk Creek, for much of its length a gravel road.

Covelo covers 7.1 sqmi of land, 405 acre of which is part of the Round Valley Indian Reservation. Of the total area, 99.40% of it is land and 0.60% of it water. Covelo and Round Valley are drained by Mill Creek, which flows east to the Middle Fork of the Eel River.

Vineyards and agriculture

Covelo is an American Viticultural Area as of February 15, 2006, by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. The AVA includes Round and Williams Valleys, situated approximately 45 mi north of Ukiah, and spans 59 sqmi.

Like the rest of Mendocino County, a large part of Covelo's economy comes from growing grapes for wine but also cattle ranching.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Covelo has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated Csa on climate maps. Covelo has a four-season climate, with the dry part of the year during summer and the rainy part in the winter. Winters are mild in Covelo. Although snowfall is heavy on the nearby mountains such as Anthony Peak in the winter, it is usually light in the valley. Diurnal temperature variation is large year round, albeit widest in summer. During winter, the variation results in frequent frosts.

| Jan record high F = 78 | Feb record high F = 82 | Mar record high F = 88 | Apr record high F = 94 | May record high F = 104 | Jun record high F = 108 | Jul record high F = 114 | Aug record high F = 115 | Sep record high F = 114 | Oct record high F = 104 | Nov record high F = 88 | Dec record high F = 75 | year record high F = 115 | Jan record low F = 7 | Feb record low F = 10 | Mar record low F = 18 | Apr record low F = 22 | May record low F = 27 | Jun record low F = 31 | Jul record low F = 37 | Aug record low F = 37 | Sep record low F = 28 | Oct record low F = 17 | Nov record low F = 14 | Dec record low F = -9 | year record low F = -9

History

Covelo began in 1860, with the opening of the town's first store. The post office opened in 1870. Some sources claim that the town was named after a village in Switzerland. However, there is no village in Switzerland by that name. Covelo may be a misspelling of Covolo, a fort in Pederobba, Veneto, Italy, which is near Switzerland. Alternatively, it could be named after Covelo, a village in Galicia, Spain. There is also a Covello in Basilicato, in the south of Italy.

Demographics

| align-fn=center 1850–1870 1880-1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Covelo had a population of 1,394. The population density was 196.5 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of Covelo was 522 (37.4%) White, 1 (0.1%) African American, 377 (27.0%) Native American, 1 (0.1%) Asian, 1 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 280 (20.1%) from other races, and 212 (15.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 488 persons (35.0%).

The whole population lived in households. There were 493 households, out of which 159 (32.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 194 (39.4%) were married-couple households, 43 (8.7%) were cohabiting couple households, 116 (23.5%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 140 (28.4%) had a male householder with no partner present. 131 households (26.6%) were one person, and 59 (12.0%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.83.

The age distribution was 361 people (25.9%) under the age of 18, 107 people (7.7%) aged 18 to 24, 434 people (31.1%) aged 25 to 44, 306 people (22.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 186 people (13.3%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 35.4years. For every 100 females, there were 125.2 males.

There were 546 housing units at an average density of 77.0 /mi2, of which 493 (90.3%) were occupied. Of these, 302 (61.3%) were owner-occupied, and 191 (38.7%) were occupied by renters.

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $35,735, and the per capita income was $16,504. About 49.6% of families and 46.0% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010

At the 2010 census Covelo had a population of 1,255. The population density was 175.8 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of Covelo was 611 (48.7%) White, 14 (1.1%) African American, 475 (37.8%) Native American, 10 (0.8%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 49 (3.9%) from other races, and 96 (7.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 163 people (13.0%).

The census reported that 1,247 people (99.4% of the population) lived in households, no one lived in non-institutionalized group quarters and 8 (0.6%) were institutionalized.

There were 481 households, 148 (30.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 146 (30.4%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 81 (16.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 56 (11.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 70 (14.6%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 0 (0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 148 households (30.8%) were one person and 53 (11.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.59. There were 283 families (58.8% of households); the average family size was 3.25.

The age distribution was 339 people (27.0%) under the age of 18, 105 people (8.4%) aged 18 to 24, 320 people (25.5%) aged 25 to 44, 299 people (23.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 192 people (15.3%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 35.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.6 males.

There were 542 housing units at an average density of 75.9 per square mile, of the occupied units 314 (65.3%) were owner-occupied and 167 (34.7%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.4%. 791 people (63.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 456 people (36.3%) lived in rental housing units.

Politics

In the state legislature, Covelo is in , and .

Federally, Covelo is in .

Education

Round Valley Elementary and Round Valley High School serve as the town's schools. There is also a charter school: Eel River Charter School.

Notable people

• Michelle Lambert, pop singer
• Thomas J. and Joseph M. Long, brothers who co-founded Longs Drugs Stores; born and raised in Covelo

References

References

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6. 27 [[Code of Federal Regulations. C.F.R.]] Part 9. ''[https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2006-02-16/pdf/06-1457.pdf Establishment of the Covelo Viticultural Area]'' (2003R–412P)''.'' Washington, DC: [[Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau]], [[United States Department of the Treasury. U.S. Department of the Treasury]]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20201023214718/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2006-02-16/pdf/06-1457.pdf Archived] from the original on October 23, 2020.
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