Occidental, California
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Occidental Howards |
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|---|---|
| census-designated place | |
Occidental, California post office
|
|
 Location in Sonoma County and the state of California |
|
 Occidental
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| Coordinates: 38°24′27″N 122°56′54″W / 38.40750°N 122.94833°WCoordinates: 38°24′27″N 122°56′54″W / 38.40750°N 122.94833°W | |
| Country |
 United States
|
| State |
 California
|
| County | Sonoma |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4.966 sq mi (12.862 km2) |
| • Land | 4.966 sq mi (12.862 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) 0% |
| Elevation | 594 ft (181 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 1,115 |
| • Density | 220/sq mi (87/km2) |
| Time zone | PST (UTC-8) |
| • Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) |
| ZIP code | 95465 |
| Area code(s) | 707 |
| FIPS code | 06-53266 |
| GNIS feature ID | 277568 |
Occidental is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,115 at the 2010 census, down from 1,272 at the 2000 census.
Founded in 1876, Occidental was a stop on the North Pacific Coast Railroad connecting Cazadero to the Sausalito ferry. In return for donating right-of-way to the railroad, a local landowner named "Dutch Bill" Howards received a lifetime railway pass, and the station was named after him.
The railway caused a rapid expansion of the timber industry, and by 1877 there were six sawmills in the Occidental area. Trains also brought vacationers from San Francisco.
Occidental is located at 38°24′27″N 122°56′54″W / 38.4074146°N 122.9483307°W. The CDP has a total area of 4.97 sq mi (12.9 km2), all land.
The cooperative National Weather Service station reports that Occidental has cool, wet winters and warm, dry summers.
Average January temperatures range from 41.8 °F (5.4 °C) to 54.5 °F (12.5 °C) and average July temperatures range from 51.4° to 77.9 °F (25.5 °C). The record highest temperature was 103 °F (39 °C) on July 22, 2006, and the record lowest temperature was 28 °F (−2 °C) on March 11, 2006. There are an average of 12.8 days with highs of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher and an average of 2.1 days with lows of 32 °F (0 °C) or lower.
Average annual rainfall is 55.19 inches (1,402 mm). The wettest year was 1983 with 111.21 inches (2,825 mm) and the dryest year was 1976 with 20.75 inches (527 mm). The most rainfall in one month was 36.62 inches (930 mm) in January 1995. The most rainfall in 24 hours was 8.51 inches (216 mm) on January 5, 1966. Average annual snowfall is only 0.2-inch (5.1 mm). The maximum snowfall was 11.0 inches (280 mm) in January 1974.
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