Maps of the Land of MERG

These MAPS show where we live:

near the coast in Northern California, in Humboldt and Trinity Counties, in the heart of the Eel River watershed.

The total Eel River Basin covers 3684 square miles and includes land in Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties primarily, and some lands in Lake and Glenn counties at its far southeastern end. It is divided into six sub-basins as follows:

SUB-BASIN area in sq. mi. percent of total

Estuary/delta 50 1.4%

Mainstem Eel 1477 40.1%

Van Duzen 429 11.6%

South Fork Eel 689 18.7%

North Fork Eel 286 7.8%

Middle Fork Eel 753 20.4%

The mainstem sub-basin is one of the most sparsely-populated areas of California. The "middle mainstem" is our community (although no one calls it that). Alderpoint (population 200?) is the largest town, where the ABC Community Center is located.

Blocksburg is the second-largest town with about 100 (?) people living there. These numbers depend on where you draw the lines. Most people live on their own lands scattered through the hills.
Other communities in our area are Pratt Mountain and Rancho Sequoia subdivision, about 5 miles south of Alderpoint, off the Alderpoint Road; Larrabee subdivision, which is about 3 miles north of Blocksburg off the Alderpoint Road; Zenia, Kettenpom and Wool Mountain in Trinity County about 10 miles east of Alderpoint; and Fort Seward, on the Fort Seward Road.
The main creeks are Dobbins, Steelhead, Powers, Conley, Carter, Mill and Jewett, which all drain into the mainstem, and Larabee Creek, which drains into the Van Duzen. Almost all the land is private, except for small parts of Six Rivers National Forest at the eastern edge, in the Little Dobbins drainage.
Most of the land is used for cattle ranching and cash crop farming. Timber was once the major industry here, but most of the easily-harvested, high-quality timber is gone, and so are all the sawmills. If the fish were abundant, perhaps there could be a recreational fishing and canoeing industry, but there isn't such a thing now. Many people have to work in Garberville, roughly 20 miles west on the Alderpoint Road and 2500 feet over Pratt Mountain. High School students have to go farther -- about 1 1/2 hours each way, every day.