How Mendocino Was Influenced The small, rural town of mendocino sits on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It’s surrounding coastal forests contain redwood and douglas fir trees. These two species are valuable timber for building. The climate of Mendocino is damp. The fog is an important part of this wet climate. One may ask, “what could have possibly brought people to this area in the beginning?” Well, this town has really only been able to survive up to today because of how it’s geography and climate have influenced the people coming to Mendocino. In the beginning, people came for the trees, the huge, majestic redwoods were what drew people here. In the 1850’s the gold rush in the San Francisco area needed more