Biohazard and Crime Scene Remediation in Covelo, CA

Covelo (pronounced koh-VAY-loh) is a census-designated place in northeastern Mendocino County, the main community of Round Valley, reached by State Route 162 at an elevation of 1,398 feet.

Covelo began in 1860 with the opening of the town's first store, and its post office opened in 1870; the name may come from Covolo, a fort in Pederobba, Italy, though its exact origin is disputed.

Round Valley was the homeland of the Yuki people for thousands of years before settlers first entered on May 15, 1854, and the valley is now commemorated as California Historical Landmark No. 674.

About 405 acres of Covelo lie within the Round Valley Indian Reservation, which began in 1856 as the Nome Cult Farm and became home to many forcibly relocated tribes, including Concow Maidu people marched there on the route remembered as the Nome Cult Trail.

Native Americans made up about 27% of Covelo's population at the 2020 census, one of the highest shares of any community in Mendocino County.

Covelo is the center of the Covelo American Viticultural Area, a wine-grape region established on February 15, 2006 that spans about 38,000 acres across Round and Williams Valleys; cattle ranching is the area's other mainstay.

Covelo had a population of 1,394 at the 2020 census, up from 1,255 in 2010, with about 493 households averaging 2.83 people and about 61% of occupied homes owner-occupied.

Covelo has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate with about 41 inches of rain a year and extreme temperature swings — its all-time recorded high is 115 degrees Fahrenheit.

Covelo's schools are Round Valley Elementary and Round Valley High School, along with the Eel River Charter School, and the town was the childhood home of Thomas J. and Joseph M. Long, the brothers who co-founded Longs Drugs Stores.