Snell Valley is a depression landform in
Napa County, California. This feature is located approximately five miles north of
Aetna Springs. The valley is noted for its diversity of
wildflower
A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the ...
s, and within Snell Valley is the
Missimer Wildflower Preserve. An example of wildflowers in Snell Valley is
Gold Nuggets
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile meta ...
, ''
Calochortus luteus
''Calochortus luteus'', the yellow mariposa lily, is a mariposa lily endemic to California.
Description
The primarily bright deep yellow flower is 3–5 cm across and perianth bulb-shaped, lined red-brown inside, often also with central re ...
''.
History
Snell Valley was part of
Rancho Guenoc when it was deeded as part of a
Mexican land grant
The Spanish and Mexican governments made many concessions and land grants in Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish Concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an inducement fo ...
in 1845. It is assumed that the valley is named after George and Hiram Snell, two brothers from Germany, who were documented as residents of the Guenoc Rancho in 1857.
In August 2020, Snell Valley was evacuated due to the
Hennessey Fire, which burned of over in five counties, including in Snell Valley.
See also
*
Snell Creek
Snell Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 10, 2011 watercourse in Napa County, California. It is situated approximately five miles north of Aetna Springs an ...
Line notes
References
* David L. Durham. 2001. ''Durham's place names of California's old wine country'', page 65
* C. Michael Hogan. 2009
''Yellow Mariposa Lily: Calochortus luteus'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
Valleys of California
Valleys of Napa County, California
{{NapaCountyCA-geo-stub