Napa is the county seat of Napa County, California. It is the principal city of the Napa county Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses Napa county. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 72,585. The area was settled in the 1830s. It was incorporated as a city in 1872.

On December 31, 2005, the Napa River overflowed and flooded the entire downtown area and thousands of acres all over Napa County. More than 4,000 residents were evacuated and 1,000 homes were flooded or destroyed. The flood of 12/31/05 was the 23rd most serious flood on the Napa River on record since 1865.

Geography and environment

Napa is located at (38.304764, -122.298885)GR: 1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 32.2 km² (17.8 mi²). 45.8 km² (17.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.51%) is water. The Napa River traverses the city on its journey to the San Pablo Bay. The city has conducted a variety of waterfront development along the Napa River including certain fill operations governed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers regulations. The Napa River Flood Project has been in progress since the late 1990s with the goal of mitigating the risk of flooding along a stretch of the River and of Napa Creek.

Climate

Napa has cool, wet winters and very warm, dry summers. In January, average temperatures range from to . In July, average temperatures from range from to . There are an average of 25.3 days with highs of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher and an average of 23.4 days with lows of 32 °F (0 °C) or lower. The record high temperature was on June 14, 1961. The record low temperature was on December 22, 1990.

Average annual precipitation in Napa is and there are an average of 64 days annually with measurable precipitation. The wettest year was 1983 with and the dryest year was 1939 with . The most rainfall in one month was in December 1955, when major flooding occurred in the area. The most rainfall in 24 hours was on November 21, 1977. Although snow is rare, 1.0 inch fell on March 22, 1987.

History