Photo Credit Copyright Elijah Nouvelage

Mattole Valley is where the first oil well was drilled in California. The oil eventually dried up & what is left is a small town in a beautiful green valley, with a general store, a post office & one gas station. This location is also a point where the small Juan de Fuca plate joins the North American and the Pacific plate - right on the San Andreas, so earthquakes are quite common here and off the coast.