Redwood Valley (formerly Basil)[5] is a census-designated place (CDP)[4] in Mendocino County, California, United States.

[5] Jim Jones' Peoples Temple was located in Redwood Valley for a short time.

The site was chosen because Jones believed that it was one of the few places in the world likely to survive a nuclear holocaust.

[citation needed] Redwood Valley is in eastern Mendocino County, at the headwaters of the West Fork of the Russian River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 2.7 square miles (7.0 km2), 99.56% of it land and 0.44% of it water.

[1] The 2010 United States Census[7] reported that Redwood Valley had a population of 1,729.

There were 676 housing units at an average density of 246.0 per square mile (95.0/km2), of which 475 (74.2%) were owner-occupied, and 165 (25.8%) were occupied by renters.

As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 5,975 people, 2,088 households, and 1,613 families residing in the Redwood Valley ZIP code 95470.

[10] Federally, Redwood Valley is in California's 2nd congressional district, represented by Democrat Jared Huffman.

There are over a dozen wineries in the area,[12] which participate in an annual wine-tasting event each Father's Day called A Taste of Redwood Valley.

Due to a budget shortfall, Redwood Valley Elementary School was closed in June 2010.

Redwood Valley is also home of the Redwood Valley Outdoor Education Project, an organization which works with elementary schools in the district to provide hands-on science education.