Those who entered without permission were subject to harsh penalties.
The Bitakomtara controlled the valley closely, barring passage to others until permission was arranged. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Redwood Empire, Wine Country and the North Bay the fifth most populous city in the San Francisco Bay Area after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont and the 28th most populous city in California.īefore the arrival of Europeans, the wide valley containing Santa Rosa was home to a strong and populous tribe of Pomo natives known as the Bitakomtara. Its estimated 2014 population was 174,170. Santa Rosa is a city in and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States.