"Novato is a city located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, in northern Marin County. As of a 2000 census, the city population was 47,630. Novato is 30 miles (48 km) north of San Francisco on US 101.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 73.2 km² (28.3 mi²). 71.7 km² (27.7 mi²) of it is land and 1.4 km² (0.6 mi²) of it (1.95%) is water.
Major geographical features nearby include Mount Burdell to the north and Big Rock Ridge to the southwest. Stafford Lake to the west is a secondary water supply for Novato, with the Russian River in Sonoma County to the north supplying most of the city's water." (
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