Petaluma /pɛtəˈluːmə/ is a city in Sonoma County, California, part of the North Bay sub-region of the San Francisco Bay Area, located 37 mi north of San Francisco. Its population was 57,941 according to the 2010 Census.The Rancho Petaluma Adobe, located in Petaluma, is a National Historic Landmark. Its construction started in 1836 by order of General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, then Commandant of the San Francisco Presidio. It was the center of a 66,000 acre ranch stretching from Petaluma River to Sonoma Creek. The adobe is considered one of the best preserved buildings of its era in Northern California.Petaluma is a transliteration of the Coast Miwok phrase péta lúuma which means hill backside and probably refers to Petaluma's proximity to Sonoma Mountain.Petaluma has a well-preserved, historic city center which includes many buildings that survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.