Del Norte County, California

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Del Norte County, California
Image:Del Norte County ca seal.jpeg
Map
Location in the state of California
California's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded	1857
Seat	Crescent City
Area - Total - Land - Water	1,230 sq mi (3,186 km²) 1,008 sq mi (2,611 km²) 222 sq mi (575 km²), 18.05%
Population - (2000) - Density	27,507 28/sq mi (11/km²)
Website: co.del-norte.ca.us

Del Norte County is the northwesternmost county in the U.S. state of California, located on the Pacific coast south of Oregon. As of the 2000 census, it had a population of 27,507. The county seat is Crescent City, the county's only incorporated city. The county is bordered by the state of Oregon to the north.

Del Norte County is noted for its redwood forests and the wild Smith River National Recreation Area.

1 History
2 Education
3 Geography
4 Transportation Infrastructure
5 Demographics
6 Politics
7 References
8 External links

[edit] History

Del Norte County was founded in 1857, from part of the territory of Klamath County. Klamath County itself ceased to exist in 1874.

The name of the county signifies "the north" and the county derived its name from its geographical position in the extreme northwest corner of the state.

[edit] Education

Del Norte County is home to a satellite campus of College of the Redwoods, a two-year college based in Humboldt County.

The Del Norte County Unified School District provides public education to the children of Del Norte County through the twelfth grade. The primary high school in Del Norte County is Del Norte High School, whose school mascot is the Warrior.

Del Norte County has several private parochial schools and charter schools.

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,230 square miles (3,185 km²), of which, 1,008 square miles (2,610 km²) of it is land and 222 square miles (575 km²) of it (18.05%) is water.

[edit] Rivers

Klamath - one of the longest in California.
Smith - a crown jewel of the National Wild and Scenic River program.

[edit] Parks

[edit] Cities and towns

Crescent City, which includes the large northern area of Northcrest, and is the only incorporated city in Del Norte County.

The towns of Del Norte include: Bertsch-Oceanview, Crescent City North, Fort Dick, Gasquet, Hiouchi, Klamath, and Smith River

[edit] Adjacent counties

[edit] Transportation Infrastructure

[edit] Major highways

[edit] Public Transportation

Local public transit is provided by Redwood Coast Transit, which provides access to Amtrak passenger train (via Amtrak bus) service and Greyhound bus service.

[edit] Airports

SkyWest conducts passenger flights to and from Jack McNamara Field Airport. The majority of flights connect to San Francisco International Airport through Arcata-Eureka Airport and vice-versa, although connections are also available to Sacramento and Portland, Oregon.

[edit] Harbor

The Crescent City Harbor serves as a commercial fishing boat basin for Salmon, Shrimp, Tuna, Cod, and Dungeness Crab commercial fishing boats. The harbor is also home to multiple fishing and non-fishing related businesses and harbor governmental offices. The Crescent City Harbor also has several pleasure boat docks.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 27,507 people, 9,170 households, and 6,290 families residing in the county. The population density was 27 people per square mile (11/km²). There were 10,434 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 78.86% White, 4.30% Black or African American, 0.43% Native American, 2.32% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 3.92% from other races, and 4.08% from two or more races. 13.92% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 16.2% were of German, 11.3% English, 9.1% Irish and 7.4% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 91.6% spoke English and 6.2% Spanish as their first language.

There were 9,170 households out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 123.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 130.3 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,642, and the median income for a family was $36,056. Males had a median income of $40,072 versus $22,212 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,573. About 16.40% of families and 20.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.70% of those under age 18 and 8.20% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Politics

**Presidential election results**
Year	GOP	DEM	Others
2004	56.9% 5,356	41.3% 3,892	1.8% 173
2000	54.6% 4,526	37.6% 3,117	7.9% 651
1996	41.3% 3,670	41.1% 3,652	17.6% 1,567
1992	33.0% 3,083	38.9% 3,639	28.1% 2,631
1988	49.7% 3,174	48.0% 3,587	2.2% 167
1984	58.4% 3,996	39.4% 2,696	2.2% 149
1980	57.5% 4,016	33.5% 2,338	9.1% 633
1976	45.3% 2,481	50.9% 2,789	3.8% 208
1972	51.8% 2,927	38.2% 2,156	10.0% 565
1968	46.2% 2,387	43.3% 2,236	10.6% 545
1964	36.2% 2,075	63.8% 3,652
1960	48.1% 3,024	51.2% 3,225	0.7% 45

Del Norte is a strongly Republican county in Presidential and congressional elections. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Del Norte is part of California's 1st congressional district, which is held by Democrat Mike Thompson. In the State Assembly, Del Norte is part of the 1st district, which is held by Democrat Patty Berg. In the State Senate, Del Norte is part of the 4th district, which is held by Republican Sam Aanestad.