Butte County, California

County of Butte
County of Butte
	— County —
	Butte County, with a view of the Sutter Buttes in the background
	; Seal
	; Seal
	Nickname(s): The Land of Natural Wealth and Beauty
	Location in the state of California
	California's location in the United States
Country	United States
State	California
Region	Sacramento Valley
Incorporated	1850
County seat	Oroville
Largest city	Chico
	Area
- Total	1,677 sq mi (4,343.4 km2)
- Land	1,639 sq mi (4,245 km2)
- Water	38 sq mi (98.4 km2)
Population (2008 estimate)	220,337
- Density	136/sq mi (52.5/km2)
Time zone	Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)
Website	www.buttecounty.net

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Butte County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, north of the state capital of Sacramento. As of the 2000 census, it had a population of 203,171. The county seat is Oroville.^[1] Butte County is the "Land of Natural Wealth and Beauty."

Butte County is watered by the Feather River and the Sacramento River. Butte Creek and Big Chico Creek are additional perennial streams, both tributary to the Sacramento. It is the site of Feather Falls, the sixth largest waterfall in the United States. The county is the home of California State University, Chico and of Butte Community College.

There are four major hospitals and the State of California defines Butte County as being inside Health Service Area 1. A special district, the Butte County Air Quality Management District, regulates airborne pollutant emissions in the county. It does this following regional regulations, state, and federal laws. For example, in recent years, the agency changed rules that used to allow residents to burn household trash outdoors.

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,677 square miles (4,343.4 km²), of which 1,639 square miles (4,245.0 km²) is land and 38 square miles (98.4 km²) (2.24%) is water.

South Table Mountain Near Oroville

The county is drained by the Feather River and Butte Creek. Part of the county's western border is formed by the Sacramento River. The county lies along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, the steep slopes making it prime territory for the siting of hydroelectric power plants. About a half dozen of these plants are located in the county.

[edit] Cities and towns

Butte County is home to Bidwell park in Chico, one of the largest municipal parks in the United States.

A photo of Bidwell Mansion in Chico.

Kendall Hall, the administration building at Chico State University in Chico

[edit] Unincorporated communities

[edit] Ghost towns

Hamilton - the original county seat of Butte County, this city has long been forgotten; the only reminder of it is now an overgrown cemetery.
Bidwell's Bar - now located under Lake Oroville
Forks of Butte

[edit] Adjacent counties

[edit] National protected areas

Butte Sink National Wildlife Refuge (part)
Lassen National Forest (part)
Plumas National Forest (part)
Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge (part)

[edit] Transportation infrastructure

[edit] Major highways

[edit] Public transportation

Butte Regional Transit or the B-Line, provides service in and between Chico, Oroville, Paradise, Gridley and Biggs. Chico is also a connection point for Glenn Ride buses to Glenn County and Plumas Transit Systems buses to Plumas County.

Greyhound buses stop in Chico.

[edit] Airports

General Aviation airports in Butte County include:

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 203,171 people, 79,566 households, and 49,410 families residing in the county. The population density was 124 people per square mile (48/km²). There were 85,523 housing units at an average density of 52 per square mile (20/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.52% White, 1.39% Black or African American, 1.90% Native American, 3.32% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 4.82% from other races, and 3.90% from two or more races. 10.50% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 14.2% were of German, 11.1% English, 10.2% Irish, 7.8% American and 5.6% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000. 87.9% spoke English, 7.8% Spanish and 1.4% Hmong as their first language.

There were 79,566 households out of which 28.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.70% were married couples living together, 11.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.90% were non-families. 27.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.00% under the age of 18, 13.60% from 18 to 24, 24.80% from 25 to 44, 21.80% from 45 to 64, and 15.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,924, and the median income for a family was $41,010. Males had a median income of $34,137 versus $25,393 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,517. About 12.20% of families and 19.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.80% of those under age 18 and 7.30% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Government

**Presidential election results**
Year	GOP	DEM	Others
2008	47.9% 39,954	49.7% 41,474	2.7% 1,970
2004	53.7% 51,662	44.1% 42,448	2.1% 2,047
2000	54.5% 45,584	37.4% 31,338	8.1% 6,799
1996	49.0% 38,961	38.5% 30,651	12.5% 9,938
1992	37.2% 31,608	38.2% 32,489	24.6% 20,917
1988	56.0% 40,143	42.5% 30,406	1.5% 1,082
1984	63.1% 45,381	35.3% 25,421	1.6% 1,162
1980	57.9% 38,188	29.6% 19,520	12.6% 8,304
1976	51.8% 28,400	44.1% 24,203	4.1% 2,251
1972	57.6% 28,819	36.8% 18,401	5.6% 2,808
1968	56.7% 22,225	32.9% 12,887	10.5% 4,099
1964	48.4% 19,574	51.5% 20,831	0.0% 14
1960	57.6% 20,838	41.9% 15,163	0.5% 174

[edit] Local

The citizens of the county of Butte are represented by the five member Butte County Board of Supervisors.

[edit] Tribal

The Berry Creek Rancheria of Tyme Maidu Indians of California is headquartered in Oroville. The Berry Creek Rancheria operates Gold Country Casino.

The Mooretown Rancheria of Maidu Indians of California is also headquartered in Oroville. The Mooretown Rancheria operates Feather Falls Casino.

The governmental headquarters of the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Rancheria is located in Chico.

[edit] State

Most of Butte County falls within California's 3rd Assembly District with the southwest corner of the county being in the 2nd Assembly District. The 3rd district is represented by Rick Keene (R-Chico), and the 2nd by Doug La Malfa (R-Richvale) in the California State Assembly. All of Butte County falls within the 4^th senate district, represented by Doug LaMalfa (R, Grass Valley) in the California State Senate.

On Nov. 4, 2008 Butte County voted 56.7 % for Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.

[edit] Federal

Most citizens of Butte County are represented in California's 2nd congressional district by Republican Wally Herger, while the rest of the county is represented in California's 4th congressional district by Republican Tom McClintock.

Butte is a Republican-leaning county in Presidential and congressional elections. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Lyndon Johnson in 1964, although Bill Clinton and Barack Obama won pluralities in 1992 and 2008, respectively.

[edit] Educational institutions

There are roughly 90 public schools in the county according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. The schools are operated by the County Office of Education and 15 school districts, which are:

Butte County contains the following colleges and universities:

[edit] Public libraries

Butte County Library provides library services to residents of the County through six branches in Biggs, Chico, Durham, Gridley, Oroville and Paradise. The mission of the Butte County Library is to provide all individuals, regardless of age, ethnic background, educational or economic level, with free access to ideas, information, and technology.

The library bookmobile provides library services to rural and mountain communities. The library serves low-literacy adults through several programs of the Butte County Library Literacy Services division, including the Adult Reading Program, Families for Literacy and the Literacy Coach, a 36-foot (11 m) vehicle that provides mobile programming like story times, parent meetings, workshops, and computer and teacher trainings.

The library operates as a department of the county of Butte, governed by the Butte County Board of Supervisors.