Del Norte County, California

County of Del Norte
—  County  —
Seal
Location in the state of California
California's location in the United States
Country	United States
State	California
Region	California North Coast
Incorporated	1857
Named for	"Of the North" (Spanish: Del norte)
County seat	Crescent City
Largest city	Crescent City
Area
– Total	1,229.75 sq mi (3,185 km2)
– Land	1,007.81 sq mi (2,610.2 km2)
– Water	221.94 sq mi (574.8 km2)
Population (2010)
– Total	28,610
– Density	23.3/sq mi (9/km2)
Time zone	Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8)
– Summer (DST)	Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)
Area code(s)	707, 541
Website	www.co.del-norte.ca.us

Del Norte County is a county located at the far northwest corner of the U.S. state of California on the Pacific adjacent to the Oregon border. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 28,610. The county seat is Crescent City, the county's only incorporated city. Del Norte is the abbreviated Spanish nickname for "the land of the north" (la tierra del norte). Despite its Spanish etymology, official pronunciation of the name is to drop the trailing "e" and simply say "Del Nort."

The rural county is notable for forests containing giant Coast Redwoods, with some attaining heights over 350 feet (110 m). This northernmost county on the California coast also has scores of unique plants and flowers, dozens of species of coastal birds and fish, rocky primitive beaches and sea stacks, pristine rivers, and historic lighthouses. Del Norte is also known among Bigfoot enthusiasts as the location of the famous Patterson-Gimlin film, as well as being the location of some of the forest scenes used in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

History

The area that is now known as Del Norte was and still is inhabited by the Yurok (Klamath River Indians) and Tolowa Nations of indigenous peoples. The first European American to explore this land was pioneer Jedediah Smith in the mid-19th century. He was the first European American to reach the area overland on foot in a time before the European Americans knew anything about such a distant territory. For him it was literally "Land's End" — where the American continent ended at the Pacific Ocean. In 1855 Congress authorized the building of a lighthouse at "the battery point" (a high tide island on the coast of Crescent City) which is still functioning as a historical landmark.

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

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.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 1,229.75 square miles (3,185.0 km²), of which 1,007.81 square miles (2,610.2 km²) (or 81.95%) is land and 221.94 square miles (574.8 km²) (or 18.05%) is water.^[1]

The mountainous terrain associated with the Coastal Range and the Klamath Mountains dominates Del Norte County’s geography. Elevation ranges from sea level to over 9,000 feet. Although much of the county is made up of steep terrain, there are small patches of flat terrain along the coast and in isolated mountain valleys. There are 37 miles of coastline in the county, forming a coastal zone that covers approximately 51,000 acres (80 square miles). A broad coastal plain can be found in the northwest portion of the county with the western edge of the Klamath Mountains as its easterly boundary. Rising abruptly from the coastal plain, the Klamath Mountains extend north into Oregon and are situated between the Cascade Range to the east and the Coast Range to the north. ^[2]

Beaches

• Pelican State Beach

Recreation area

• Smith River National Recreation Area
• All Terrain Vehicles are permitted on certain roads in the Pacific Shores Subdivision off of Kellogg Road and on the beach to the border of the Tolowa Dunes State Park

Rivers

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

Wildlife Refuge

• Castle Rock National Wildlife Refuge

Parks

Marshall Pond near the Klamath River, Redwood National and State Parks.

• Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park
• Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
• Redwood National Park
• Tolowa Dunes State Park
• Ruby Van Deventer County Park
• Florence Keller County Park

Cities and towns

Crescent City is the only incorporated city in Del Norte County. Its population count includes the inmates of Pelican Bay State Prison located ten miles north of the city.

The communities of Del Norte County include: Crescent City North, Fort Dick, Gasquet, Hiouchi, Klamath, Patrick Creek, Douglas Park, Darlingtonia, and Smith River.

Adjacent counties

• Humboldt County, California - south
• Siskiyou County, California - east
• Josephine County, Oregon - northeast
• Curry County, Oregon - north

Flora and fauna

There is a diversity of flora and fauna within Del Norte County. Vegetative plant associations feature several forest types including mixed oak forest. The California endemic Blue oak, Quercus douglasii is at the northernmost part of it its range in Del Norte County.^[3] The Black Oak and Douglas-fir are also found in Del Norte County.

Transportation Infrastructure

Major highways

• U.S. Route 101
• U.S. Route 199
• State Route 169
• State Route 197

Public transportation

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

Airports

SkyWest Airlines 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 a connection is also available to Sacramento.

Harbor

The Crescent City Harbor serves as a commercial fishing port 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 harbor also has several pleasure boat docks.

Politics

Del Norte County vote
by party in presidential elections

Year	GOP	DEM	Others
2008	52.2% 4,967	45.4% 4,323	2.4% 231
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% 3,714	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	0.0% 0
1960	48.1% 3,024	51.2% 3,225	0.7% 45
1956	53.2% 2,918	46.5% 2,552	0.3% 17
1952	63.4% 2,938	35.4% 1,640	1.1% 53
1948	54.3% 1,541	41.3% 1,172	4.5% 127
1944	55.3% 1,011	44.7% 818	0.1% 1
1940	53.6% 1,233	44.9% 1,034	1.5% 35
1936	39.2% 853	59.4% 1,292	1.3% 29
1932	30.9% 637	64.1% 1,319	5.0% 103
1928	55.9% 771	43.4% 599	1.7% 10
1924	52.6% 530	12.1% 122	35.3% 355
1920	62.6% 596	29.3% 279	8.1% 77

Del Norte is traditionally a strongly Republican county in Presidential and congressional elections (the last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Jimmy Carter in 1976). The county has almost an even split in Democratic and Republican voter registration. As of May 2008, approximately 67% of eligible voters are registered to vote in Del Norte County, with approximately 38% registered as Democrats and approximately 38% registered as Republicans, with the State of California reporting 32 more Republicans than Democrats on April 7, 2010. Third party affiliation accounts for approximately 6% of all registered voters in the county.^[4]

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 Wesley Chesbro. In the State Senate, Del Norte is part of the 4th district, which is held by Republican Doug LaMalfa.

Trapper is the county's District Attorney.

During the 2008 Presidential Primary season, Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) won 48% of votes cast in Del Norte County for the Democratic primary, and Senator John McCain (R-AZ) won 40% of votes cast in Del Norte County for the Republican Primary.^[5]

Del Norte County voted 52%-46% in favor of Senator John McCain (R-AZ) for President over Senator Barack Obama (D-IL).

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	1,993		—
1870	2,022		1.5%
1880	2,584		27.8%
1890	2,592		0.3%
1900	2,408		−7.1%
1910	2,417		0.4%
1920	2,759		14.1%
1930	4,739		71.8%
1940	4,745		0.1%
1950	8,078		70.2%
1960	17,771		120.0%
1970	14,580		−18.0%
1980	18,217		24.9%
1990	23,460		28.8%
2000	27,507		17.3%
2010	28,610		4.0%
[6][7][8]

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Del Norte County had a population of 28,610. The racial makeup of Del Norte County was 21,098 (73.7%) White, 993 (3.5%) African American, 2,244 (7.8%) Native American, 965 (3.4%) Asian, 32 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 1,980 (6.9%) from other races, and 1,298 (4.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5,093 persons (17.8%).^[9]

Population reported at 2010 United States Census
The County	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Del Norte County	28,610	21,098	993	2,244	965	32	1,980	1,298	5,093
Incorporated city	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Crescent City	7,643	5,052	910	370	333	7	696	275	2,342
Census-designated places	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Bertsch-Oceanview	2,436	1,810	3	294	94	0	81	154	310
Gasquet	661	585	2	27	1	1	15	30	39
Hiouchi	301	267	0	11	6	2	8	7	11
Klamath	779	379	1	325	3	0	5	66	90
Smith River	866	528	1	59	5	0	234	39	293
Unincorporated communities	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
All others not CDPs (combined)	15,924	12,477	76	1,158	523	22	941	727	2,008

2000

As of the census^[10] 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, 6.43% 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 dispersal was 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.

See also

• Hiking trails in Del Norte County
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Del Norte County, California

References

1. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
2. ^ "Del Norte Fire Safe Plan". http://www.forevergreenforestry.com/documents/DNFireAppendix9-05wmapslo_000.pdf. Retrieved 10/28/2011. 
3. ^ C. Michael Hogan. 2008. Blue Oak: Quercus douglasii, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
4. ^ http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2008_primary_june/02_county_reg_totals_051908.pdf
5. ^ The New York Times. http://politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008/results/states/CA.html. 
6. ^ http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/cencounts/files/ca190090.txt
7. ^ http://factfinder2.census.gov
8. ^ http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/
9. ^ "2010 Census P.L. 94-171 Summary File Data". United States Census Bureau. http://www2.census.gov/census_2010/01-Redistricting_File--PL_94-171/California/. 
10. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

• County of Del Norte website
• Del Norte County Tourism and Travel website
• Chamber of Commerce website
• "DNCWOW.COM" Wiki-website devoted to Del Norte County

Coordinates: 41°44′N 123°58′W / 41.74°N 123.96°W / 41.74; -123.96