Mono County, California

Coordinates: 37°55′N 118°52′W / 37.917°N 118.867°W / 37.917; -118.867

Mono County, California
Mono Lake, the dominant geographical feature in Mono County
Seal
Location in the state of California
California's location in the U.S.
Founded	1861
Named for	Mono Lake
Seat	Bridgeport
Largest city	Mammoth Lakes
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	3,131.80 sq mi (8,111 km²) 3,044.40 sq mi (7,885 km²) 87.40 sq mi (226 km²),
Population  - (2010)  - Density	14,202 4/sq mi (2/km²)
Congressional district	25th
Time zone	Pacific: UTC-8/-7
Website	www.monocounty.ca.gov

Mono County ( /ˈmoʊnoʊ/) is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of California, to the east of the Sierra Nevada between Yosemite National Park and Nevada. As of the 2010 census, the population was 14,202, up from 12,853 at the 2000 census. The county seat is Bridgeport.^[1]

The only incorporated town in the county is Mammoth Lakes,^[2] which is located at the foot of Mammoth Mountain.^[3] Other locations, such as June Lake, are also famous as skiing and fishing resorts. Located in the middle of the county is Mono Lake, a vital habitat for millions of migratory and nesting birds. The lake is located in a wild natural setting, with pinnacles of tufa arising out of the salty and alkaline lake.

Also located in Mono County is Bodie, the official state gold rush ghost town, which is now a California State Historic Park.

History

Mono County was formed in 1861 from parts of Calaveras County, Fresno County and Mariposa County. Parts of the county's territory were given to Inyo County in 1866.

The county is named after Mono Lake which, in 1852, was named for a Native American Paiute tribe, the Mono people, that inhabited the Sierra Nevada from north of Mono Lake to Owens Lake. The tribe's western neighbors, the Yokuts, called them monachie meaning "fly people" because fly larvae was their chief food staple and trading article.^[4] Archeologists know almost nothing about the first inhabitants of the county, but the Kuzedika had been there many generations by the time the first anglophones arrived. The Kuzedikas were hunter-gatherers and their language is a part of the Shoshone language.^[4]

Geography

Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 3,131.80 square miles (8,111.3 km²), of which 3,044.40 square miles (7,885.0 km²) (or 97.21%) is land and 87.40 square miles (226.4 km²) (or 2.79%) is water.^[5]

Cities and towns

• Benton
• Bridgeport
• Chalfant
• Coleville
• Lee Vining
• Mammoth Lakes (the only incorporated place in the county)
• Swall Meadows

Adjacent Counties

Mono County is one of the few US counties to border as many as nine counties.

• Inyo County, California - south
• Fresno County, California - southwest
• Madera County, California - southwest
• Tuolumne County, California- west
• Alpine County, California - northwest
• Douglas County, Nevada - north
• Lyon County, Nevada - northeast
• Mineral County, Nevada - east
• Esmeralda County, Nevada - southeast

The Mono County Court House in Bridgeport.

National protected areas

• Inyo National Forest (part)
• Toiyabe National Forest (part)

Transportation infrastructure

Major highways

• U.S. Route 6
• U.S. Route 395
• State Route 108
• State Route 120
• State Route 167
• State Route 182
• State Route 270

Public transportation

Eastern Sierra Transit Authority operates intercity bus service along U.S. 395, as well as local services in Mammoth Lakes. Service extends south to Lancaster, California (Los Angeles County) and north to Reno, Nevada.

Yosemite Area Regional Transit System (YARTS) also runs along U.S. 395 from Mammoth Lakes to Lee Vining before entering Yosemite National Park.

Airports

General aviation airports in Mono County include Bryant Field near Bridgeport, Mammoth Yosemite Airport and Lee Vining Airport. In December 2008, Mammoth Yosemite Airport began commercial air service to Los Angeles International Airport on a seasonal (December to April) basis; the service is provided by Horizon Air, and is subsidized by Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort.

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Mono County had a population of 14,202. The racial makeup of Mono County was 11,697 (82.4%) White, 47 (0.3%) African American, 302 (2.1%) Native American, 192 (1.4%) Asian, 11 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 1,539 (10.8%) from other races, and 414 (2.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3,762 persons (26.5%).^[6]

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)
Mono County	14,202	11,697	47	302	192	11	1,539	414	3,762
Incorporated town	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Mammoth Lakes	8,234	6,643	29	49	128	5	1,151	229	2,772
Census-designated place	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Aspen Springs	65	62	0	0	2	0	0	1	1
Benton	280	199	1	59	1	0	15	5	38
Bridgeport	575	484	1	43	1	0	25	21	148
Chalfant	651	594	0	13	5	0	16	23	67
Coleville	495	386	6	10	8	0	62	23	110
Crowley Lake	875	769	4	6	11	0	60	25	128
June Lake	629	534	0	7	2	0	78	8	137
Lee Vining	222	126	0	25	0	0	64	7	96
McGee Creek	41	39	0	0	0	0	0	2	2
Mono City	172	156	0	1	2	0	2	11	37
Paradise	153	130	0	2	6	0	5	10	14
Sunny Slopes	182	159	0	2	7	4	0	10	3
Swall Meadows	220	201	0	3	5	0	2	9	6
Topaz	50	44	0	1	0	0	5	0	24
Walker	721	629	3	57	3	1	13	15	70
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)	637	542	3	24	11	1	41	15	109

2000

As of the census^[7] of 2000, there were 12,853 people, 5,137 households, and 3,143 families residing in the county. The population density was 4 /sq mi (1.5 /km²). There were 11,757 housing units at an average density of 4 /sq mi (1.5 /km²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.17% White, 0.47% Black or African American, 2.40% Native American, 1.11% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 9.51% from other races, and 2.25% from two or more races. 17.69% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 13.4% were of German, 12.6% Irish and 11.4% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 84.0% spoke English and 15.1% Spanish as their first language.

There were 5,137 households out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% were married couples living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 33.4% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 121.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 126.8 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $44,992, and the median income for a family was $50,487. Males had a median income of $32,600 versus $26,227 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,422. About 6.30% of families and 11.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.20% of those under age 18 and 1.90% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Mono County vote
by party in presidential elections

Year	GOP	DEM	Others
2008	42.3% 2,354	55.6% 3,093	2.2% 124
2004	49.1% 2,621	49.2% 2,628	1.7% 89
2000	52.5% 2,296	40.9% 1,788	6.6% 287
1996	46.0% 1,882	38.6% 1,580	15.4% 629
1992	36.1% 1,570	34.2% 1,489	29.8% 1,296
1988	61.4% 2,177	36.2% 1,284	2.4% 86
1984	72.3% 2,659	26.2% 962	1.5% 56
1980	62.3% 2,132	25.3% 865	12.4% 424
1976	58.8% 1,600	37.7% 1,025	3.5% 96
1972	66.9% 1,872	29.6% 828	3.5% 99
1968	64.3% 1,130	26.5% 465	9.3% 163
1964	56.1% 850	43.9% 666	0.0% 0
1960	66.3% 912	33.2% 457	0.4% 6
1956	73.8% 673	26.0% 237	0.2% 2
1952	76.6% 891	22.7% 264	0.7% 8
1948	64.8% 541	30.5% 255	4.7% 39
1944	60.9% 378	39.0% 242	0.2% 1
1940	46.1% 459	52.6% 523	1.3% 13
1936	34.1% 241	64.8% 458	1.1% 8
1932	34.3% 199	64.4% 374	1.4% 8
1928	61.8% 220	35.7% 127	2.5% 9
1924	53.6% 166	14.5% 45	31.9% 99
1920	67.7% 170	22.3% 56	10.0% 25

Mono used to be a Republican-leaning county in Presidential and congressional elections but has become more of a swing county in recent elections, going for John Kerry by an extremely slim margin of seven votes in 2004. In 2008, Barack Obama did substantially better, receiving 668 more votes than Republican candidate John McCain.^[8] Prior to 2004, the last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Franklin Roosevelt in 1940.

In November 2008, Mono County was one of just three counties in California's interior in which voters rejected Proposition 8 to ban gay marriage. The county's voters rejected Proposition 8 by 55.5 percent to 44.5 percent. The other interior counties in which Proposition 8 failed to receive a majority of votes were neighboring Alpine County and Yolo County.^[9]

Mono is part of California's 25th congressional district, which is held by Republican Buck McKeon. In the state legislature Mono is in the 25th Assembly district, which is held by Republican Kristin Olsen, and the 1st Senate district, which is held by Republican Ted Gaines.

See also

• List of school districts in Mono County, California
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Mono County, California

References

1. ^ "Mono County General Information". http://www.monocounty.ca.gov/information.html. Retrieved 2007-11-05. 
2. ^ "Town of Mammoth Lakes, California". http://www.ci.mammoth-lakes.ca.us/. Retrieved 2007-11-05. 
3. ^ "Mammoth Mountain". http://www.mammothmountain.com/. Retrieved 2007-11-05. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Sprague, Marguerite (2003). "Welcome to Bodie". Bodie's Gold. Reno, Nevada: University of Nevada Press. pp. 3, 205. ISBN 0-87417-628-X. 
5. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
6. ^ "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/. 
7. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
8. ^ Map of 2008 Election Results By State and County; The New York Times
9. ^ County-by-County Map, California Propositions: The Los Angeles Times

Further reading

• Rockwell, G. L.; Honeywell, P. D. (2004). Water-quality data for selected stream sites in Bridgeport Valley, Mono County, California, April 2000 to June 2003. U.S. Geological Survey Data Series. 89. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey. 

External links

• Official website
• Mono County Film and Tourism Commission