El Dorado County, officially the County of El Dorado, is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 181,058. The county seat is Placerville.
El Dorado County is part of the Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is in the historic Gold Country in the Sierra Nevada.
El Dorado County's population has grown as Greater Sacramento has expanded into the region. In the county's unique Lake Tahoe area, environmental awareness and environmental protection initiatives have grown along with the population since the 1960 Winter Olympics, hosted at Squaw Valley Ski Resort in neighboring Placer County.
Maps, Directions, and Place Reviews
History
The present-day site of El Dorado County was once home to the Maidu, Washoe, and Miwok Native American tribes, and is notable for being the site of the 1848 gold discovery that sparked the California Gold Rush. The County of El Dorado was one of California's original 27 counties created effective February 18, 1850 (the number has risen to 58 today). Its name is derived from the Spanish meaning "the gilded/golden".
The final segments of the Pony Express mail route ran through El Dorado County until its replacement with the telegraph service in 1861; U.S. Highway 50 follows the Pony Express route today.
- Mother lode
- James W. Marshall
- California Mining and Mineral Museum
- Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park
- Confidence Hall
- Fountain-Tallman Soda Works
- John Pearson Soda Works
- Combellack-Blair House
- Rubicon Point Light
Cedar Pines Resort South Lake Tahoe Video
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,786 square miles (4,630 km2), of which 1,708 square miles (4,420 km2) is land and 78 square miles (200 km2) (4.4%) is water.
Geographic features
Recreation
Parks
Skiing
- Heavenly Ski Resort
- Sierra-At-Tahoe Ski Resort
Racing
- Placerville Speedway
Wineries
- California Shenandoah Valley AVA
- El Dorado AVA
- Fair Play AVA
- Nello Olivo
- Sierra Foothills AVA
Demographics
2011
Places by population, race, and income
2010
The 2010 United States Census reported that El Dorado County had a population of 181,058. The racial makeup of El Dorado County was 156,793 (86.6%) White, 1,409 (0.8%) African American, 2,070 (1.1%) Native American, 6,297 (3.5%) Asian, 294 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 7,278 (4.0%) from other races, and 6,917 (3.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21,875 persons (12.1%). The largest growth in the county has come in El Dorado Hills where the population grew by 24,092 residents to a total of 42,108 since 2000.
2000
As of the census of 2000, there were 156,299 people, 58,939 households, and 43,025 families residing in the county. The population density was 91 people per square mile (35/km²). There were 71,278 housing units at an average density of 42 per square mile (16/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.7% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 1.0% Native American, 2.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.6% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. 9.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 14.9% were of German, 13.4% English, 10.3% Irish, 6.6% Italian and 6.6% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 90.5% spoke English and 6.5% Spanish as their first language.
There were 58,939 households out of which 34.2% had youngsters under the age of 18 living with them, 60.1% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% were non-families. 20.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the county, the population was spread out with 26.1% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 99.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.
The 2000 census also states that the median income for a household in the county was $51,484, and the median income for a family was $60,250. Males had a median income of $46,373 versus $31,537 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,560. About 5.0% of families and 7.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.6% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.
Politics
Voter registration statistics
Cities by population and voter registration
Overview
El Dorado is a predominantly Republican county in Presidential and congressional elections. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Lyndon Johnson in 1964 election, and the last Democrat to win the county was Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential election. The county is noted as a center of political concern with the United Nations non-binding sustainable development plan Agenda 21, which was on the County Board of Supervisors meeting Agenda on May 15, 2012. Concerns included the threat of U.S. Forest Service road closures and traffic roundabouts. On February 19, 2013 14 members of the El Dorado County Grand Jury resigned, forcing Supervising Judge Steven Bailey to dissolve it.
El Dorado County is in California's 4th congressional district, represented by Republican Tom McClintock. In the State Assembly, the county is split between the 5th Assembly District, represented by Republican Frank Bigelow and the 6th Assembly District, represented by Republican Kevin Kiley. In the State Senate, it is in the 1st Senate District, represented by Republican Ted Gaines.
Crime
The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.
Cities by population and crime rates
Transportation
Major highways
- U.S. Route 50
- State Route 49
- State Route 89
- State Route 193
- Luther Pass
Public transportation
- El Dorado Transit runs local service in Placerville and surrounding areas (as far east as Pollock Pines). Commuter service into Sacramento and Folsom is also provided.
- BlueGo is the transit operator for the South Lake Tahoe area. Service also runs into the state of Nevada.
Airports
General aviation airports include Placerville Airport, Georgetown Airport, Cameron Airpark and Lake Tahoe Airport.
Asbestos
Portions of El Dorado County are known to contain natural asbestos formations near the surface. The USGS studied amphiboles in rock and soil in the area in response to an EPA sampling study and subsequent criticism of the EPA study. The study found that many amphibole particles in the area meet the counting rule criteria used by the EPA for chemical and morphological limits, but do not meet morphological requirements for commercial-grade-asbestos. The executive summary pointed out that even particles that do not meet requirements for commercial-grade-asbestos may be a health threat and suggested a collaborative research effort to assess health risks associated with naturally occurring asbestos.
In 2003 after construction of the Oak Ridge High School (El Dorado Hills) soccer field, the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry found that some student athletes, coaches and school workers had received substantial exposures. The inside of the school needed to be cleaned of dust.
Communities
Cities
- Placerville (county seat)
- South Lake Tahoe
Census-designated places
Other unincorporated communities
Population ranking
The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of El Dorado County.
+ county seat
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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