El Dorado County, California

For the California wine region, see El Dorado AVA.

County of El Dorado
—  County  —
A scene from El Dorado County
Seal
Location in the state of California
California's location in the United States
Country	United States
State	California
Region	Sierra Nevada/Gold Country
Metro area	Greater Sacramento
Incorporated	1850
County seat	Placerville
Largest city	South Lake Tahoe
Area
– Total	1,788.10 sq mi (4,631.2 km2)
– Land	1,710.85 sq mi (4,431.1 km2)
– Water	77.25 sq mi (200.1 km2)
Population (2010)
– Total	181,058
– Density	101.3/sq mi (39.1/km2)
Time zone	Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8)
– Summer (DST)	Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)
Website	www.co.el-dorado.ca.us

El Dorado County is a county located in the historic Gold Country in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and foothills of the U.S. state of California. The 2010 population was 181,058. The El Dorado county seat is in Placerville.

The population of El Dorado County has grown as the Greater Sacramento has expanded into the region. In the unique Lake Tahoe area of the county, 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.

History

Main articles: Sutter's Mill and California Gold Rush

• Mother lode
• James W. Marshall
• California Mining and Mineral Museum

Local landmarks:

• Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park
• Confidence Hall
• Fountain-Tallman Soda Works
• John Pearson Soda Works
• Combellack-Blair House
• Rubicon Point Light

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	20,057		—
1860	20,562		2.5%
1870	10,309		−49.9%
1880	10,683		3.6%
1890	9,232		−13.6%
1900	8,986		−2.7%
1910	7,492		−16.6%
1920	6,426		−14.2%
1930	8,325		29.6%
1940	13,229		58.9%
1950	16,207		22.5%
1960	29,390		81.3%
1970	43,833		49.1%
1980	85,812		95.8%
1990	125,955		46.8%
2000	156,299		24.1%
2010	181,058		15.8%
[1][2][3]

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%).^[4]

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)
El Dorado County	181,058	156,793	1,409	2,070	6,297	294	7,278	6,917	21,875
Incorporated cities	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Placerville	10,389	8,716	80	162	98	13	867	453	1,863
South Lake Tahoe	21,403	15,733	182	232	1,186	39	3,230	801	6,665
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)
Auburn Lake Trails	3,426	3,190	6	28	36	5	45	116	208
Cameron Park	18,228	16,242	143	194	425	36	461	727	2,056
Camino	1,750	1,604	7	14	18	4	55	48	197
Cold Springs	446	413	4	5	3	0	15	6	43
Coloma	529	462	4	3	8	0	15	37	63
Diamond Springs	11,037	9,743	39	176	110	6	518	445	1,377
El Dorado Hills	42,108	35,089	615	196	3,563	71	681	1,893	3,802
Georgetown	2,367	2,128	47	59	18	2	45	68	177
Grizzly Flats	1,066	954	6	14	7	2	19	64	96
Pollock Pines	6,871	6,195	18	128	56	3	251	220	713
Shingle Springs	4,432	3,919	14	108	50	3	132	206	469
Tahoma‡	780	736	2	7	7	0	11	17	35
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)	56,226	51,669	242	744	712	110	933	1,816	4,111
‡ Note: these numbers reflect only the portion of this CDP in El Dorado County

2000

As of the census^[5] 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, 1.00% Native American, 2.1% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 3.55% from other races, and 2.96% from two or more races. 9.32% 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 kids 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.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 1,788.10 square miles (4,631.2 km²), of which 1,710.85 square miles (4,431.1 km²) (or 95.68%) is land and 77.25 square miles (200.1 km²) (or 4.32%) is water.^[6]

American River Sierra Nevada (U.S.) Carson Range Crystal Range Freel Peak Mount Price (California) Mount Tallac Silver Peak (El Dorado County, California) Talking Mountain

Lake Tahoe Fallen Leaf Lake (California) Folsom Lake Francis Lake Gilmore Lake Loon Lake (California) Lost Lake (California) Pyramid Lake (El Dorado County, California) Union Valley Reservoir Waca Lake

Recreation

Parks

• El Dorado National Forest
• Desolation Wilderness, with Eagle Lake (Desolation Wilderness), and with Freel Peak^[7] as its highest point at 10,881 feet (3,317 m).
• D. L. Bliss State Park
• Emerald Bay State Park
• Eagle Falls Trailhead
• Glen Alpine Springs Trailhead
• Folsom Lake State Recreation Area
• Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park
• Pine Hill Ecological Reserve
• Tahoe National Forest

Skiing

• Heavenly Ski Resort
• Sierra-At-Tahoe Ski Resort

Wineries

• California Shenandoah Valley AVA
• Fair Play AVA
• El Dorado AVA
• Sierra Foothills AVA

Transportation infrastructure

Major highways

Map of El Dorado County in Northern California

• 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 are include: Placerville Airport, Georgetown Airport, Cameron Airpark and Lake Tahoe Airport.

Cities and towns

El Dorado County Courthouse, Placerville

Incorporated Cities

• South Lake Tahoe (Airport: Lake Tahoe Airport IATA: TVL)
• Placerville (County Seat)

Communities over 10,000 population

• El Dorado Hills
• Cameron Park

Communities under 10,000 population

Camino Camp Sacramento Coloma Cool Diamond Springs Echo Lake El Dorado Garden Valley Georgetown Greenwood

Grizzly Flats Happy Valley Meyers Kyburz Outingdale Phillips Pilot Hill Pollock Pines Rescue Shingle Springs Somerset Strawberry Twin Bridges

Politics

Presidential election results

Year	GOP	DEM	Others
2008	54.1% 50,314	43.6% 40,529	2.2% 2,083
2004	61.2% 52,878	37.3% 32,242	1.4% 1,244
2000	58.3% 42,045	36.4% 26,220	5.4% 3,871
1996	51.8% 32,759	36.3% 22,957	11.8% 7,480
1992	39.9% 25,906	32.4% 21,012	27.7% 17,969
1988	59.3% 30,021	39.1% 19,801	1.5% 781
1984	64.9% 27,583	33.7% 14,312	1.4% 583
1980	58.3% 21,238	29.5% 10,765	12.2% 4,446
1976	47.7% 12,472	48.8% 12,763	3.5% 919
1972	54.2% 11,330	41.4% 8,654	4.4% 921
1968	49.0% 7,468	39.7% 6,054	11.3% 1,719
1964	39.5% 5,775	60.3% 8,810	0.2% 25
1960	49.2% 6,065	50.1% 6,175	0.8% 97

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.

El Dorado is part of California's 4th congressional district, which is held by Republican Tom McClintock. In the State Assembly, El Dorado is part of the 4th district, which is held by Republican Beth Gaines and also part of the 10th district, which is held by Democrat Alyson Huber. In the State Senate, El Dorado is part of the 1st district, which is held by Republican Ted Gaines.

The county is represented by U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer in Washington, D.C..

Adjacent counties

• Alpine County, California - southeast
• Amador County, California - south
• Sacramento County, California - west
• Placer County, California - north
• Douglas County, Nevada - northeast

Asbestos

Portions of El Dorado county are known to contain natural asbestos formations near the surface.^[8] 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".^[9]

In 2003 after construction of the Oak Ridge High School (El Dorado Hills, CA) soccer field, the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry found that some student athletes, coaches and school workers received substantial exposures. The inside of Oak Ridge High School needed to be cleaned of dust.^[8]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in El Dorado County, California
• Hiking trails in El Dorado County

References

1. ^ http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/cencounts/files/ca190090.txt
2. ^ http://factfinder2.census.gov
3. ^ http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/
4. ^ "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/. 
5. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
6. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
7. ^ Freel Peak
8. ^ ^{a b} Raloff, Janet (July 8, 2006), "Dirty Little Secret" (– ^{Scholar search}), Science News, http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20060708/bob9.asp ^{[dead link]}
9. ^ Meeker, G.P.; Lowers, H.A.; Swayze, G.A.; Van Gosen, B.S.; Stutley, S.J.; Brownfield, I.K. (December 2006), Mineralogy and Morphology of Amphiboles Observed in Soils and Rocks in El Dorado Hills, California, United States Geological Survey, http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1362/ 

External links

• official El Dorado County website
• official El Dorado County Historical Museum website
• El Dorado Environmental air quality management - Naturally occurring asbestos information
• El Dorado County Weather
• El Dorado County Visitors Authority
• El Dorado Western Railway Foundation blog The railway is restoring the Diamond & Caldor No. 4 Shay locomotive at the El Dorado County Historical Museum

Coordinates: 38°47′N 120°32′W / 38.78°N 120.53°W / 38.78; -120.53