Mammoth Lakes, California

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 65.2 km² (25.2 mi²). 64.2 km² (24.8 mi²) of it is land and 1.0 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (1.51%) is water.

Mammoth Lakes resides on the edge of the Long Valley Caldera. The area around the town is geologically active, with hot springs and rhyolite domes that are less than 1000 years old.

Visitors can take California highway 203 from the town of Mammoth Lakes to the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, over Minaret Summit, then down to Devil's Postpile National Monument, with access to the Ansel Adams Wilderness.

The area has natural hot springs which are sometimes used after skiing. Other features include lakes, a soda springs, and an obsidian dome. Mammoth Lakes is north of the Owens Valley, a scenic area with extensive hiking opportunities.

The town is surrounded by mountains: on the west, Mammoth Mountain looms over the town, while to the south, the Sherwin Range dominates the view.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 7,093 people, 2,814 households, and 1,516 families residing in the town. The population density was 110.5/km² (286.2/mi²). There were 7,960 housing units at an average density of 124.0/km² (321.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 83.21% White, 0.41% African American, 0.49% Native American, 1.27% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 12.35% from other races, and 2.14% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 22.20% of the population.

There were 2,814 households out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.3% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.1% were non-families. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the town the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 13.3% from 18 to 24, 38.4% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 4.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 131.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 141.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $44,570, and the median income for a family was $52,561. Males had a median income of $31,280 versus $25,106 for females. The per capita income for the town was $24,526. About 8.7% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.9% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Economy

The Mammoth Lakes real estate market has gone through ups and downs over the past few decades. In 1980, an earthquake with magnitude of 6.1 on the Richter scale occurred. This sent area property values plummeting. A huge real estate surplus formed after this, Mammoth Lakes had a total of over 1200 properties on the market. The development of Mammoth Mountain ski area has had a direct effect on housing in more recent year. The tourist market has led to an explosion of property values. This peaked in 2003 when the median property value reached $750,000. Another peak occurred in 2006 with the sale of Mammoth Mountain ski area to Intrawest corporation. A recent analysis by a Mammoth Lakes real estate company shows that although sales volume overall has dropped from 2005 to 2006, prices have held steady. ^{[citation needed]}