Bishop, California

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Downtown Bishop looking south along US 395

Bishop is a city in Inyo County, California, USA. The population was 3,575 at the 2000 census. The town was named after Bishop Creek, flowing out of the Sierra Nevada: the creek was named after Samuel Addison Bishop, a settler in the Owens Valley.

Bishop is also dubbed the "Mule Capitol of the World" and a week long-festival called Mule Days has been held since 1969 on the week of Memorial Day, celebrating the contributions of Pack-Mules to the area. The festival attracts a large number of tourists, primarily from the Southern California area.

Bishop was the home of Galen Rowell, and his wife Barbara, before their untimely death at the Eastern Sierra Regional Airport. Stuntman and NASCAR driver Stanton Barrett also calls Bishop home. Matt Williams, former Major League Baseball 3rd baseman and slugger, was also born in Bishop.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Image gallery
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Bishop is located at 37°21′54″N, 118°23′42″W (37.365087, -118.394896)^GR1.

Bishop lies at the northern end of the Owens Valley.

It is on U.S. Highway 395, the main north-south artery through the Owens Valley, connecting the Inland Empire to Reno, Nevada. US 395 also connects Bishop to Los Angeles via State Route 14 through Palmdale. Bishop is also the western terminus of U.S. Highway 6. The Paiute tribe controls land just west of the town.

Bishop is immediately to the east of the Sierra Nevada. Numerous peaks are within a short distance of Bishop, including Mount Humphreys (13,986'), the tallest peak in the region. White Mountain Peak (14,242') is visible far to the northeast.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.5 km² (1.8 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 3,575 people, 1,684 households, and 831 families residing in the city. The population density was 788.8/km² (2,042.5/mi²). There were 1,867 housing units at an average density of 411.9/km² (1,066.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.62% White, 0.20% Black or African American, 2.04% Native American, 1.26% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 6.49% from other races, and 5.37% from two or more races. 17.37% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,684 households out of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.5% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.6% were non-families. 44.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,338, and the median income for a family was $34,423. Males had a median income of $23,433 versus $24,545 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,660. About 14.0% of families and 16.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.0% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

However, most residents of "Bishop" live in outlying areas, which haven't been annexed into the city limits.