Summit County, Colorado
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
An appropriate infobox needs to be added to this article, or the current infobox needs to be updated. The template to use is {{Infobox U.S. County}}. This article either has no template, or its template is not the U.S. County template. |
Summit County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of 2000, the population was 23,548. The county seat is Breckenridge.
Contents |
[edit] History
Summit County was organized as one of the seventeen original Colorado counties by the First Territorial Legislature on November 1, 1861. It was named for the many mountain summits in the county. Until February 2, 1874, its boundaries included the area now comprising Summit County, Grand County, Routt County, Moffat County, Garfield County, Eagle County, and Rio Blanco County.
In 1874, the northern half of the original Summitt County was split off to form Grand County; with the creation of Garfield and Eagle counties in 1883, Summitt County arrived at its present boundaries.
[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,604 km² (619 mi²). 1,575 km² (608 mi²) of it is land and 29 km² (11 mi²) of it (1.79%) is water.
[edit] Adjacent Counties
- Grand County, Colorado - north
- Clear Creek County, Colorado - east
- Park County, Colorado - southeast
- Lake County, Colorado - southwest
- Eagle County, Colorado - west
[edit] Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 23,548 people, 9,120 households, and 4,769 families residing in the county. The population density was 15/km² (39/mi²). There were 24,201 housing units at an average density of 15/km² (40/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.84% White, 0.68% Black or African American, 0.48% Native American, 0.87% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 3.96% from other races, and 2.10% from two or more races. 9.79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 9,120 households out of which 24.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.00% were married couples living together, 4.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.70% were non-families. 21.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the county the population was spread out with 17.40% under the age of 18, 15.70% from 18 to 24, 44.30% from 25 to 44, 19.40% from 45 to 64, and 3.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 139.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 144.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $56,587, and the median income for a family was $66,914. Males had a median income of $33,741 versus $27,017 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,676. About 3.10% of families and 9.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.30% of those under age 18 and 3.40% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Cities and towns
[edit] Additional info
Summit County is located high in the Colorado Rockies. It is known as Colorado's playground because of the numerous outdoor actives that the area provides. The county is home to 4 major ski areas: Keystone, Copper Mountain, Breckenridge, and Arapahoe Basin. The county also has two reservoirs, namely Dillon and Green Mountain that are also popular. The easiest way to get to Summit County is by Interstate 70, which connects it with Denver 70 miles to the east. The ski areas in Summit County are on the western side of the Continental Divide, and are reached from Denver via the Eisenhower Tunnel.
[edit] External links and references
- Summit County Government website
- Maps and aerial photos
- WikiSatellite view at - WikiMapia
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
