Colusa County, California

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Colusa County, California
Image:Colusa County ca seal.jpeg
Map
Location in the state of California
California's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded	1850
Seat	Colusa
Area - Total - Land - Water	1,156 sq mi (2,994 km²) 1,151 sq mi (2,981 km²) 6 sq mi (16 km²), 0.48%
Population - (2000) - Density	18,804 16/sq mi (6/km²)
Website: www.colusacountyclerk.com

Colusa County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, northwest of state capital Sacramento. As of 2000, its population was 18,804. The county seat is Colusa.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Transportation
4 Demographics
5 Politics
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

[edit] History

Colusa County is one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. Parts of the county's territory were given to Tehama County in 1856 and to Glenn County in 1891.

The county was named after two Mexican land grants; Coluses (1844) and Colus (1845). The name of the county in the original state legislative act of 1850 was spelled Colusi, and often in newspapers was spelled Coluse. The word is derived from the name of a Native American tribe living on the west side of the Sacramento River. The name was changed to Colusa shortly after^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,156 square miles (2,995 km²), of which, 1,151 square miles (2,980 km²) of it is land and 6 square miles (14 km²) of it (0.48%) is water. A large number of streams drain the county including Elk Creek and Salt Creek.

The county's eastern boundary is formed, in part, by the Sacramento River.

[edit] Cities and other communities

There are two incorporated cities in Colusa County:

There is one census-designated place:

Arbuckle

Other unincorporated settlements include

[edit] Adjacent counties

[edit] National protected areas

Mendocino National Forest (part)

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Major highways

[edit] Public transportation

Colusa County Transit runs buses from Colusa to Williams, Arbuckle, Grimes and College City, with limited service to Maxwell.

[edit] Airports

Colusa County Airport is a general-aviation airport located near the city of Colusa.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 18,804 people, 6,097 households, and 4,578 families residing in the county. The population density was 16 people per square mile (6/km²). There were 6,774 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 64.29% White, 0.55% Black or African American, 2.33% Native American, 1.21% Asian, 0.39% Pacific Islander, 26.68% from other races, and 4.54% from two or more races. 46.54% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 8.5% were of German, 5.6% English, 5.5% American and 5.4% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 58.7% spoke English and 40.4% Spanish as their first language.

There were 6,097 households out of which 41.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.6% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% were non-families. 21.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.01 and the average family size was 3.51.

In the county the population was spread out with 31.6% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 103.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.8 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,062, and the median income for a family was $40,138. Males had a median income of $32,210 versus $21,521 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,730. About 13.0% of families and 16.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.5% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Politics

**Presidential election results**
Year	GOP	DEM	Others
2004	67.2% 4,142	31.6% 1,947	1.2% 77
2000	64.9% 3,629	31.2% 1,745	4.9% 216
1996	54.3% 3,047	36.6% 2,054	9.1% 511
1992	45.9% 2,589	31.9% 1,798	22.1% 1,248
1988	59.5% 3,077	39.1% 2,022	1.4% 73
1984	65.3% 3,388	33.3% 1,725	1.4% 75
1980	58.0% 2,897	32.1% 1,605	9.9% 493
1976	52.7% 2,733	45.2% 2,340	2.1% 109
1972	57.6% 2,715	38.4% 1,810	4.1% 192
1968	51.6% 2,361	40.6% 1,858	7.8% 358
1964	39.3% 1,811	60.6% 2,790	0.1% 5
1960	51.4% 2,497	48.3% 2,348	0.3% 16

Colusa is a strongly Republican county in Presidential and congressional elections. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

Colusa is part of California's 2nd congressional district, which is held by Republican Wally Herger. In the State Assembly, Colusa is part of the 2nd district, which is held by Republican Doug LaMalfa. In the State Senate, Colusa is part of the 4th district, which is held by Republican Sam Aanestad.