| Inyo County, California | ||
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Wildflowers blooming in Death Valley after an unusually wet winter
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Location in the state of California |
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California's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1866 | |
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| Named for | "dwelling place of the great spirit" in Mono language | |
| Seat | Independence | |
| Largest city | Bishop | |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
10,226.98 sq mi (26,488 km²) 10,203.10 sq mi (26,426 km²) 23.88 sq mi (62 km²), 0.23% |
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| Population - (2010) - Density |
18,546 1.8/sq mi (1/km²) |
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| Congressional district | 25th | |
| Time zone | Pacific: UTC-8/-7 | |
| Website | www.countyofinyo.org | |
Inyo County is a county situated on the east side of the Sierra Nevada and southeast of Yosemite National Park in eastern-central part of the U.S. state of California. Inyo County includes the Owens River Valley; it is flanked on the east by the Sierra and by the White Mountains and the Inyo Mountains.
Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the Continental United States, is on Inyo County's western border (with Tulare County). The Badwater Basin, in Death Valley National Park, the lowest place in North America, is in eastern Inyo County. The two points are not visible from each other, but both can be observed from the Panamint Range on the west side of Death Valley, above the Panamint Valley.
The county seat is Independence. As of 2010 Inyo County had a population of 18,546.
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Present day Inyo county has been the historic homeland for thousands of years, of the Mono tribe, Coso people, Timbisha and Kawaiisu Native Americans. They spoke the Timbisha language and the Mono language; with Mono traditional narratives. The descendant of these ancestors continue to live in their traditional homelands in the Owens River Valley and in 'Death Valley National Park.
Inyo County was formed in 1866 from the territory of the unorganized Coso County created on April 4, 1864 from parts of Mono and Tulare Counties.[1] It acquired more territory from Mono County in 1870 and Kern County and San Bernardino County in 1872.
For many years it has been commonly believed that the county derived its name from the Mono tribe of Native Americans name for the mountains in its former homeland. Actually the name came to be thought of, mistakenly, as the name of the mountains to the east of the Owens Valley when the first whites there asked the local Paiutes what the name of the mountains to the east was.
The local Paiutes responded that that was the land of Inyo. They meant by this that those lands belonged to the Shoshone tribe headed by a man whose name was Inyo. Inyo was the name of the headman of the Panamint band of Paiute-Shoshone people at the time of contact when the first whites, the Manly expedition of 1849, wandered, lost, into Death Valley on their expedition to the gold fields of western California. The Owens Valley whites misunderstood the local Paiute and thought that Inyo was the name of the mountains, when actually it was the name of the chief, or headman, of the tribe that had those mountains as part of their homeland.
"Indian George," a fixture of many of the stories of early Death Valley days, was Inyo's son. Indian George's Shoshone name was "Bah-Vanda-Sa-Va-Nu-Kee," which means "The Boy Who Ran Away," a name he was given when he became terrified of the whites and their wheeled wagons and huge buffalo, none of which the Shoshone had ever seen before when they came wandering down Furnace Creek Wash in December 1849. In 1940, when Bah-vanda was around 100 years old, J.C. Boyles, a Panamint Shoshone who had become educated, came back to the Panamint valley and interviewed Bah-Vanda at length about the early days of his life, including the events of 1849, and it is in this interview that Bah-vanda refers to his father, Inyo. [The Desert Magazine, February, 1940]
In order to provide water needs for the growing City of Los Angeles, water was diverted from the Owens River into the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913. The Owens River Valley cultures and environments changed substantially. From the 1910s to 1930s the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power purchased much of the valley for water rights and control. In 1941 the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power extended the Los Angeles Aqueduct system further upriver into the Mono Basin.
Inyo County is host to a number of natural superlatives. Among them are:
According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 10,226.98 square miles (26,487.8 km2), of which 10,203.10 square miles (26,425.9 km2) (or 99.77%) is land and 23.88 square miles (61.8 km2) (or 0.23%) is water.[2] It is the second-largest in California and the tenth-largest in the nation (excluding boroughs and census areas in Alaska).
| Mono County | Esmeralda County, Nevada | |||
| Tulare County and Fresno County | Nye County, Nevada | |||
| Inyo County, California | ||||
| Kern County | San Bernardino County | Clark County, Nevada |
Eastern Sierra Transit Authority operates intercity bus service along U.S. 395, as well as local services in Bishop. Service extends south to Ridgecrest (Kern County) and north to Reno, Nevada.
Bishop Airport, Independence Airport, Lone Pine Airport and Shoshone Airport are general aviation airports located near their respective cities. Stovepipe Wells Airport and Furnace Creek Airport are located in Death Valley National Park.
The 2010 United States Census reported that Inyo County had a population of 18,546. The racial makeup of Inyo County was 13,741 (74.1%) White, 109 (0.6%) African American, 2,121 (11.4%) Native American, 243 (1.3%) Asian, 16 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 1,676 (9.0%) from other races, and 640 (3.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3,597 persons (19.4%).[3]
| Population reported at 2010 United States Census | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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|
Population |
|
American |
American |
|
Islander |
races |
more races |
or Latino (of any race) |
| Inyo County | 18,546 | 13,741 | 109 | 2,121 | 243 | 16 | 1,676 | 640 | 3,597 |
|
city |
Population |
|
American |
American |
|
Islander |
races |
more races |
or Latino (of any race) |
| Bishop | 3,879 | 2,867 | 22 | 91 | 61 | 1 | 723 | 114 | 1,200 |
|
place |
Population |
|
American |
American |
|
Islander |
races |
more races |
or Latino (of any race) |
| Big Pine | 1,756 | 1,192 | 3 | 438 | 13 | 1 | 52 | 57 | 182 |
| Cartago | 92 | 63 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 16 |
| Darwin | 43 | 38 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek | 2,645 | 2,287 | 6 | 32 | 47 | 3 | 215 | 55 | 493 |
| Furnace Creek | 24 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Homewood Canyon | 44 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 6 |
| Independence | 669 | 493 | 6 | 98 | 8 | 1 | 28 | 35 | 93 |
| Keeler | 66 | 63 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Lone Pine | 2,035 | 1,334 | 6 | 205 | 17 | 1 | 376 | 96 | 694 |
| Mesa | 251 | 220 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 4 | 26 |
| Olancha | 192 | 133 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 38 | 9 | 47 |
| Pearsonville | 17 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Round Valley | 435 | 333 | 38 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 27 | 13 | 69 |
| Shoshone | 31 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Tecopa | 150 | 119 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 8 |
| Trona | 18 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Valley Wells | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| West Bishop | 2,607 | 2,373 | 10 | 28 | 45 | 1 | 72 | 78 | 261 |
| Wilkerson | 563 | 524 | 0 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 15 | 53 |
|
communities |
Population |
|
American |
American |
|
Islander |
races |
more races |
or Latino (of any race) |
| All others not CDPs (combined) | 3,029 | 1,597 | 16 | 1,147 | 28 | 6 | 108 | 127 | 440 |
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1870 | 1,956 |
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| 1880 | 2,928 | 49.7% | |
| 1890 | 3,544 | 21.0% | |
| 1900 | 4,377 | 23.5% | |
| 1910 | 6,974 | 59.3% | |
| 1920 | 7,031 | 0.8% | |
| 1930 | 6,555 | −6.8% | |
| 1940 | 7,625 | 16.3% | |
| 1950 | 11,658 | 52.9% | |
| 1960 | 11,684 | 0.2% | |
| 1970 | 15,571 | 33.3% | |
| 1980 | 17,895 | 14.9% | |
| 1990 | 18,281 | 2.2% | |
| 2000 | 17,945 | −1.8% | |
| 2010 | 18,546 | 3.3% | |
| [4][5][6] | |||
As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 17,945 people, 7,703 households, and 4,937 families residing in the county. The population density was 2 people per square mile (1/km²). There were 9,042 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile (0/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 80.06% White, 0.16% Black or African American, 10.04% Native American, 0.91% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 4.60% from other races, and 4.15% from two or more races. 12.58% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 16.4% were of German, 12.2% English, 10.6% Irish and 5.0% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 89.2% spoke English and 9.3% Spanish as their first language.
There were 7,703 households out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the county the population was spread out with 24.4% under the age of 18, 5.80% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $35,006, and the median income for a family was $44,970. Males had a median income of $37,270 versus $25,549 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,639. About 9.30% of families and 12.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.00% of those under age 18 and 8.30% of those age 65 or over.
| Year | GOP | DEM | Others |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 53.1% 4,523 | 43.9% 3,743 | 2.9% 243 |
| 2004 | 59.1% 5,091 | 38.9% 3,350 | 2.0% 175 |
| 2000 | 60.3% 4,713 | 33.9% 2,652 | 5.8% 450 |
| 1996 | 51.8% 3,924 | 34.4% 2,601 | 13.8% 1,044 |
| 1992 | 43.6% 3,689 | 31.8% 2,695 | 24.6% 2,080 |
| 1988 | 64.3% 5,042 | 33.9% 2,653 | 1.8% 142 |
| 1984 | 70.3% 5,863 | 28.3% 2,360 | 1.4% 115 |
| 1980 | 64.8% 5,201 | 25.9% 2,080 | 9.3% 746 |
| 1976 | 58.2% 3,905 | 39.3% 2,635 | 2.5% 166 |
| 1972 | 68.1% 4,873 | 28.0% 2,006 | 3.9% 280 |
| 1968 | 54.5% 3,641 | 34.6% 2,314 | 11.0% 732 |
| 1964 | 46.5% 2,751 | 53.4% 3,161 | 0.1% 3 |
| 1960 | 54.7% 2,962 | 45.1% 2,443 | 0.3% 15 |
| 1956 | 66.2% 3,524 | 33.5% 1,782 | 0.3% 18 |
| 1952 | 68.9% 3,819 | 30.6% 1,698 | 0.5% 28 |
| 1948 | 55.8% 2,135 | 40.2% 1,539 | 4.0% 153 |
| 1944 | 50.6% 1,699 | 49.1% 1,647 | 0.3% 9 |
| 1940 | 44.5% 1,483 | 54.7% 1,820 | 0.8% 27 |
| 1936 | 36.5% 912 | 62.4% 1,560 | 1.2% 29 |
| 1932 | 30.9% 698 | 64.6% 1,459 | 4.5% 101 |
| 1928 | 57.4% 1,206 | 41.0% 861 | 1.7% 35 |
| 1924 | 47.5% 950 | 12.8% 256 | 39.7% 793 |
| 1920 | 57.2% 1,195 | 32.7% 682 | 8.8% 212 |
Inyo 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.
Inyo is part of California's 25th congressional district, which is held by Republican Buck McKeon. In the state legislature, Inyo is part of the 34th Assembly district, which is held by Republican Connie Conway, and the 18th Senate district, which is held by Republican Jean Fuller.
On Nov. 4, 2008 Inyo County voted 60.4 % for Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.
School districts in Inyo County are:
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Death Valley National Park is a mostly arid United States National Park located east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in southern Inyo County and northern San Bernardino County in California, with a small extension into southwestern Nye County and extreme southern Esmeralda County in Nevada. In addition, there is an exclave (Devil's Hole) in southern Nye County. The park covers 5,262 square miles (13,630 km2), encompassing Saline Valley, a large part of Panamint Valley, almost all of Death Valley, and parts of several mountain ranges.[8] Death Valley National Monument was proclaimed in 1933, placing the area under federal protection. In 1994, the monument was redesignated a national park, as well as being substantially expanded to include Saline and Eureka Valleys.[8]
It is the hottest and driest of the national parks in the United States. It also features the second-lowest point in the Western Hemisphere and the lowest point in North America at Badwater, which is 282 feet (86 m) below sea level. It is home to many species of plants and animals that have adapted to this harsh desert environment. Some examples include Creosote Bush, Bighorn Sheep, Coyote, and the Death Valley Pupfish, a survivor of much wetter times. Approximately 95% of the park is designated as wilderness.[9] Death Valley National Park is visited annually by more than 770,000 visitors who come to enjoy its diverse geologic features, desert wildlife, historic sites, scenery, clear night skies and the solitude of the extreme desert environment.
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