Watauga County, North Carolina

Watauga County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 42,695. Its is.

History
The county was formed in 1849 from parts of, , , and. It was named for the, whose name is said to be a word meaning "beautiful water."

In parts of Watauga County,, Caldwell County, , and Yancey County were combined to form. In, parts of Watauga County, Caldwell County, and Mitchell County were combined to form.

Law and government
Watauga County is a member of the regional.

Climate and Weather
As with most of North Carolina's, the climate of Watauga County is considerably cooler and more drastic than other parts of the state. Dramatic and unexpected changes in the weather are not uncommon in the county, particularly when it comes to precipitation. Windy conditions, sudden temperature drops, and even freezing precipitation in late spring and early autumn is quite common. This is partly due to the elevation of the county, and partly due to, which causes precipitation to fall more readily in Watauga County than in lowland areas to the east. Snow and/or sleet has been reported in the county in every month of the year except for July. Windy conditions, also, tend to be amplified across the county due to the rugged terrain and high elevation. Many people have noted that the winters of Watauga County tend to resemble those of the northern United States instead of the South.

Schools
Watauga County elementary schools include:Cove Creek Elementary, Parkway Elementary, Hardin Park Elementary, Blowing Rock Elementary, Green Valley, Mabel, Bethel, and Valle Crucis Elementary; and one private school, Appalachian Christian School. Watauga has one high school, Watauga High. The high school has appx. 1400 students from around the county. The Watauga football team, the Pioneers, won the state championship in 1978; but since then, the farthest the team has gotten was the Final Four of the 4A Tournament in the 2006 season. The season was quite improbable with an 8-0 start for the pioneers. They beat the number 1 seeded A.C. Reynolds Rockets in the third round of the state playoffs by a score of 24-23, highlighting their historic run.

Agriculture

 * The county produces heavy amounts of
 * The growth of produce was once a mainstay in the agricultural economy of the county. was once widely grown, so much so, that a  plant was once located in Boone. The plant has long been closed. Boone Creek, the main creek that runs through Boone and the Appalachian State campus is still nicknamed Kraut Creek since it is said that the creek used to smell of sauerkraut juice coming out of the plant.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 810 (313 ). 809 km² (313 sq mi) of it is land and 1 km² (0 sq mi) of it (0.07%) is water. Watauga County is extremely mountainous, and all of the county's terrain is located within the range. The highest point in the county is (shared with the adjacent counties of Avery and Caldwell), which rises to 5,964 feet (1,818 meters) above sea level. At an elevation of 5,506 feet (1,678 meters) above sea level, is the highest incorporated community east of the Mississippi River. , the county's largest city and county seat, has the highest elevation (3,266 feet) of any city over 10,000 population in the Eastern United States.

Climate
As a result of its relatively high elevation, Watauga County enjoys considerably cooler summers than most of the rest of the US. Likewise, winters are longer, harsher, and often much colder, with frequent and snowfall, and blizzard-like conditions are not uncommon, especially at the higher elevations. Boone, NC Historical Climate Summary

The county government provides a interface on the county website (see links below).

Townships
The county is divided into fifteen : Bald Mountain, Beaverdam, Blowing Rock, Blue Ridge, Boone, Brushy Fork, Cove Creek, Elk, Laurel Creek, Meat Camp, New River, North Fork, Shawneehaw, Stony Fork, and Watauga.

Adjacent counties

 * - northeast
 * - east
 * - south
 * - southwest
 * - northwest

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 42,695 people, 16,540 households, and 9,411 families residing in the county. The was 53/km² (137/sq mi). There were 23,155 housing units at an average density of 29/km² (74/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 96.45%, 1.59% or , 0.25% , 0.59% , 0.04% , 0.45% from , and 0.62% from two or more races. 1.46% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 16,540 households out of which 23.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.40% were living together, 6.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.10% were non-families. 28.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.80.

The age distribution is 16.30% under the age of 18, 27.80% from 18 to 24, 23.40% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 11.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. The overall age distribution and median age are greatly affected by the presence of in Boone. For every 100 females there are 99.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,611, and the median income for a family was $45,508. Males had a median income of $29,135 versus $22,006 for females. The for the county was $17,258. About 7.20% of families and 17.90% of the population were below the, including 11.50% of those under age 18 and 10.60% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation
No commercial airports or passenger train depots are nearby. A helipad is in service at the Watauga Medical Center. A small general aviation airstrip is located in Boone. Commercial airline passengers typically utilize the airports at, Tri-Cities Tennessee, or. Some visitors use, which may have lower airfares on some routes, but is a considerable distance away.