Mariposa County, California

Mariposa County is a in the  of, located in the western foothills of the  mountains. It lies north of, east of , and southeast of. As of, its population was 17,130. The is.

The county's eastern half is the central portion of.

There are no incorporated cities in Mariposa County; however, there are three communities recognized as s for statistical purposes.

History
Mariposa County was one of the original counties of California, created at the time of in. While it began as the state's largest county, over time territory that was once part of Mariposa was ceded to twelve other counties:, , , , , , , , , , , and. Thus, Mariposa County is known as the "Mother of Counties".

The county took its name from Mariposa Creek, which was so named by explorers in 1806, when they discovered great clusters of  ("mariposas" in ) in the  of the. For many years, residents marked the annual arrival (in May) of migrating with a "Butterfly Days" parade.

The Gold Rush
Mariposa County is located at the southern end of California's region. During the great quantities of the prized  were found and extracted, first in local stream-beds and later in hard rock mines. One of the most notable beneficiaries of this wealth was the famed and 1856  , , for whom the local hospital is named. (Jessie Street, in the town of Mariposa, is named for Fremont's wife, Jessie Benton Fremont, who came to Mariposa to live with him.)

Many aspects of the area's mining history are depicted in at two local s: the Mariposa History Museum, located in the town of Mariposa; and the, located at the Mariposa Fairgrounds (2 miles east of Mariposa on Highway 49).

Geography and natural history
According to the, the county has a total area of 3,789 (1,463 ). 3,758 km² (1,451 sq mi) of it is land and 30 km² (12 sq mi) of it (0.80%) is water. Along the banks of the is found the sole  for the, a   to Mariposa County.

Communities
Census-designated places



Other unincorporated places


 * Bear Valley
 * Cathey's Valley
 * Foresta
 * Greeley Hill
 * Hornitos
 * Jerseydale
 * Lush Meadows
 * Midpines
 * Hornitos
 * Jerseydale
 * Lush Meadows
 * Midpines

Adjacent Counties

 * - north
 * - west
 * - south, east

Major Highways

 * [[Image:California 41.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 49.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 120.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 140.svg|20px]]

Public Transportation

 * provides dial-a-ride and some fixed route service
 * provides service along State Routes 120 and 140 to.

Airports
is a general aviation airport. The nearest airports with scheduled flights are in Fresno and Merced.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 17,130 people, 6,613 households, and 4,490 families residing in the county. The was 5/km² (12/sq mi). There were 8,826 housing units at an average density of 2/km² (6/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 88.93%, 0.67% or , 3.51% , 0.71% , 0.13% , 2.67% from , and 3.38% from two or more races. 7.76% of the population were or  of any race. 96.0% spoke and 3.5%  as their first language.

There were 6,613 households out of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the county the population was spread out with 21.6% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 29.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 104.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.4 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $34,626, and the median income for a family was $42,655. Males had a median income of $31,194 versus $25,440 for females. The for the county was $18,190. About 10.5% of families and 14.8% of the population were below the, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.

Politics
Mariposa is a strongly county in  and  elections. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was in.

Mariposa is part of, which is held by Republican. In the Mariposa is in the 25th Assembly district, which is held by Republican, and the 14th Senate district, which is held by Republican.