Clark County, Washington

Clark County is a located in the southwestern part of the  of, across the  from.

Clark County was the first county of Washington, named after of the. It was created by the provisional government of on, , and at that time covered the entire present-day state.

In 2004, Clark County's population was estimated to be 392,403. Its is at, which is also its largest city.

History
Clark County began as the District of Vancouver on July 27,. It included all the land north of the Columbia River, west of the, and south of. In 1845 the provisional government changed its name to Vancouver County. At that time it stretched from the Columbia River to 54 degrees 40 minutes North Latitude in. On June 15, the United States Senate approved the present boundary between the U.S. and Canada at the 49th Parallel.

On August 13,, signed an act creating the entire region as the Oregon Territory. On September 3,, the Oregon Territorial Legislature modified the borders again and changed its name to Clarke County in honor of explorer William Clark. At this time it included all of present day Washington and continued to be divided and subdivided until reaching its present area in. It was not until 1925 that the spelling was corrected to its present form.

In September the, the largest fire in state history, began in neighboring  and swept west along a 12 mile front to , nearly engulfing the town. Salvaging the remaining timber was a lucrative industry for a time.

Politics
Clark County typically votes for the by small margins. Clark County voted for both and losing Republican  candidate  in.

Unlike the Seattle suburbs, Vancouver's suburbs often lean conservative. was the only western Washington suburb to give George W. Bush more than 60 percent of the vote in 2004, besides the extremely affluent Seattle suburb of. Most of northern Clark County also voted heavily for Bush, offsetting some significant victories for in Vancouver and the unincorporated communities around it.

Clark County's location in the Portland media market often results in the county voting differently on initiatives than the rest of the state. In addition, unlike the fairly socially liberal Seattle suburbs, Clark County is apt to vote for some types of socially conservative legislation (such as against legalising ), which is seen as not appealing to family voters in the area.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,700 (656 ). 1,627 km² (628 sq mi) of it is land and 72 km² (28 sq mi) of it (4.27%) is water.

Clark County is surrounded on two sides by the Columbia River and on the north by the North Fork of the. The East Fork of the Lewis River and the cut across the county. The largest stream arising solely within the county is Salmon Creek, which terminates at before eventually flowing into the Columbia River.

Like most of Oregon and Washington south of into the  the landscape and climate of Clark County are determined by its placement between the   and s, where  helped form a U-shaped valley which meets the river valley of the Columbia River as it leaves the. The central and southwest areas of the county are generally flat floodplains, sculpted by torrents of prehistoric. A series of dramatic floods known as the took place as several ice dams melted, forming a series of low steps such as the "Heights", "Mill Plain", "Fourth Plain" and "Fifth Plain".

Many lakes border the river in the lowlands near, including Vancouver Lake. Eastern and northern Clark County contain forested foothills of the, rising to an elevation of 4,000 feet on the border with Skamania County. is the county's highest free-standing peak.

Flora and fauna of the region include the normal from lowland  and  through  on up through fire-dependent species such as  and, as well as ,  and other species common to. In addition to a wide variety of birds including, s such as , ,  and , s (, ,  and )  and others, the native streams are home to various species of  and the Vancouver Trout Hatchery. Larger mammals include, , , and invasive. Common foods used by the such as the  and  included salmon,  and  (after which the city of  is named).

, and  are all visible from Clark County, and cold winter winds through the Columbia River Gorge often bring  and a coating of  or  known locally as a "silver thaw," especially in southeastern areas of the county closest to the gorge. The counterpart to this are warm winds from the southeast known locally as the "."

Geographic features

 * Moulton Falls
 * Lucia Falls
 * Moulton Falls
 * Lucia Falls
 * Moulton Falls
 * Lucia Falls
 * Lucia Falls

Adjacent counties

 * - north
 * - east
 * - south
 * - southwest

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 345,238 people, 127,208 households, and 90,953 families residing in the county. The was 212/km² (550/sq mi). There were 134,030 housing units at an average density of 82/km² (213/sq mi). The makeup of the county was 88.82% White, 1.68% Black or African American, 0.84% Native American, 3.21% Asian, 0.37% Pacific Islander, 1.99% from other races, and 3.08% from two or more races. 4.71% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 17.7% were of, 10.2% , 8.6% , 8.6% and 5.1%  ancestry according to Census 2000. 88.8% spoke, 3.6% and 1.9%  as their first language.

There were 127,208 households out of which 37.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.80% were living together, 10.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.50% were non-families. 21.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the county, the population was spread out with 28.70% under the age of 18, 8.40% from 18 to 24, 30.80% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 9.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 98.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $48,376, and the median income for a family was $54,016. Males had a median income of $41,337 versus $28,537 for females. The for the county was $21,448. About 6.90% of families and 9.10% of the population were below the, including 11.70% of those under age 18 and 6.80% of those age 65 or over.

Census-recognized communities

 * , which the keeps data on in two separate sections:
 * , which the keeps data on in two separate sections:
 * , which the keeps data on in two separate sections:
 * , which the keeps data on in two separate sections:
 * , which the keeps data on in two separate sections:
 * , which the keeps data on in two separate sections:
 * , which the keeps data on in two separate sections:
 * , which the keeps data on in two separate sections:
 * , which the keeps data on in two separate sections:
 * , which the keeps data on in two separate sections: