Humboldt County, California

Humboldt County is a located on the northwest coast of the  of, on the. As of the, the had a population of 126,518. The is.

History
The original inhabitants of the area now known as Humboldt County include the, , , , , , and the southern Athabascans, including the and. Humboldt County was formed in from parts of. The first recorded entry by people of an origin was a landing by the Spanish in.

The county derived its name from. The first recorded entry of Humboldt Bay by non-natives was an visit from a  hunting party from  employed by the. The hunting party included Captain Jonathan Winship, an, and some hunters. The bay was not visited again by people of European origin until when Josiah Gregg's party visited. In, and  entered the bay, naming it Humboldt in honor of the great naturalist and world explorer, Baron.

The area around Humboldt Bay was once solely inhabited by the  tribe. One of the largest Wiyot villages,, was located on (AKA Indian Island and AKA ) in Humboldt Bay. Founded circa, it contains a shell 6 acres (24,000 m²) in size and 14 feet (4 m) deep. It was the site of the, massacre of the Wiyot people that was recorded by , then living in Union, now called. Between 60 and 200 Wiyot men, women, and children were murdered that night. In 1998, musician wrote and recorded a song about this event, called "Humboldt County Massacre." Tolowot is now an archaeological site, designated "Gunther Island Site 67", and is a.

State historic landmarks in Humboldt County include, , The Old Arrow Tree, Centerville Beach Cross, Camp Curtis, the Town of , the City of , California's first drilled oil wells in , the , the Old Indian Village of in Trinidad, the Arcata and Mad River Railroad Company, the Humboldt Harbor Historical District, and the town of.

On and, , Eureka's entire  population of 300 men and 20 women were expelled after a gunfight between rival Chinese gangs (tongs) resulted in the wounding of a 12 year old boy and the death of 56 year old David Kendall, a Eureka City Councilman. After the shooting, an of 600 Eurekans met and then informed the Chinese that they were no longer wanted in Eureka and would be  if they were to stay in town longer than 3 p.m. the next day. They were put on two steamships and shipped to. No-one was killed in the expulsion. Another Chinese expulsion occurred during 1906 in a cannery on the, in which 23 Chinese cannery workers were expelled after local loggers objected to their presence. However, some Chinese remained in the area, where some white landowners sheltered and purchased food for the Chinese mineworkers until after racial tension passed. Chinese did not return to the coastal cities until the 1950s.

Climate
The coastal areas of the county experience wet, cool winters and dry, mild foggy summers. Winter highs usually range from the low 40s to the upper 50s, and winter lows on the coast usually range from the 40s into the 30s. The immediate coastal zone experiences a number of frosty nights in winter and early spring, though snowfall and hard freezes are rare. Winter rainstorms are frequent, with coastal areas averaging from 30 to 100 inches a year based on elevation. Summers on the coast are cool to mild with frequent fog. Yet just 10 or 20 miles inland one can find abundant sunshine and warmth. Thus coastal residents often head eastward in the summer to escape the gloomy cold summer fog. Summer highs range from the mid-50s to upper 60s, with lows in the upper 40s to mid-50s. Record highs at Woodley Island for most summer days are in the low to mid-70s.

Inland areas of the county also experience wet, cool winters. Snowfall is common at elevations over 3,000 ft. throughout the winter months. The main climatic difference between inland areas and the coast takes place in the summer months. Inland parts of Humboldt County experience average highs from the 80s to 90s depending on the elevation and distance from the ocean. 100 degree days are also common in eastern parts of the county including Orleans, Hoopa, and Willow Creek during the summer.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 10,495 (4,052 ). 9,253 km² (3,572 sq mi) of it is land and 1,243 km² (480 sq mi) of it (11.84%) is water.

Located in Humboldt County is, the westernmost point in California, with a of 124 degrees, 24 minutes and 30 seconds.

Bay
, California's second largest bay, is located on the coast at the midsection of the county. It is the center of the major cities for the county and the region.

Rivers
Humboldt County's major rivers include (in order of flow-cubic meters per second-from largest to smallest):



The list of other smaller rivers and at least one large creek include the following: Van Duzen, Mattole, Salmon, Elk, Bear, and Little rivers, and Redwood Creek.

Parks
National Park

(RNSP)

State Parks



Unincorporated towns and areas








Adjacent counties

 * - north
 * - south


 * - northeast
 * - east

Agriculture
Humboldt County is known for its impressive redwood trees, and many acres of private redwood timberland make Humboldt the top timber producer in California. The lush river bottoms adjacent to the ocean are renowned for producing rich, high-quality dairy products. Somewhat more inland the warmer valleys have historically produced abundant apples and other fruit. More recently vinyards have been planted in the Trinity, Klamath, and upper Eel river valleys. Humboldt County is also widely known for its high potency strains of, which are grown outdoors and increasingly indoors. Large scale "grows" are prosecuted, while others are able to grow under county guidelines for medicinal use under the auspices of California Proposition 215.

Major highways

 * [[Image:US 101 (CA).svg|23px]]
 * [[Image:California 36.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 96.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 299.svg|20px]]

Public transportation
operates two fixed route systems: The city of Arcata operates the, with funding from Humboldt State University. A&MRTS provides fixed route local bus service on two scheduled routes (one hour headway) in Arcata and an additional route between the Valley West and the university when classes are in session.
 * provides service to and within communities between Trinidad and Scotia, with occasional service to Manila and Loleta. HTA also offers service between McKinleyville or Arcata and Willow Creek and an  between Arcata and College of the Redwoods when classes are in session.
 * provides service on four scheduled routes (one hour ) in Eureka and adjacent communities. Connections can be made to the Redwood Transit System at several places in Eureka.

The city of Blue Lake and the operates the. Blue Lake Rancheria Transit provides fixed route intercity transit bus service (one hour headway) between Arcata and the Blue Lake Rancheria and  and local service within the city of Blue Lake.

's operates fixed route intercity transit bus service between Arcata and  or.

Airports
is located in McKinleyville (north of Arcata). Commercial flights are available. Other (general aviation) airports are located at Dinsmore, Garberville, Kneeland, Murray Field (Eureka) and Rohnerville (Fortuna).

Government

 * County of Humboldt
 * City of Arcata
 * City of Eureka
 * City of Eureka


 * City of Ferndale
 * City of Fortuna

Politics
Humboldt is a -leaning county in and  elections. The last Republican to win a majority in the county was in.

Humboldt is part of, which is held by Democrat. In the, Humboldt is part of the 1st Assembly district, which is held by Democrat , and the 2nd Senate district, which is held by Democrat.

Area organizations

 * Humboldt County Convention and Visitor's Bureau
 * Greater Eureka Chamber of Commerce
 * Arcata Chamber of Commerce
 * Fortuna Chamber of Commerce


 * Ferndale Chamber of Commerce
 * Trinidad Chamber of Commerce
 * Garberville & Redway (Southern Humboldt) Chamber of Commerce

Demographics
As of the, there were 126,518 people and 51,238 in Humboldt County, and the  was 14/km² (35/sq mi). By 2003, the population was projected to increase to 127,915. There were 55,912 housing units at an average density of 6/km² (16/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 84.71%, 0.88% or , 5.72% , 1.65% , 0.19% , 2.45% from , and 4.39% from two or more races. 6.49% of the population were or  of any race. 13.3% were of, 10.7% , 10.3% , 7.4% and 5.7%  ancestry according to. 92.1% spoke and 4.6%  as their first language.

There were 51,238 households out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% were living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% were non-families. 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 12.4% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,226, and the median income for a family was $39,370. Males had a median income of $32,210 versus $23,942 for females. The for the county was $17,203. About 12.9% of families and 19.5% of the population were below the, including 22.5% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

Educational and cultural institutions


The County is served by many school districts and a wide variety of schools. Most schools are under the direction of the Humboldt County Office of Education, but a few are not. The independent, private schools include St. Mary's Catholic School in Arcata and Salmon Creek Community School in rural southern Humboldt County. A complete list of under the Humboldt County Office of Education includes charter schools and adult education.

Media
The longest-running paper is the Eureka Times-Standard, owned now by, which has been in daily since. Joining them in 2006 is the daily Eureka Reporter owned by local developer and conservative Republican activist. Regional weekly and bi-weekly publications include the North Coast Journal, the McKinleyville Press, the Independent, out of, Arcata Eye the Humboldt Beacon, and the BigfootValleyNews.html Bigfoot Valley News - distributed from Weaverville, CA in the east to Mc Kinleyville CA then south to Fortuna CA. Also along HWY 96 from Willow Creek to Happy Camp, CA, primarily local coverage. Last but not least is the Hoopa People Newspaper, distributed weekly in the Klamath Trinity region and available by subscription to tribal members and other interested people.

There are also a number of circulars both on-line and in print which have a narrower focus than traditional print media. Humboldt County also has numerous s and on-line s.

All of Humboldt County's television stations are based in Eureka, although only KIEM continues to produce nightly news broadcasts originating locally.

Commercial, community and continues to thrive in Humboldt County, with some stations bucking the national trend to produce local content and program a smattering of local music. For-profit stations include (KFMI, KRED, KXGO, KHUM, KSLG, KWPT and KATA). Non-profit stations include the Tribe's KIDE, 's KMUD, -based KHSU and KRFHand Jefferson Public Radio's KNHM and KNHT. On, 2006 the launched KKDS, a  station focused on youth and community issues. There have also been a number of stations such as  and Humboldt Free Radio, although none of these have broadcasted on a consistent basis or frequency for many years.

Events

 * World-Championship (Memorial Day Weekend - Late May)
 * Arcata Bay Oyster Festival on the Arcata Plaza (June)
 * Blues by the bay in Eureka (July)
 * Humboldt County Fair in Ferndale (August)
 * Redwood Acres Fair in Eureka (June)
 * Redwood Coast Jazz Festival in Eureka (Last Weekend of March)
 * Reggae on the River on the Eel in Southern Humboldt (August)
 * Rhododendron Festival (and parade) in Eureka (April)
 * Roll on the Mattole at the Mattole Grange in Southern Humboldt (Summer)