Ravalli County, Montana

Ravalli County is located in the southwestern part of the of. Ravalli County is part of a North/South mountain valley bordered by the on the East and the  on the West. It is often referred to as the and is named for the  Flower. As of 2000, the population was 36,070. Its is.

History
Ravalli County was once home to the Indian Tribe. The tribe was first encountered in by the, which noted the friendly nature of the tribe. The took interest in creating a  in the area, and in,  was founded. In, the Salish tribe was relocated to the current Flathead reservation under the.

In 1877, and his tribe of  passed through Ravalli county on their way to  in order to escape confinement to a reservation.

Ravalli County was created by the Montana Legislature on March 3, 1893. It is named after the Italian Jesuit priest Father, who came to the Bitterroot valley in 1845.

Economy
The historical economy of Ravalli county lies predominantly in agriculture and timber. , one of three Butte copper kings, funded logging operations in the Bitterroot valley. The lumber was necessary for the Butte copper operation. Recently, more of Ravalli County's economy stems from tourism. The valley borders the and offers a wide variety of wildlife, including some of the few remaining  and  populations in the contiguous states.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 6,217 (2,400 ). 6,201 km² (2,394 sq mi) of it is land and 16 km² (6 sq mi) of it (0.25%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

 * - north
 * - east
 * - southeast
 * - south
 * - west

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 36,070 people, 14,289 households, and 10,188 families residing in the county. The was 6/km² (15/sq mi). There were 15,946 housing units at an average density of 3/km² (7/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 96.71%, 0.14% or , 0.88% , 0.30% , 0.10% , 0.44% from , and 1.44% from two or more races. 1.88% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 14,289 households out of which 30.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.30% were living together, 7.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.70% were non-families. 24.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.60% under the age of 18, 6.20% from 18 to 24, 24.70% from 25 to 44, 28.00% from 45 to 64, and 15.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 98.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,992, and the median income for a family was $38,397. Males had a median income of $30,994 versus $19,987 for females. The for the county was $17,935. About 9.60% of families and 13.80% of the population were below the, including 20.10% of those under age 18 and 6.30% of those age 65 or over.

Notable officials

 * , later a United Statas Senator from Montana, was prosecuting attorney for Ravalli County from 1895 to 1899.