Marin County, California

Marin County is a  located in the North  of the  of, across the  from. As of 2000, the population was 247,289. The is. Marin County is renowned for its natural beauty, liberal politics and. According to the, Marin County has the at $44,962.

is located in the county, as is. The largest employer in Marin is, headquartered in Novato. , the publisher of, is located there, as are numerous other high-tech companies. The headquarters of film and media company Ltd., previously based in San Rafael, have moved to the. is from Marin.

The was designed by  and draws thousands of visitors a year to guided tours of its  and  design.

America's oldest race, the  takes place annually in Marin County, attracting thousands of athletes. The progressive organic dairy, based in Marin, was the first certified organic dairy west of the Mississippi.

Marin County's many beautiful sites include the famous   forest, the, , , and , the birthplace of.

History
Marin County is one of the original 27 counties of, created , , following adoption of the and just months before the state was admitted to the Union.

The origin of the county's name is not clear. One version is the county was named for Chief Marin, of the, Licatiut tribe of s who inhabited that section and waged fierce battle against the early military explorers. The other version is that the bay between San Pedro Point and San Quentin Point was named Bahía de Nuestra Señora del Rosario la Marinera in, and it is quite possible that Marin is simply an abbreviation of this name.

The Coast Miwok Indians were hunters and gatherers whose ancestors had occupied the area for thousands of years. About 600 village sites have been identified in the county.

The English explorer and privateer, and the crew of the  was thought to have landed on the Marin coast in 1579 claiming the land as . A bronze plaque inscribed with Drake's claim to the new lands, fitting the description in Drake's own account, was discovered in 1933. This so-called  was later declared a hoax.

In 1595 Sebastian Cermeno lost his ship, the San Agustin, while exploring the Marin Coast. The Spanish explorer landed about twenty years after Drake in what is now called. However the first Spanish settlement in Marin was not established until 1817 when was founded partly in response to the Russian-built  to the north in what is now.

was founded in what is now downtown as the 20th Spanish mission in the colonial  province of  by four priests, Father Narciso Duran from, Father Abella from , Father Gil y Taboada and Father , the President of the Missions, on Dec. 14, 1817, four years before Mexico gained independence from.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 2,145 (828 ). 1,346 km² (520 sq mi) of it is land and 799 km² (308 sq mi) of it (37.24%) is water. According to the records at the County Assessor-Recoder's Office, as of June 2006, Marin had 91065 acre of taxable land, comprised of 79,086 parcels with a total tax basis of $39.8 billion. These parcels are divided into the following classifications:

Geographically, the county forms a large, southward-facing peninsula, with the to the west,  and  to the east, and -- across the  -- the city of  to the south. Marin County's northern border is with.

Most of the county's population resides on the eastern side, with a string of communities running along San Francisco Bay, from to  to  to. The interior contains large areas of agricultural and open space;, through which runs alongside the California coast, contains many small unincorporated communities dependent on agriculture and tourism for their economies.

State and interstate highways

 * [[Image:Interstate 580.svg|23px]]
 * [[Image:US 101 (CA).svg|23px]] (Redwood Highway)
 * [[Image:California 1.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 37.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 131.svg|20px]] (Tiburon Boulevard)

Scenic roads

 * Conzelman Road,
 * Road
 * Paradise Drive
 * Crown Road
 * Road
 * Chileno Valley Road: Connects Marshall Petaluma Road to Tomales Petaluma Road
 * Marshall Petaluma Road
 * Hicks Valley Road: Connects Marshall Petaluma Road to Point Reyes Petaluma Road
 * Point Reyes Petaluma Road
 * Novato Boulevard: Novato to Point Reyes Petaluma Road
 * Sir Francis Drake Blvd: Lighthouse to
 * Fairfax Road: Connects Sir Francis Drake Blvd to (also a scenic road) at Bolinas
 * Bolinas Ridge Road: Connects Bolinas Fairfax Road to Panoramic Highway and Road
 * Lucas Valley Road and Nicasio Valley Road: Connect 101 with Point Reyes Petaluma Road
 * Point/North San Pedro Road: Connects and  neighborhoods via

Public transportation
provides service primarily along the U.S. 101 corridor, serving cities in Marin County, as well as and. Service is also provided to via the. Ferries to San Francisco operate from Larkspur and Sausalito. Ferry service from Tiburon is provided by Blue and Gold Fleet and by the Ferry.

Local bus routes within Marin County are operated by Golden Gate Transit under contract to the. MCTD also operates the, serving communities in the western, rural areas of Marin County.

buses service San Rafael.

Airports
or (ICAO:  KDVO) is a general aviation airport operated by the County Department of Public Works. is a private airstrip. The nearest airports with commercial flights are and  as well as  north of Marin County.

Elementary and middle schools

 * Adeline E. Kent Middle School- Kentfield
 * Bacich Elementary- Kentfield
 * Bayside/MLK Elementary School- Sausalito
 * Bel Aire School- Tiburon
 * - Bolinas (4-8) & Stinson Beach (K-3)
 * Coleman Elementary School - San Rafael
 * Del Mar School- Tiburon
 * St. Hilary School- Tiburon
 * - Mill Valley
 * Edna Maguire Elementary School- Mill Valley
 * - Mill Valley/Presidio of San Francisco
 * Mill Valley Middle School- Mill Valley
 * Manor School- Fairfax
 * Mount Tamalpais School- Mill Valley
 * Park School- Mill Valley
 * Neil Cummins Elementary School-Corte Madera
 * Marin - Corte Madera
 * - Corte Madera
 * Marin Primary & Middle School- Larkspur
 * Henry C. Hall Middle School- Larkspur
 * Ring Mountain School- Larkspur
 * Bahia Vista Elementary School- San Rafael
 * Davidson Middle School- San Rafael
 * Glenwood Elementary School- San Rafael
 * Miller Creek Middle School- Marinwood/San Rafael
 * Sun Valley Elementary School- San Rafael
 * St. Mark's School - San Rafael
 * St. Raphael's- San Rafael
 * St. Isabella- San Rafael
 * Santa Venetia Valley School- Santa Venetia/San Rafael
 * Hamilton Elementary School- Novato
 * Hill Middle School- Novato
 * Loma Verde Elementary School- Novato
 * Lynwood Elementary School- Novato
 * Montessori School Of Novato- Novato
 * North Bay Christian Academy- Novato
 * Olive Elementary School- Novato
 * Our Lady Of Loretto Catholic School- Novato
 * Pleasant Valley Elementary- Novato
 * Rancho Elementary School- Novato
 * Reed School - Tiburon
 * San Jose Middle School- Novato
 * San Ramon Elementary- Novato
 * Sinaloa Middle School- Novato
 * Tomales Elementary School- Tomales
 * Vallecito Elementary School- Terra Linda
 * Wade Thomas Elementary School- San Anselmo
 * West Marin School- Point Reyes Station
 * White Hill Middle School- Fairfax

High schools
Kentfield/Larkspur:
 * , private school
 * , continuation school
 * , independent study
 * , independent study

Mill Valley:

Novato:
 * , continuation school

Ross:
 * , private school

San Anselmo:
 * , private school

San Rafael:
 * , continuation school
 * , private school

Sausalito:
 * , private school

Tomales:

Colleges and universities

 * - Kentfield, Indian Valley
 * - San Rafael
 * , Strawberry Point
 * - San Anselmo

Ecology
Marin county is considered in the, a zone of extremely high and. There are numerous s present, including, , and s.  There are also a considerable number of protected plant and animal species present:  include the  and , while  include Marin Dwarf Flax, '; Tiburon Jewelflower, '; and Tiburon Indian paintbrush, .

A number of watersheds exist in Marin County including, , and.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 247,289 people, 100,650 households, and 60,691 families residing in the county. The was 184/km² (476/sq mi). There were 104,990 housing units at an average density of 78/km² (202/sq mi). The of the county was 84.03% White, 2.89% Black or African American, 0.43% Native American, 4.53% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 4.50% from other races, and 3.47% from two or more races. 11.06% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 80.8% spoke, 9.6% , 1.4% and 1.1%  as their first language.

In 2005 76.9% of Marin County's population was non-Hispanic whites. 12.6% of the population was Latino (mostly concentrated in the Canal Area of San Rafael). 5.3% of the population was Asian and 3.1% was African-American.

In 2000 there were 100,650 households out of which 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.4% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.7% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the county the population was spread out with 20.3% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 29.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 98.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $71,306, and the median income for a family was $88,934. Males had a median income of $61,282 versus $45,448 for females. The for the county was $44,962. About 4.7% of families and 9.6% of the population were below the, including 6.9% of those under age 18 and 2.5% of those age 65 or over. Marin County has the second highest median household income in California behind.

Marin County has the of any county in the United States. This is driven in particular by expensive enclaves in, , , , , , , and portions of  and  where displays of , especially luxury cars, are common. The county has the highest density of cars (locally known as 'Basic Marin Wheels') in the United States, according to dealers in the county.

The traditionally middle class towns of Corte Madera, Fairfax, Novato and San Rafael (where per capita incomes typically paralleled the California state average as late as 1985) also have experienced especially sharp rises in real estate values, due in part to their proximity to the "prestige" address areas. The county's resistance to and its preservation of  have also had an upward impact on housing prices by reducing the number of new  built in the area since 1970. The precedent for this was set after a huge development project that would have put a suburb atop the called  was defeated in court.

The trend of increased affluence has not held true for two neighborhoods in particular, populated almost exclusively by low-income groups (not including the successful  "minority" group): Marin City (which shares a zip code with Sausalito) and the Canal Neighborhood in San Rafael. Government policies have both forbidden property owners from raising rents and have also subsidized housing prices in these neighborhoods for tenants who do not report incomes higher than 200% of the poverty level on their IRS tax return. Marin City has a population of 3,000 and is ethnically diverse with large East Asian, Hispanic, and African American populations. Many families live in apartment buildings. The population in The Canal is largely Hispanic, with many households residing in over-crowded apartment units. San Rafael has asserted to the Federal Government that this population is significantly undercounted by the due to the high percentage of, depriving the city of tax funds for improved social services. They assert that the 6.6% of the county-wide population listed as below the poverty line is both under-reported, and heavily concentrated in The Canal. Nevertheless, if it weren't for these two neighborhoods, the of Marin County would not function because the only other  neighborhoods are across the San Francisco Bay.

Politics
Marin is a strongly county in  and  elections;  won almost three quarters, 73%, of the vote in the. . The last Republican to win a majority in the county was in.

Marin is part of, which is held by Democrat. In the Marin is in the 6th Assembly district, which is held by Democrat, and the 3rd Senate district, which is held by Democrat.

Media
Marin county has several media outlets that serve the local community.
 * , a daily newspaper with headquarters in.
 * , a free weekly distributed throughout the county.
 * , a weekly newspaper.
 * radio, West Marin Radio, serving the West Marin audience.
 * Channel 26, public access television in Marin.

Presidential elections results
The county has become a stronghold of the in recent decades. Out of, only and  voted more Democratic in the.

Cities, towns and unincorporated districts










Adjacent counties

 * - south (across the )
 * - east (across the )
 * - north

In books and films
Marin County has been used as the venue for numerous films and books; in some cases these works have also incorporated scenes set in neighboring San Francisco or. The following are representative works produced in whole or in part in Marin County:


 * Marin County lifestyles of the 1970s were spoofed in the 1977 novel The Serial: A Year in the Life of Marin County by, and in the subsequent film  which was based on the novel.


 * The book  was set in.


 * Key scenes in the 1973 movie were filmed in Marin at  and on 4th Street in downtown.


 * Scenes from and The Godfather: Part II were filmed in Marin.


 * Marin County's reputation as a enclave, especially the town of Bolinas and its isolationist reputation, made it a location of many key events in the 1981 novel Ecotopia Emerging by.


 * The 2002 film  takes place in Marin.


 * Many scenes of the 1971 film and its sequels were filmed in Marin.


 * The film  (1963) takes place in  which borders Marin and.


 * The 1995 film was filmed entirely in Marin.


 * The 1996 film was filmed almost entirely in.


 * The 2001 film  was filmed in Marin.


 * The 1997 film  was filmed at the.


 * Scenes from the 1971 film  were filmed at the.


 * In the 1981 film  starring Harrison Ford, the college scenes were filmed at Dominican University of California and Indiana Jones' home exteriors was filmed in San Rafael as well.


 * In the book Youth in Revolt: The Journals of Nick Twisp, the Twisp family resides in and Nick's father is in jail in Marin County.