Clackamas County, Oregon

Clackamas County is a  located in the  of. The after the  living in the area, the, who were part of the  people. As of 2000, the population was 338,391. Its is.

Economy
Since the county's creation, agriculture, timber, manufacturing, and commerce have been the principal economic activities. , the only year-round in the United States and the site of, is a major attraction for recreation and tourism. The mountain and its rivers and forests offer outdoor recreation activities, from and  to  and.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 4,867 (1,879 ). 4,839 km² (1,868 sq mi) of it is land and 28 km² (11 sq mi, or 0.58%) of it is water.

Adjacent Counties

 * - north
 * - northeast
 * - east
 * - south
 * - west
 * - northwest

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 338,391 people, 128,201 households, and 91,663 families residing in the county. The was 70/km² (181/sq mi). There were 136,954 housing units at an average density of 28/km² (73/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 91.27%, 2.45% , 0.71% , 0.66% or , 0.17% , 2.28% from , and 2.46% from two or more races. 4.95% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 128,201 households out of which 34.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.60% were living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.50% were non-families. 22.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the county, the population was spread out with 26.20% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 28.70% from 25 to 44, 26.00% from 45 to 64, and 11.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $52,080, and the median income for a family was $60,791. Males had a median income of $43,462 versus $30,891 for females. The for the county was $25,973. About 4.60% of families and 6.60% of the population were below the, including 7.60% of those under age 18 and 5.10% of those age 65 or over.



History
Clackamas was one of the four original Oregon districts created by Oregon's Provisional Legislature on, along with Twality (later ), Champooick (later ), and. The four districts were redesignated as in 1845. At the time of its creation, Clackamas County covered portions of four present-day states and a Canadian province. The became the northern boundary of the county in 1844.

Oregon City was also the site of the only federal court west of the Rockies in 1849, when was platted. The was filed in 1850 in the first plat book of the first office of records in the West Coast and is still in Oregon City.

In 1902, the was recovered from a field just outside present-day.

In contrast with the more liberal and cosmopolitan to the north, and the more ruling-class  to the west, Clackamas county has espoused a blue-collar, yet conservative political outlook of the backlash mold described by. It is the headquarters of, whose has worked to pass a number of  initiatives, and where , who has championed various anti-government initiatives for most of the 1990s, has his base. However, it is a very mixed area overall, narrowly voting for  over   in 2004.

, Clackamas is the first county in Oregon to have four models of governance for its communities. Like the rest of Oregon, it has cities (which are formally ) and rural communities (some of which for federal purposes are considered s).

After completion of a process that began late in 1999, the county adopted an on,  which defined  and. As of the, , deadline, three communities have submitted petitions to start the process of becoming a hamlet or a village. petitioned to become a village. The communities along US 26 near Mount Hood from to  have petitioned to become "". has petitioned to become a hamlet.

Cities and CDPs in the Portland metropolitan area

 * (a small portion in the city's southeast quadrant)
 * (a )
 * (a census-designated place)
 * (a census-designated place)
 * (a census-designated place)
 * (a census-designated place)
 * (a census-designated place)
 * (a census-designated place)
 * (a census-designated place)
 * (a census-designated place)

Other unincorporated communities

 * (private community within the city limits of Wilsonville)
 * (private community within the city limits of Wilsonville)
 * (private community within the city limits of Wilsonville)

Hamlets
In Clackamas County, a is a model of local governance for unincorporated areas.

Villages

 * (still in the process of becoming a village as of 2006)
 * (consists of, , , , , and )

Several of these communities also extend into other counties. and include areas in. , and  include areas in.

The urban areas of the county are also served by.