Pennington County, South Dakota

Pennington County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 88,565. Its is at. Pennington County is the primary county for the.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 7,211 (2,784 ). 7,190 km² (2,776 sq mi) of it is land and 21 km² (8 sq mi) of it (0.29%) is water. , South Dakota's highest mountain, is located in the county. At 7,242 feet it is the highest point between the Rocky Mountains and the French Alps.

Townships
The county is divided into twenty townships: Ash, Castle Butte, Cedar Butte, Conata, Crooked Creed, Fairview, Flat Butte, Huron, Imlay, Lake Creek, Lake Flat, Lake Hill, Owanka, Peno, Quinn, Rainy Creek/Cheyenne, Scenic, Shyne, Sunnyside, and Wasta; and seven areas of unorganized territory: Central Pennington, Dalzell Canyon, East Central Pennington, Mount Rushmore, Northeast Pennington, Rapid City East, and West Pennington.

Adjacent Counties

 * - north
 * - northeast
 * - southeast
 * - south
 * - southwest
 * - west
 * - northwest

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 88,565 people, 34,641 households, and 23,278 families residing in the county. The was 12/km² (32/sq mi). There were 37,249 housing units at an average density of 5/km² (13/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 86.70%, 0.85% or , 8.09% , 0.88% , 0.06% , 0.68% from , and 2.74% from two or more races. 2.64% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 34,641 households out of which 33.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.30% were living together, 11.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.80% were non-families. 26.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the county, the population was spread out with 26.60% under the age of 18, 10.50% from 18 to 24, 29.20% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to 64, and 11.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 98.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.70 males.

Search and Rescue
The Pennington County Search and Rescue (PCSAR) team is a volunteer search and rescue (SAR) team based in Rapid City, South Dakota. The team was established in October, 1973, prompted by a 1972 flood in Rapid City. PCSAR trains for and performs vehicle extrication, vertical rescue, searches, communication support, Fire Department and dive team air supply support, trench rescue, mass casualty support, and emergency winter weather transportation.