Shasta County, California

Shasta County is a located in the  portion of the  of, in the. As of 2000 the population was 163,256. The is.

Among the tourist attractions in Shasta County is, , and the.

History
Shasta County was one of the original counties of California, created in at the time of statehood. Parts of the county's territory were given to in, and to  in.

The county was named after ; the name "Shasta" is derived from the equivalent for the name of an Indian tribe that once lived in the area. The name of the tribe was spelled in various ways until the present version was used when the county was established. Originally Mt. Shasta was within the county, but it is now part of, to the north. Its 14,179-foot (4,322 m) peak is visible throughout most of Shasta County.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 9,965 (3,847 ). 9,804 km² (3,785 sq mi) of it is land and 161 km² (62 sq mi) of it (1.62%) is water. Mountains line the county on the east, north and west. The Sacramento River flows out of the mountains to the north, through the center of the county, and toward the Sacramento Valley to the south.

Cities and towns
Cities CDPs

Unincorporated Communities

Adjacent Counties

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

Major highways

 * [[Image:I-5.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 36.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 44.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 89.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 151.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 273.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 299.svg|20px]]

Public Transportation
(RABA) provides service in and around Redding. One route operates to Burney via State Route 299.

buses and trains both serve Redding.

Airports
has scheduled passenger flights. Other (general aviation) airports within the county include (near Redding),, and.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 163,256 people, 63,426 households, and 44,017 families residing in the county. The was 17/km² (43/sq mi). There were 68,810 housing units at an average density of 7/km² (18/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 89.32%, 0.75% or , 2.77% , 1.87% , 0.11% , 1.71% from , and 3.47% from two or more races. 5.51% of the population were or  of any race. 15.7% were of, 12.3% , 11.2% , 9.9% and 5.2%  ancestry according to. 94.0% spoke and 3.3%  as their first language.

There were 63,426 households out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% were living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.1% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $34,335, and the median income for a family was $40,491. Males had a median income of $35,959 versus $24,773 for females. The for the county was $17,738. About 11.3% of families and 15.4% of the population were below the, including 21.0% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.

Politics
Shasta is a strongly Republican county in and  elections. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was in.

Shasta is part of, which is held by Republican. In the Shasta is in the 2nd Assembly district, which is held by Republican, and the 4th Senate district, which is held by Republican.

Annual Events

 * Kool April Nites (April) &mdash; A Classic Car Show
 * Rodeo Week Festivities (May)
 * Art Fair and Fiddler’s Jamboree (May)
 * Whiskeytown Regatta (May)
 * Redding Exchange Club Air Show (June)
 * Shasta District Fair (June) &mdash; The County fair
 * Fourth of July Fireworks Celebration (July)
 * Burney Basin Days (July)
 * Intermountain Fair (September)
 * Big Bike Weekend (October)
 * Stillwater Pow Wow (September)

Colleges and universities
Shasta County has four colleges and universities:
 * , Redding – 2 year, fully accredited
 * , Redding – 4 year, fully accredited
 * , Redding – 4 year, fully accredited
 * - 4 year

High Schools and Below

 * 43 Elementary Schools
 * 10 Junior High Schools
 * 8 High Schools
 * 35 Private Schools

Housing

 * Median price for a house is about $248,000.
 * Median rental rate is $700/month.

Points of interest

 * , one of the nation's most toxic waste sites
 * , one of the nation's most toxic waste sites
 * , one of the nation's most toxic waste sites
 * , one of the nation's most toxic waste sites
 * , one of the nation's most toxic waste sites
 * , one of the nation's most toxic waste sites