El Dorado County, California

El Dorado County is a located in the  of the  of, in the. Its population was estimated to be 172,889, its  population was 156,299. The is.

Much of the population of El Dorado County has become suburbanized, as the metropolitan area has expanded. In addition, the population of the area has also boomed recently.

History
El Dorado 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. Prior to statehood, it had been referred to as Coloma County.

The county derives its name from "" -- the far-famed fabulous region of genial clime and never-fading verdure, where gold and precious stones are as common as rocks and pebbles, where wines gently flow from fountains. The name, meaning "the gilded one" in, appears at the beginning of the as that of a mythical  chief who was said to have been covered with gold dust during the performance of religious rites.

When the discovery of gold by at  in January  became known to the world, California, and particularly that section where gold was discovered, was referred to as "El Dorado." Many present-day towns in the county grew at the sites of gold mining camps set up during the. A wealth of detail on that era and other aspects of county history is presented on the official county website at Stories in El Dorado County History.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 156,299 people, 58,939 households, and 43,025 families residing in the county. The was 35/km² (91/sq mi). There were 71,278 housing units at an average density of 16/km² (42/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 89.71%, 0.52% or , 1.00% , 2.13% , 0.13% , 3.55% from , and 2.96% from two or more races. 9.32% of the population were or  of any race. 90.5% spoke and 6.5%  as their first language.

There were 58,939 households out of which 34.2% had kids under the age of 18 living with them, 60.1% were living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% were non-families. 20.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.1% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 99.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.

The 2000 census also states that the median income for a household in the county was $51,484, and the median income for a family was $60,250. Males had a median income of $46,373 versus $31,537 for females. The for the county was $25,560. About 5.0% of families and 7.1% of the population were below the, including 7.6% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

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

El Dorado is part of, which is held by Republican. In the, El Dorado is part of the 4th district, which is held by Republican. In the, El Dorado is part of the 1st district, which is held by Republican.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 4,631 (1,788 ). 4,431 km² (1,711 sq mi) of it is land and 200 km² (77 sq mi) of it (4.32%) is water.

El Dorado County contains the, with as its highest point at 10,881 feet.

Cities and Towns


Incorporated Cities
 * (Airport: IATA: TVL)

Communities over 10,000 population

Communities under 10,000 population
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The county is also home to the and the.

Adjacent Counties

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

Major Highways

 * [[Image:US 50 (CA).svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 49.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 89.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 193.svg|20px]]

Public Transportation

 * runs local service in Placerville and surrounding areas (as far east as Pollock Pines). Commuter service into Sacramento and Folsom is also provided.
 * is the transit operator for the South Lake Tahoe area. Service also runs into the state of.

Airports
General aviation airports are include:, , and.

Asbestos
Portions of El Dorado county are known to contain natural formations near the surface. The studied  in rock and soil in the area in response to an EPA sampling study and subsequent criticism of the EPA study. The study found that many amphibole particles in the area meet the counting rule criteria used by the EPA for chemical and morphological limits, but do not meet morphological requirements for commercial-grade-asbestos. The executive summary pointed out that even particles that do not meet requirements for commercial-grade-asbestos may be a health threat and suggested a collaborative research effort to assess health risks associated with "Naturally Occurring Asbestos".

In 2003 after construction of the Oak Ridge High school soccer field, the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry found that some student athletes, coaches and school workers received substantial exposures. The inside of Oak Ridge High School needed to be cleaned of dust.