Inyo County, California
Inyo County is located in east-central
California in the southwestern
United States, on the east side of the
Sierra Nevada Mountains and south of
Yosemite National Park. As of
2000 the county had a population of 17,945. The
county seat is
Independence.
Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the
lower 48 states, is located in Inyo County.
Badwater, in
Death Valley National Park and the lowest point in the
United States, is also located in the county.
Inyo County was formed in
1866 from parts of
Mono and
Tulare Counties.
The county derived its name from the
Native American name for the mountains in its area. The meaning of the word
inyo is "dwelling place of the great spirit."
Inyo County is host to a number of natural superlatives. Among them are:
*
Mount Whitney, the highest point in the United States outside of Alaska
*
Badwater, in
Death Valley, the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere
*Methuselah, an
ancient Bristlecone Pine, the oldest living thing on Earth
*
Owens Valley, the deepest valley on the American continents
*Two mountain ranges exceeding 14,000 feet in elevation: The
Sierra Nevada and the
White Mountains*Fourteen of California's fifteen peaks which exceed 14,000 feet (a
Fourteener) in elevation
*The largest
escarpment in the United States, rising from the floor of Death Valley to the top of
Telescope Peak in the
Panamint Range |
Owens Valley and the Sierra Escarpment. |
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 10,227 square miles (26,488 km²), of which 10,203 mi² (26,426 km²) is land and 24 mi² (62 km²) is water.
Adjacent Counties
*
San Bernardino County, California - south
*
Kern County, California - southwest
*
Tulare County, California - west
*
Fresno County, California - west
*
Mono County, California - north
*
Esmeralda County, Nevada - northeast
*
Nye County, Nevada - east
*
Clark County, Nevada - southeast
As of the
census2 of 2000, there were 17,945 people, 7,703 households, and 4,937 families residing in the county. The
population density was 1/km² (2/mi²). There were 9,042 housing units at an average density of 0/km² (1/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 80.06%
White, 0.16%
Black or
African American, 10.04%
Native American, 0.91%
Asian, 0.08%
Pacific Islander, 4.60% from
other races, and 4.15% from two or more races. 12.58% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There were 7,703 households out of which 27.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.80% were
married couples living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.90% were non-families. 31.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the county the population was spread out with 24.40% under the age of 18, 5.80% from 18 to 24, 23.40% from 25 to 44, 27.30% from 45 to 64, and 19.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 95.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $35,006, and the median income for a family was $44,970. Males had a median income of $37,270 versus $25,549 for females. The
per capita income for the county was $19,639. About 9.30% of families and 12.60% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 16.00% of those under age 18 and 8.30% of those age 65 or over.
*
Big Pine*
Bishop*
Cartago*
Darwin*
Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek*
Furnace Creek*
Homewood Canyon-Valley Wells*
Independence*
Keeler*
Lone Pine*
Mesa*
Olancha*
Pearsonville*
Round Valley*
Shoshone*
Tecopa*
West Bishop*
Wilkerson*
Inyo County website*
Photographic virtual tour of Inyo County.*
Inyo County Tourism website
