Del Norte County ( Spanish for "Of The North") is a county located at the far northwest corner of the U.S. state of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, along the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

adjacent to the

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

border. Its population was 27,743 as of the 2020 census, down from 28,610 from the 2010 census. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

and only incorporated city is Crescent City. Del Norte was settled and colonized by Azorean Portuguese settlers and dairy farmers, which may account for the local pronunciation of the county name. Locals pronounce the county name as Del Nort, not Del Nor-teh as would be expected in Spanish. Del Norte County comprises the Crescent City, CA Micropolitan Statistical Area. The rural county is notable for forests containing giant Coast Redwoods, with some attaining heights over . This northernmost county on the California coast also has scores of unique plants and flowers, dozens of species of coastal birds and fish, rocky primitive beaches and sea stacks, pristine rivers and historic lighthouses.

History

The area that is now known as Del Norte was (and still is) inhabited by the Yurok and Tolowa Nations of indigenous peoples. The first European American to explore this land was pioneer Jedediah Smith in the early-19th century. He was the first European American to reach the area overland on foot in a time before the European Americans knew anything about such a distant territory. For him it was literally "Land's End" — where the American continent ended at the Pacific Ocean. In 1855 Congress authorized the building of a lighthouse at "the battery point" (a high tide island on the coast of Crescent City) which is still functioning as a historical landmark. Del Norte County was established in 1857, from part of the territory of Klamath County following the great California Gold Rush. Klamath County itself ceased to exist in 1874.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (18%) is water. The mountainous terrain associated with the Coastal Range and the Klamath Mountains dominates Del Norte County's geography. Elevation ranges from sea level to over 6,400 feet. Although much of the county is made up of steep terrain, there are small patches of flat terrain along the coast and in isolated mountain valleys. There are 37 miles of coastline in the county, forming a coastal zone that covers approximately 51,000 acres (80 square miles). A broad coastal plain can be found in the northwest portion of the county with the western edge of the Klamath Mountains as its easterly boundary. Rising abruptly from the coastal plain, the Klamath Mountains extend north into Oregon and are situated between the Cascade Range to the east and the Coast Range to the north.

Adjacent counties

* Curry County, Oregon - northwest * Josephine County, Oregon - northeast * Siskiyou County - east * Humboldt County - south

Beach

* Pelican State Beach

Recreation area

* Smith River National Recreation Area

Rivers

* Klamath - one of the longest in California. * Smith - a crown jewel of the National Wild and Scenic River program.

Wildlife refuge

* Castle Rock National Wildlife Refuge

Parks

* Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park * Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park * Redwood National Park * Tolowa Dunes State Park * Ruby Van Deventer County Park * Florence Keller County Park

Ecology

There is a diversity of flora and fauna within Del Norte County. Vegetative plant associations feature several forest types including mixed oak forest. The California endemic Blue oak, '' Quercus douglasii'' is at the northernmost part of its range in Del Norte County. The Black Oak and Douglas-fir are also found in Del Norte County.

Demographics

2020 census

2011 estimates

Places by population, race, and income (2011)

2010

The 2010 United States census reported that Del Norte County had a population of 28,610. The racial makeup of Del Norte County was 21,098 (73.7%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 993 (3.5%) African American, 2,244 (7.8%) Native American, 965 (3.4%) Asian, 32 (0.1%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1,980 (6.9%) from other races, and 1,298 (4.5%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 5,093 persons (17.8%).

2000

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 27,507 people, 9,170 households, and 6,290 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 10,434 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 78.9%

, 4.3% Black or African American, 6.4% Native American, 2.3% Asian, 0.1%

, 3.9% from other races, and 4.1% from two or more races. 13.9% of the population were

or Latino of any race. 16.2% were of German, 11.3% English, 9.1% Irish and 7.4% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 91.6% spoke English and 6.2% Spanish as their first language. There were 9,170 households, out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.08. The age distribution was 25.1% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 123.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 130.3 males. The median income for a household in the county was $29,642, and the median income for a family was $36,056. Males had a median income of $40,072 versus $22,212 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $14,573. About 16.4% of families and 20.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 26.7% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Del Norte County is home to a satellite campus of College of the Redwoods, a two-year college based in Humboldt County. Del Norte County has one of just five combined county office of education-unified school district learning educational agencies (LEA) in the state of California, with one elected Board of Trustees that serves both agencies, and one superintendent overseeing both the County Office of Education, and the Unified School District. The Del Norte County Unified School District, which covers the entire county, provides public education from pre-Kindergarten through the twelfth grade. The only

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

in Del Norte County is Del Norte High School, whose school mascot is the Warrior. There are also five K-5 elementary schools (Bess Maxwell, Joe Hamilton, Margaret Keating, Mary Peacock, Pine Grove), three K-8 elementary schools (Mountain, Redwood, Smith River), and one middle school (Crescent Elk). The County Office of Education provides special education services to the county, as well as alternative learning options that includes Community Day and juvenile detention. Alternative educational facilities are Del Norte Community Day, Elk Creek detention center, and Sunset Continuation High School. Del Norte County has several private parochial schools and charter schools.

Politics

Del Norte is traditionally a strongly Republican county in Presidential and congressional elections. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Jimmy Carter in

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

; even so,

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

received a plurality in 1992. In 2016, with Orange County flipping, Del Norte County became the only county on California's coast to vote for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton. As of 2024, it is now the only county on California's coast that votes Republican for President. In line with its voting habits, Del Norte's registered voting population is heavily Republican. As of October 2024, approximately 83% of eligible voters are registered to vote in Del Norte County, with approximately 29% registered as Democrats and approximately 41% registered as Republicans. Del Norte County is in . In the State Assembly, Del Norte County is in . In the State Senate, the county is in .

Voter registration statistics

Cities by population and voter registration

Crime

The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.

Cities by population and crime rates

Transportation

Major highways

* U.S. Route 101 * U.S. Route 199 * State Route 169 * State Route 197

Public transportation

Local public transit is provided by Redwood Coast Transit, which provides access to Amtrak passenger train (via Amtrak Thruway) service.

Airports

Advanced Air conducts passenger flights to and from Jack McNamara Field Airport, operating one daily round trip flight to Oakland International Airport and Los Angeles-Hawthorne Airport. Flights are largely subsidized by an Alternate Essential Air Service grant approved by the United States Department of Transportation and issued to the Border Coast Regional Airport Authority in 2020.

Harbor

The Crescent City Harbor serves as a commercial fishing port for salmon, shrimp, tuna, cod, and dungeness crab commercial fishing boats. Nearly 50% of all dungeness crab served in California restaurants is off-loaded in this harbor. The harbor is also home to multiple fishing and non-fishing related businesses and harbor governmental offices. The harbor also has several pleasure boat docks.

Communities

Crescent City is the county seat of and only incorporated city in Del Norte County. Its population count includes the inmates of Pelican Bay State Prison located ten miles north of the city.

Cities

* Crescent City

Census-designated places

* Bertsch–Oceanview * Fort Dick * Gasquet * Hiouchi * Klamath * Smith River * Crescent City North – former CDP

Other unincorporated communities

* Adams Station * Darlingtonia * Klamath Glen * Pacific Shores * Requa * Scaath * Yontocket

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Del Norte County. † ''county seat''

Notes

References

External links

*
Del Norte County & Crescent City Tourism and Travel website

Chamber of Commerce website

Del Norte Historical Society
{{Coord, 41.74, -123.96, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-CA_source:UScensus1990 California counties 1857 establishments in California Populated places established in 1857