Inyo County () is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the eastern central part of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

, located between the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

and the state of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

. In the 2020 census, the population was 19,016. 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 ...

Independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

. Inyo County is on the east side of the

and southeast of

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The p ...

Central California Central California is generally thought of as the middle third of the U.S. state of California, north of Southern California (which includes Los Angeles and San Diego) and south of Northern California (which includes San Francisco and San Jose, ...

. It contains the

Owens River Valley Owens Valley ( Mono: ''Payahǖǖnadǖ'', meaning "place of flowing water") is an arid valley of the Owens River in eastern California in the United States. It is located to the east of the Sierra Nevada, west of the White Mountains and Inyo M ...

; it is flanked to the west by the Sierra Nevada and to the east by the White Mountains and the

Inyo Mountains The Inyo Mountains are a short mountain range east of the Sierra Nevada in eastern California in the United States. The range separates the Owens Valley to the west from Saline Valley to the east, extending for approximately south-southeast f ...

. Mono County is to the north. With an area of , Inyo is the second-largest county by area in California, after

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County ( ), officially the County of San Bernardino and sometimes abbreviated as S.B. County, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of th ...

which is directly south of Inyo County. Almost half of Inyo County's area is within

Death Valley National Park Death Valley National Park is a national park of the United States that straddles the California–Nevada border, east of the Sierra Nevada. The park boundaries include Death Valley, the northern section of Panamint Valley, the southern sect ...

. However, with a population density of 1.8 people per square mile, it also has the second-lowest population density in California, after Alpine County.

History

Present-day Inyo county has been the historic homeland for thousands of years of the Mono,

Timbisha The Timbisha ("rock paint", Timbisha language: Nümü Tümpisattsi) are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe federally recognized tribes, federally recognized as the Death Valley Timbisha Shoshone Band of California. The ...

, Kawaiisu, and

Northern Paiute Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

Native Americans. The descendants of these ancestors continue to live in their traditional homelands in the

and in

. Inyo County was formed in 1866 out of the territory of the unorganized Coso County, which had been created on April 4, 1864, from parts of Mono County and Tulare County. It acquired more territory from Mono County in 1870 and

Kern County Kern County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield. Kern County compris ...

and

in 1872. For many years it has been commonly believed that the county derived its name from the Mono tribe's name for the mountains in its former homeland. Actually the name came to be thought of, mistakenly, as the name of the mountains to the east of the Owens Valley when the first whites there asked the local Owens Valley Paiutes for the name of the mountains to the east. They responded that that was the land of Inyo. They meant by this that those lands belonged to the Timbisha tribe headed by a man whose name was Inyo. Inyo was the name of the headman of one of the Timbisha bands at the time of contact when the first whites, the Bennett-Arcane Party of 1849, wandered, lost, into Death Valley on their expedition to the gold fields of western California. The Owens Valley whites misunderstood the reference and thought that Inyo was the name of the mountains when actually it was the name of the chief, or headman, of the tribe that had those mountains as part of their homeland. In Timbisha, ''ɨnnɨyun'' means "it's (or he's) dangerous".William Bright & John McLaughlin, "Inyo Redux", ''Names'' 48:147-150 (2000) To supply the growing City of Los Angeles, water was diverted from the Owens River into the

Los Angeles Aqueduct The Los Angeles Aqueduct system, comprising the Los Angeles Aqueduct (Owens Valley aqueduct) and the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct, is a water conveyance system, built and operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The Owens Valley ...

in 1913. The

cultures and environments changed substantially. From the 1910s to 1930s the

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is the largest municipal Public utility, utility in the United States with 8,100 megawatts of electric generating capacity (2021–2022) and delivering an average of 435 million gallons of wat ...

purchased much of the valley for water rights and control. In 1941 the

extended the Los Angeles Aqueduct system farther upriver into the Mono Basin.

Natural history

Inyo County is host to a number of natural superlatives. Among them are: * Mount Whitney, with an elevation of , the highest point in the contiguous United States, the 12th highest peak in the U.S., and the 24th highest peak in North America. *

Badwater Basin Badwater Basin is an endorheic basin in Death Valley National Park, Death Valley, Inyo County, California, noted as the lowest point in North America and the United States, with a depth of below sea level. Mount Whitney, the highest point ...

, in

Death Valley Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. It is thought to be the Highest temperature recorded on Earth, hottest place on Earth during summer. Death Valley's Badwat ...

, the lowest point in North America * Methuselah, an ancient

Bristlecone pine The term bristlecone pine covers three species of pine tree (family Pinaceae, genus ''Pinus'', subsection ''Balfourianae''). All three species are long-lived and highly resilient to harsh weather and bad soils. One of the three species, ''Pinus ...

tree and one of the oldest living trees on Earth *

Owens Valley Owens Valley (Mono language (California), Mono: ''Payahǖǖnadǖ'', meaning "place of flowing water") is an arid valley of the Owens River in eastern California in the United States. It is located to the east of the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra ...

, the deepest valley on the American continents * Two mountain ranges exceeding in elevation: The

and the White Mountains * Ten of California's twelve peaks which exceed 14,000 feet (a

Fourteener In the mountaineering parlance of the Western United States, a fourteener (also spelled 14er) is a mountain peak with an elevation of at least . The 96 fourteeners in the United States are all west of the Mississippi River. Colorado Co ...

) in elevation; the isolated

Mount Shasta Mount Shasta ( ; Shasta people, Shasta: ''Waka-nunee-Tuki-wuki''; Karuk language, Karuk: ''Úytaahkoo'') is a Volcano#Volcanic activity, potentially active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California. A ...

in northern California, and White Mountain Peak in neighboring Mono County, are the only California 14ers not (at least partly) in Inyo County * The largest

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. Due to the similarity, the term '' scarp'' may mistakenly be incorrectly used inte ...

in the United States, rising from the floor of Death Valley to the top of Telescope Peak in the

Panamint Range The Panamint Range is a short rugged fault-block mountain range in the northern Mojave Desert, within Death Valley National Park in Inyo County, eastern California. A small part of the southern end of the range is in San Bernardino County. Dr. D ...

Geography

Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the

contiguous United States The contiguous United States, also known as the U.S. mainland, officially referred to as the conterminous United States, consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States in central North America. The te ...

, is on Inyo County's western border (with Tulare County). The

in Death Valley National Park, the lowest place in North America, is in eastern Inyo County. The difference between the two points is about . They are not visible from each other, but both can be observed from the

on the west side of Death Valley, above the Panamint Valley. Thus, Inyo County has the greatest elevation difference among all of the counties and county-equivalents in the contiguous United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water. It is the second-largest county by area in

and the ninth-largest in the United States (excluding boroughs and census areas in Alaska).

Lakes

* Camp Lake * Cottonwood Lakes * Diaz Lake * Dingleberry Lake * Granite Lake * Inconsolable Lake * Loch Leven * Mills Lake * Pee Wee Lake * Robinson Lake * Rock Creek Lake * Lake Sabrina * Weir Lake * Wishbone Lake

National protected areas

(part) * Inyo National Forest (part) * Manzanar National Historic Site There are 22 official

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural) are Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human activity, or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally ...

s in Inyo County that are part of the

National Wilderness Preservation System The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federal government of the United States, federally managed Wilderness, wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally ...

. This is the second-largest number of any county, exceeded only by

's 35 wilderness areas. Most of these are managed solely by the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...

, but four are integral components of Death Valley National Park or Inyo National Forest and are thus managed by either the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

or the Forest Service. Some of these wilderness areas also extend into neighboring counties. Except as noted, the wilderness areas are managed solely by the Bureau of Land Management and lie entirely within Inyo County: * Argus Range Wilderness * Coso Range Wilderness * Darwin Falls Wilderness * Death Valley Wilderness (part) * Funeral Mountains Wilderness * Golden Trout Wilderness (part) * Ibex Wilderness * Inyo Mountains Wilderness (part) *

John Muir Wilderness The John Muir Wilderness is a wilderness area that extends along the crest of the Sierra Nevada of California for , in the Inyo National Forest, Inyo and Sierra National Forests. Established in 1964 by the Wilderness Act and named for naturalist ...

(part) * Malpais Mesa Wilderness * Manly Peak Wilderness * Nopah Range Wilderness * Owens Peak Wilderness (part) * Pahrump Valley Wilderness (part) * Piper Mountain Wilderness * Resting Spring Range Wilderness * Sacatar Trail Wilderness (part) * Saddle Peak Hills Wilderness (part) * South Nopah Range Wilderness * South Sierra Wilderness (part) * Surprise Canyon Wilderness * Sylvania Mountains Wilderness

Death Valley National Park

Death Valley National Park is a mostly

arid Aridity is the condition of geographical regions which make up approximately 43% of total global available land area, characterized by low annual precipitation, increased temperatures, and limited water availability.Perez-Aguilar, L. Y., Plata ...

United States National Park The United States has 63 national parks, which are congressionally designated protected areas operated by the National Park Service, an agency of the Department of the Interior. National parks are designated for their natural beauty, unique g ...

east of the

mountain range in southern Inyo County and northern

, with a small extension into southwestern Nye County and extreme southern Esmeralda County in

. In addition, there is an

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

( Devil's Hole) in southern Nye County. The park covers , encompassing Saline Valley, a large part of Panamint Valley, almost all of

, and parts of several

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

s. National Park Index (2001–2003), p. 26 Death Valley National Monument was proclaimed in 1933, placing the area under federal protection. In 1994, the

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

was redesignated a national park, as well as being substantially expanded to include Saline and Eureka Valleys. It is the hottest and driest of the national parks in the United States. It also features the second-lowest point in the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the 180th meridian.- The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Geopolitically, ...

and the lowest point in North America at the

, which is below

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. It is home to many species of plants and animals that have adapted to this harsh

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

environment. Some examples include Creosote Bush,

Bighorn Sheep The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of Ovis, sheep native to North America. It is named for its large Horn (anatomy), horns. A pair of horns may weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates th ...

Coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...

, and the Death Valley Pupfish, a survivor of much wetter times. Approximately 95% of the park is designated as

wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plurale tantum, plural) are Earth, Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human impact on the environment, human activity, or any urbanization, nonurbanized land not u ...

. Death Valley National Park is visited annually by more than 770,000 visitors who come to enjoy its diverse geologic features, desert wildlife, historic sites, scenery, clear night skies, and the solitude of the extreme desert environment.

Other parks

* Alabama Hills Recreation Area *

Last Chance Meadow Research Natural Area A last is a mechanical form shaped like a human foot. It is used by shoemakers and cordwainers in the manufacture and repair of shoes. Lasts come in many styles and sizes, depending on the exact job they are designed for. Common variations ...

* California Bighorn Sheep Zoological Area

Demographics

2020 census

2011

Places by population, race, and income

2010 Census

The 2010 United States census reported that Inyo County had a population of 18,546. The racial makeup of Inyo County was 13,741 (74.1%)

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 ...

, 109 (0.6%)

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 2,121 (11.4%) Native American, 243 (1.3%) Asian, 16 (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 ...

, 1,676 (9.0%) from other races, and 640 (3.5%) 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 3,597 persons (19.4%).

2000

At the 2000

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 ...

, there were 17,945 people, 7,703 households and 4,937 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 9,042 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 80.1%

, 0.2%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, 10.0% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.1%

, 4.6% from other races, and 4.2% from two or more races. 12.6% of the population were

or Latino of any race. 16.4% were of German, 12.2% English, 10.6% Irish and 5.0% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 89.2% spoke English and 9.3% Spanish as their first language. There were 7,703 households, of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% 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. 24.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

was $35,006 and the median family income was $44,970. Males had a median income of $37,270 versus $25,549 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 $19,639. About 9.3% of families and 12.6% 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 16.0% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Voter registration

Cities by population and voter registration

Overview

2022 California Gubernatorial General Election in Inyo County

Inyo has historically been a strongly Republican county in Presidential and congressional elections. From

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, the only Democrat to win the county (and the last to win a majority of its vote) was

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

. However, the county shifted significantly leftward in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, narrowly supporting

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

over

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

. As a result, it became one of only two counties that previously voted for Trump by double digits in 2016 to flip to the Democrats, the other being Talbot County, Maryland. Inyo still leans Republican. It voted Republican in all statewide races held in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

. It flipped back to voting for Donald Trump in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, though by a much smaller margin than Trump had won the county in 2016. In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...

, Inyo County is in , and . The county is in . On November 4, 2008, Inyo County voted 60.6% for

Proposition 8 Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage. It passed in the November 2008 California state elections and was later overturned by the ...

which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages. The county was home to Manzanar Internment Camp, where Japanese Americans were interned during World War II. Although the county was typically Democratic before World War II, in the decades since Japanese internment the county has been solidly Republican, only voting for Lyndon Johnson (who signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964) and Joe Biden (who ran on a ticket with Kamala Harris, the first Asian American to be part of a major party ticket).

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

County Sheriffs

*W. A. Greenly (Mar 22, 1866– November 7, 1867) *William A. Moore (Nov 7, 1867– November 7, 1875) *Thomas Passmore (Nov 7, 1875– February 10, 1878)- Killed On Duty *William A. Moore (Feb 10, 1878– July 4, 1879) - Killed On Duty *Stephen G. Gregg (Jul 4, 1879– November 7, 1888) *Fred Charles Scott (Nov 7, 1888– November 7, 1896) *Charles Albert Collins ( Nov 7, 1896– November 7, 1916) *Boone Newett (Nov 7, 1916– November 7, 1918) *Frank Logan (Nov 7, 1918– November 7, 1924) *Charles Albert Collins (7 Nov 1924–7 Nov 1926) *Tom Hutchinson (Nov 7, 1926– November 7, 1934) *Emmett L. Shay (Nov 7, 1934– November 7, 1942) *Charles P. Cline (Nov 7, 1942– November 7, 1954) *Merrill Howard (Nov 7, 1954– November 7, 1960) *Merrill Franklin Culbertson (Nov 7, 1960– November 7, 1962) *Merrill L. Curtis (Nov 7, 1962– November 7, 1970) *Floyd Barton (Nov 7, 1970– November 7, 1982) *Floyd Tidwell (Nov 7, 1982– November 7, 1984) *Don Dorsey (Nov 7, 1984– November 7, 1996) *Dan Lucas ( Nov 7, 1996– November 7, 2006) * William R. "Bill " Lutze (7 Nov 2006–2018) Stephanie J. Rennie (Jan 3, 2023 – Current)

Education

School districts in Inyo County are: * Big Pine Unified School District * Bishop Unified School District * Bishop Union High School District * Bishop Union Elementary School District * Death Valley Unified School District * Lone Pine Unified School District * Owens Valley Unified School District * Round Valley School District Deep Springs College is a two-year alternative education college in Deep Springs Valley. Higher education in Inyo County is provided by the Kern Community College District.

Notable locations

* Mushroom Rock * Mount Whitney *

Lake Manly Lake Manly was a pluvial lake in Death Valley, California. It forms occasionally in Badwater Basin after heavy rainfall, but at its maximum extent during the so-called "Blackwelder stand," ending approximately 120,000 years before present, the ...

* Furnace Creek, California (Hottest air temperature ever recorded here in 1913 at . In July 1972, a ground temperature of was measured in Furnace Creek. This may be the highest natural ground surface temperature ever recorded.)

Transportation

Road sign welcome to Inyo County California United States 01

In the 1920s, automobile clubs and nearby towns started to lobby for trans-Sierra highways over Piute Pass and other locations. However, by end of the 1920s, the Forest Service and the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir. A product of the Pro ...

decided that roadless wilderness in the Sierra was valuable, and fought the proposal. The Piute Pass proposal faded out by the early 1930s, with the Forest Service proposing a route over Minaret Summit in 1933. The Minaret Summit route was lobbied against by California's Governor

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

in 1972. The expansion of the

John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the national park, National Parks", was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologi ...

and Ansel Adams Wildernesses in the 1980s sealed off the Minaret Summit route. A trans-Sierra route between Porterville and Lone Pine was proposed by local businessmen in 1923. Eventually, a circuitous route across the Sierra was built across the only trans-Sierra route south of Yosemite: Sherman Pass by 1976. That route is Forest Route 22S05 to the west, and Kennedy Meadow Road ( County Route J41) and 9-Mile Canyon Road to the east.

Major highways

* U.S. Route 6 * U.S. Route 395 * California 127

State Route 127 * California 136

State Route 136 * California 168

State Route 168 * California 178

State Route 178 * California 190

State Route 190

Public transportation

Eastern Sierra Transit Authority operates intercity bus service along US 395, as well as local services in Bishop. Service extends south to Lancaster (Los Angeles County) and north to

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

Airports

Bishop Airport, Independence Airport, Lone Pine Airport and Shoshone Airport are general aviation airports located near their respective cities. Stovepipe Wells Airport and Furnace Creek Airport are located in

Communities

Cities

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Census-designated places

* Big Pine * Cartago * Charleston View * Darwin * Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek * Furnace Creek * Homewood Canyon *

(county seat) * Keeler * Lone Pine *

Mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge, or hill, bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and standing distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks, such as shales, capped by a ...

* Olancha * Pearsonville * Round Valley *

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ), also known by the endonym Newe, are an Native Americans in the United States, Indigenous people of the United States with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshon ...

* Tecopa *

Trona Trona (trisodium hydrogendicarbonate dihydrate, also sodium sesquicarbonate dihydrate, Na2CO3·NaHCO3·2H2O) is a non- marine evaporite mineral. It is mined as the primary source of sodium carbonate in the United States, where it has replaced ...

* Valley Wells * West Bishop * Wilkerson

Other unincorporated communities

Source: * Alabama Hills * Chicago Valley * Coso Junction * Death Valley Junction * Deep Springs * Dunmovin * Haiwee *

Laws Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...

* Panamint Springs * Sandy Valley * Stewart Valley

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Inyo County. † ''county seat''

Notes

References

External links

Inyo County Tourism website

Eastern California Museum
{{Authority control California counties California placenames of Native American origin 1866 establishments in California Populated places established in 1865