| Mono County, California | |
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|
 Location in the state of California |
|
 California's location in the U.S. |
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| Seat | Bridgeport |
|---|---|
| Largest city | Mammoth Lakes |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
3,132 sq mi (8,112 km²) 3,044 sq mi (7,884 km²) 87 sq mi (225 km²), 2.79% |
| Population - (2000) - Density |
12,853 5/sq mi (2/km²) |
| Founded | 1861 |
| Website | www.monocounty.ca.gov |
Mono County is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of California, to the east of the Sierra Nevada between Yosemite National Park and Nevada. As of 2000 the population was 12,853. The county seat is Bridgeport.[1]
The only incorporated city in the county is Mammoth Lakes,[2] which is located at the foot of Mammoth Mountain.[3] Other locations, such as June Lake, are also famous as skiing and fishing resorts. Located in the middle of the county is Mono Lake, a vital habitat for millions of migratory and nesting birds. The lake is located in a wild natural setting, with pinnacles of tufa arising out of the salty and alkaline lake.
Also located in Mono County is Bodie, the official state gold rush ghost town, which is now a California State Historic Park.
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Mono County was formed in 1861 from parts of Calaveras County, Fresno County and Mariposa County. Parts of the county's territory were given to Inyo County in 1866.
The county is named after Mono Lake which, in 1852, was named for a Native American Paiute tribe, the Kuzedika, that inhabited the Sierra Nevada from north of Mono Lake to Owens Lake. The tribe's western neighbors, the Yokuts, called them monachie meaning "fly people" because fly larvae was their chief food staple and trading article.[4] Archeologists know almost nothing about the first inhabitants of the county, but the Kuzedika had been there many generations by the time the first anglophones arrived. The Kuzedikas were hunter-gatherers and their language is a part of the Shoshone language.[4]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,132 square miles (8,111.8 km2). 3,044 square miles (7,883.9 km2) of it is land and 87 square miles (225.3 km2) of it (2.79%) is water.
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Alpine County | Douglas County, Nevada | Lyon County, Nevada | |
| Tuolumne County |  |
Mineral County, Nevada | ||
 Mono County,
California  |
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| Fresno County and Madera County | Inyo County | Esmeralda County, Nevada |
Mono County is one of the few US counties to border as many as nine counties.
U.S. Route
6
U.S. Route
395
State Route 108
State Route 120
State Route 167
State Route 182
State Route 270Eastern Sierra Transit Authority operates intercity bus service along U.S. 395, as well as local services in Mammoth Lakes. Service extends south to Lancaster, California (Los Angeles County) and north to Reno, Nevada.
Yosemite Area Regional Transit System (YARTS) also runs along U.S. 395 from Mammoth Lakes to Lee Vining before entering Yosemite National Park.
General aviation airports in Mono County include Bryant Field near Bridgeport, Mammoth Yosemite Airport and Lee Vining Airport. In December 2008, Mammoth Yosemite Airport began commercial air service to Los Angeles International Airport on a seasonal (December to April) basis; the service is provided by Horizon Air, and is subsidized by Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort.
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 12,853 people, 5,137 households, and 3,143 families residing in the county. The population density was 4 inhabitants per square mile (1.5 /km2). There were 11,757 housing units at an average density of 4/sq mi (1.5 /km2). The racial makeup of the county was 84.17% White, 0.47% Black or African American, 2.40% Native American, 1.11% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 9.51% from other races, and 2.25% from two or more races. 17.69% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 13.4% were of German, 12.6% Irish and 11.4% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 84.0% spoke English and 15.1% Spanish as their first language.
There were 5,137 households out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% were married couples living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the county the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 33.4% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 121.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 126.8 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $44,992, and the median income for a family was $50,487. Males had a median income of $32,600 versus $26,227 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,422. About 6.30% of families and 11.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.20% of those under age 18 and 1.90% of those age 65 or over.
| Year | DEM | GOP | Others |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 55.5% 2,827 | 42.4% 2,159 | 2.2% 110 |
| 2004 | 49.2% 2,628 | 49.1% 2,621 | 1.7% 89 |
| 2000 | 40.9% 1,788 | 52.5% 2,296 | 6.6% 287' |
| 1996 | 38.6% 1,580 | 46.0% 1,882 | 15.4% 629 |
| 1992 | 34.2% 1,489 | 36.0% 1,570 | 29.8% 1,296 |
| 1988 | 36.2% 1,284 | 61.4% 2,177 | 2.4% 86 |
| 1984 | 26.2% 962 | 72.3% 2,659 | 1.5% 56 |
| 1980 | 25.3% 865 | 62.3% 2,132 | 12.4% 424 |
| 1976 | 37.7% 1,025 | 58.8% 1,600 | 3.5% 96 |
| 1972 | 29.6% 828 | 66.9% 1,872 | 3.5% 99 |
| 1968 | 26.4% 465 | 64.3% 1,130 | 9.3% 163 |
| 1964 | 43.9% 666 | 56.1% 850 | |
| 1960 | 33.2% 457 | 66.3% 912 | 0.4% 6 |
Mono used to be a Republican-leaning county in Presidential and congressional elections but has become more of a swing county in recent elections, going for John Kerry by an extremely slim margin of 7 votes in 2004. In 2008, Barack Obama did substantially better, receiving 668 more votes than Republican candidate John McCain.[6] Prior to 2004, the last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Franklin Roosevelt in 1940.
In November 2008, Mono County was one of just three counties in California's interior in which voters rejected Proposition 8 to ban gay marriage. The county's voters rejected Proposition 8 by 55.5 percent to 44.5 percent. The other interior counties in which Proposition 8 failed to receive a majority of votes were neighboring Alpine County and Yolo County.[7]
Mono is part of California's 25th congressional district, which is held by Republican Buck McKeon. In the state legislature Mono is in the 25th Assembly district, which is held by Republican Tom Berryhill, and the 1st Senate district, which is held by Republican Dave Cox.
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Coordinates: 37°55′N 118°52′W / 37.91°N 118.87°W
Mono County is in the Eastern Sierra region of California.
This is High Plains Drifter country, made famous by Clint Eastwood's motion picture. It is a land of sage-brush-covered plains leading to towering, snow-flecked sawtooth ranges and dormant volcanoes. Mono County was named for the Indian people who lived here prior to the arrival of American pioneers. The Mono people were a band of the Paiute-Shoshone Indians.
Two national forests, the Inyo National Forest and the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, as well as three wilderness areas, the Hoover Wilderness, Ansel Adams Wilderness and John Muir Wilderness can be explored in Mono County. Nearly all the two million acres in Mono County are government owned. What isn't is ranchland for cattle and sheep or supports the county's largest industry... tourism.
Mono Lake, the largest natural lake entirely within California, attracts millions of migratory birds including 90 percent of the California Gull population to nest there. Mono Lake is also downright bizarre, with surreal tufa columns that rise from the water's edge and a chemistry so unusual that NASA has run tests in its murky depths in order to determine whether life might exist on other planets.
Signs of geologic activity can be seen throughout Mono County... steaming hot springs, volcanic flows, obsidian domes, ancient craters, and open faults. There's even a geothermal power plant to tour by calling (760) 934-4893.
Mammoth Mountain (11,053 ft) in the town of Mammoth Lakes is one of the largest ski areas in the U.S. In summer, the ski runs become mountain biking trails at one of the most extreme mountain biking experiences in the U.S. June Mountain, near the town of June Lake, is a favorite of snowboarders, families and backcountry skiers (yes, guided off-piste skiing is permitted there). Cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, ice-climbing, backcountry skiing, snowplay, dog sledding and snowmobiling are other popular winter activities.
Mono County is home to California's legendary Alpers Trout, raised by local aquaculturist, Tim Alpers on the historic Conway Ranch. These lunkers are prized for their beefy shape, massive size and fight. Because so many "Alpers Trout" are stocked there and due to its clear water and many lakes and streams, anglers consider Mono County and the Eastern Sierra to be prime fly and bait fishing territory. The region is so renowned for its fishing that field testing of many synthetic baits and lures occurs there. Hiking, horseback riding and wilderness pack trips, backpacking, cycling, motor touring, off-roading, camping, orienteering, golfing, kayaking, water-skiing, jet-skiing, rock-climbing and bouldering are popular summer activities.
Bodie is Mono County's most notorious town, yet only caretakers live there, today. It was one of the wildest towns in the West in the late 1800s, but today is a ghost town managed by the California State Parks, as is the Tufa State Reserve at Mono Lake.
California's finest displays of fall color can be found here. From early September through October (usually peaking in early October), spectacular displays of yellow, orange, red, pink, auburn and green leaves descend from the high up in the Eastern Sierra, down canyons to near U.S. 395.
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