El Dorado County, California facts for kids

Quick facts for kids El Dorado County
County
Images, from top down, left to right: A barn in El Dorado County, the shore of Lake Tahoe in Ed Z'berg Sugar Pine Point State Park, the South Fork American River running through the El Dorado hills, Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park
Flag Seal
Location in the state of California
Country	United States
State	California
Regions	Northern California, Sierra Nevada, Gold Country
Metropolitan area	Greater Sacramento
Incorporated	February 18, 1850
Named for	Spanish for "the golden" and El Dorado
County seat	Placerville
Largest community	El Dorado Hills
Government
• Type	Council–CAO
• Body	Board of Supervisors John Hidahl George Turnboo Wendy Thomas Lori Parlin Brooke Laine
Area
• Total	1,786 sq mi (4,630 km2)
• Land	1,708 sq mi (4,420 km2)
• Water	78 sq mi (200 km2)
Highest elevation	10,886 ft (3,318 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	191,185
• Density	107.046/sq mi (41.331/km2)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific Time Zone)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (Pacific Daylight Time)
ZIP code	95762
Area code	530, 916, 279
FIPS code	06-017
GNIS feature ID	277273
Congressional districts	3rd, 5th
Website	www.edcgov.us

El Dorado County (ⁱ/ˌɛl dəˈrɑːdoʊ/), officially the County of El Dorado, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 191,185. The county seat is Placerville. The county is part of the Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located entirely in the Sierra Nevada, from the historic Gold Country in the western foothills to the High Sierra in the east. El Dorado County's population has grown as Greater Sacramento has expanded into the region. Where the county line crosses US 50 at Clarksville, the distance to Sacramento is 15 miles (24 km). In the county's high altitude eastern end at Lake Tahoe, environmental awareness and environmental protection initiatives have grown along with the population since the 1960 Winter Olympics, hosted at the former Squaw Valley Ski Resort in neighboring Placer County.

History

What is now known as El Dorado County has been home to the Maidu, Nisenan, Washoe, and Miwok Indigenous American nations for centuries. The region became famous for being the site of the 1848 discovery that sparked the California Gold Rush. As a result, the name "El Dorado" was derived from the Spanish word for, "The Gilded One". The County of El Dorado was one of California's original 27 counties created effective February 18, 1850 (the number has risen to 58 today).

The final segments of the Pony Express mail route ran through El Dorado County until its replacement with the telegraph service in 1861; U.S. Route 50 follows the Pony Express route today.

The Placerville Mountain Democrat, California's oldest surviving newspaper, serves El Dorado County.

The Caldor Fire started on August 14, 2021, near Little Mountain, south of Pollock Pines in El Dorado County, about two miles (3.2 km) east of Omo Ranch and four miles (6.4 km) south of Grizzly Flats. It initially burned slowly, but exploded in size on August 16 due to high winds. By the night of August 16, it was 6,500 acres (2,600 ha). On August 17, the fire grew to 30,000 acres (12,000 ha) as it expanded rapidly north and east, crossing the North Fork Cosumnes River and approaching Sly Park Reservoir. By August 20, the fire had burned nearly to U.S. Route 50, forcing a closure of the highway. Over the next few days, the fire crossed Highway 50 in the vicinity of Kyburz. Starting on August 27, winds drove the fire rapidly east towards the Lake Tahoe Basin. By August 30, it had reached Echo Summit, less than five miles (8.0 km) from South Lake Tahoe.

There are only two municipalities in El Dorado County: Placerville and South Lake Tahoe.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,786 square miles (4,630 km²), of which 1,708 square miles (4,420 km²) is land and 78 square miles (200 km²) (4.4%) is water.

The county, owing to its location in the Sierra Nevada, consists of rolling hills and mountainous terrain. The northeast corner is in the Lake Tahoe Basin (part of the Great Basin), including a portion of the lake itself. Across the Sierra crest to the west lies the majority of the county, referred to as the "western slope." A portion of Folsom Lake is in the northwest corner of the county.

Much of the county is public land. The Eldorado National Forest comprises a significant portion (approximately 43%) of the county's land area, primarily on the western slope. The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, formerly part of the Eldorado and two other National Forests, manages much of the land east of the crest. The Pacific Crest Trail runs through the eastern part of the county, along or roughly paralleling the Sierra crest. The county is home to the Desolation Wilderness, a popular destination for hiking, backpacking, and fishing.

Adjacent counties

• Placer County - north
• Douglas County, Nevada - northeast
• Alpine County - southeast
• Amador County - south
• Sacramento County - southwest

Geographic features

Recreation

Local landmarks

• Fountain-Tallman Soda Works
• John Pearson Soda Works
• Combellack-Blair House
• Rubicon Point Light

Parks

Skiing

• Heavenly Ski Resort
• Sierra-At-Tahoe Ski Resort

Racing

• Placerville Speedway

Wineries

• California Shenandoah Valley AVA
• El Dorado AVA
• Fair Play AVA
• Sierra Foothills AVA

Demographics

The vast majority of the population lives in a narrow strip along U.S. Route 50, with the majority living between El Dorado Hills and Pollock Pines. The remainder resides in the South Lake Tahoe area, and in various dispersed rural communities.

2020 census

Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

2011

Places by population, race, and income

2010 Census

The 2010 United States Census reported that El Dorado County had a population of 181,058. The racial makeup of El Dorado County was 156,793 (86.6%) White, 1,409 (0.8%) African American, 2,070 (1.1%) Native American, 6,297 (3.5%) Asian, 294 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 7,278 (4.0%) from other races, and 6,917 (3.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21,875 persons (12.1%). The largest growth in the county has come in El Dorado Hills where the population grew by 24,092 residents to a total of 42,108 since 2000.

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 156,299 people, 58,939 households, and 43,025 families residing in the county. The population density was 91 inhabitants per square mile (35/km²). There were 71,278 housing units at an average density of 42 per square mile (16/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.7% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 1.0% Native American, 2.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.6% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. 9.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 14.9% were of German, 13.4% English, 10.3% Irish, 6.6% Italian and 6.6% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 90.5% spoke English and 6.5% Spanish as their first language.

There were 58,939 households, out of which 34.2% had youngsters under the age of 18 living with them, 60.1% were married couples 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 per capita income for the county was $25,560. About 5.0% of families and 7.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.6% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Major highways

Map of El Dorado County in Northern California

• U.S. Route 50
• State Route 49
• State Route 89
• State Route 193
• Luther Pass

Public transportation

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

Airports

General aviation airports include Placerville Airport, Georgetown Airport, Cameron Park airport and Lake Tahoe Airport.

Asbestos

Portions of El Dorado County are known to contain natural asbestos formations near the surface. The USGS studied amphiboles 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 (El Dorado Hills) soccer field, the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry found that some student athletes, coaches and school workers had received substantial exposures. The inside of the school needed to be cleaned of dust.

Sister city

• Warabi, Saitama Prefecture, Japan is a sister city to El Dorado County, California on March 26, 1975.

Communities

El Dorado County Courthouse in Placerville

Cities

• Placerville (county seat)
• South Lake Tahoe

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of El Dorado County.

† county seat

See also

In Spanish: Condado de El Dorado para niños