Kirkwood, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kirkwood
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Kirkwood Mountain Resort
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Location in Alpine County and the state of California
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 Kirkwood, California
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Counties | Alpine & Amador and El Dorado |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5.334 sq mi (13.815 km2) |
| • Land | 4.359 sq mi (11.290 km2) |
| • Water | 0.975 sq mi (2.525 km2) 18.28% |
| Elevation | 7,690 ft (2,344 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 190 |
| • Density | 35.6/sq mi (13.8/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP code |
95646
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| Area code(s) | 209 |
| FIPS code | 06-38646 |
| GNIS feature IDs | 262202, 2408489 |
Kirkwood is a small community in California, United States. It's known for its popular Kirkwood Mountain Resort. The community is located in the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains.
Kirkwood is partly in Alpine County and partly in Amador County. It's also part of the Eldorado National Forest. Even though it's not an official city, the government counts its population. In 2020, about 190 people lived there.
Contents
History of Kirkwood
The area now known as Kirkwood was first settled by a cattle rancher named Zack Kirkwood. In 1863, he opened an inn called Kirkwood's. This inn was built when the Amador/Nevada Wagon Toll Road opened. This road was the main route through the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
The next year, Alpine County was created. The inn ended up being right where Alpine, El Dorado, and Amador counties met. Later, the county borders changed. The inn is no longer in El Dorado County, but the old sign marking the original meeting point is still there. Over time, the inn became a popular summer resort.
After Zack Kirkwood passed away, his family continued to run the inn. It stayed in the family until 1966. Then, a group of investors bought it. They turned it into the Kirkwood Mountain Resort that we know today.
Geography and Climate
Kirkwood is located in a beautiful mountain area. It covers about 5.3 square miles (13.8 square kilometers). Most of this area is land, but about 18% is water, including nearby lakes and streams. The community is found high up in the mountains, at an elevation of about 7,690 feet (2,344 meters).
Weather in Kirkwood
Kirkwood has a special type of climate called a dry-summer subarctic climate. This means that summers are usually mild and don't get much rain. Winters, however, are very cold and get a lot of snow. This makes it a great place for winter sports!
| Climate data for Caples Lake, California, 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1924–2000 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 64 (18) |
66 (19) |
70 (21) |
78 (26) |
82 (28) |
92 (33) |
95 (35) |
91 (33) |
88 (31) |
83 (28) |
72 (22) |
70 (21) |
95 (35) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 54.0 (12.2) |
54.4 (12.4) |
57.3 (14.1) |
62.0 (16.7) |
69.4 (20.8) |
76.8 (24.9) |
80.2 (26.8) |
80.4 (26.9) |
77.0 (25.0) |
69.9 (21.1) |
61.8 (16.6) |
55.5 (13.1) |
83.4 (28.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 38.1 (3.4) |
39.2 (4.0) |
42.3 (5.7) |
46.2 (7.9) |
55.3 (12.9) |
64.7 (18.2) |
72.8 (22.7) |
71.7 (22.1) |
65.1 (18.4) |
55.6 (13.1) |
43.9 (6.6) |
38.4 (3.6) |
52.8 (11.5) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 28.7 (−1.8) |
28.0 (−2.2) |
30.8 (−0.7) |
34.3 (1.3) |
43.7 (6.5) |
50.8 (10.4) |
57.5 (14.2) |
56.8 (13.8) |
50.8 (10.4) |
42.1 (5.6) |
33.8 (1.0) |
28.4 (−2.0) |
40.5 (4.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 17.4 (−8.1) |
16.4 (−8.7) |
18.5 (−7.5) |
22.3 (−5.4) |
29.0 (−1.7) |
37.0 (2.8) |
42.3 (5.7) |
42.0 (5.6) |
36.6 (2.6) |
28.6 (−1.9) |
21.7 (−5.7) |
16.7 (−8.5) |
27.4 (−2.6) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −3.6 (−19.8) |
−2.4 (−19.1) |
−0.7 (−18.2) |
4.7 (−15.2) |
15.3 (−9.3) |
24.9 (−3.9) |
32.2 (0.1) |
31.5 (−0.3) |
26.4 (−3.1) |
16.9 (−8.4) |
6.1 (−14.4) |
−3.3 (−19.6) |
−7.4 (−21.9) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −26 (−32) |
−24 (−31) |
−18 (−28) |
−14 (−26) |
−4 (−20) |
7 (−14) |
20 (−7) |
20 (−7) |
10 (−12) |
1 (−17) |
−9 (−23) |
−19 (−28) |
−26 (−32) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 9.08 (231) |
8.54 (217) |
7.62 (194) |
4.21 (107) |
3.29 (84) |
1.07 (27) |
0.44 (11) |
0.62 (16) |
1.16 (29) |
2.93 (74) |
6.04 (153) |
8.48 (215) |
53.48 (1,358) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 80.7 (205) |
75.8 (193) |
78.4 (199) |
32.5 (83) |
13.0 (33) |
1.8 (4.6) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
2.4 (6.1) |
9.2 (23) |
35.4 (90) |
72.0 (183) |
401.2 (1,019.7) |
| Average extreme snow depth inches (cm) | 68 (170) |
80 (200) |
91 (230) |
80 (200) |
40 (100) |
7 (18) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
4 (10) |
15 (38) |
40 (100) |
92 (230) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 10.7 | 9.9 | 9.7 | 7.1 | 7.2 | 4.5 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 9.5 | 10.1 | 83.8 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 day) | 10.2 | 9.0 | 8.7 | 5.5 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 7.5 | 9.4 | 56.5 |
| Source 1: NOAA | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: XMACIS2 | |||||||||||||
Population and People
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
In 2010, Kirkwood had a population of 158 people. Most of the people living there were White (about 97%). A small number were Native American or Asian. About 4% of the population identified as Hispanic or Latino.
Most people (about 85%) lived in regular homes. The rest lived in group housing, like dorms. There were 72 households in total. Some had children, and many were single-person households. The average household had about 1.86 people.
The ages of people in Kirkwood varied. About 13% were under 18 years old. About 16% were 65 or older. The average age was around 44.5 years old. There were more males than females in Kirkwood.
There were many housing units in Kirkwood, but most of them (almost 90%) were used only for seasonal visits. This means they are vacation homes or cabins. Only a small number of homes were lived in all year round.
Infrastructure and Utilities
The Kirkwood Mountain Resort was originally built with its own power system. This system provided electricity to the resort without being connected to the main state power grid. Later, the community of Kirkwood took over this power system. This connected the town to the larger electric grid.
See also
In Spanish: Kirkwood (California) para niños
