kids encyclopedia robot

Marin County, California facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Marin County

Condado de Marín
County
County of Marin
Marin Civic Center.jpg
Point Reyes National Shoreline.jpg
Stinson beach.JPG
Tamalpais-derangedtaco.jpg
Location in the state of California
Location in the state of California
Country United States
State California
Area San Francisco Bay
Incorporated February 18, 1850
Named for Chief Marin, "great chief of the tribe Licatiut"
County seat San Rafael
Largest city San Rafael (population) Novato (area)
Government
 • Type Council–Administrator
Area
 • Total 828 sq mi (2,140 km2)
 • Land 520 sq mi (1,300 km2)
 • Water 308 sq mi (800 km2)
Highest elevation
2,574 ft (785 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 262,231
 • Density 504/sq mi (195/km2)
Time zone UTC−8 (Pacific)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−7 (PDT)
Area codes 415 and 628, 707 (Tomales and Dillon Beach only)
FIPS code 06-041
GNIS feature ID 277285
Congressional district 2nd

Marin County (Listeni/məˈrɪn/ MƏ-rin; Spanish: Condado de Marín) is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, and is included in the San Francisco–Oakland–Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Marin County's natural sites include the Muir Woods redwood forest, the Marin Headlands, Stinson Beach, the Point Reyes National Seashore, and Mount Tamalpais. Marin is one of the highest-income counties by per capita income and median household income. The county is governed by the Marin County Board of Supervisors.

The Marin County Civic Center was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and draws thousands of visitors a year to guided tours of its arch and atrium design. In 1994, a new county jail facility was embedded into the hillside nearby.

The United States' oldest cross country running event, the Dipsea Race, takes place annually in Marin County, attracting thousands of athletes. Modern mountain biking has many early origins on the slopes of Mount Tamalpais in Marin. San Quentin State Prison is located in the county.

History

Native American settlement

Main article: Coast Miwok § History

Thousands of years ago, Coast Miwok people first populated the area today known as Marin County.

In 1770, Coast Miwok population ranged from 1,500 to 2,000, with about 600 village sites throughout the county.

In 1967, the Marin Museum of the American Indian was established, with exhibits focusing on Coast Miwok artifacts, crafts, and artwork. As of 2021, Indigenous-led events include healing drumming, dogbane cordage demonstrations, trade feasts, and traditional dancing.

History of Marin

During the Mexican-American war, areas of Marin County were seized by Americans as part of the conquest of California (1846–1847). Marin County is one of the original 27 counties of California, created February 18, 1850, following adoption of the California Constitution of 1849 and just months before the state was admitted to the Union.

Saint Raphael Church San Rafael CA
The Mission San Rafael Arcángel

According to General Mariano Vallejo, who headed an 1850 committee to name California's counties, the county was named for "Marin," great chief of the tribe Licatiut." Marin had been named "Huicmuse" until he was baptized as "Marino" at about age 20. Marin / Marino was born into the Huimen people, a Coast Miwok tribe of Native Americans who inhabited the San Rafael area. Vallejo believed that "Chief Marin" had waged several fierce battles against the Spanish. Marino definitely did reside at Mission Dolores (in modern San Francisco) much of the time from his 1801 baptism and marriage until 1817, frequently serving as a baptism witness and godfather; he may have escaped and been recaptured at some point during that time. Starting in 1817, he served as an alcalde (in effect, an overseer) at the San Rafael Mission, where he lived from 1817 off and on until his death. In 1821, Marino served as an expedition guide for the Spanish for a couple of years before escaping and hiding out for some months in the tiny Marin Islands (also named after him); his recapture resulted in a yearlong incarceration at the Presidio before his return to the Mission San Rafael area for about 15 years until his death in 1839. In 2009, a plaque commemorating Chief Marin was placed in Mill Valley.

Another version of the origin of the county name is that the bay between San Pedro Point and San Quentin Point was named Bahía de Nuestra Señora del Rosario la Marinera in 1775, and that Marin is simply an abbreviation of this name.

Francis Drake and the crew of the Golden Hind was thought to have landed on the Marin coast in 1579 claiming the land as Nova Albion. A bronze plaque inscribed with Drake's claim to the new lands, fitting the description in Drake's own account, was discovered in 1933. This so-called Drake's Plate of Brass was revealed as a hoax in 2003.

Tennessee-valley-trail-pano spring facing-east
Looking east along the Tennessee Valley Trail, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area

In 1595, Sebastian Cermeno lost his ship, the San Agustin, while exploring the Marin Coast. The Spanish explorer Vizcaíno landed about twenty years after Drake in what is now called Drakes Bay. However the first Spanish settlement in Marin was not established until 1817 when Mission San Rafael Arcángel was founded partly in response to the Russian-built Fort Ross to the north in what is now Sonoma County. Mission San Rafael Arcángel was founded in what is now downtown San Rafael as the 20th Spanish mission in the colonial Mexican province of Alta California by four priests, Father Narciso Duran from Mission San Jose, Father Abella from Mission San Francisco de Asís, Father Gil y Taboada and Father Mariano Payeras, the President of the Missions, on December 14, 1817, four years before Mexico gained independence from Spain.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 828 square miles (2,140 km2), of which 520 square miles (1,300 km2) is land and 308 square miles (800 km2), comprising 37.2%, is water. It is the fourth-smallest county in California by land area. According to the records at the County Assessor-Recorder's Office, as of June 2006, Marin had 91,065 acres (369 km2) of taxable land, consisting of 79,086 parcels with a total tax basis of $39.8 billion. These parcels are divided into the following classifications:

Parcel Type Tax ID Quantity Value
Vacant 10 6,900 $508.17 million
Single Family Residential 11 61,264 $30.13 billion
Mobile Home 12 210 $7.62 million
House Boat 13 379 $61.83 million
Multi Family Residential 14 1,316 $3,973.51 million
Industrial Unimproved 40 113 $12.24 million
Industrial Improved 41 562 $482.83 million
Commercial Unimproved 50 431 $97.89 million
Commercial Improved 51 7,911 $4.52 billion
GG-bridge-12-2006
A view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the Marin Headlands
Bicentennial in San Francisco
Bicentennial Campground within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area surrounding the San Francisco Bay area

Geographically, the county forms a large, southward-facing peninsula, with the Pacific Ocean to the west, San Pablo Bay, and San Francisco Bay to the east, and – across the Golden Gate – the city of San Francisco to the south. Marin County's northern border is with Sonoma County.

Most of the county's population resides on the eastern side, with a string of communities running along U.S. Route 101 and the San Francisco Bay, from Sausalito to Tiburon to Corte Madera to San Rafael and Novato. The interior contains large areas of agricultural and open space; West Marin, through which State Route 1 runs alongside the California coast, contains many small unincorporated communities whose economies depend on agriculture and tourism. West Marin has beaches which are popular destinations for surfers and tourists year-round.

Notable features of the shoreline along the San Francisco Bay include the Sausalito shoreline, Richardson Bay, the Tiburon Peninsula, Ring Mountain, and Triangle Marsh at Corte Madera. Further north lies San Quentin State Prison along the San Rafael shoreline.

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

State and local protected areas

The Marin County Department of Parks and Open Space manages numerous county parks and open spaces, including Stafford Lake County Park. The Marin Municipal Water District has 130 mi (209 km) of trails.

State parks

Marine protected areas

Like underwater parks, these marine protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems:

Ecology

Mount tamalpais from berkeley
Mount Tamalpais is the highest peak in the Marin Hills and can be seen here from Berkeley in Alameda County.

Marin County is considered in the California Floristic Province, a zone of extremely high biodiversity and endemism. There are numerous ecosystems present, including Coastal Strand, oak woodland, mixed evergreen forest, and Coast Redwood Forests chaparral and riparian zones. There are also a considerable number of protected plant and animal species present: Fauna include the California red-legged frog (Rana aurora draytonii) and California freshwater shrimp while flora include Marin Dwarf Flax, Hesperolinon congestum; Tiburon Jewelflower, Streptanthus niger; and Tiburon Indian paintbrush, Castilleja neglecta.

Muir Woods National Monument, Marin County, California
Muir Woods National Monument, which is on the Pacific coast of southwestern Marin County

A number of watersheds exist in Marin County, including Walker Creek, Lagunitas Creek, Miller Creek, and Novato Creek.

Notably, the Lagunitas Creek Watershed is home to the largest remaining wild run of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in Central California. These coho are part of the "Central California Coast Evolutionarily Significant Unit, " or CCC ESU, and are listed as "endangered" at both the state and federal level.

Significant efforts to protect and restore these fish have been underway in the Watershed since the 1980s. Fifty percent of historical salmon habitat is now behind dams. Strong efforts are also being made to protect and restore undammed, headwater reaches of this Watershed in the San Geronimo Valley, where upwards of 40% of the Lagunitas salmon spawn each year and where as much as 1/3 of the juvenile salmon (or fry) spend their entire freshwater lives. The "Salmon Protection and Watershed Network" leads winter tours for the public to learn about and view these spawning salmon, and also leads year-round opportunities for the public to get involved in stream restoration, monitoring spawning and smolt outmigration, juvenile fish rescue and relocation in the summer, and advocacy and policy development. Around 490 different species of birds have been observed in Marin County.

The Veench Vista - Marin County
The Veench Vista - Marin County

Despite the lack of rain in the Marin County area due to historic drought levels, in 2014, an estimated 20,000 juvenile Coho salmon made the migration from their spawning grounds in the Lagunitas Creek area to the Pacific Ocean. This increase in migration was significantly up from the previous historic record for the same migration measured in 2006 at 11,000.

In 2010, all of the county's beaches were listed as the cleanest in the state.

When Richard Henry Dana Jr. visited San Francisco Bay in 1835, he wrote about vast tule elk (Cervus canadensis nannodes) herds near the Golden Gate on December 27: "...we came to anchor near the mouth of the bay, under a high and beautifully sloping hill, upon which herds of hundreds and hundreds of red deer [note: "red deer" is the European term for "elk"], and the stag, with his high branching antlers, were bounding about...," although it is not clear whether this was the Marin side or the San Francisco side.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1850 323 —
1860 3,334 932.2%
1870 6,903 107.0%
1880 11,324 64.0%
1890 13,072 15.4%
1900 15,702 20.1%
1910 25,114 59.9%
1920 27,342 8.9%
1930 41,648 52.3%
1940 52,907 27.0%
1950 85,619 61.8%
1960 146,820 71.5%
1970 206,038 40.3%
1980 222,568 8.0%
1990 230,096 3.4%
2000 247,289 7.5%
2010 252,409 2.1%
2020 262,231 3.9%
2023 (est.) 254,407 0.8%
U.S. Decennial Census
1790–1960 1900–1990
1990–2000 2010 2020

2020 census

Marin County, California – Demographic Profile
(NH = Non-Hispanic)
Race / Ethnicity Pop 2010 Pop 2020 % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 183,830 173,149 72.83% 66.01%
Black or African American alone (NH) 6,621 6,120 2.62% 2.33%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 531 555 0.21% 0.21%
Asian alone (NH) 13,577 16,175 5.38% 6.17%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) 436 457 0.17% 0.17%
Some Other Race alone (NH) 1,034 2,040 0.41% 0.78%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH) 7,311 14,415 2.90% 5.50%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 39,069 49,410 15.48% 18.84%
Total 252,409 262,321 100.00% 100.00%

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

Ethnic Origins in Marin County, CA
Ethnic origins in Marin County

Places by population, race, and income

2010 Census

The 2010 United States Census reported that Marin County had a population of 252,409. The racial makeup of Marin County was 201,963 (80.0%) White, 6,987 (2.8%) African American, 1,523 (0.6%) Native American, 13,761 (5.5%) Asian, 509 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 16,973 (6.7%) from other races, and 10,693 (4.2%) from two or more races. There were 39,069 people of Hispanic or Latino origin, of any race (15.5%).

Demographic profile 2010 2000 1990 1980
White 80.0% 84.0% 88.9% 92.8%
Asian 5.5% 4.5% 4.0% 3.0%
Black or African American 2.8% 2.9% 3.5% 2.5%
Native American or Native Alaskan 0.6% 0.4% 0.4% 0.4%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.2% 0.2%
Some other race 6.7% 4.5%
Two or more races 4.2% 3.5%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 15.5% 11.1% 7.4% 4.2%
White alone 72.8% 78.6% 84.6% 89.8%

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 247,289 people, 100,650 households, and 60,691 families residing in the county. The population density was 476 inhabitants per square mile (184/km2). There were 104,990 housing units at an average density of 202 units per square mile (78 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 84.0% White, 2.9% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 4.5% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 4.5% from other races, and 3.5% from two or more races. 11.1% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

In 2000, there were 100,650 households, out of which 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.4% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.7% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the county, 20.3% of the population was under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 29.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 98.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.

Life expectancy

According to the most recent data on U.S. life expectancy, published in 2010 by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, a female in Marin County could expect to live 85.0 years, the longest for any county in the United States. The national average is 80.8 years for a female.

Race and ethnicity

According to the 2010 United States Census, the racial composition of Marin County was as follows:

Religion


Place of birth

According to the 2006–2008 American Community Survey (ACS), 81.3% of Marin County's residents were born in the United States. Approximately 80.0% of the county's residents were born in one of the fifty states or born abroad to American parents.

Foreign-born individuals made up the remaining 18.7% of the population. Latin America was the most common birthplace of foreign-born residents; those born in Latin America made up the plurality (42.2%) of Marin County's foreign population. Individuals born in Europe were the second largest foreign-born group; they made up 25.3% of Marin County's foreign population. Immigrants from Asia made up 23.7% of the county's foreign population. Those born in other parts of North America and Africa made up 3.9% and 3.8% of the foreign-born populace respectively. Lastly, residents born in Oceania made up a mere 1.2% of Marin County's foreign population.

Source:

Language

According to the 2006–2008 ACS, English was the most commonly spoken language at home by residents over five years of age; those who spoke only English at home made up 77.1% of Marin County's residents. Speakers of non-English languages accounted for the remaining 22.9% of the population. Speakers of Spanish made up 11.7% of the county's residents, while speakers of other Indo-European languages made up 7.1% of the populace. Speakers of Asian languages and indigenous languages of the Pacific islands made up 3.4% of the population. The remaining 0.7% spoke other languages. Source:

Ancestry

According to the 2007–2009 ACS, there were 16 ancestries in Marin County that made up over 0.9% of its population each. The 16 ancestries are listed below:

Income

Post Office Ross California
Ross is the 4th most expensive zip code in the United States.

The median income for a household in the county was $71,306 and the median income for a family was $88,934. As of 2007, these figures had risen to $83,732 and $104,750.

In May 2010, the county had the lowest unemployment rate in California. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, however, in July 2010, Marin's unemployment rate rose to 8.3%.

Transportation

MillValleyBikeRouteSign 20150920 (22125651208)
CA Bicycle Network Route 6 along Muir Woods Road near Mill Valley

Major highways

  • Interstate 580
  • U.S. Route 101 (Redwood Highway)
  • State Route 1
  • State Route 37
  • State Route 131 (Tiburon Boulevard)

Public transportation

San Rafael Transit Center 2
San Rafael Transit Center, a hub for Marin Transit and Golden Gate Transit buses and station for SMART

Golden Gate Transit provides service primarily along the U.S. 101 corridor, serving cities in Marin County, as well as San Francisco and Sonoma County. Service is also provided to Contra Costa County via the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Ferries to San Francisco operate from Larkspur, Sausalito and Tiburon. Ferry service from Tiburon is provided by Golden Gate Ferry, Blue and Gold Fleet and by the Angel Island Ferry.

Local bus routes within Marin County are operated by Golden Gate Transit under contract with Marin Transit. Marin Transit also operates the West Marin Stage, serving communities in the western, rural areas of Marin County, the Muir Woods Shuttle, and 6 community shuttle routes.

The Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit system, which began service in August 2017, is a commuter rail service and bicycle-pedestrian pathway serving Sonoma and Marin counties. As of 2019 service operates from Sonoma County Airport to six stations in Marin ending near Larkspur Landing. Later phases of construction will extend service further north to Cloverdale in Sonoma County.

The Marin Airporter offers scheduled bus service to and from Marin County and the San Francisco Airport.

Greyhound Lines buses service San Rafael.

Airports

Marin County Airport or Gnoss Field (ICAO: KDVO) is a general aviation airport operated by the County Department of Public Works. The nearest airports with commercial flights are San Francisco International Airport and Oakland International Airport, as well as Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport, which is located north of Marin County.

Education

Main article: Education in Marin County

Marin County Free Library is the county library system. It is headquartered in San Rafael. In addition, the Belvedere-Tiburon Library is in Tiburon.

College of Marin, established in 1926, includes two campuses. The Kentfield Campus is in Kentfield; the Indian Valley Campus is in Novato. The college offers more than 40 degree programs leading to an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree and over 20 Certificates of Achievement with various specialties. The college serves approximately 9,000 students each term. Approximately 5,700 students enroll in COM's credit program. About 1,300 students enroll in English as a Second Language classes. Approximately 1,900 enroll in community education classes. The college employs about 300 permanent staff and faculty and many part-time employees.

Marin is also home to Dominican University of California, in San Rafael. Founded as a women's college in 1890 by the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, it became the first Catholic institution in California to offer bachelor's degrees to women. The college became fully coeducational in 1971, and in 2000 became an independent liberal-arts university, changing from its original name of Dominican College of San Rafael. There are about 1,400 undergraduate and 500 graduate students.

Culture

Economy

As of 2011, the largest private-sector employers in Marin County were:

  1. Kaiser Permanente (1,803 full-time employees in Marin County)
  2. MarinHealth (1,100)
  3. Fireman's Fund Insurance Company (950)
  4. Autodesk (878)
  5. BioMarin Pharmaceutical (871)
  6. Safeway Inc. (841)
  7. Comcast (620)
  8. Macy's (380)
  9. Bradley Real Estate (376)
  10. MHN (350)
  11. Dominican University of California (346)
  12. Wells Fargo (332)
  13. Kentfield Rehabilitation and Specialty Hospital (315)
  14. Community Action Marin (268)
  15. Costco (260)
  16. Brayton Purcell (256)
  17. CVS/pharmacy (232)
  18. Novato Community Hospital (227)
  19. Lucasfilm (220)
  20. FICO (200+)
  21. Mollie Stone's Markets (190)
  22. Guide Dogs for the Blind (189)
  23. W. Bradley Electric (185)
  24. Bank of Marin (178)
  25. Cagwin & Dorward (175)
  26. Ghilotti Bros. (145)
  27. West Bay Builders (133)
  28. Villa Marin (130)

The 2013 gross value of all agricultural production in Marin County was about $84 million; of this, more than $63 million was from the sale of livestock and their products (milk, eggs, wool, etc.). Only 175 acres were planted to grapes.

As of the fourth quarter 2021, Marin County had a median home value of $1,090,583, an increase of 11% from the prior year.

Media

Marin County receives media from the rest of the Bay Area.

The county also has several media outlets that serve the local community:

  • Marin Magazine, a monthly lifestyle magazine with headquarters in Sausalito.
  • Marin Independent Journal, a daily newspaper with headquarters in San Rafael.
  • Pacific Sun, a free weekly distributed throughout the county.
  • Novato Advance, a weekly newspaper that serves Marin's second-largest city.
  • The Point Reyes Light, a weekly newspaper.
  • KWMR radio, West Marin Radio, in Point Reyes.
  • Channel 26, public-access television cable TV in Marin.
  • Marin Local Music, Music listings for Marin's Restaurants & Venues who host live music.
  • San Francisco Examiner, Rick Marianetti, Marin County Culture & Events.
  • The Patch, a local newspaper that serves Mill Valley, Marin's third-largest city.

Communities

Cities and towns

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Population ranking

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

† county seat

Rank City/Town/etc. Municipal type Population (2020 Census)
1 † San Rafael City 61,271
2 Novato City 53,225
3 Mill Valley City 14,231
4 Larkspur City 13,064
5 San Anselmo Town 12,830
6 Tamalpais-Homestead Valley CDP 11,492
7 Corte Madera Town 10,222
8 Tiburon Town 9,146
9 Fairfax Town 7,605
10 Sausalito City 7,269
11 Kentfield CDP 6,808
12 Lucas Valley-Marinwood CDP 6,259
13 Strawberry CDP 5,447
14 Santa Venetia CDP 4,292
15 Marin City CDP 2,993
16 Sleepy Hollow CDP 2,401
17 Ross Town 2,338
18 Belvedere City 2,126
19 Lagunitas-Forest Knolls CDP 1,924
20 Bolinas CDP 1,483
21 Black Point-Green Point CDP 1,431
22 Woodacre CDP 1,410
23 Inverness CDP 1,379
24 Point Reyes Station CDP 895
25 Alto CDP 732
26 Stinson Beach CDP 541
27 San Geronimo CDP 510
28 Muir Beach CDP 304
29 Dillon Beach CDP 246
30 Tomales CDP 187
31 Nicasio CDP 81

In popular culture

  • The song "Moon Over Marin" by hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys satirically depicts the pollution in Marin County
  • The 1954 science fiction novel The Body Snatchers is set in Marin County
  • The 1984 Philip K. Dick novel The Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly Alike is set in Marin County.
  • The 1992 movie Radio Flyer took place in Marin County

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Condado de Marin para niños

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Marin County, California Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.