Smith River, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Smith River
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Census-Designated Place
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 Smith River
Location in California
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| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Del Norte County |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3.985 sq mi (10.321 km2) |
| • Land | 3.970 sq mi (10.283 km2) |
| • Water | 0.015 sq mi (0.038 km2) 0.37% |
| Elevation | 52 ft (16 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 906 |
| • Density | 227.35/sq mi (87.78/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP Code |
95567
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| Area code(s) | 707 |
| GNIS feature IDs | 1659799; 2611450 |
Smith River (Tolowa: Kaa-nvsh) is a small community in Del Norte County, California. It's located very close to the Oregon border. Smith River is special because it's the main home for the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation. This is a federally recognized tribe of Tolowa people. In 2020, about 906 people lived here. The area is also next to the beautiful Smith River National Recreation Area.
Contents
History of Smith River
Smith River has a long history. A post office opened here way back in 1863. This helped the community grow and connect with other places.
One of the first settlers was William Dows Rexford. He moved to Smith River with his sons in the early 1870s. Over the years, Smith River has been called by a few different names. These include Smith River Corners, Smith's River Valley, Smiths River, and Smith's River.
Who Lives in Smith River?
In 2010, about 866 people lived in Smith River. The community is home to people from many different backgrounds. This includes White, Native American, Asian, and African American residents. Many people also identify as Hispanic or Latino.
About 315 homes were counted in 2010. Many of these homes had children under 18 living in them. The average number of people in each home was about 2.75.
Weather and Climate
| Weather chart for Smith River, California | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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11
55
42
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11
56
42
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9.6
58
42
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5.7
60
44
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3.6
63
47
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1.8
67
50
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0.5
68
52
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1
68
53
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2
68
51
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5.2
65
48
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11
58
45
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12
56
41
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| temperatures in °F precipitation totals in inches |
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Metric conversion
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Smith River is known for its unique weather. It's actually the wettest place in California where people live! The area has an Oceanic climate. This means it gets a lot of rain, especially in winter.
The weather here is very mild all year. Temperatures don't change much. Summers are quite dry, especially in July and August. But winters are very wet and windy. About 74% of the year's rain falls between November and March.
Even though it's very wet, the pattern of rain is similar to a Mediterranean climate. This type of climate usually has dry summers and wet winters. Smith River just gets a lot more rain than most Mediterranean areas.
| Climate data for Smith River, California | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 80 (27) |
83 (28) |
83 (28) |
92 (33) |
99 (37) |
101 (38) |
102 (39) |
101 (38) |
103 (39) |
96 (36) |
85 (29) |
79 (26) |
103 (39) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 54 (12) |
55 (13) |
57 (14) |
59 (15) |
63 (17) |
67 (19) |
68 (20) |
68 (20) |
68 (20) |
65 (18) |
58 (14) |
54 (12) |
61 (16) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 47.5 (8.6) |
48.0 (8.9) |
49.5 (9.7) |
51.5 (10.8) |
55 (13) |
58.5 (14.7) |
60 (16) |
60.5 (15.8) |
59.5 (15.3) |
56.5 (13.6) |
51.5 (10.8) |
47.5 (8.6) |
53.8 (12.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 41 (5) |
41 (5) |
42 (6) |
44 (7) |
47 (8) |
50 (10) |
52 (11) |
53 (12) |
51 (11) |
48 (9) |
45 (7) |
41 (5) |
46 (8) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 21 (−6) |
24 (−4) |
29 (−2) |
31 (−1) |
32 (0) |
37 (3) |
39 (4) |
41 (5) |
39 (4) |
32 (0) |
28 (−2) |
17 (−8) |
17 (−8) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 11.48 (292) |
10.29 (261) |
9.86 (250) |
6.52 (166) |
3.71 (94) |
1.93 (49) |
0.41 (10) |
0.70 (18) |
1.95 (50) |
5.22 (133) |
10.58 (269) |
13.99 (355) |
76.64 (1,947) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.2 (0.51) |
0.2 (0.51) |
0.2 (0.51) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0.1 (0.25) |
0.3 (0.76) |
1.0 (2.5) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 16.5 | 14.2 | 16.3 | 13.1 | 8.7 | 5.3 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 4.2 | 8.7 | 15.8 | 17.0 | 123.6 |
Smith River in Movies
Did you know Smith River was a filming location for a famous movie? The 1983 film Return of the Jedi used parts of Smith River for its scenes. This movie is part of the well-known Star Wars series. Other parts of the movie were filmed in places like Buttercup Valley and Death Valley in California.
See also
In Spanish: Smith River (California) para niños
