Mono County ( ) is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the east central portion of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,195, making it the fourth-least populous county in California. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnoc ...

. The county is located east of the Sierra Nevada between

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ...

and

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

. The only incorporated town in the county is Mammoth Lakes, which is located at the foot of

Mammoth Mountain Mammoth Mountain is a lava dome complex partially located within the town of Mammoth Lakes, California, in the Inyo National Forest of Madera and Mono Counties. It is home to a large ski area primarily on the Mono County side. Mammoth Mount ...

. Other locations, such as June Lake, are also famous as skiing and fishing resorts. Located in the middle of the county is

Mono Lake Mono Lake ( ) is a saline soda lake in Mono County, California, formed at least 760,000 years ago as a terminal lake in an endorheic basin. The lack of an outlet causes high levels of salts to accumulate in the lake which make its water a ...

, a vital habitat for millions of migratory and nesting birds. The lake is located in a wild natural setting, with pinnacles of

tufa Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitate out of water in unheated rivers or lakes. Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar (but less porous) carbonate deposits, which are known as travertin ...

arising out of the salty and alkaline lake. Also located in Mono County is Bodie, the official state

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

, which is now a California State Historic Park.

History

Mono County was formed in 1861 from parts of Calaveras,

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

and Mariposa counties. A portion of northern Mono County contributed to the formation of

Alpine County , other_name = , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_flag = Flag of Alpine County, California.svg , flag_size = , image_seal = Seal of Alpine Co ...

in 1864; parts of the county's territory were given to

Inyo County Inyo County () is a county in the eastern central part of the U.S. state of California, located between the Sierra Nevada and the state of Nevada. In the 2020 census, the population was 19,016. The county seat is Independence. Inyo County ...

in 1866. The county is named after

which, in 1852, was named for a Native American

Paiute Paiute (; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three groups do not form a single set. The term "Paiu ...

tribe, the

Mono people The Mono ( ) are a Native American people who traditionally live in the central Sierra Nevada, the Eastern Sierra (generally south of Bridgeport), the Mono Basin, and adjacent areas of the Great Basin. The Eastern mono is often grouped under t ...

, who historically inhabited the Sierra Nevada from north of Mono Lake to

Owens Lake Owens Lake is a mostly dry lake in the Owens Valley on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada in Inyo County, California. It is about south of Lone Pine, California. Unlike most dry lakes in the Basin and Range Province that have been dry for ...

. The tribe's western neighbors, the

Yokuts The Yokuts (previously known as MariposasPowell, 1891:90–91.) are an ethnic group of Native Americans native to central California. Before European contact, the Yokuts consisted of up to 60 tribes speaking several related languages. ''Yokuts ...

, called them ''monachie,'' meaning " fly people" because they used fly

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e as their chief food staple and trading article.

Archeologists Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...

know almost nothing about the first inhabitants of the county, as little material evidence has been found from them. The Kuzedika, a band of Paiute, had been there many generations by the time the first anglophones arrived. The Kuzedika were

hunter-gatherers A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...

and their language is a part of the Shoshone language.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.6%) is water. The highest point in Mono County is White Mountain Peak which, at 14,252 feet (4344.0 m), is the third-highest peak in

Adjacent counties

- south *

Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...

- southwest * Madera County - southwest * Tuolumne County- west *

Alpine County , other_name = , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_flag = Flag of Alpine County, California.svg , flag_size = , image_seal = Seal of Alpine Co ...

- northwest *

Douglas County, Nevada Douglas County is a county in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of th2020 Census the population was 49,488. Its county seat is Minden. Douglas County comprises the Gardnerville Ranchos, NV Micropolitan Statistical Area, wh ...

- north *

Lyon County, Nevada Lyon County is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 59,235. Lyon County comprises the Fernley, NV Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the Reno-Carson City-Fernley, NV Combined Statistic ...

- northeast *

Mineral County, Nevada Mineral County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,554, making it the fourth-least populous county in Nevada. Its county seat is Hawthorne. History Mineral County was carved out of Es ...

- east *

Esmeralda County, Nevada Esmeralda County is a county in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 729, making it the least populous county in Nevada. Esmeralda County does not have any incorporated communities. It ...

- southeast

National protected areas

Inyo National Forest Inyo National Forest is a United States National Forest covering parts of the eastern Sierra Nevada of California and the White Mountains of California and Nevada. The forest hosts several superlatives, including Mount Whitney, the highest po ...

(part) *

Humboldt–Toiyabe National Forest The Humboldt–Toiyabe National Forest (HTNF) is the principal U.S. National Forest in the U.S. state of Nevada, and has a smaller portion in Eastern California. With an area of , it is the largest U.S. National Forest outside of Alaska. His ...

(part) *

Granite Mountain Wilderness (California) Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. ...

Demographics

2021

In June 2021, U.S. News & World Report ranked the county with the third best life expectancy in the United States at 96.5 years old.

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 The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...

reported that Mono County had a population of 14,202. The racial makeup of Mono County was 11,697 (82.4%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 47 (0.3%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 302 (2.1%) Native American, 192 (1.4%) Asian, 11 (0.1%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 1,539 (10.8%) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 414 (2.9%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race were 3,762 persons (26.5%).

2000

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 12,853 people, 5,137 households, and 3,143 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was . There were 11,757 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 84.2%

, 0.5%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

, 2.4% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.1%

, 9.5% from

, and 2.3% from two or more races. 17.7% of the population were

or Latino of any race. 13.4% were of German, 12.6%

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and 11.4%

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

ancestry according to

Census 2000 The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 ce ...

. 84.0% spoke

and 15.1%

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

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 Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $23,422. About 6.3% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 12.2% of those under age 18 and 1.9% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Voter registration

Cities by population and voter registration

Overview

In November 2008, Mono County was one of just three counties in California's interior in which voters rejected

Proposition 8 Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage; it passed in the November 2008 California state elections and was later overturned in cou ...

which sought 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 , other_name = , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_flag = Flag of Alpine County, California.svg , flag_size = , image_seal = Seal of Alpine Co ...

and

Yolo County Yolo County (; Wintun: ''Yo-loy''), officially the County of Yolo, is a county located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 216,403. Its county seat is Woodland. Yolo County is incl ...

. Mono County is in . In the state legislature Mono is in the 5th Assembly district, which is held by Republican

Frank Bigelow Frank Bigelow (born July 22, 1954) is an American politician who served in the California State Assembly. Bigelow is a Republican who used to represent the 5th district, encompassing Gold Country and the central Sierra Nevada. Early life O ...

, and the 8th Senate district, which is held by Republican Tom Berryhill.

Crime

The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.

Cities by population and crime rates

Transportation

Major highways

* U.S. Route 6 *

U.S. Route 395 U.S. Route 395 (US 395) is a U.S. Route in the western United States. The southern terminus of the route is in the Mojave Desert at Interstate 15 near Hesperia. The northern terminus is at the Canada–US border near Laurier, where the road ...

State Route 89 * California 108

State Route 108 * California 120

State Route 120 * California 158

State Route 158 * California 167

State Route 167 * California 168

State Route 168 * California 182

State Route 182 * California 203

State Route 203 * California 266

State Route 266 * California 270

State Route 270

Public transportation

Eastern 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 Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 173,516, making Lancaster the 153rd largest city in the United ...

(Los Angeles County) and north to

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

. Yosemite Area Regional Transit System (YARTS) also runs along U.S. 395 from Mammoth Lakes to Lee Vining before entering

Airports

General aviation airports in Mono County include Bryant Field near Bridgeport,

Mammoth Yosemite Airport Mammoth Yosemite Airport is a town-owned public airport seven miles east of Mammoth Lakes, in Mono County, California, United States. Also known as Mammoth Lakes Airport or Mammoth–June Lake Airport, it is mainly used for general aviation, but ...

and Lee Vining Airport. In December 2021, seasonal commercial air service by

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, and

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

began at the

Eastern Sierra Regional Airport Eastern Sierra Regional Airport is two miles east of Bishop, in Inyo County, California, United States. It is owned by the City of Los Angeles, Department of Public Works and operated by Inyo County. Facilities The airport covers at an elevat ...

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

, providing local service to southern Mono County.

Communities

Town

* Mammoth Lakes

Census-designated places

* Aspen Springs * Benton *

(county seat) * Chalfant * Coleville * Crowley Lake * June Lake * Lee Vining * McGee Creek *

Mono City Mono City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Mono County, California, United States. It lies north of Mono Lake at the base of the Sierra Nevada at the junction of U.S. Route 395 and California State Route 167,

Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in parad ...

* Sunny Slopes * Swall Meadows * Topaz * Twin Lakes * Virginia Lakes *

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People * Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) * Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California ...

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Mono County. † ''county seat''

Notes

References

External links

*
Mono County Film and Tourism Commission
{{authority control California counties California placenames of Native American origin Sierra Nevada (United States) 1861 establishments in California Populated places established in 1861

History

Geography

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Demographics

2021

2020 census

2011

Places by population, race, and income

2010 Census

2000

Politics

Voter registration

Cities by population and voter registration

Overview

Crime

Cities by population and crime rates

Transportation

Major highways

Public transportation

Airports

Communities

Town

Census-designated places

Population ranking

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links