Clarke County, Washington
| Clark County, Washington | |
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Clark County Courthouse
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 Location in the U.S. state of Washington |
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 Washington's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | August 20, 1845 |
| Named for | William Clark |
| Seat | Vancouver |
| Largest city | Vancouver |
| Area | |
| • Total | 656 sq mi (1,699 km2) |
| • Land | 629 sq mi (1,629 km2) |
| • Water | 27 sq mi (70 km2), 4.1% |
| Population (est.) | |
| • (2016) | 467,018 |
| • Density | 717/sq mi (277/km²) |
| Congressional district | 3rd |
| Time zone | Pacific: UTC-8/-7 |
| Website | www |
Clark County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2010 census, the population was 425,363, making it Washington's fifth-most populous county. Its county seat and largest city is Vancouver. It was the first county in Washington, named after William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It was created by the provisional government of Oregon Territory on August 20, 1845, and at that time covered the entire present-day state.
Clark County is part of the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is across the Columbia River from Portland.
Clark County began as the District of Vancouver on July 27, 1844. It included all the land north of the Columbia River, west of the Rocky Mountains, and south of Alaska. In 1845 the provisional government changed its name to Vancouver County. At that time it stretched from the Columbia River to 54 degrees 40 minutes North Latitude in what is now British Columbia. On June 15, 1846 the United States Senate approved the present boundary between the U.S. and Canada at the 49th Parallel.
On August 13, 1848, President James K. Polk signed an act creating the entire region as the Oregon Territory. On September 3, 1849, the Oregon Territorial Legislature modified the borders again and changed its name to Clarke County in honor of explorer William Clark. At this time it included all of present-day Washington and continued to be divided and subdivided until reaching its present area in 1880. It was not until 1925 that the spelling was corrected to its present form.
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