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Del Norte County, California

Del Norte County
County
County of Del Norte
Crescent City California harbor aerial view.jpg
Redwood National Park, fog in the forest.jpg CastleIsland View Crescent City, CA.jpg
MouthSmithRiver.jpg
Images, from top down, left to right: Crescent City Harbor, Redwood National Park, Castle Rock, the mouth of the Smith River
Official seal of Del Norte County
Seal
Location in the state of California
Location in the state of California
California's location in the United States
California's location in the United States
Country  United States of America
State

 California


Region North Coast
Incorporated March 2, 1857
Named for "Of the North" (Spanish: Del norte)
County seat Crescent City
Largest city Crescent City
Area
 • Total 1,230 sq mi (3,200 km2)
 • Land 1,006 sq mi (2,610 km2)
 • Water 223 sq mi (580 km2)
Highest elevation 6,415 ft (1,955 m)
Population (April 1, 2010)
 • Total 28,610
 • Estimate (2015) 27,254
 • Density 23/sq mi (9.0/km2)
Time zone Pacific Time Zone (UTC-8)
 • Summer (DST) Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)
Area codes 707, 541
FIPS code 06-015
GNIS feature ID 1682074
Website www.co.del-norte.ca.us

 California

Del Norte County is a county at the far northwest corner of the U.S. state of California, along the Pacific Ocean adjacent to the Oregon border. As of the 2010 census, the population was 28,610. The county seat and only incorporated city is Crescent City. Del Norte was pioneered and settled by Azorean Portuguese explorers and dairy farmers, which may account for the local pronunciation of the county name. Residents pronounce the county name as Del Nort, not Del Nor-tay as would be expected in Spanish.

Del Norte County comprises the Crescent City, CA Micropolitan Statistical Area.

The rural county is notable for forests containing giant Coast Redwoods, with some attaining heights over 350 feet (110 m). This northernmost county on the California coast also has scores of unique plants and flowers, dozens of species of coastal birds and fish, rocky primitive beaches and sea stacks, pristine rivers, and historic lighthouses. Del Norte is also known among Bigfoot enthusiasts as the location of the famous Patterson–Gimlin film, as well as being the location of some of the forest scenes used in Return of the Jedi.

The area that is now known as Del Norte was and still is inhabited by the Yurok (Klamath River Indians) and Tolowa Nations of indigenous peoples. The first European American to explore this land was pioneer Jedediah Smith in the mid-19th century. He was the first European American to reach the area overland on foot in a time before the European Americans knew anything about such a distant territory. For him it was literally "Land's End" — where the American continent ended at the Pacific Ocean. In 1855 Congress authorized the building of a lighthouse at "the battery point" (a high tide island on the coast of Crescent City) which is still functioning as a historical landmark.


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