Skamania County, Washington

Skamania County, Washington
Skamania County Washington Courthouse
Location in the U.S. state of Washington
Washington's location in the U.S.
Founded	March 9, 1854
Seat	Stevenson
Largest settlement	Carson River Valley
Area
• Total	1,683 sq mi (4,359 km2)
• Land	1,656 sq mi (4,289 km2)
• Water	28 sq mi (73 km2), 1.7%
Population (est.)
• (2015)	11,339
• Density	6.8/sq mi (3/km²)
Congressional district	3rd
Time zone	Pacific: UTC-8/-7
Website	www.skamaniacounty.org

Skamania County /skəˈmeɪniə/ is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,066. The county seat and largest incorporated city is Stevenson, although the Carson River Valley CDP is more populous. The county was founded in 1854 and derives its name from the Cascades Chinook word sk'mániak, meaning "swift waters".

Skamania County is included in the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Skamania County was formed on March 9, 1854. On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,684 square miles (4,360 km²), of which 1,656 square miles (4,290 km²) is land and 28 square miles (73 km²) (1.7%) is water. 90% of Skamania is forested and 80% is a part of Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,872 people, 3,755 households, and 2,756 families residing in the county. The population density was 6 people per square mile (2/km²). There were 4,576 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.11% White, 0.30% Black or African American, 2.20% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 2.43% from other races, and 2.25% from two or more races. 4.03% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 17.7% were of German, 12.5% English, 12.1% Irish, 11.2% United States or American and 5.2% Norwegian ancestry.