El Dorado County, California

El Dorado County, officially the County of El Dorado, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 191,185. The county seat is Placerville. The county is part of the Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located entirely in the Sierra Nevada, from the historic Gold Country in the western foothills to the High Sierra in the east. El Dorado County's population has grown as Greater Sacramento has expanded into the region. Where the county line crosses US 50 at Clarksville, the distance to Sacramento is 15 mi. In the county's high altitude eastern end at Lake Tahoe, environmental awareness and environmental protection initiatives have grown along with the population since the 1960 Winter Olympics, hosted at the former Squaw Valley Ski Resort in neighboring Placer County.

History
What is now known as El Dorado County has been home to the Maidu, Nisenan, Washoe, and Miwok Indigenous American nations for centuries. The region became famous for being the site of the 1848 discovery that sparked the California Gold Rush. As a result, the name "El Dorado" was derived from the Spanish word for, "The Gilded One". The County of El Dorado was one of California's original 27 counties created effective February 18, 1850 (the number has risen to 58 today).

The final segments of the Pony Express mail route ran through El Dorado County until its replacement with the telegraph service in 1861; U.S. Route 50 follows the Pony Express route today.

The Placerville Mountain Democrat, California's oldest surviving newspaper, serves El Dorado County.

The Caldor Fire started on August 14, 2021, near Little Mountain, south of Pollock Pines in El Dorado County, about 2 mi east of Omo Ranch and 4 mi south of Grizzly Flats. It initially burned slowly, but exploded in size on August 16 due to high winds. By the night of August 16, it was 6500 acre. On August 17, the fire grew to 30000 acre as it expanded rapidly north and east, crossing the North Fork Cosumnes River and approaching Sly Park Reservoir. By August 20, the fire had burned nearly to U.S. Route 50, forcing a closure of the highway. Over the next few days, the fire crossed Highway 50 in the vicinity of Kyburz. Starting on August 27, winds drove the fire rapidly east towards the Lake Tahoe Basin. By August 30, it had reached Echo Summit, less than 5 mi from South Lake Tahoe.

There are only two municipalities in El Dorado County: Placerville and South Lake Tahoe.

Policing
The El Dorado County Sheriff provides court protection, county jail administration, and coroner service for all of the county and provides patrol and detective services for the unincorporated areas of the county. Incorporated cities Placerville, population 11,000, and South Lake Tahoe, population 22,000, have municipal police departments.

Sheriffs

 * James Hume (Feb 18, 1850 - November 7, 1852)
 * Steven Charles Austin (Nov 7, 1852 - November 7, 1856)
 * William Tanner Henson (Nov 7, 1856 - September 15, 1859)
 * Walter J. Burwell (Sep 15, 1859 - August 15, 1863)
 * Henry Gooding (Aug 15, 1863 - November 7, 1867)
 * Jacob Hart Neff (Nov 7, 1867 - November 7, 1871)
 * Charles Benjamin Dunnam (Nov 7, 1871 - November 7, 1875)
 * Jason McCormick (Nov 7, 1875 - November 7, 1881)
 * George Burnham (Nov 7, 1881 - November 7, 1883)
 * Thomas Augustus Galt (Nov 7, 1883 - November 7, 1887)
 * George H. Hilbert (Nov 7, 1887 - November 7, 1898)
 * Archie Speer Bosquit (Nov 7, 1898 - November 7, 1907)
 * Gilbert Cook (Nov 7, 1907 - May 9, 1912)
 * Albert George Bradshaw (May 9, 1912 - November 7, 1914)
 * Charles E. Hand (Nov 7, 1914 - November 7, 1925)
 * Charles F. Woods (Nov 7, 1925 - November 7, 1931)
 * George Martin Smith Sr. (Nov 7, 1931 - November 7, 1941)
 * Lowell Fred West (Nov 7, 1941 - November 7, 1949)
 * Rowland Lee Morris (Nov 7, 1949 - November 7, 1955)
 * Ernie Carlson (Nov 7, 1955 - November 7, 1965)
 * Robert Mitchum (Nov 7, 1965 - November 7, 1971)
 * Ernie Carlson (Nov 7, 1971 - November 7, 1975)
 * Al Coombs (Nov 7, 1975 - November 7, 1977)
 * Richard "Dick" Pacileo (Nov 7, 1975 - November 7, 1991)
 * Don McDonald (1991 - 1997)
 * Hal Barker (1997 - 2002)
 * Jeff Neves (Nov 7, 2001 - November 7, 2010)
 * John D'Agostini (Nov 7, 2010 - January 3, 2023)
 * Jeff Leikauf (January 3, 2023 - Present)

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1786 sqmi, of which 1708 sqmi is land and 78 sqmi (4.4%) is water.

The county, owing to its location in the Sierra Nevada, consists of rolling hills and mountainous terrain. The northeast corner is in the Lake Tahoe Basin (part of the Great Basin), including a portion of the lake itself. Across the Sierra crest to the west lies the majority of the county, referred to as the "western slope." A portion of Folsom Lake is in the northwest corner of the county.

Much of the county is public land. The Eldorado National Forest comprises a significant portion (approximately 43%) of the county's land area, primarily on the western slope. The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, formerly part of the Eldorado and two other National Forests, manages much of the land east of the crest. The Pacific Crest Trail runs through the eastern part of the county, along or roughly paralleling the Sierra crest. The county is home to the Desolation Wilderness, a popular destination for hiking, backpacking, and fishing.

Adjacent counties

 * Placer County - north
 * Douglas County, Nevada - northeast
 * Alpine County - southeast
 * Amador County - south
 * Sacramento County - southwest

Geographic features

 * American River
 * Carson Range
 * Crystal Range
 * Echo Lake
 * Fallen Leaf Lake
 * Folsom Lake
 * Francis Lake
 * Freel Peak as its highest point at 10886 ft
 * Gilmore Lake
 * Green Springs Ranch
 * Lake Tahoe
 * Loon Lake
 * Lost Lake
 * Mount Price
 * Mount Tallac
 * Pyramid Lake
 * Sierra Nevada
 * Silver Peak
 * Talking Mountain
 * Union Valley Reservoir
 * Waca Lake

Local landmarks

 * Fountain-Tallman Soda Works
 * John Pearson Soda Works
 * Combellack-Blair House
 * Rubicon Point Light

Parks

 * D. L. Bliss State Park
 * Desolation Wilderness
 * Eagle Falls trailhead
 * Eldorado National Forest
 * Emerald Bay State Park
 * Folsom Lake State Recreation Area
 * Glen Alpine Springs trailhead
 * Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park
 * Pine Hill Ecological Reserve
 * Tahoe National Forest

Skiing

 * Heavenly Ski Resort
 * Sierra-At-Tahoe Ski Resort

Racing

 * Placerville Speedway

Wineries

 * California Shenandoah Valley AVA
 * El Dorado AVA
 * Fair Play AVA
 * Sierra Foothills AVA

Demographics
The vast majority of the population lives in a narrow strip along U.S. Route 50, with the majority living between El Dorado Hills and Pollock Pines. The remainder resides in the South Lake Tahoe area, and in various dispersed rural communities.

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.''

2010 Census
The 2010 United States Census reported that El Dorado County had a population of 181,058. The racial makeup of El Dorado County was 156,793 (86.6%) White, 1,409 (0.8%) African American, 2,070 (1.1%) Native American, 6,297 (3.5%) Asian, 294 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 7,278 (4.0%) from other races, and 6,917 (3.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21,875 persons (12.1%). The largest growth in the county has come in El Dorado Hills where the population grew by 24,092 residents to a total of 42,108 since 2000.

2000
As of the census of 2000, there were 156,299 people, 58,939 households, and 43,025 families residing in the county. The population density was 91 PD/sqmi. There were 71,278 housing units at an average density of 42 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 89.7% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 1.0% Native American, 2.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.6% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. 9.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 14.9% were of German, 13.4% English, 10.3% Irish, 6.6% Italian and 6.6% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 90.5% spoke English and 6.5% Spanish as their first language.

There were 58,939 households, out of which 34.2% had youngsters under the age of 18 living with them, 60.1% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% were non-families. 20.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.1% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.

The 2000 census also states that the median income for a household in the county was $51,484, and the median income for a family was $60,250. Males had a median income of $46,373 versus $31,537 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,560. About 5.0% of families and 7.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.6% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

Overview
El Dorado is a predominantly Republican county in presidential and congressional elections. However, from 1880 until 1952, the county was a Democratic stronghold, with Theodore Roosevelt and Warren Harding being the only two Republicans to carry the county. Since 1952, however, El Dorado has gone Democratic only three times: in 1960 narrowly for John F. Kennedy, in 1964 in a landslide for Lyndon Johnson, and in 1976 narrowly for Jimmy Carter.

The county is noted as a center of political concern with the United Nations non-binding sustainable development plan Agenda 21, which was on the County Board of Supervisors meeting Agenda on May 15, 2012. Concerns included the threat of U.S. Forest Service road closures and traffic roundabouts. On February 19, 2013, 14 members of the El Dorado County Grand Jury resigned, forcing Supervising Judge Steven Bailey to dissolve it.

El Dorado County has a secessionist movement, calling for the county of less than 200,000 residents to become a new state of the union. Wyoming, the least populous current state, has approximately three times the number of residents. Sharon Durst, one of the leaders of the movement, was previously a supporter of the State of Jefferson movement, that advocates for Northern California counties and Southern Oregon counties to form a new state. El Dorado County's seat, Placerville, is located 45 miles from Sacramento, the state's capital. The leadership of the movement acknowledges that it is unlikely that the California legislature would approve their separation from the state, as required by the United States Constitution. They promote an unproven theory that the county "is technically not a legitimate piece of California and is instead 'other property' of Congress".

El Dorado County is split between two Congressional districts, with the western third of the County in the 5th Congressional District, represented by Tom McClintock, and the eastern two-thirds in the 3rd Congressional District, represented by Kevin Kiley. In the State Assembly, the county is split between and. In the State Senate, it is in.

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

Major highways

 * [[Image:US 50 (CA).svg|20px|link= |alt=]] U.S. Route 50
 * [[Image:California 49.svg|20px|link= |alt=]] State Route 49
 * [[Image:California 89.svg|20px|link= |alt=]] State Route 89
 * [[Image:California 193.svg|25px|link= |alt=]] State Route 193
 * Luther Pass

Public transportation

 * El Dorado Transit runs local service in Placerville and surrounding areas (as far east as Pollock Pines). Commuter service into Sacramento and Folsom is also provided.
 * Tahoe Transportation District is the transit operator for the South Lake Tahoe area. Service also runs into the state of Nevada.

Airports
General aviation airports include Placerville Airport, Georgetown Airport, Cameron Park airport and Lake Tahoe Airport.

Asbestos
Portions of El Dorado County are known to contain natural asbestos formations near the surface. The USGS studied amphiboles in rock and soil in the area in response to an EPA sampling study and subsequent criticism of the EPA study. The study found that many amphibole particles in the area meet the counting rule criteria used by the EPA for chemical and morphological limits, but do not meet morphological requirements for commercial-grade-asbestos. The executive summary pointed out that even particles that do not meet requirements for commercial-grade-asbestos may be a health threat and suggested a collaborative research effort to assess health risks associated with naturally occurring asbestos.

In 2003, after construction of the Oak Ridge High School (El Dorado Hills) soccer field, the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry found that some student athletes, coaches and school workers had received substantial exposures. The inside of the school needed to be cleaned of dust.

Sister city

 * 🇯🇵 Warabi, Saitama Prefecture, Japan is a sister city to El Dorado County, California on March 26, 1975.

Cities

 * Placerville (county seat)
 * South Lake Tahoe

Census-designated places

 * Auburn Lake Trails
 * Cameron Park
 * Camino
 * Cold Springs
 * Coloma
 * Diamond Springs
 * El Dorado Hills
 * Georgetown
 * Grizzly Flats
 * Meyers
 * Pollock Pines
 * Shingle Springs
 * Tahoma

Other unincorporated communities

 * Camp Richardson
 * Camp Sacramento
 * Cool
 * Echo Lake
 * El Dorado
 * Fair Play
 * Garden Valley
 * Greenwood
 * Happy Valley
 * Kyburz
 * Omo Ranch
 * Outingdale
 * Phillips
 * Pilot Hill
 * Rescue
 * Somerset
 * Strawberry
 * Twin Bridges

Population ranking
The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of El Dorado County.

† county seat