Oroville, California
Encyclopedia : O : OR : ORO : Oroville, California
Oroville is the county seat of Butte County, California. The population was 13,004 at the 2000 census.
Geography and History
Oroville is situated at the head of navigation on the Feather River. The Yuba River flows into the Feather River near Marysville, California and these flow together to the Sacramento River. Geologically, Oroville is situated at the meeting place of three provinces: the Central Valley alluvial plain to the west, the crystalline Sierra Nevadas to the SE and the volcanic Cascade Mountains to the north. It has a Mediterranean climate.
Oroville is situated on the banks of the Feather River where it flows out of the Sierra Nevada onto the flat floor of the California Central Valley. It was established as the head of navigation on the Feather River to supply gold miners during the California Gold Rush. Findings at Bidwell Bar, one of the first gold mining sites in California, brought thousands of prospectors to the Oroville area seeking riches. Now under the enormous Lake Oroville, Bidwell Bar is memorialized by the Bidwell Bar Bridge, an original remnant from the area and the first suspension bridge in California (California Historical Landmark #314). In the early 20th century the Western Pacific Railroad completed construction of the all-weather Feather River Canyon route through the Sierra Nevadas giving it the nickname of "The Feather River Route". Oroville would serve as an important stop for the famous California Zephyr during its 20 year run. In 1983, this became a part of the Union Pacific Railroad as their Feather River Canyon Subdivision. A major highway, California State Route 70, roughly parallels the railroad line through the canyon.
Another monument to Oroville's storied past is the Chinese Temple (CHL #770 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NPS-76000478)). Chinese laborers from the pioneer era established the Temple as a place of worship for followers of three major Eastern Philosophies: Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. The Chinese Temple and Garden, as it is now called, has an extensive collection of artifacts and a serene garden to enjoy.
Oroville's most famous resident, Ishi, last of the Yahi Indians, was considered to be the last "Stone Age" Indian to come out of the wilderness and into western civilization. When he appeared in Oroville around 1911, he was immediately thrust into the national spotlight. The Visitor's Center at Lake Oroville has a thorough exhibit and documentary film on Ishi and his life in society.
Oroville is most famous now because it is the site of the Oroville Dam, one of the 20 largest dams in the world, the largest land filled dam in the US, and the tallest dam in the US. This dam is 770 feet (235 m) tall and 6920 feet (2109 m) long, and it impounds Lake Oroville, which has a capacity of 3,500,000 acre feet (4.3 km³) of water, making it the second largest reservoir in California. This is one of the most important parts of the California State Water Project or Central Valley Project, which moves water from water-rich Northern California to water-poor Southern California. This facility is operated by the Department of Water Resources which is undergoing contract renewal with the City of Oroville and Butte County. The state has not paid any taxes on this facility nor developed the lake for recreation as originally promised which have been a bone of contention with the local government and residents.
The geology of the Oroville area is fascinating. Oroville sits on the eastern rim of the Great Valley, defined today by the floodplains of the Sacramento River and its tributaries. Around Oroville these sediments are dominated by thick fans of Feather River sediments, but just east of this there is a thin, N-S band of late Cretaceous sediments. These sit on top of the Sierran basement, which beneath eastern Oroville comprise greenschist-facies metavolcanic rocks of Jurassic age, giving way to granites of the Sierra batholith to the east. These are manifestations of a vigorous island arc sequence, built out over an east-dipping subduction zone of mid- to late Mesozoic age. The gold veins lace this ancient arc, remobilized by Mesozoic shearing and intrusions of igneous rock. The crystalline foothills are locally overlain by a Cenozoic sequence of Eocene clean beach sands overlain by Neogene volcanics, including the Diamond Head-like profile of Table Mountain.
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Demographics
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 31.8 km² (12.3 mi²). 31.7 km² (12.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.16%) is water.As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 13,004 people, 4,881 households, and 2,948 families residing in the city. The population density was 409.9/km² (1,061.4/mi²). There were 5,419 housing units at an average density of 170.8/km² (442.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.23% White, 4.03% Black or African American, 3.93% Native American, 6.34% Asian, 0.26% Pacific Islander, 2.78% from other races, and 5.42% from two or more races. 8.25% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 4,881 households out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.4% were married couples living together, 18.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.6% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.19.
In the city the population was spread out with 30.1% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $21,911, and the median income for a family was $27,666. Males had a median income of $28,587 versus $21,916 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,345. About 26.2% of families and 33.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 49.3% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over.
The mayor of Oroville is Gordon Andoe.
External links
- [State Water Project]
- [Oroville Dam]
- [The Oroville Dam Train Crash]
- [The World's Largest Dams]
- [Lake Oroville]
- [The Oroville Mercury-Register (newspaper)]
- [Report on Oroville Economy by Oroville Chamber of Commerce]
- [Maps and aerial photos]
- * Street map from [Google Maps] or [Yahoo! Maps]
- * Topographic map from [TopoZone]
- * Aerial image or topographic map from [TerraServer-USA]
- * Satellite image from [Google Maps] or [Windows Live Local]
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