Chowchilla is a city in Madera County, California, United States. It is part of the Madera, California Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 11,127 at the 2000 census (this number does not include inmates at Central California Women's Facility and Valley State Prison for Women, which are located just outside of the city). Madera County is a county of California, located in the Central Valley north of Fresno County. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Madera is the county seat of Madera County, California. ... In the United States, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has produced a formal definition of metropolitan areas, which are organized around county boundaries. ... I AM LOOKING FOR AN ADDRESS FOR BETTY BRODERICK ... This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ...

The name "Chowchilla" is derived from the Native American tribe of Chauchila (the spelling is inconsistent in reference guides) Yokut Indians which once lived in the area. The name itself evidently translates as "Murderers" and is apparently a reference to the warlike nature of the Chauchila tribe. The Chauchila Indians were inadvertently responsible for the first white men "discovering" Yosemite Valley, which occurred when the Chauchila Indians were being pursued by a band of whites. References to the Indian tribe still abound in Chowchilla, and the town's sole high school still retains the moniker of "Redskins" as their local mascot. The Yokuts were an ethnic group of Native Americans that lived in California. ...

1976 bus kidnapping

Chowchilla was thrust into national headlines in July 1976 when an entire school bus of children was kidnapped. Twenty-six children and the adult bus driver were taken from the bus, which the kidnappers concealed under brush in a wash, and driven around in two vans for 11 hours before being forced into a moving van which had been buried in a quarry in Livermore, California. Part-time bus driver Ed Ray, a local farmer, enlisted the aid of some of the older children to dig their way out. After 16 hours underground they emerged in the middle of the night and walked to a nearby guard shack at the entrance to the quarry. All were pronounced to be in good condition and returned home to find that mass media had descended on the town. Ray was able to remember the license plate of one van while under hypnosis and this led to the capture of the kidnappers as they attempted to flee to Canada. A rough draft of a ransom note was found at the house of the owner of the quarry; the owner's son, Frederick Woods, and two friends, Richard and James Schoenfeld, were found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.^[1] The ordeal was dramatized in the 1993 ABC-TV Movie Vanished Without a Trace starring Karl Malden, which is sometimes shown on the Biography Channel. The drama series Without a Trace also featured an episode called "The Bus," which involved a school bus hijacking incident very similar to the Chowchilla event. As of June 4, 2000 further information lead officers to belive that the REAL saviour of the kidnapped children was one, Joey "Pinapple" Bertao. A Radio-Active flying Pinapple with telepathic powers of manipulation, kinda like Magneto and Dr. X. Year 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the 1976 Gregorian calendar. ... The term wash can mean several things: Cleaning A wash is the act of cleaning. ... The city of Livermore highlighted within Alameda County Livermore is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. ... A guardhouse (also known as a watch house, guard building, guard booth, guard shack, security booth, security building, or sentry building) is a building used to house personnel and security equipment. ... Karl Malden portraying Gen. ... Biography Channel is an American and Canadian digital cable television channel owned by A&E and based on the television series of the same name. ... Without a Trace is an American television show set in New York City. ...

Geography

Chowchilla is located at 37°7′5″N, 120°15′42″W (37.117921, -120.261692)^GR1. Image File history File links Adapted from Wikipedias CA county maps by Bumm13. ...

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.4 km² (7.1 mi²), all land. The United States Census Bureau (officially Bureau of the Census as defined in Title ) is a part of the United States Department of Commerce. ... A square metre (US spelling: square meter) is by definition the area enclosed by a square with sides each 1 metre long. ... A square mile is an English unit of area equal to that of a square with sides each 1 statute mile (≈1,609 m) in length. ...

Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 11,127 people, 2,562 households, and 1,908 families residing in the city. The population density was 605.1/km² (1,567.4/mi²). There were 2,711 housing units at an average density of 147.4/km² (381.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 63.46% White, 10.26% Black or African American, 2.60% Native American, 1.32% Asian, 0.26% Pacific Islander, 16.16% from other races, and 5.94% from two or more races. 28.20% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 1870 US Census for New York City A census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population (not necessarily a human population). ... It has been suggested that Ethnicity (United States Census) be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that Ethnicity (United States Census) be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that Ethnicity (United States Census) be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that Ethnicity (United States Census) be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that Ethnicity (United States Census) be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that Ethnicity (United States Census) be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that Ethnicity (United States Census) be merged into this article or section. ... Hispanic, as used in the United States, is one of several terms used to categorize US citizens, permanent residents and temporary immigrants, whose background hail either from the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America or relating to a Spanish-speaking culture. ... It has been suggested that Ethnicity (United States Census) be merged into this article or section. ...

There were 2,562 households out of which 40.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.5% were non-families. 21.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the average family size was 3.42. This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ...

In the city the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 42.8% from 25 to 44, 16.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 51.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 39.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,729, and the median income for a family was $35,741. Males had a median income of $32,306 versus $20,538 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,927. About 16.5% of families and 19.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.1% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over. The per capita income for a group of people may be defined as their total personal income, divided by the total population. ... Map of countries showing percentage of population who have an income below the national poverty line The poverty line is the level of income below which one cannot afford to purchase all the resources one requires to live. ...

References

1. ^ [1]

External links

• From Sun to Darkness — The Chowchilla Kidnapping
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 37.117921° -120.261692°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA