Yreka
Statue at entrance to Yreka Historic District
Location in Siskiyou County and the state of California
Elevation	787 m (2,582 ft)
Population (2003)
- City	7,204

Yreka (pronounced "wye-REE-ka" (/waɪ'ɹikə/)) is the county seat of Siskiyou County, California. The population was 7,290 at the 2000 census. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 973 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Picture of statue at entrance to Yreka Historic District in Yreka, California. ... Image File history File links Siskiyou_County_California_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Yreka_Highlighted. ... Siskiyou County is a county located in the far northernmost part of the U.S. state of California, in the Shasta Cascade region on the Oregon border. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater 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. ... Elevation histogram of the surface of the Earth – approximately 71% of the Earths surface is covered with water. ... The metre (American English:meter) is a measure of length. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... A county seat is a term for an administrative center for a county, primarily used in the United States. ... Siskiyou County is a county located in the far northernmost part of the U.S. state of California, in the Shasta Cascade region on the Oregon border. ...

History

Yreka was born when gold was discovered on the flats near a ravine called Black Gulch in March 1851 by Abraham Thompson, a mule train packer traveling along the Siskiyou Trail from southern Oregon. This discovery sparked an extension of the California Gold Rush from California's Sierra Nevada into Northern California. By April 1851, 2,000 miners had arrived in "Thompson's Dry Diggings" to test their luck, and by June 1851, a gold rush "boomtown" of tents, shanties, and a few rough cabins had sprung up. Several name changes occurred until the little city was called Yreka, apparently taken from a Shasta Indian word meaning "north mountain" or "white mountain," a reference to nearby Mt. Shasta.^[1][2] Mark Twain, in his Autobiography (p. 162, Harper/Perennial Literary, 1990), tells a different story: The Siskiyou Trail stretched from Californias Central Valley to Oregons Willamette Valley; modern-day Interstate 5 follows this pioneer path. ... The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was discovered at Sutters Mill. ... The Sierra Nevada (Spanish for Snowy Range) is a mountain range that is almost entirely in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of California. ... Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. ... The Shasta (or Chasta) are an indigenous people of Northern California and Southern Oregon in the United States. ... Mount Shasta, a 14,179-foot (4,322 m) stratovolcano, is the second-highest peak in the Cascade Range and the second-highest point in California (after Mount Whitney). ... Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910),[1] better known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American humorist, satirist, lecturer and writer. ...

Harte had arrived in California in the fifties, twenty-three or twenty-four years old, and had wandered up into the surface diggings of the camp at Yreka, a place which had acquired its mysterious name--when in its first days it much needed a name--through an accident. There was a bakeshop with a canvas sign which had not het been put up but had been painted and stretched to try in such a way that the word BAKERY, all but the B, showed through and was reversed. A stranger read it wrong end first, YREKA, and supposed that that was the name of the camp. The campers were satisfied with it and adopted it.

Well-known poet Joaquin Miller described Yreka during 1853-54 as a bustling place with ". . . a tide of people up and down and across other streets, as strong as if a city on the East Coast." Incorporation proceedings were completed on April 21, 1857. Joaquin Miller Joaquin Miller was the pen name of the colorful American poet, essayist and fabulist Cincinnatus Heine (or Hiner) Miller (March 10, 1841, or alternatively September 8, 1837, or November 10, 1841 - February 17, 1913). ...

In November 1941, Yreka was designated as the capital of the proposed State of Jefferson, a semi-humorous secession movement along the Oregon and California border that has gained cultural traction in the following decades. For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... The State of Jefferson, as proposed by Gilbert Gable in 1941. ... Official language(s) (none)[1] Capital Salem Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 9th  - Total 98,466 sq mi (255,026 km²)  - Width 260 miles (420 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 2. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater 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. ...

Geography

Yreka is located at 41°43′36″N, 122°38′15″W (41.726617, -122.637568)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.0 km² (10.0 mi²). 25.8 km² (10.0 mi²) of it is land, and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.70%) is water. 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. ...

The elevation of Yreka is approximately 2,500 ft (760 m) above sea level. It is nestled in the Shasta Valley south of the Siskiyou Mountains and north of Mount Shasta, a dormant volcano towering above the valley at just over 14,000 ft (4,300 m) above sea level. Siskiyou Mountains The Siskiyou Mountains are a coastal mountain range in the northern Klamath Mountains in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the United States. ... Mount Shasta, a 14,179-foot (4,322 m)[1] stratovolcano, is the second-highest peak in the Cascade Range and the fifth highest peak in California. ...

Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 7,290 people, 3,114 households, and 1,880 families residing in the city. The population density was 282.0/km² (730.8/mi²). There were 3,303 housing units at an average density of 127.8/km² (331.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 86.56% White, 0.48% African American, 6.04% Native American, 1.82% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.70% from other races, and 3.33% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 5.38% of the population. 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). ... The United States Census Bureau uses the federal governments definitions of race when performing a census. ... The United States Census Bureau uses the federal governments definitions of race when performing a census. ... The United States Census Bureau uses the federal governments definitions of race when performing a census. ... The United States Census Bureau uses the federal governments definitions of race when performing a census. ... The United States Census Bureau uses the federal governments definitions of race when performing a census. ... It has been suggested that Ethnicity (United States Census) be merged into this article or section. ... The United States Census Bureau uses the federal governments definitions of race when performing a census. ... The United States Census Bureau uses the federal governments definitions of race when performing a census. ...

There were 3,114 households, out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.8% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.6% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.92. “Spouse” redirects here. ...

In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.5% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.3 males. For every 100 females, age 18 and over, there were 83.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,398, and the median income for a family was $37,448. Males had a median income of $31,632 versus $23,986 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,664. About 17.5% of families and 21.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.6% of those under age 18 and 8.8% 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. ...

General information

The city is the seat of Siskiyou County and has many services that support the many small communities in the area. The high school buses carry students from towns that would not otherwise be able to fund a secondary education.

In Yreka, the gold-mining era is commemorated with a gold museum, as well as with a remnant of a silver mining operation in Greenhorn Park. The high school sports mascot is a gold miner. School colors are red and gold.

Trivia

• "Yreka Bakery" is a popular palindrome, but no such business currently exists, although sources indicate that there was one as early as 1886^[3], which may have been the foundation of Mark Twain's story; it is possible that the business existed until 1960.^[4]
• Yreka is mentioned in Ann Rule's true crime novel, "The I-5 Killer".

Look up Palindrome in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Ann Rule is a popular true crime writer. ...

References

1. ^ Origin of name Accessed June 4, 2007.
2. ^ Origin of name Accessed June 4, 2007.
3. ^ Legendary origins of Yreka
4. ^ Palindrome bakery

See also

• Yreka Western Railroad

The Yreka Western Railroad is a heritage railway in Yreka, California. ...

External links

• Yreka Chamber of Commerce
• Museum of the Siskiyou Trail
• Maps and aerial photos for 41°43′36″N 122°38′15″W / 41.726617, -122.637568Coordinates: 41°43′36″N 122°38′15″W / 41.726617, -122.637568
  • Maps from WikiMapia, Google Maps, Live Search Maps, Yahoo! Maps, or MapQuest
  • Topographic maps from TopoZone or TerraServer-USA

	v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Siskiyou County, California County Seat: Yreka
Incorporated places	Dorris • Dunsmuir • Etna • Fort Jones • Montague • Mount Shasta • Tulelake • Weed • Yreka Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 552 pixelsFull resolution (891 × 615 pixel, file size: 2 KB, MIME type: image/png) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Siskiyou County is a county located in the far northernmost part of the U.S. state of California, in the Shasta Cascade region on the Oregon border. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater 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. ... A county seat is a term for an administrative center for a county, primarily used in the United States. ... An incorporated place, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, is a type of governmental unit incorporated under state law as a city, town (except the New England states, New York, and Wisconsin), borough (except in Alaska and New York), or village and having legally prescribed limits, powers, and... Dorris City Hall Dorris is a city located in Siskiyou County, California. ... Dunsmuir is a city located in Siskiyou County, California. ... Etna is a city located in Siskiyou County, California. ... Fort Jones is a city in the Scott Valley area of Siskiyou County, California, United States. ... Montague is a city located in Siskiyou County, California. ... Mount Shasta from City of Mt. ... Tulelake is a city located in Siskiyou County, California. ... Entrance to Weed, California with Mt. ...
CDPs	Carrick • Edgewood • Gazelle • Greenview • Grenada • Hornbrook • Macdoel • McCloud • Mount Hebron • Tennant A census-designated place (CDP) is an area identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical reporting. ... Carrick is a census-designated place located in Siskiyou County, California. ... Edgewood is a census-designated place located in Siskiyou County, California. ... Gazelle is a census-designated place located in Siskiyou County, California. ... Greenview is a census-designated place located in Siskiyou County, California. ... Hornbrook is a census-designated place located in Siskiyou County, California. ... Macdoel is a census-designated place located in Siskiyou County, California. ... McCloud is a census-designated place (CDP) in Siskiyou County, California, United States. ... Mount Hebron is a census-designated place located in Siskiyou County, California. ... Tennant is a census-designated place located in Siskiyou County, California. ...
Unincorporated communities	Forks of Salmon • Happy Camp • Seiad Valley This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Forks of Salmon is a town of Siskiyou County in northern California, USA. The town is situated between the north and south forks of the Salmon River, hence its name. ... Happy Camp is an unincorporated community in Siskiyou County, California in the United States. ... // Seiad Valley is a small town situated only 15 miles from the Oregon border. ...