El Dorado County (; El Dorado, Spanish for "The Golden one"), officially the County of El Dorado, is a county located in the U.S. state of California, named after the mythical city of El Dorado.

As of the 2020 census, the population was 191,185. 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 . 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 east of Omo Ranch and 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 . On August 17, the fire grew to 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 from South Lake Tahoe.

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

Government and policing

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.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (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
  • 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

Recreation

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.

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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.

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"

|-

! colspan="3" | Population and crime rates

|-

! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Population

| colspan="2" | 179,878

|-

! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Violent crime

| 520 || 2.89

|-

! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | &nbsp;&nbsp;Homicide

| 1,540 || 8.56

|-

! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | &nbsp;&nbsp;Motor vehicle theft

! data-sort-type="number" | Violent crimes 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.

Communities

thumb|right|260px|El Dorado County Courthouse in Placerville

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

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

!Rank

!City/town/etc.

!Municipal type

!Population (2020 Census)

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 1

|El Dorado Hills

| CDP

| 50,547

|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"

| 2

|South Lake Tahoe

| City

| 21,330

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 3

|Cameron Park

| CDP

| 18,881

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 4

|Diamond Springs

| CDP

| 11,345

|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"

| 5

|† Placerville

| City

| 10,747

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 6

|Pollock Pines

| CDP

| 7,112

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 7

|Shingle Springs

| CDP

| 4,660

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 8

|Auburn Lake Trails

| CDP

| 3,388

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 9

|Georgetown

| CDP

| 2,255

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 10

|Camino

| CDP

| 1,871

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 11

|Grizzly Flats

| CDP

| 1,093

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 12

|Tahoma (partially in Placer County)

| CDP

| 1,034

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 13

|Cold Springs

| CDP

| 556

|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"

| 14

|Coloma

| CDP

| 521

|- style="background-color:#FFFF99;"

| 15

|Shingle Springs Rancheria

| AIAN

| 108

|}

Education

School districts include:

K-12:

  • Black Oak Mine Unified School District
  • Lake Tahoe Unified School District
  • Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District

Secondary: