Trinity County, California
County
County of Trinity
Images, from top down, left to right: Weaverville Historic District, Hayfork Creek, Trinity Lake, Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park
Seal
Interactive map of Trinity County
Location in the state of California
Country	United States
State	California
Region	North Coast
Incorporated	February 18, 1850[1]
Named for	Trinity River
County seat	Weaverville
Largest community	Weaverville
Government
• Type	Council–CAO
• Chair[2]	Jill Cox
• Vice Chair	Ric Leutwyler
• Board of Supervisors[2]	Supervisors Ric Leutwyler Jill Cox Liam Gogan Heidi Carpenter-Harris Dan Frasier
• Interim County Administrative Officer	Letty Garza
Area
• Total	3,208 sq mi (8,310 km2)
• Land	3,179 sq mi (8,230 km2)
• Water	28 sq mi (70 km2)
Highest elevation [3]	9,037 ft (2,754 m)
Population  (April 1, 2020)[4]
• Total	16,112
• Density	5.0/sq mi (1.9/km2)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific Time Zone)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (Pacific Daylight Time)
Area code	530
FIPS code	06-105
GNIS feature ID	277317
Congressional district	2nd
Website	www.trinitycounty.org

Trinity County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of California. Trinity County is rugged, mountainous, heavily forested, and lies along the Trinity River (for which it is named) within the Salmon and Klamath Mountains. It is also one of three counties in California with no incorporated cities (the other two counties in California with that distinction are Alpine and Mariposa counties).^[5]

As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,112,^[4] making it the fifth least-populous county in California, and the least-populous of California's 27 original counties. The county seat and largest community is Weaverville.^[6]

History

Trinity County has a rich history of Native Americans: Tsnungwe including the South Fork Hupa and tł'oh-mitah-xwe,^[7] Chimariko, and Wintu.

The county takes its name from the Trinity River, which was in turn named in 1845 by Major Pierson B. Reading, who was under the mistaken impression that the river emptied into Trinidad Bay. Trinity is the English translation of Trinidad.

Trinity County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. Parts of the county were ceded to Klamath County in 1852 and to Humboldt County in 1853.

Boundary dispute with Mendocino County

In the first half of the 1850's the California State Legislature established that the boundaries of Mendocino and Trinity Counties was the 40th parallel north. Both county board of supervisor's hired the surveyor W.H. Fauntleroy to survey the parallel, which he completed on October 30, 1872. The accuracy of the boundary was doubtful, and by 1891 the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors requested the California surveyor-general to survey the line and establish the boundaries between the two counties. The new line, as surveyed by Sam H. Rice and approved by the California Attorney General on December 18, 1891, was found to be 2 miles north of the common boundary surveyed by W.H. Fauntleroy, thereby resulting in Trinity County exercising jurisdiction two miles south of the 40th parallel north. Between 1891 and 1907, both counties claimed that the 2 mile wide strip of land belonged to themselves and not the other, with both counties attempting to levy and collect property tax land in said strip. In 1907, Trinity County sued Mendocino County in a Tehama County court to settle the dispute. The trial court in Tehama County ruled in favor of Trinity County, even though the land was situated south of the 40th parallel and state law stated that lands south of that parallel belonged to Mendocino County. The appellate court upheld the ruling of the trial court since Section 10 of the special act of March 30, 1872 (Stats. 1871-2, p. 766), which concerned this boundary and was the act under which Fauntleroy acted under, authorized the survey of the theretofore unknown location of the 40th parallel north, stated that "the lines run out, marked and defined as required by this act are hereby declared to be the true boundary lines of the counties named herein", thereby making the law in the political code which defined the boundary as the 40th parallel north only a suggestion and not a fact.^[8] The legislature subsequently affirmed this decision, with the modern statute defining the borders of the two counties referencing the survey of Fauntleroy as being the boundary between the two counties instead of the 40th parallel north.^[9]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,208 square miles (8,310 km²), of which 3,179 square miles (8,230 km²) is land and 28 square miles (73 km²) (0.9%) is water.^[10] The county contains a significant portion of Shasta-Trinity National Forest and the Trinity Alps Wilderness—the second largest wilderness in California.

Trinity County is made up of five census tracts. Census Tract 1.01 includes the communities of Douglas City, Lewiston, Trinity Center, and part of Coffee Creek and Weaverville. Notable features are Trinity Dam and Lake, Lewiston Dam and Lake, the Trinity River, and the Lewiston Valley. It has a population of 2585 people in 550 square miles, leading to a population density of 4.7 people per square mile.^[11] Census Tract 1.02 includes most of Weaverville and Coffee Creek. It is the most populous census tract in the county, with 4558 people. It has 449 square miles, leading to a population density of 10.2 people per square mile. Notable features are the Weaver Basin, the Trinity Alps, Scott Mountains, and the upper Trinity River.^[12] Census Tract 2 includes the Downriver area of Trinity County. This means the communities of Junction City, Big Flat, Big Bar, Burnt Ranch, Hawkins Bar, and Salyer. It includes 2024 people, and notable features are the Trinity River, the Trinity Alps, and the New River.^[13] Census Tract 3 includes the communities of Hayfork, Hyampom, and Wildwood. It has 3105 people in 600 square miles, leading to a population density of 5.2 people per square mile. Notable features are the South Fork of the Trinity River, South Fork Mountain, Hayfork Valley and Hayfork Creek, Hyampom Valley, Chanchellula Peak and Wilderness area, and Hayfork Bally. Census Tract 4 is the largest by area but the least populous census tract in the county with 975 people. It contains 833 square miles, leading to a population density of 1.2 people per square mile. The largest community by far is Mad River, with other smaller ones being Ruth, Kettenpom, and Zenia. Notable features include South Fork Mountain, the Mad River, the Van Duzen River, Ruth Lake, Ruth Valley, Kettenpom Valley, Hoaglin Valley, and Hettenshaw Valley

The county hosts many visitors, especially during summer months, for camping, backpacking, boating on the lakes, rafting/kayaking on the rivers, hunting, and fishing. The summers tend to be clear, sunny, warm, and very dry, with little rain from June to September except for some mountain thunderstorms in the highest elevations. Summer days in the populated areas of the county range from 90 to 97 degrees, and summer nights range from 45 to 55. Winter days range from 40 to 50, and nights range from 25 to 35. The winters tend to have copious precipitation, increasing with elevation and falling mostly as rain under 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in the valley bottoms, and mostly as snow over 1,000 m (3,300 ft) on the mountainsides. December, January, and February are the wettest. The precipitation ranges from 30 to 35 inches at low elevations isolated from coastal influence, such as Big Bar, Hayfork, and Weaverville, up to 55 or 60 inches at high elevations, on the coastal side of South Fork Mountain, or where gaps in the mountain allow for precipitation to get through. Examples of this last phenomenon include Salyer and Forest Glen. Kalmia Lake, at nearly 7500 feet in the Canyon Creek area of the Trinity Alps, is reputed to be the snowiest place in California, outpacing Lake Helen in Mount Lassen National Park, which receives 600-700 inches of snow each winter. Average snowfall in the populated parts of the county ranges from 0-5 inches in the lower Trinity Valley to at least 100 inches in places above 4000 feet, such as Indian Valley west of Hayfork.

There is an extensive wild river and stream system, and the terrain is quite rugged and forested, with the highest point at Mount Eddy, over 9,000 ft (2,700 m). The Klamath Mountains occupy the vast portion of the county.

Adjacent counties

• Siskiyou County - north
• Shasta County - east
• Tehama County - southeast
• Mendocino County - south
• Humboldt County - west

National protected areas

• Shasta-Trinity National Forest (part)^[14]
• Six Rivers National Forest (part)^[15]
• Mendocino National Forest (part)^[16]
• Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area (part)^[17]
• Trinity Alps Wilderness (part)^[18]
• Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness (part)^[19]

Chancelulla Wilderness

Climate

Trinity County has a mediterranean climate with very warm, dry and sunny summer days and high diurnal temperature variation due to the cool nights. The hot afternoons form a stark contrast to the mild coastal climates of Humboldt County relatively nearby. Winters are chilly and wet. Below is climate normals from county seat Weaverville. There are different microclimates in the county as elevations vary.

Politics

Trinity was a Republican-leaning county in Presidential and congressional elections until recently; now it is a tossup. No Democrat had won the county since Jimmy Carter in 1976 until Barack Obama defeated John McCain by a 4% margin (50% to 46%) in 2008. In 2012, the county again voted Republican, but narrowly. Voter registration reflects this trend, with Democratic and Republican registration in a near dead heat (D: 2,710, R: 2,716). Third-party candidates tend to do rather well in Trinity County: George Wallace got over 13% of the county's vote in 1968, and it was the only California county carried by Ross Perot in 1992. It was also Perot's best performance in the state in 1996, although he didn't carry it again. John Anderson also did very well in 1980, as did third-party candidates in 2016.

Trinity County was the only California county where Obama won in 2008 and Joe Biden lost in 2020.