Humboldt County, California
Humboldt County (/ˈhʌmboʊlt/ ⓘ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 136,463. The county seat is Eureka.
County of Humboldt | |
|---|---|
County | |
Aerial view of Humboldt Bay | |
| Motto: "The Home of the Redwoods" | |
Interactive map of Humboldt County | |
Location in the state of California | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Region | California North Coast |
| Incorporated | May 12, 1853 |
| Named for | Humboldt Bay, which was named after Alexander von Humboldt |
| County seat | Eureka |
| Largest city | Eureka |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council–CAO |
| • Chair | Rex Bohn |
| • Vice Chair | Michelle Bushnell |
| • Board of Supervisors | Supervisors
|
| • County Administrative Officer | Elishia Hayes |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4,052 sq mi (10,490 km2) |
| • Land | 3,568 sq mi (9,240 km2) |
| • Water | 484 sq mi (1,250 km2) |
| Highest elevation | 6,956 ft (2,120 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Total | 136,463 |
| • Density | 38/sq mi (15/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−8 (Pacific Time Zone) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−7 (Pacific Daylight Time) |
| Area codes | 707, 530 |
| Congressional district | 2nd |
| Website | humboldtgov.org |
Humboldt County comprises the Eureka–Arcata–Fortuna, California, Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is located on the far North Coast of California, about 270 miles (435 km) north of San Francisco. It has among the most diverse climates of United States counties, with very mild coastal summers and hot interior days. Similar to the greater region, summers are extremely dry and winters have substantial rainfall.
Its primary population centers of Eureka, the site of College of the Redwoods main campus, and the smaller college town of Arcata, site of California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, are located adjacent to Humboldt Bay, California's second largest natural bay. Area cities and towns are known for hundreds of ornate examples of Victorian architecture.
Humboldt County is a densely forested mountainous and rural county with about 110 miles (177 km) of coastline (more than any other county in the state), situated along the Pacific coast in Northern California's rugged Coast (Mountain) Ranges. With nearly 1,500,000 acres (6,100 km2) of combined public and private forest in production, Humboldt County alone produces twenty percent of the total volume and thirty percent of the total value of all forest products produced in California. The county contains over forty percent of all remaining old growth Coast Redwood forests, the vast majority of which are protected or strictly conserved within dozens of national, state, and local forests and parks, totaling approximately 680,000 acres (1,060 sq mi).