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Smith River
Census-Designated Place
Smith RiverLocation in California
Coordinates: 41°55′41″N 124°08′49″W / 41.92806°N 124.14694°W / 41.92806; -124.14694
Country	United States
State	California
County	Del Norte County
Area
• Total	3.985 sq mi (10.321 km)
• Land	3.970 sq mi (10.283 km)
• Water	0.015 sq mi (0.038 km)  0.37%
Elevation	52 ft (16 m)
Population
• Total	906
• Density	230/sq mi (88/km)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP Code	95567
Area code	707
GNIS feature IDs	1659799; 2611450
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Smith River, California; U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Smith River, California

Smith River (Tolowa: Kaa-nvsh) is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Del Norte County, California, located near the Oregon border. Smith River is the headquarters of the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation, a federally recognized tribe of Tolowa people. As of the 2020 census, the population was 906. It is bordered by the Smith River National Recreation Area.

History

A post office was opened in 1863. One early settler of Smith River was William Dows Rexford, who moved there with his sons in the early 1870s. Smith River has formerly been known as Smith River Corners, Smith's River Valley, Smiths River, and Smith's River.

Demographics

Smith River first appeared as a census designated place in the 2010 U.S. Census.

The 2010 United States Census reported that Smith River had a population of 866. The population density was 217.3 inhabitants per square mile (83.9/km). The racial makeup of Smith River was 528 (61.0%) White, 1 (0.1%) African American, 59 (6.8%) Native American, 5 (0.6%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 234 (27.0%) from other races, and 39 (4.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 293 persons (33.8%).

The Census reported that 866 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 315 households, out of which 127 (40.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 160 (50.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 44 (14.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 18 (5.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 22 (7.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 3 (1.0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 76 households (24.1%) were made up of individuals, and 40 (12.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75. There were 222 families (70.5% of all households); the average family size was 3.23.

The population was spread out, with 267 people (30.8%) under the age of 18, 55 people (6.4%) aged 18 to 24, 220 people (25.4%) aged 25 to 44, 217 people (25.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 107 people (12.4%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males.

There were 363 housing units at an average density of 91.1 units per square mile (35.2 units/km), of which 315 were occupied, of which 181 (57.5%) were owner-occupied, and 134 (42.5%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.6%. 473 people (54.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 393 people (45.4%) lived in rental housing units.

Climate

Smith River is the wettest human-inhabited spot in the state of California, and experiences an Oceanic climate, for it is just beyond the northern periphery of the Mediterranean climate zone of coastal California. Seasonal precipitation patterns strictly follow the patterns evident in a Mediterranean regime however, although the rather copious average annual precipitation amount of 73.73 in (1,873 mm) wildly exceeds the 900 mm (35 in) precipitation limit for Mediterranean climates implemented in the revised version of the Köppen climate classification by over twofold. The summer months from June to September receive very stark precipitation (profoundly similar to a Mediterranean climate), with July and August in particular being relatively dry. In stark contrast, winter is stupendously wet, and windy, with approximately 74% of the year's total average precipitation observed in the five-month period from November to March. Temperatures remain profoundly moderate throughout the year, fluctuating only several degrees.

Politics

In the state legislature, Smith River is in the 2nd Senate District, represented by Democrat Mike McGuire, and the 2nd Assembly District, represented by Democrat Chris Rogers.

Federally, Smith River is in California's 2nd congressional district, represented by Democrat Jared Huffman.

In popular culture

Smith River was listed as one of the filming sites for the 1983 film Return of the Jedi, alongside Buttercup Valley and Death Valley in the east and southeast portions of the state, respectively.

See also

• California portal

References

1. "2010 Census U.S. Gazetteer Files – Places – California". United States Census Bureau.
2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Smith River, California
3. Wee-ya’-dvn: Tolowa Dee-ni’ Language Resource Center - Dee-ni' Wee-ya' Lhetlh-xat 1
4. "Siletz Talking Dictionary". Retrieved June 4, 2012.
5. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Smith River, California
6. "Tribal Directory." National Congress of American Indians. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
7. "Smith River, California 2020 Census Data". data.census.gov. United States Census. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
8. ^ Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 145. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
9. All U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Smith River, California
10. "Decennial Census by Decade". United States Census Bureau.
11. ^ "2010 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
12. "2010 Census Interactive Population Search: CA - Smith River CDP". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
13. "You'll Never Forget a Trip to These 12 Waterfront Spots in Northern California". October 3, 2016.
14. The Weather Channel: Monthly data for Smith River, California
15. "Senators". State of California. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
16. "Members Assembly". State of California. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
17. "California's 2nd Congressional District - Representatives & District Map". Civic Impulse, LLC. Retrieved March 1, 2013.

v t e Municipalities and communities of Del Norte County, California, United States
County seat: Crescent City
City	Crescent City
CDPs	Bertsch–Oceanview Fort Dick Gasquet Hiouchi Klamath Smith River
Unincorporated communities	Adams Station Darlingtonia Klamath Glen Pacific Shores Requa Yontocket
Indian reservations	Elk Valley Rancheria Resighini Rancheria Smith River Rancheria Yurok Indian Reservation
Ghost towns	Fort Ter-Waw Khoonkhwuttunne Khwunrghunme Rekwoi Sawuara Shegoashkwu Smith River Reservation Tatlatunne
California portal United States portal

• Census-designated places in Del Norte County, California
• Census-designated places in California
• 1863 establishments in California
• Populated coastal places in California