County of Inyo
County
Wildflowers blooming in Death Valley after a wet winter
Seal
Interactive map of Inyo County
Location in the state of California
Coordinates: 36°35′N 117°25′W / 36.583°N 117.417°W / 36.583; -117.417
Country	United States
State	California
Region	Eastern California
Established	March 22, 1866[1]
Named for	ɨnnɨyun 'it's dangerous' in Timbisha[2]
County seat	Independence
Largest city	Bishop
Government
• Type	Council–CAO
• Body	Board of Supervisors
• Chair[4]	Jennifer Roeser
• Vice Chair[5]	Scott Marcellin
• Board of Supervisors	Supervisors[3] Trina Orrill Jeff Griffiths Scott Marcellin Jennifer Roeser Matt Kingsley
• County Administrator[6]	Leslie Chapman
Area
• Total	10,227 sq mi (26,490 km2)
• Land	10,181 sq mi (26,370 km2)
• Water	46 sq mi (120 km2)
Highest elevation [7]	14,505 ft (4,421 m)
Lowest elevation [8]	−282 ft (−86 m)
Population  (2020)[9]
• Total	19,016
• Density	1.9/sq mi (0.7/km2)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific Time Zone)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (Pacific Daylight Time)
Area codes	442/760
FIPS code	06-027
GNIS feature ID	1804637
Congressional district	3rd
Website	www.inyocounty.us

Inyo County (/ˈɪnjoʊ/ ^ⓘ) is a county in the eastern central part of the U.S. state of California, located between the Sierra Nevada and the state of Nevada. In the 2020 census, the population was 19,016.^[9] The county seat is Independence.^[10] Inyo County is on the east side of the Sierra Nevada and southeast of Yosemite National Park in Central California. It contains the Owens River Valley; it is flanked to the west by the Sierra Nevada and to the east by the White Mountains and the Inyo Mountains. With an area of 10,192 square miles (26,400 km²), Inyo is the second-largest county by area in California, after San Bernardino County. Almost one-half of that area is within Death Valley National Park. However, with a population density of 1.8 people per square mile, it also has the second-lowest population density in California, after Alpine County.

History

Present-day Inyo county has been the historic homeland for thousands of years of the Mono, Timbisha, Kawaiisu, and Northern Paiute Native Americans. The descendants of these ancestors continue to live in their traditional homelands in the Owens River Valley and in Death Valley National Park. Worse, the portion north of the 37th parallel had been claimed by Nevada Territory (later the state of Nevada) as part of its westernmost border from 1861 to 1866.

Inyo County was formed in 1866 out of the territory of the unorganized Coso County, which had been created on April 4, 1864, from parts of Mono County and Tulare County.^[11] It acquired more territory from Mono County in 1870 and Kern County and San Bernardino County in 1872.

For many years it has been commonly believed that the county derived its name from the Mono tribe's name for the mountains in its former homeland. Actually the name came to be thought of, mistakenly, as the name of the mountains to the east of the Owens Valley when the first whites there asked the local Owens Valley Paiutes for the name of the mountains to the east. They responded that that was the land of Inyo. They meant by this that those lands belonged to the Timbisha tribe headed by a man whose name was Inyo.^{[citation needed]} Inyo was the name of the headman of one of the Timbisha bands at the time of contact when the first whites, the Bennett-Arcane Party of 1849, wandered, lost, into Death Valley on their expedition to the gold fields of western California. The Owens Valley whites misunderstood the reference and thought that Inyo was the name of the mountains when actually it was the name of the chief, or headman, of the tribe that had those mountains as part of their homeland.^{[citation needed]} In Timbisha, ɨnnɨyun means "it's (or he's) dangerous".^[2]

To supply the growing City of Los Angeles, water was diverted from the Owens River into the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913. The Owens River Valley cultures and environments changed substantially. From the 1910s to 1930s the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power purchased much of the valley for water rights and control. In 1941 the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power extended the Los Angeles Aqueduct system farther upriver into the Mono Basin.

Natural history

Inyo County is host to a number of natural superlatives. Among them are:

• Mount Whitney, with an elevation of 14,505 feet (4,421 m), the highest point in the contiguous United States, the 12th highest peak in the U.S., and the 24th highest peak in North America.
• Badwater Basin, in Death Valley, the lowest point in North America
• Methuselah, an ancient Bristlecone pine tree and one of the oldest living trees on Earth
• Owens Valley, the deepest valley on the American continents
• Two mountain ranges exceeding 14,000 feet (4,300 m) in elevation: The Sierra Nevada and the White Mountains
• Ten of California's twelve peaks which exceed 14,000 feet (a Fourteener) in elevation; the isolated Mount Shasta in northern California, and White Mountain Peak in neighboring Mono County, are the only California 14ers not (at least partly) in Inyo County
• The largest escarpment in the United States, rising from the floor of Death Valley to the top of Telescope Peak in the Panamint Range

Geography

Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States, is on Inyo County's western border (with Tulare County). The Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park, the lowest place in North America, is in eastern Inyo County. The difference between the two points is about 14,700 feet (4,500 m). They are not visible from each other, but both can be observed from the Panamint Range on the west side of Death Valley, above the Panamint Valley. Thus, Inyo County has the greatest elevation difference among all of the counties and county-equivalents in the contiguous United States.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 10,227 square miles (26,490 km²), of which 10,181 square miles (26,370 km²) is land and 46 square miles (120 km²) (0.5%) is water.^[12] It is the second-largest county by area in California and the ninth-largest in the United States (excluding boroughs and census areas in Alaska).

Lakes

National protected areas

• Death Valley National Park (part)
• Inyo National Forest (part)
• Manzanar National Historic Site

There are 22 official wilderness areas in Inyo County that are part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. This is the second-largest number of any county, exceeded only by San Bernardino County's 35 wilderness areas. Most of these are managed solely by the Bureau of Land Management, but four are integral components of Death Valley National Park or Inyo National Forest and are thus managed by either the National Park Service or the Forest Service. Some of these wilderness areas also extend into neighboring counties.

Except as noted, the wilderness areas are managed solely by the Bureau of Land Management and lie entirely within Inyo County:

Death Valley National Park

Death Valley National Park is a mostly arid United States National Park east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in southern Inyo County and northern San Bernardino County in California, with a small extension into southwestern Nye County and extreme southern Esmeralda County in Nevada. In addition, there is an exclave (Devil's Hole) in southern Nye County. The park covers 5,262 square miles (13,630 km²), encompassing Saline Valley, a large part of Panamint Valley, almost all of Death Valley, and parts of several mountain ranges.^[13] Death Valley National Monument was proclaimed in 1933, placing the area under federal protection. In 1994, the monument was redesignated a national park, as well as being substantially expanded to include Saline and Eureka Valleys.^[13]

It is the hottest and driest of the national parks in the United States. It also features the second-lowest point in the Western Hemisphere and the lowest point in North America at the Badwater Basin, which is 282 feet (86 m) below sea level.^[8] It is home to many species of plants and animals that have adapted to this harsh desert environment. Some examples include Creosote Bush, Bighorn Sheep, Coyote, and the Death Valley Pupfish, a survivor of much wetter times. Approximately 95% of the park is designated as wilderness.^[14] Death Valley National Park is visited annually by more than 770,000 visitors who come to enjoy its diverse geologic features, desert wildlife, historic sites, scenery, clear night skies, and the solitude of the extreme desert environment.

Other parks

• Alabama Hills Recreation Area
• Last Chance Meadow Research Natural Area
• California Bighorn Sheep Zoological Area

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1870	1,956		—
1880	2,928		49.7%
1890	3,544		21.0%
1900	4,377		23.5%
1910	6,974		59.3%
1920	7,031		0.8%
1930	6,555		−6.8%
1940	7,625		16.3%
1950	11,658		52.9%
1960	11,684		0.2%
1970	15,571		33.3%
1980	17,895		14.9%
1990	18,281		2.2%
2000	17,945		−1.8%
2010	18,546		3.3%
2020	19,016		2.5%
2023 (est.)	18,527	[15]	−2.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[16] 1790–1960[17] 1900–1990[18] 1990–2000[19] 2010[20] 2020[21]

2020 census

Inyo County, California - Demographic Profile
(NH = Non-Hispanic)

Race / Ethnicity	Pop 2010[20]	Pop 2020[21]	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	12,296	11,035	66.30%	58.03%
Black or African American alone (NH)	102	85	0.55%	0.45%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	1,895	2,189	10.22%	11.51%
Asian alone (NH)	229	273	1.23%	1.44%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	15	13	0.08%	0.07%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	21	87	0.11%	0.46%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH)	391	935	2.11%	4.92%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	3,597	4,399	19.40%	23.13%
Total	18,546	19,016	100.00%	100.00%

Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

2011

Population, race, and income
Total population[22]	18,457
White[22]	14,339	77.7%
Black or African American[22]	204	1.1%
American Indian or Alaska Native[22]	1,846	10.0%
Asian[22]	271	1.5%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander[22]	66	0.4%
Some other race[22]	1,374	7.4%
Two or more races[22]	357	1.9%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)[23]	3,445	18.7%
Per capita income[24]	$27,532
Median household income[25]	$49,571
Median family income[26]	$68,204

Places by population, race, and income

Places by population and race
Place	Type[27]	Population[22]	White[22]	Other[22] [note 1]	Asian[22]	Black or African American[22]	Native American[22] [note 2]	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)[23]
Big Pine	CDP	1,563	77.4%	7.8%	1.5%	1.0%	12.3%	11.5%
Bishop	City	3,839	78.5%	17.6%	2.6%	0.1%	1.2%	31.2%
Cartago	CDP	84	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Darwin	CDP	32	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek	CDP	2,800	86.1%	11.3%	0.0%	0.0%	2.5%	23.0%
Furnace Creek	CDP	115	79.1%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	20.9%	8.7%
Homewood Canyon	CDP	79	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Independence	CDP	520	73.8%	7.1%	0.6%	2.1%	16.3%	7.9%
Keeler	CDP	88	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Lone Pine	CDP	2,076	79.1%	5.3%	3.0%	1.3%	11.2%	18.3%
Mesa	CDP	442	77.4%	17.0%	5.7%	0.0%	0.0%	16.1%
Olancha	CDP	245	52.2%	47.8%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	38.8%
Pearsonville	CDP	6	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Round Valley	CDP	396	87.4%	4.5%	0.5%	0.0%	7.6%	14.6%
Shoshone	CDP	36	94.4%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	5.6%	8.3%
Tecopa	CDP	98	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	5.1%
Trona	CDP	0	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Valley Wells	CDP	0	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
West Bishop	CDP	3,019	89.7%	4.1%	1.5%	4.3%	0.4%	15.8%
Wilkerson	CDP	484	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%

Places by population and income
Place	Type[27]	Population[28]	Per capita income[24]	Median household income[25]	Median family income[26]
Big Pine	CDP	1,563	$28,276	$63,269	$75,500
Bishop	City	3,839	$27,205	$34,258	$61,574
Cartago	CDP	84	$37,211	$44,293	[29]
Darwin	CDP	32	$18,525	$33,929	[29]
Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek	CDP	2,800	$26,640	$56,620	$68,385
Furnace Creek	CDP	115	$30,670	$31,000	$92,813
Homewood Canyon	CDP	79	$5,525	$15,347	[29]
Independence	CDP	520	$26,418	$43,750	$64,044
Keeler	CDP	88	$20,125	$14,821	$14,565
Lone Pine	CDP	2,076	$20,995	$35,938	$48,214
Mesa	CDP	442	$31,341	$62,014	$64,063
Olancha	CDP	245	$20,648	$37,250	$102,802
Pearsonville	CDP	6	[29]	[29]	[29]
Round Valley	CDP	396	$34,338	$75,341	$83,125
Shoshone	CDP	36	$22,358	$41,250	$41,250
Tecopa	CDP	98	$17,664	$22,188	$21,875
Trona	CDP	0	[29]	[29]	[29]
Valley Wells	CDP	0	[29]	[29]	[29]
West Bishop	CDP	3,019	$33,802	$79,219	$95,208
Wilkerson	CDP	484	$34,174	$49,167	$71,875

2010 Census

The 2010 United States Census reported that Inyo County had a population of 18,546. The racial makeup of Inyo County was 13,741 (74.1%) White, 109 (0.6%) African American, 2,121 (11.4%) Native American, 243 (1.3%) Asian, 16 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 1,676 (9.0%) from other races, and 640 (3.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3,597 persons (19.4%).^[30]

Population reported at 2010 United States Census
The County	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Inyo County	18,546	13,741	109	2,121	243	16	1,676	640	3,597
Incorporated city	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Bishop	3,879	2,867	22	91	61	1	723	114	1,200
Census-designated place	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
Big Pine	1,756	1,192	3	438	13	1	52	57	182
Cartago	92	63	0	7	0	0	11	11	16
Darwin	43	38	0	2	1	1	0	1	2
Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek	2,645	2,287	6	32	47	3	215	55	493
Furnace Creek	24	6	0	16	0	0	0	2	0
Homewood Canyon	44	37	0	0	0	0	5	2	6
Independence	669	493	6	98	8	1	28	35	93
Keeler	66	63	0	0	2	0	0	1	6
Lone Pine	2,035	1,334	6	205	17	1	376	96	694
Mesa	251	220	0	10	3	0	14	4	26
Olancha	192	133	0	4	8	0	38	9	47
Pearsonville	17	16	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
Round Valley	435	333	38	21	3	0	27	13	69
Shoshone	31	28	1	1	0	0	0	1	0
Tecopa	150	119	1	8	2	0	1	19	8
Trona	18	18	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Valley Wells	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
West Bishop	2,607	2,373	10	28	45	1	72	78	261
Wilkerson	563	524	0	13	5	1	5	15	53
Other unincorporated areas	Total Population	White	African American	Native American	Asian	Pacific Islander	other races	two or more races	Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
All others not CDPs (combined)	3,029	1,597	16	1,147	28	6	108	127	440

2000

At the 2000 census,^[31] there were 17,945 people, 7,703 households and 4,937 families residing in the county. The population density was 2 per square mile (0.77/km²). There were 9,042 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile (0.39/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 80.1% White, 0.2% Black or African American, 10.0% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 4.6% from other races, and 4.2% from two or more races. 12.6% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 16.4% were of German, 12.2% English, 10.6% Irish and 5.0% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 89.2% spoke English and 9.3% Spanish as their first language.

There were 7,703 households, of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.88.

24.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males.

The median household income was $35,006 and the median family income was $44,970. Males had a median income of $37,270 versus $25,549 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,639. About 9.3% of families and 12.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.0% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Voter registration

Population and registered voters
Total population[22]	18,457
Registered voters[32][note 3]	9,922	53.8%
Democratic[32]	3,066	30.9%
Republican[32]	4,271	43.0%
Democratic–Republican spread[32]	-1,205	-12.1%
American Independent[32]	414	4.2%
Green[32]	88	0.9%
Libertarian[32]	79	0.8%
Peace and Freedom[32]	29	0.3%
Americans Elect[32]	0	0.0%
Other[32]	46	0.5%
No party preference[32]	1,929	19.4%

Cities by population and voter registration

Cities by population and voter registration
City	Population[22]	Registered voters[32] [note 3]	Democratic[32]	Republican[32]	D–R spread[32]	Other[32]	No party preference[32]
Bishop	3,839	42.9%	31.4%	40.3%	-8.9%	10.4%	21.7%

Overview

Inyo has historically been a strongly Republican county in Presidential and congressional elections. From 1944 to 2016, the only Democrat to win the county (and the last to win a majority of its vote) was Lyndon Johnson in 1964. However, the county shifted decisively leftward in 2020, narrowly supporting Joe Biden over Donald Trump. As a result, it became one of only two counties that previously voted for Trump by double digits in 2016 to flip to the Democrats, the other being Talbot County, Maryland. Inyo is still a reliably Republican county down-ballot; it most recently voted Republican in the 2022 gubernatorial election.

United States presidential election results for Inyo County, California^[33]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	4,620	48.71%	4,634	48.86%	230	2.43%
2016	4,248	51.94%	3,155	38.57%	776	9.49%
2012	4,340	54.01%	3,422	42.58%	274	3.41%
2008	4,523	52.88%	3,743	43.76%	288	3.37%
2004	5,091	59.09%	3,350	38.88%	175	2.03%
2000	4,713	60.31%	2,652	33.93%	450	5.76%
1996	3,924	51.84%	2,601	34.36%	1,044	13.79%
1992	3,689	43.58%	2,695	31.84%	2,080	24.57%
1988	5,042	64.34%	2,653	33.85%	142	1.81%
1984	5,863	70.32%	2,360	28.30%	115	1.38%
1980	5,201	64.79%	2,080	25.91%	746	9.29%
1976	3,905	58.23%	2,635	39.29%	166	2.48%
1972	4,873	68.07%	2,006	28.02%	280	3.91%
1968	3,641	54.45%	2,314	34.60%	732	10.95%
1964	2,751	46.51%	3,161	53.44%	3	0.05%
1960	2,962	54.65%	2,443	45.07%	15	0.28%
1956	3,524	66.19%	1,782	33.47%	18	0.34%
1952	3,819	68.87%	1,698	30.62%	28	0.50%
1948	2,135	55.79%	1,539	40.21%	153	4.00%
1944	1,699	50.64%	1,647	49.09%	9	0.27%
1940	1,483	44.53%	1,820	54.65%	27	0.81%
1936	912	36.47%	1,560	62.38%	29	1.16%
1932	698	30.91%	1,459	64.61%	101	4.47%
1928	1,206	57.37%	861	40.96%	35	1.67%
1924	950	47.52%	256	12.81%	793	39.67%
1920	1,195	57.20%	682	32.65%	212	10.15%
1916	846	41.96%	966	47.92%	204	10.12%
1912	8	0.49%	806	49.54%	813	49.97%
1908	583	40.94%	618	43.40%	223	15.66%
1904	452	55.73%	231	28.48%	128	15.78%
1900	396	42.35%	505	54.01%	34	3.64%
1896	286	34.01%	532	63.26%	23	2.73%
1892	409	51.13%	266	33.25%	125	15.63%
1888	437	58.66%	273	36.64%	35	4.70%
1884	345	53.41%	283	43.81%	18	2.79%
1880	321	53.95%	274	46.05%	0	0.00%

In the California State Legislature, Inyo County is in the 4th Senate District, represented by Democrat Marie Alvarado-Gil,^[34] and the 8th Assembly District, represented by Republican Jim Patterson.^[35]

The county is in California's 3rd congressional district, represented by Republican Kevin Kiley.^[36]

On November 4, 2008, Inyo County voted 60.6% for Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.^[37]

Crime

The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.

Population and crime rates
Population[22]	18,457
Violent crime[38]	80	4.33
Homicide[38]	2	0.11
Forcible rape[38]	11	0.60
Robbery[38]	7	0.38
Aggravated assault[38]	60	3.25
Property crime[38]	154	8.34
Burglary[38]	75	4.06
Larceny-theft[38][note 4]	177	9.59
Motor vehicle theft[38]	18	0.98
Arson[38]	1	0.05

Cities by population and crime rates

Cities by population and crime rates
City	Population[39]	Violent crimes[39]	Violent crime rate per 1,000 persons	Property crimes[39]	Property crime rate per 1,000 persons
Bishop	3,900	16	4.10	137	35.13

County Sheriffs

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• W. A. Greenly (Mar 22, 1866- November 7, 1867)
• William A. Moore (Nov 7, 1867- November 7, 1875)
• Thomas Passmore (Nov 7, 1875- February 10, 1878)- Killed On Duty
• William A. Moore (Feb 10, 1878- July 4, 1879) - Killed On Duty
• Stephen G. Gregg (Jul 4, 1879- November 7, 1888)
• Fred Charles Scott (Nov 7, 1888- November 7, 1896)
• Charles Albert Collins ( Nov 7, 1896- November 7, 1916)
• Boone Newett (Nov 7, 1916- November 7, 1918)
• Frank Logan (Nov 7, 1918- November 7, 1924)
• Charles Albert Collins (7 Nov 1924-7 Nov 1926)
• Tom Hutchinson (Nov 7, 1926- November 7, 1934)
• Emmett L. Shay (Nov 7, 1934- November 7, 1942)
• Charles P. Cline (Nov 7, 1942- November 7, 1954)
• Merrill Howard (Nov 7, 1954- November 7, 1960)
• Merrill Franklin Culbertson (Nov 7, 1960- November 7, 1962)
• Merrill L. Curtis (Nov 7, 1962- November 7, 1970)
• Floyd Barton (Nov 7, 1970- November 7, 1982)
• Floyd Tidwell (Nov 7, 1982- November 7, 1984)
• Don Dorsey (Nov 7, 1984- November 7, 1996)
• Dan Lucas ( Nov 7, 1996- November 7, 2006)
• William R. "Bill " Lutze (7 Nov 2006–2018)

Stephanie J. Rennie (Jan 3, 2023 - Current)

Education

School districts in Inyo County are:

• Big Pine Unified School District
• Bishop Unified School District
• Bishop Union High School District
• Bishop Union Elementary School District
• Death Valley Unified School District
• Lone Pine Unified School District
• Owens Valley Unified School District
• Round Valley School District

Deep Springs College is a two-year alternative education college in Deep Springs Valley.

Higher education in Inyo County is provided by the Kern Community College District.

Notable locations

• Mushroom Rock
• Mount Whitney
• Death Valley National Park
• Badwater Basin
• Lake Manly
• Furnace Creek, California (Hottest air temperature ever recorded here in 1913 at 134.6 °F (57.0 °C). In July 1972, a ground temperature of 201 °F (94 °C) was measured in Furnace Creek. This may be the highest natural ground surface temperature ever recorded.)

Transportation

In the 1920s, automobile clubs and nearby towns started to lobby for trans-Sierra highways over Piute Pass^[40] and other locations. However, by end of the 1920s, the Forest Service and the Sierra Club decided that roadless wilderness in the Sierra was valuable, and fought the proposal. The Piute Pass proposal faded out by the early 1930s, with the Forest Service proposing a route over Minaret Summit in 1933.^[40] The Minaret Summit route was lobbied against by California's Governor Ronald Reagan in 1972. The expansion of the John Muir and Ansel Adams Wildernesses in the 1980s sealed off the Minaret Summit route.^[40]

A trans-Sierra route between Porterville and Lone Pine was proposed by local businessmen in 1923.^[41] Eventually, a circuitous route across the Sierra was built across the only trans-Sierra route south of Yosemite: Sherman Pass by 1976.^[42] That route is Forest Route 22S05 to the west, and Kennedy Meadow Road (County Route J41) and 9-Mile Canyon Road to the east.

Major highways

• U.S. Route 6
• U.S. Route 395
• State Route 127
• State Route 136
• State Route 168
• State Route 178
• State Route 190

Public transportation

Eastern Sierra Transit Authority operates intercity bus service along US 395, as well as local services in Bishop. Service extends south to Lancaster (Los Angeles County) and north to Reno, Nevada.^[43]

Airports

Bishop Airport, Independence Airport, Lone Pine Airport and Shoshone Airport are general aviation airports located near their respective cities. Stovepipe Wells Airport and Furnace Creek Airport are located in Death Valley National Park.

Communities

Cities

• Bishop

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

Source:^[44]

• Alabama Hills
• Charleston
• Chicago Valley
• Coso_Junction
• Death Valley Junction
• Deep Springs
• Dunmovin
• Haiwee
• Laws
• Panamint Springs
• Sandy Valley
• Stewart Valley

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Inyo County.^[45]

† county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Municipal type	Population (2010 Census)
1	Bishop	City	3,879
2	Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek	CDP	2,645
3	West Bishop	CDP	2,607
4	Lone Pine	CDP	2,035
5	Big Pine	CDP	1,756
6	Bishop Reservation[46]	AIAN	1,588
7	† Independence	CDP	669
8	Wilkerson	CDP	563
9	Big Pine Reservation[47]	AIAN	499
10	Round Valley	CDP	435
11	Mesa	CDP	251
12	Lone Pine Reservation[48]	AIAN	212
13	Olancha	CDP	192
14	Tecopa	CDP	150
15	Fort Independence Reservation[49]	AIAN	93
16	Cartago	CDP	92
17	Keeler	CDP	66
18	Homewood Canyon	CDP	44
19	Darwin	CDP	43
20	Shoshone	CDP	31
t-21	Furnace Creek	CDP	24
t-21	Timbi-Sha Shoshone Reservation[50]	AIAN	24
22	Trona	CDP	18
23	Pearsonville	CDP	17
24	Valley Wells	CDP	0 (permanent)

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Inyo County, California

Notes

References

External links

• Inyo County Tourism website
• Eastern California Museum