Yakima County, Washington
Location in the state of Washington
Washington's location in the U.S.
Founded	January 21, 1865
Seat	Yakima
Largest city	Yakima
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	4,312 sq mi (11,168 km²) 4,296 sq mi (11,127 km²) 15 sq mi (39 km²), 0.63%
PopulationEst.  - (2011)  - Density	247,141 56/sq mi (21.8/km²)
Time zone	Pacific: UTC-8/-7
Website	www.yakimacounty.us

Yakima County is the second most extensive county in the U.S. state of Washington. It is named after the Yakama tribe of Native Americans. In the 2010 census, its population was 243,231.^[1] The county seat is Yakima, which is also its largest city.

The Yakama Indian Reservation, the 15th largest reservation in America, covers 1,573 mi² (4,074 km²),^[2] comprising 36% of the county's total area. Its population was 31,799 in 2000, and its largest city is Toppenish.

Yakima County was formed out of Ferguson County on January 21, 1865. Ferguson County, no longer in existence, had been created from Walla Walla County on January 23, 1863.^[3]

Geography [edit]

Orchards near Selah

Mount Adams, highest point in Yakima County

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,312 square miles (11,170 km²), of which 4,296 square miles (11,130 km²) is land and 15 square miles (39 km²) (0.36%) is water. Yakima County is the second largest county in Washington by area. Yakima County is also widely known for being one of the most difficult places on earth to predict weather, because of the mountains that surround it. The total area covered by the county is larger than the states of Delaware and Rhode Island combined.^[4] The highest point in the county is Mount Adams, which is the second tallest peak in Washington and the third tallest in the entire Cascade Range.

Geographic features [edit]

Mountain Goats near the glaciers of Goat Rocks Wilderness

• Mount Adams, 12,281 feet (3,743 m)
• Gilbert Peak, 8,184 feet (2,494 m)
• Mount Aix, 7,766 feet (2,367 m)
• Tieton Peak, 7,724 feet (2,354 m)
• Cascade Mountains
• Rattlesnake Hills
• Horse Heaven Hills

Major rivers [edit]

• Yakima River
• Columbia River
• Naches River
• Tieton River
• Bumping River
• American River

National protected areas [edit]

Major roads [edit]

• Interstate 82
• U.S. Route 12
• U.S. Route 97

Adjacent counties [edit]

Wines regions [edit]

Washington ranks second in the United States in the production of wine, behind only California.^[5] The Yakima Valley AVA was established in 1983 in the state's oldest agricultural region. It is Washington's third largest officially designated American Viticultural Area (AVA), and is responsible for more than 40% of the state's entire wine production.

Located within the larger Columbia Valley AVA, the Yakima Valley AVA is sub-divided into the three smaller wine regions, each with its own distinctive growing conditions. They are known as Red Mountain AVA, Snipes Mountain AVA, and Rattlesnake Hills AVA.^[6] Of the viticultural region's 665,000 acres (269,000 ha), nearly 11,120 acres (4,500 ha) were planted in 2008.^[5]

Demographics [edit]

As of the census^[7] of 2000, there were 222,581 people, 73,993 households, and 54,606 families residing in the county. The population density was 52 people per square mile (20/km²). There were 79,174 housing units at an average density of 18 per square mile (7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 65.60% White, 0.97% Black or African American, 4.48% Native American, 0.95% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 24.43% from other races, and 3.48% from two or more races. 35.90% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 13.2% were of German, 6.4% United States or American, 5.9% English and 5.4% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 73,993 households out of which 39.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.2% were non-families. 21.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 3.44.

In the county, the population was spread out with 31.8% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $34,828, and the median income for a family was $39,746. Males had a median income of $31,620 versus $24,541 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,606. About 14.8% of families and 19.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.2% of those under age 18 and 11.3% of those age 65 or over.

Census-recognized communities [edit]

Other communities [edit]

Historical communities [edit]

Sources: ^[8][9]

See also [edit]

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Yakima County, Washington

Footnotes [edit]

Further reading [edit]

• William Denison Lyman, History of the Yakima Valley, Washington: Comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties. In Two Volumes. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1919. Volume 1 | Volume 2

External links [edit]

• Yakima County, official county site
• Yakima Valley Visitors Bureau
• Washington Wine Commission

	Pierce County	Kittitas County	Grant County
	Lewis County		Benton County
		Yakima County, Washington
	Skamania County	Klickitat County

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Yakima County

v t e Municipalities and communities of Yakima County, Washington, United States County seat: Yakima Cities Grandview Granger Mabton Moxee Selah Sunnyside Tieton Toppenish Union Gap Wapato Yakima Zillah Towns Harrah Naches CDPs Ahtanum Buena Cliffdell Cowiche Donald Eschbach Gleed Nile Outlook Parker Satus Summitview Tampico Terrace Heights White Swan Other unincorporated communities Artesian Ashue Birchfield Blackrock Brownstown Byron Emerald Farron Flint Fruitvale Givens Corner Goose Prairie Gromore Holtzinger Liberty Lichty Midvale Nass Sawyer Venner Weikel Wenas Wiley City Willy Dick Crossing Yethonat Indian reservation Yakama Indian Reservation‡ Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

v t e  State of Washington Olympia (capital) Topics State government Cities Towns Congressional delegation City governments Governors History Geography People Legislative initiatives Popular initiatives Legislature Music Parks Highways Symbols Visitor attractions Society Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Politics Regions Western Kitsap Peninsula Long Beach Peninsula Olympic Peninsula Puget Sound San Juan Islands Skagit Valley Eastern/Inland Central Washington Columbia Plateau Methow Valley Okanogan Country Palouse Yakima Valley Shared Cascade Range Columbia Gorge Columbia River Largest cities Seattle Spokane Tacoma Vancouver Bellevue Kent Everett Renton Yakima Federal Way Spokane Valley Bellingham Kennewick Auburn Pasco Marysville Lakewood Redmond Shoreline Kirkland Richland Olympia Sammamish Lacey Edmonds Urban areas Greater Omak Metropolitan areas Greater Seattle Greater Spokane Tri-Cities Wenatchee metropolitan area Greater Portland and Vancouver Counties Adams Asotin Benton Chelan Clallam Clark Columbia Cowlitz Douglas Ferry Franklin Garfield Grant Grays Harbor Island Jefferson King Kitsap Kittitas Klickitat Lewis Lincoln Mason Okanogan Pacific Pend Oreille Pierce San Juan Skagit Skamania Snohomish Spokane Stevens Thurston Wahkiakum Walla Walla Whatcom Whitman Yakima Legislative Districts 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32nd 33rd 34th 35th 36th 37th 38th 39th 40th 41st 42nd 43rd 44th 45th 46th 47th 48th 49th

Coordinates: 46°28′N 120°44′W / 46.46°N 120.74°W / 46.46; -120.74