open encyclopedia * Article Search: * *
*
*

Fresno, California

From open-encyclopedia.com - the free encyclopedia.

Fresno is the county seat of Fresno County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 427,652. 2003 estimates by the Census Bureau approximate a city population of 451,455 and a metropolitan area of 983,788. Fresno is the sixth-largest city in California and the largest inland city in the state. It is located at 36°47' North, 119°48' West, in California's Central Valley. Its zip code is 937xx. It is also one of the largest cities in the United States that is not directly served by an Interstate highway.

Fresno is a Spanish word for ash tree. See Fresno for other places of the same name.

The "Fresno Municipal Sanitary Landfill" was the first modern landfill in the United States, and incorporated several important innovations to waste disposal, including trenching, compacting, and the daily covering of trash with dirt. It was opened in 1937 and closed in 1987. It is now a National Historic Landmark.

Contents

Government

Alan Autry was elected Mayor of Fresno in November, 2000. His first term is from January, 2001 to January, 2005. He was re-elected on March 2, 2004 with over 72 percent of the vote. His second term will be from January, 2005 to January, 2009.

The City Council consists of seven members elected by district.

Geography

Fresno is located at 36°46'54" North, 119°47'32" West (36.781549, -119.792113)1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 271.4 km² (104.8 mi²). 270.3 km² (104.4 mi²) of it is land and 1.1 km² (0.4 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.42% water.

Fresno is about 50 miles south of Yosemite National Park. It is the closest major city to the park. Because it sits at the junction of Highways 41 and 99 (41 is the park's southern access road, and 99 branches east from Interstate 5 to serve the major population centers of the San Joaquin Valley), the city is a major gateway for visitors coming from Los Angeles.

Demographics

As of the census2 of 2000, there are 427,652 people, 140,079 households, and 97,915 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,582.2/km² (4,097.7/mi²). There are 149,025 housing units at an average density of 551.3/km² (1,427.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 50.17% White, 8.36% Black or African American, 1.58% Native American, 11.23% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 23.36% from other races, and 5.16% from two or more races. 39.87% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 140,079 households out of which 40.4% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% are married couples living together, 17.6% have a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% are non-families. 23.3% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.99 and the average family size is 3.57.

In the city the population is spread out with 32.9% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 17.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 28 years. For every 100 females there are 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 93.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $32,236, and the median income for a family is $35,892. Males have a median income of $32,279 versus $26,551 for females. The per capita income for the city is $15,010. 26.2% of the population and 20.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 36.5% of those under the age of 18 and 10.7% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Education

Fresno is the location of three colleges: California State University, Fresno (Fresno State); Fresno Pacific University, a Christian private college; and Fresno City College, a 2-year community college. Fresno State's athletic teams are known as the Bulldogs.

Other accredited institutions include the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary [1] and the Fresno campus of Alliant International University [2].

Professional Sports

Fresno has no major-league level professional sports teams, but it does have several minor league sports franchises.

Airports

Fresno has three airports. The first and most popular is Fresno Yosemite International Airport. The other two, Fresno-Chandler Downtown and Sierra Skypark, are for private flights.

External link


Counties and Largest Cities in California Flag of California
Cities: Anaheim | Bakersfield | Fremont | Fresno | Glendale | Huntington Beach | Long Beach | Los Angeles | Modesto | Oakland | Oxnard | Riverside | Sacramento | San Bernardino | San Diego | San Francisco | San Jose | Santa Ana | Stockton
Counties: Alameda | Alpine | Amador | Butte | Calaveras | Colusa | Contra Costa | Del Norte | El Dorado | Fresno | Glenn | Humboldt | Imperial | Inyo | Kern | Kings | Lake | Lassen | Los Angeles | Madera | Marin | Mariposa | Mendocino | Merced | Modoc | Mono | Monterey | Napa | Nevada | Orange | Placer | Plumas | Riverside | Sacramento | San Benito | San Bernardino | San Diego | San Francisco | San Joaquin | San Luis Obispo | San Mateo | Santa Barbara | Santa Clara | Santa Cruz | Shasta | Sierra | Siskiyou | Solano | Sonoma | Stanislaus | Sutter | Tehama | Trinity | Tulare | Tuolumne | Ventura | Yolo | Yuba |


pt:Fresno

Contribute Found an omission? You can freely contribute to this Wikipedia article. Edit Article
User Rambot (Last Contributor)     Talk Discussion     Image Image Attributions     Source GNU FDL Verbatim
Copyright © 2003-2004 Zeeshan Muhammad. All rights reserved. Legal notices. Part of the New Frontier Information Network.