Del Norte County is a county located at the far northwest corner of the U.S. state of California, along the Pacific Ocean adjacent to the Oregon border. Its population is 27,743 as of the 2020 census, down from 28,610 from the 2010 census. The county seat and only incorporated city is Crescent City. Del Norte was pioneered and populated by Azorean Portuguese settlers and dairy farmers, which may account for the local pronunciation of the county name. Locals pronounce the county name as Del Nort, not Del Nor-teh as would be expected in Spanish.
Crescent City is the only incorporated city in Del Norte County, California; it is also the county seat. Named for the crescent-shaped stretch of sandy beach south of the city, Crescent City had a total population of 6,673 in the 2020 census, down from 7,643 in the 2010 census.
College of the Redwoods (CR) is a public community college with its main campus south of Eureka, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges System and serves three counties. It has two branch campuses, as well as three additional sites. It is one of twelve community colleges in California that offer on-campus housing for students.
Yurok is an Algic language. It is the traditional language of the Yurok people of Del Norte County and Humboldt County on the far north coast of California, most of whom now speak English. The last known native speaker, Archie Thompson, died in 2013. As of 2012, Yurok language classes were taught to high school students, and other revitalization efforts were expected to increase the population of speakers.
Del Mar High School (DMHS) is a four-year, public secondary school established in 1959 in San Jose, California. It is part of the Campbell Union High School District, (CUHSD), the other schools in which are Branham, Leigh, Prospect, and Westmont. Most of Del Mar’s students come from the Campbell Union School District’s Monroe Middle School. The school serves both San Jose and Campbell, in addition to some unincorporated pockets of Santa Clara County. In 2016, Del Mar became an International Baccalaureate school. The first class who started the diploma, was the class of 2018.
The Tolowa language is a member of the Pacific Coast subgroup of the Athabaskan language family. Together with three other closely related languages it forms a distinctive Oregon Athabaskan cluster within the subgroup.
The Tolowa people or Taa-laa-wa Dee-ni’ are a Native American people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethno-linguistic group. Two rancherías still reside in their traditional territory in northwestern California. Those removed to the Siletz Reservation in Oregon are located there.
Del Norte High School is a public high school in the northeast heights of Albuquerque, New Mexico, established in 1964. The school is situated on a 45.2-acre (183,000 m2) campus, and has an enrollment of 1,376 students.
Loren Me’-lash-ne Bommelyn is a tradition bearer for the Tolowa tribe. He has dedicated himself to preserving the traditional songs, language, and basketry. He is the foremost ceremonial leader of the tribe, and its most prolific basketweaver. Bommelyn is an enrolled member of the federally recognized Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation and was elected as their tribal chairperson.
Buck James Pierce is the offensive coordinator of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and a former professional quarterback who played nine seasons for the BC Lions and Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He spent the first five years of his career with the Lions before signing with the Blue Bombers for the 2010 CFL season. During the 2013 CFL season, he rejoined the Lions when the Blue Bombers traded him for Akeem Foster. He played in two Grey Cup games, winning a championship in 2006 and also won as part of the coaching staff with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2019 and 2021. He played college football at New Mexico State from 2001–2004, starting at quarterback for most of his senior year.
Gasquet is an unincorporated community in Del Norte County, California, United States, 22 mi (35 km) south of the Oregon border and 18 miles (29 km) northeast of Crescent City. The name is in honor of Horace Gasquet, who was the owner of the gold mines, hotel, railway, bank and post office, as well as the founder of Crescent City and Happy Camp. A post office operated at Gasquet from 1879 to 1902 and from 1949 to present. Gasquet is located in the Smith River National Recreation Area.
Lake Earl is a lagoon on the extreme northern California coast, just south of the Oregon border. A navigable body of water, it lies partly within Tolowa Dunes State Park and partly within Lake Earl Wildlife Area in Del Norte County, California and the third-most important seabird area on the West Coast after the Farallons and the Channel Islands.
Del Norte High School is a public high school located in and primarily serving the 4S Ranch and Del Sur communities of San Diego, California. It is part of the Poway Unified School District (PUSD).
Fort Dick is a small unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in rural Del Norte County, California. Fort Dick is around five miles north of Crescent City, California, and around 15 mi (24 km) south of the California–Oregon state line. Its population is 912 as of the 2020 census, up from 588 from the 2010 census. It is located on the U.S. Route 101 corridor on the Redwood Coast. A post office was set up in 1917.
Half Moon Bay High School is an American public high school located in Half Moon Bay, in San Mateo County, California. It is part of the Cabrillo Unified School District.
The Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation, previously known as Smith River Rancheria, is a federally recognized tribe of Tolowa people in Del Norte County, California. They are Athabascan people, distantly related to northern Athabascans of eastern Alaska and western Canada, as well as the Apache and Navajo peoples of the American Southwest.
The Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria is a federally recognized tribe with members who are descendants of Chetco, Hupa, Karuk, Tolowa, Wiyot, and Yurok people in Humboldt County, California. As of the 2010 Census the population was 132.
Eunice Xash-wee-tes-na Henry Bommelyn was an American Tolowa cultural advocate, Tolowa language proponent, and tribal historian. Bommelyn was the last living person to speak Tolowa as a native first language; Bommelyn led the effort to revive fluency and teach the language. She uncovered and recorded the genealogy of the Tolowa from the present to the 1790s. Her genealogical records are used to determine the membership and enrollment of the Smith River Rancheria, the federally recognized tribe of Tolowa people in Del Norte County, California. Bommelyn was the mother of Loren Bommelyn, a ceremonial leader and basket weaver.
Archie Thompson was an American Yurok elder. The Yurok are the largest Native American tribe in the U.S. state of California, with approximately 6,000 members.
Del Norte Unified School District is a public school district serving Del Norte County, California, United States. It has an enrollment of 3,679 students across eleven schools: eight elementary schools, a middle school, and two high schools. The superintendent is Jeff Harris. Del Norte High School and Crescent Elk Middle School, within the district, are among the few schools that provide instruction in the Yurok language.
