
Downtown Bishop looking south along
US 395
'Bishop' is a city in
Inyo County,
California, USA. The population was 3,575 at the 2000 census. The town was named after
Bishop Creek, flowing out of the
Sierra Nevada: the creek was named after
Samuel Addison Bishop, a settler in the
Owens Valley.
Bishop is known as the "Mule Capitol of the World" and a week long festival called
Mule Days has been held since 1969 on the week of Memorial Day, celebrating the contributions of pack mules to the area. The festival attracts many tourists, primarily from the Southern California area.
Bishop is well known in the
rock climbing community. Near the city are numerous climbing spots that attract visitors from around the world.
Bishop was the home of
Galen Rowell, and his wife Barbara, before their untimely death at the
Eastern Sierra Regional Airport. Stuntman and
NASCAR driver
Stanton Barrett also calls Bishop home.
Matt Williams, former Major League Baseball 3rd baseman and slugger, was also born in Bishop.
Geography and Climate
Bishop lies at the northern end of the
Owens Valley.
It is on
U.S. Highway 395, the main north-south artery through the Owens Valley, connecting the
Inland Empire to
Reno, Nevada. US 395 also connects Bishop to
Los Angeles via
State Route 14 through
Palmdale. Bishop is also the western terminus of
U.S. Highway 6. The
Paiute tribe controls land just west of the town.
Bishop is immediately to the east of the
Sierra Nevada. Numerous peaks are within a short distance of Bishop, including
Mount Humphreys (13,986'), the tallest peak in the region.
White Mountain Peak (14,242') is visible far to the northeast.
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.5
km² (1.8
mi²), all land.
| Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures |
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rec High °F | 77 | 81 | 87 | 93 | 102 | 109 | 110 | 107 | 112 | 97 | 84 | 78 |
|---|
| Norm High °F | 53.6 | 58.4 | 64.3 | 72.1 | 81.2 | 91.5 | 97.9 | 95.8 | 87.6 | 76 | 62.4 | 54.3 |
|---|
| Norm Low °F | 22.4 | 26.4 | 31 | 36 | 43.7 | 50.7 | 55.7 | 53.7 | 46.9 | 37.1 | 27.1 | 21.6 |
|---|
| Rec Low °F | -7 | -2 | 9 | 15 | 25 | 29 | 34 | 37 | 26 | 16 | 5 | -8 |
|---|
| Precip (in) | 0.88 | 0.97 | 0.62 | 0.24 | 0.26 | 0.21 | 0.17 | 0.13 | 0.28 | 0.2 | 0.44 | 0.62 |
|---|
| ''Source: USTravelWeather.com [1]'' |
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 3,575 people, 1,684 households, and 831 families residing in the city. The
population density was 788.8/km² (2,042.5/mi²). There were 1,867 housing units at an average density of 411.9/km² (1,066.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.62%
White, 0.20%
Black or
African American, 2.04%
Native American, 1.26%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 6.49% from
other races, and 5.37% from two or more races. 17.37% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There were 1,684 households out of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.5% were
married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.6% were non-families. 44.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,338, and the median income for a family was $34,423. Males had a median income of $23,433 versus $24,545 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $17,660. About 14.0% of families and 16.3% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 23.0% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.
Image gallery
External links
★
Bishop Community/Information Webpage
★