Coalinga, California, United States of America

Coalinga is a city located in Fresno County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 11,668. On May 2 1983, the town was heavily damaged by a 6.5 magnitude earthquake.

Coalinga Geography

Coalinga is located at 36°8'27" North, 120°21'30" West (36.140734, -120.358301).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.4 km² (6.0 mi²). 15.4 km² (5.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.34% water.

Coalinga Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 11,668 people, 3,515 households, and 2,632 families residing in the city. The population density is 758.4/km² (1,963.4/mi²). There are 3,848 housing units at an average density of 250.1/km² (647.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 57.31% White, 2.37% Black or African American, 1.52% Native American, 1.65% Asian, 0.24% Pacific Islander, 32.30% from other races, and 4.61% from two or more races. 49.80% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 3,515 households out of which 47.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.2% are married couples living together, 13.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 25.1% are non-families. 20.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.2% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.09 and the average family size is 3.59.

In the city the population is spread out with 33.2% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 15.8% from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 29 years. For every 100 females there are 108.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 109.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $38,133, and the median income for a family is $41,208. Males have a median income of $41,129 versus $29,088 for females. The per capita income for the city is $14,425. 20.3% of the population and 16.4% of families are below the poverty line. 26.0% of those under the age of 18 and 7.9% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Name

In the early years of railroading, before the extensive development of oil production in California, the steam locomotives were powered by the burning of coal obtained from the northern foothills of Mount Diablo. Various stations for the provision of water and coal were stationed along the routes. On this particular route the stations were named alphabetically Coaling A, Coaling B, etc. Of the villages around these stations, only Coaling A retained its name as the exotic sounding Coalinga (pronounced coa-ling-ga, the first 'g' soft, the second hard), which could pass as Nahuatl for "place of snakes".

Claims to Fame

Coalinga made national news in 1983 as the site of an earthquake that destroyed more than 800 homes and other buildings, and was felt as far away as Los Angeles and western Nevada. That temblor is known as the Coalinga Earthquake.

Heavy-metal band faxedhead originated in Coalinga, as well as punk band George and the Pirates. The current Los Angeles-based indie/pop band, Coalinga, took its name from the town after lead singer, Jordan Hudock, claimed to have seen a UFO fly over his car a mile outside the town. The city is also the birthplace of major league ballplayer Frenchy Bordagaray.

External links

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Coalinga,_California".