Oroville (formerly,
Ophir City) is the
county seatA county seat is a term for an administrative center for a county or civil parish, primarily used in the United States. In the Northeast United States, the statutory term often is shire town, but colloquially county seat is the term in use there...
of
Butte County, CaliforniaButte County is a county located in the Central Valley north of the state capital, Sacramento. As of the 2000 census, it had a population of 203,171. 2005 estimates place this at 214,185. The county seat is Oroville. Butte County is the "Land of Natural Wealth and Beauty."Butte County is watered by...
. The
populationIn biology, a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular species; in sociology, a collection of human beings. Individuals within a population share a factor may be reduced by statistical means, but such a generalization may be too vague to imply anything...
was 13,004 at the 2000 census, and it is one of the faster growing towns in California, with an 11.9% increase in population from 2000 to June 2007. The national average population increase is less than one percent. The
Berry Creek Rancheria of Maidu Indians of CaliforniaThe Berry Creek Rancheria of Tyme Maidu Indians are a Native American people inhabiting a northeastern part California, south of Lassen Peak.They are a federally recognized Maidu tribe, headquartered in Oroville in Butte County. Their reservation is 65 acres, located south of Oroville, and within a...
is headquartered here.
History
Oroville is situated on the banks of the
Feather RiverThe Feather River is a principal tributary of the Sacramento River, in length, in Northern California in the United States. It drains part of the northern Sierra Nevada the extreme southern Cascades, and a small portion of the middle of the Sacramento Valley. The river has a rich history of gold...
where it flows out of the Sierra Nevada onto the flat floor of the
California Central ValleyThe Central Valley is a large, flat valley that dominates the central portion of the U.S. state of California. It is home to many of California's most productive agricultural efforts....
. It was established as the head of navigation on the Feather River to supply gold miners during the
California Gold RushThe California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was discovered by James Wilson Marshall at Sutter's Mill, in Coloma, California. News of the discovery soon spread, resulting in some 300,000 men, women, and children coming to California from the rest of the United States and...
.
The town was originally called Ophir City; the name was changed to Oroville when the first post office opened in 1854.
Gold found at Bidwell Bar, one of the first gold mining sites in California, brought thousands of prospectors to the Oroville area seeking riches. Now under the enormous
Lake OrovilleLake Oroville is a large man-made reservoir created by Oroville Dam in central Northern California in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.It is located east of the city of Oroville, California in Butte County...
, Bidwell Bar is memorialized by the
Bidwell Bar BridgeThe Bidwell Bar Bridge, in Oroville, California, refers to two suspension bridges which cross different parts of Lake Oroville. The original Bidwell Bar Bridge was the first steel suspension bridge in California. The $35,000, 240-foot long original was completed in December 1855, and was built of...
, an original remnant from the area and the first
suspension bridgeA suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. While modern bridges of this type date from the early 19th century, earlier bridges without vertical suspenders date from the 7th Century in Central America.This type of bridge has...
in California (
California Historical LandmarkCalifornia Historical Landmarks are buildings, structures, sites, or places in the state of California that have been determined to have statewide historical significance by meeting at least one of the criteria listed below:...
#314). In the early 20th century the
Western Pacific RailroadThe Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad . It was the second railroad company to use this name...
completed construction of the all-weather Feather River Canyon route through the Sierra Nevadas giving it the nickname of "The Feather River Route". Oroville would serve as an important stop for the famous
California ZephyrThe California Zephyr is a 2,438-mile long passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the Midwestern and Western United States....
during its 20 year run. In 1983, this became a part of the
Union Pacific RailroadThe Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest and oldest operating railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
as their Feather River Canyon Subdivision. A major highway,
State Route 70State Route 70 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. Connecting Sacramento with U.S. Route 395 near Beckwourth Pass via the Feather River Canyon, it was formerly known as U.S. Route 40 Alternate, crossing the Sierra Nevada at a lower elevation than Donner Pass on U.S. Route 40...
, roughly parallels the railroad line through the canyon.
The
Chinese TempleThe Oroville Chinese Temple was built in 1863 as a community center for the substantial Chinese population of Oroville, California. It was originally composed of three parts: the Chan Room for Confucian meditation, the Moon Temple, for Buddhist rites, and the Council Room, for community functions...
(CHL #770 and listed on the
National Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
is another monument to Oroville's storied past. Chinese laborers from the pioneer era established the Temple as a place of worship for followers of
Chinese Popular ReligionChinese folk religion is a collective label given to various folkloric beliefs that draws heavily from Chinese mythology. It comprises the religion practiced in much of China for thousands of years which included ancestor worship and drew heavily upon concepts and beings within Chinese mythology...
and the three major Chinese religions:
TaoismDaoism refers to a variety of related philosophical and religious traditions and concepts that have influenced East Asia for over two millennia and the West for over two centuries. The word 道, Tao , means "path" or "way", although in Chinese folk religion and philosophy it has taken on more...
,
BuddhismBuddhism, as traditionally conceived, is a path of salvation attained through insight into the ultimate nature of reality. It encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha...
, and
ConfucianismConfucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . It is a complex system of moral, social, political, philosophical, and quasi-religious thought that has had tremendous influence on the culture and history of East Asia...
. The Chinese Temple and Garden, as it is now called, has an extensive collection of artifacts and a serene garden to enjoy.
IshiIshi was the pseudonym of the last member of the Yahi, in turn the last surviving group of the Yana people of California. Ishi is believed to be the last Native American in Northern California to have lived most of his life completely outside the European American culture...
, Oroville's most famous resident, was the last of the Yahi Indians and is considered the last "Stone Age" Indian to come out of the wilderness and into western civilization. When he appeared in Oroville around 1911, he was immediately thrust into the national spotlight. The Visitor's Center at Lake Oroville has a thorough exhibit and documentary film on Ishi and his life in society.
Archaeological finds place the northwestern border for the prehistoric
Martis peopleThe Martis were a group of Native Americans who lived in Northern California on both the eastern and western sides of the Sierra Nevada during the period of 3,000 BC to 500 AD. Evidence of Martis habitation has been found from Carson River/Reno, Nevada in the east to Auburn, California and...
in the Oroville area.
- Train Tunnel Disaster October 7, 1965: http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=55145174707&h=aFLu7&u=7HBLw
- 5.7 magnitude earthquake: August 1, 1975: http://www.johnmartin.com/earthquakes/eqpapers/00000052.htm
- In the early 1970s the Movie "The Klansman", starring (among others) O.J. Simpson, was filmed in Oroville. The story took place in rural Mississippi, and at the time Oroville might have looked a bit like the old South. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071721/
- U-2 Spy Plane Crash North of Oroville on January 31, 1980: http://www.blackbirds.net/u2/u2local.html
- U-2 Spy Plane Crash in front of Oroville Mercury-Register on August 7, 1996: http://www.blackbirds.net/u2/u2local.html
Geography
Oroville is situated at the head of navigation on the
Feather RiverThe Feather River is a principal tributary of the Sacramento River, in length, in Northern California in the United States. It drains part of the northern Sierra Nevada the extreme southern Cascades, and a small portion of the middle of the Sacramento Valley. The river has a rich history of gold...
. The
Yuba RiverThe Yuba River is an important river in California and a major tributary of the Feather River, which is a tributary of the Sacramento River. The river begins as three separate forks, the north, south and middle, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The north fork begins at Yuba Pass and flows into the...
flows into the Feather River near
Marysville, CaliforniaMarysville is the county seat of Yuba County, California, United States. The population was 12,268 at the 2000 census...
and these flow together to the
Sacramento RiverThe Sacramento River is the longest river entirely within the state of California. Starting at the confluence of the South Fork and Middle Fork of the Sacramento River, near Mount Shasta in the Cascade Range mountains, the Sacramento flows south for , through the northern Central Valley of...
. Geologically, Oroville is situated at the meeting place of three provinces: the Central Valley alluvial plain to the west, the crystalline Sierra Nevadas to the SE and the volcanic Cascade Mountains to the north. It has a
Mediterranean climateA hi Mediterranean climate resembles the climate of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, which includes most of the area with this climate type worldwide...
.
The geology of the Oroville area is fascinating. Oroville sits on the eastern rim of the Great Valley, defined today by the floodplains of the Sacramento River and its tributaries. Around Oroville these sediments are dominated by thick fans of Feather River sediments, but just east of this there is a thin, N-S band of late
CretaceousThe Cretaceous , Latin language for "chalky", usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago . In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows on the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
sediments. These sit on top of the Sierran basement, which beneath eastern Oroville comprise
greenschistGreenschist - also known as greenstone - is a general field petrologic term applied to metamorphic and/or altered mafic volcanic rock. The green is due to abundant green chlorite, actinolite and epidote minerals that dominate the rock. However, basalts may remain quite black if primary pyroxene...
-facies metavolcanic rocks of
JurassicThe Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Ma to Ma, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the "Age of Reptiles". The start of the period is marked by...
age, giving way to granites of the Sierra
batholithA batholith is a large emplacement of igneous intrusive rock that forms from cooled magma deep in the earth's crust...
to the east. These are manifestations of a vigorous
island arcAn island arc is a type of archipelago formed by plate tectonics as one oceanic tectonic plate subducts under another and produces magma. Island arcs that develop along the edges of a continent may be known as a volcanic arc, though most people find the distinction of little benefit.In the...
sequence, built out over an east-dipping subduction zone of mid- to late
MesozoicThe Mesozoic Era is one of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon. The division of time into eras dates back to Giovanni Arduino, in the 18th century, although his original name for the era now called the "Mesozoic" was "Secondary" The Mesozoic Era is one of three geologic eras of the...
age. The gold veins lace this ancient arc, remobilized by Mesozoic shearing and intrusions of
igneous rockIgneous rock is one of the three main rock types . Igneous rock is formed by magma being cooled and becoming solid. They may form with or without crystallization, either below the surface as intrusive rocks or on the surface as extrusive rocks...
. The crystalline foothills are locally overlain by a
CenozoicThe Cenozoic Era The Cenozoic (also Cænozoic or Cainozoic) Era The Cenozoic (also Cænozoic or Cainozoic) Era (meaning "new life" (Greek (kainos), "new", and (zoe), "life"), is the most recent of the three classic geological eras and covers the period from 65.5 million years ago to the...
sequence of
EoceneThe Eocene epoch, lasting from 55.8 ± 0.2 to 33.9 ± 0.1 Ma , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Palaeogene period in the Cenozoic era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene epoch. The start of the...
clean beach sands overlain by
NeogeneThe Neogene is a geologic period and system starting 23.03 ± 0.05 million years ago and lasting either until today or ending 2.588 million years ago with the beginning of the Quaternary. The Neogene Period follows the Paleogene Period of the Cenozoic Era...
volcanics, including the
Diamond HeadDiamond Head is the name of a volcanic tuff cone on the Hawaiian island of Oahu and known to Hawaiians as Lēahi, most likely from lae 'browridge, promontory' plus ahi 'tuna' because the shape of the ridgeline resembles the shape of a tuna's dorsal fin...
-like profile of
Table Mountain.
Demographics
According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data. As part of the United States Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about...
, the city has a total area of 12.3 square miles (31.8 km²), of which, 12.2 square miles (31.7 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.16%) is water.
As of the
censusA "census" is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
of 2000, there were 13,004 people, 4,881 households, and 2,948 families residing in the city. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
was 1,061.4 people per square mile (409.9/km²). There were 5,419 housing units at an average density of 442.3/sq mi (170.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.23%
WhiteRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 4.03%
BlackRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or
African AmericanRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 3.93%
Native AmericanRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 6.34%
AsianRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.26%
Pacific IslanderRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 2.78% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 5.42% from two or more races. 8.25% of the population were
HispanicRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or
LatinoRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of any race.
There were 4,881 households out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.4% were
married couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged by a variety of ways, depending on the culture or demographic...
living together, 18.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.6% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.19.
In the city the population was spread out with 30.1% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $21,911, and the median income for a family was $27,666. Males had a median income of $28,587 versus $21,916 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone. Per capita income is usually reported in units of currency per year...
for the city was $12,345. About 16.2% of families and 23.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 39.3% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.
Points of Interest
- The Oroville Dam
Oroville Dam is on the Feather River above the city of Oroville in Butte County, California, United States. It creates Lake Oroville, generates electricity, and provides drinking and irrigation water for Central and Southern California...
, perhaps Oroville's most famous site, is one of the 20 largest dams in the world, the largest earth filled dam in the US, as well as the tallest dam in the US. This dam is 770 feet (235 m) tall and 6920 feet (2109 m) long, and it impounds Lake Oroville, which has a capacity of 3,500,000 acre feet (4.3 km³) of water, making it the second largest reservoir in California. This is one of the most important parts of the California State Water Project (see also the Central Valley ProjectThe Central Valley Project is a United States Bureau of Reclamation federal water project in the U.S. state of California. The project supplies irrigation and municipal water, produces hydropower, and provides flood control and recreation on its many large reservoirs...
, a Federal undertaking). Both systems move water from water-rich Northern California to water-poor Southern California. This facility is operated by the California Department of Water Resources which is undergoing contract renewal with the City of Oroville and Butte County. The state has not paid any taxes on this facility nor developed the lake for recreation as originally promised which have been a bone of contention with the local government and residents.
- The Mother Orange Tree
The Mother Orange Tree, located in Oroville, California, is the oldest of all Northern California orange trees. Originally planted in Bidwell's Bar near the Bidwell Bar Bridge, it is a Mediterranean sweet orange cultivar, and was the first rootstock brought from Mazatlán, Mexico around Cape Horn on...
, located in Oroville, California, is the oldest of all Northern California orange trees.
- Gold Country Casino is located in Oroville, California and owned by the Maidu Indian tribe. The casino has an on-location bowling alley, hotel, and housing for the Indian tribe.
- The fish hatchery located on Table Mtn Blvd just at the river. Tours for schools and individuals available.
- Riverbend Park on Montgomery street right off Hwy 70. Boat access to the river as well as fishing, disc golf, running and walking trails, river-beach, and water fountains to play in on hot days.
- Bedrock Park - swimming and fishing in the Feather River. Picnic areas. Located on the Feather River at the North end of Feather River Blvd.
- Brad Freeman Bike Trail - 41 mile bike trail running along the Feather River up to the Dam back down through the city then out to the forebay and afterbay.
Commerce and culture
Recently, as
Chico-Given name:* Diego "Chico" Corrales, lightweight boxing champion* Chico Marx, an actor and one of the Marx Brothers* Chico Buarque, Brazilian singer and writer* Chico DeBarge, an R&B singer* Chico Ejiro, Nigeria film director...
has grown as a regional commercial giant, more people have been drawn to Oroville for close shopping, and lower property prices. It has been speculated that Oroville has undergone more construction of homes in the last four years than it has in the last 30 before it. A possible reason for this could be that the skyrocketing of property values in the San Francisco Bay Area has caused
migrationHuman migration is movement by humans from one district to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups....
of new families.
Oroville is also home to a considerable amount of ethnic
HmongHmong may refer to:*Hmong people, an ethnic group in China and Southeast Asia*Hmong language, a cluster of closely related Hmong-Mien languages*Hmong customs and culture*Hmong cuisine...
. The Hmong migrated from Southeast Asia, especially from the country Laos, after the Vietnam War. The Hmong were allies of the American forces during the Vietnam War, many were recruited to help fight the Communist forces in Laos and Vietnam. Thus the Hmongs were given political asylum after the fall of Saigon to the Communist in 1975. Every year there is an annual festival during autumn which was originally a harvest festival but now called the New Year celebration. Ethnic Hmong make up 4.8% of Oroville's population, one of the larger communities in the north state. Since the arrival of the Hmong in Oroville they have enriched the community culturally. In the 1950s, a community of Romanians migrated from Europe, with 560 still there today.
Nearby Indian reservations led to a surge in the Native American population, measured at 6.7% of the population in the 2000 census, but may be as high as 12%. The largest tribal grood is the local
MaiduThe Maidu are a group of Native Americans who live in Northern California. They reside in the central Sierra Nevada, in the drainage area of the Feather and American Rivers...
. The world's largest museum of Maidu culture is located in Oroville East, at the Lookout Museum.
Oroville's location makes it ideal for cheap goods. The 2008 cost of living index in Oroville was 79.0 (low, U.S. average is 100).
- The Oroville Municipal Airport
Oroville Municipal Airport is a public airport located 3 miles southwest of the city of Oroville in Butte County, California, USA.- Facilities :Oroville Municipal Airport covers and has two runways:...
is located south of State Route 162 west of State Route 70State Route 70 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. Connecting Sacramento with U.S. Route 395 near Beckwourth Pass via the Feather River Canyon, it was formerly known as U.S. Route 40 Alternate, crossing the Sierra Nevada at a lower elevation than Donner Pass on U.S. Route 40...
at .
- The Berry Creek Rancheria (Tyme Maidu Tribe) has tribal government offices listed on Tyme Way off State Route 162 with an approximate latitude/longitude of .
- The State of California, Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development defines Oroville Hospital
Oroville Hospital is the main hospital for the city of Oroville, California. It is also a Level III trauma care center. The hospital also has a helipad, but most life-flight helicopters choose to land at nearby Chico, California hospital, Enole Medical Center...
as a General Acute Care HospitalA hospital is an institution for health care providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment, and often but not always providing for longer-term patient stays....
in Oroville with a Level III Trauma CenterA trauma center is a hospital equipped to provide comprehensive emergency medical services to patients suffering traumatic injuries. Trauma centers were established as the medical establishment realized that traumatic injuries often require complex and multi-disciplinary treatment, including...
and Basic emergency care as of 08/22/2006. The facility is located near (NAD83) latitude/longitude of 39.5048594605 degrees N, -121.542808921 degrees W.
- This Is Oroville, a novelty song recorded and released as a 45 rpm single in 1987 by local teacher Steve Herman, is generally considered to be among the more popular California 'city songs.'
Education
The Oroville Union High School District includes all of the greater Oroville area, including some neighborhoods that are not within the city limits. The District includes two traditional high schools, Las Plumas High School and
Oroville High SchoolOroville High School is located in the rural north valley at the base of the Sierra Nevada foothills, about seventy miles north of Sacramento, California. Founded in 1892, Oroville High School is the oldest high school in the district. The campus covers . Of the 46 classrooms on campus, five have...
, and Prospect High School, which functions as a continuation school. The city also has an Adult School, Oroville Adult School.
The Oroville Elementary School District includes five primary schools and two middle schools, Central Junior High School and the recently-opened Ishi Hills.
There are also many small rural school districts in the surrounding area.
Higher educational opportunities are found at Butte Community College, just north of town, and at nearby California State University, Chico.
Oroville Elementary School District
Elementary
- Bird Street Elementary
- Oakdale Heights Elementary
- Ophir Elementary
- Stanford Avenue Elementary
- Wyandotte Avenue Elementary
Middle Schools
- Central Middle School
- Ishi Hills Middle School
- Nelson Avenue Middle School
Oroville Union High School District
High Schools
- Oroville High School
Oroville High School is located in the rural north valley at the base of the Sierra Nevada foothills, about seventy miles north of Sacramento, California. Founded in 1892, Oroville High School is the oldest high school in the district. The campus covers . Of the 46 classrooms on campus, five have...
- Las Plumas High School
Las Plumas High School is located in the north valley in Oroville, California about seventy miles north of Sacramento, California. Its main sports rival is Oroville High School...
- Prospect High School
Higher education
- Oroville Adult School
- California State University, Chico
California State University, Chico is the second-oldest campus in the California State University system. It is located in Chico, California, about ninety miles north of Sacramento...
(in Chico, northwest of Oroville)
- Butte Community College
Notable residents
- Ishi
Ishi was the pseudonym of the last member of the Yahi, in turn the last surviving group of the Yana people of California. Ishi is believed to be the last Native American in Northern California to have lived most of his life completely outside the European American culture...
, last surviving member of the Yahi Native American Tribe
- Erle Stanley Gardner
Erle Stanley Gardner was an American lawyer and author of detective stories, who also published under the pseudonyms A.A. Fair, Kyle Corning, Charles M. Green, Carleton Kendrake, Charles J...
, author of the Perry Mason novels
- Chuck Yeager
Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager is a retired General in the United States Air Force and noted test pilot. He is widely considered to be the first pilot to travel faster than sound...
, the first man to break the sound barrier
- Gary Nolan, professional baseball player
- Chesley Sullenberger
Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger III is an American airline transport pilot , safety expert, and accident investigator from Danville, California, who successfully carried out the emergency ditching of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River, offshore from Manhattan, New York City, on...
, the pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 that landed on the Hudson River on January 15, 2009 is married to Lorraine (Lorri) Henry. Lorri graduated from Oroville High School in 1976.
- Bobby Chacon
Bobby Chacon in Sylmar, CA, USA, was a two time world boxing champion. Chacon is a native of California, where he campaigned most of his career. He turned professional in 1972 and won his first 19 fights, including a win against former champion Jesus Castillo...
, two time world boxing champion
- The Marcy Brothers
The Marcy Brothers was an American country music trio formed in Oroville, California in 1988 and disbanded in 1991. The trio consisted of three brothers: Kevin, Kris, and Kendal Marcy. They released two albums for divisions of Warner Music Group and charted six singles on the Billboard country charts...
, an American country music trio
- Kevin Brown, professional baseball player for the Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
in the early 1990s
- Isaac Austin
Isaac Edward "Ike" Austin is a retired American professional basketball player.A 6' 10" center from Kings River Community College and Arizona State University, Austin was selected by the Utah Jazz in the second round of the 1991 NBA Draft...
, professional basketball player
- Sean Becker
align=right|-||Sean Peter Becker is a New Zealand curler. His father, Peter Becker, was a New Zealand Men's Curling coach....
, Sprint Car racer
Media
Oroville is home to
KRBS-LP, a low power
community radioCommunity radio is a type of radio service that caters to the interests of a certain area, broadcasting content that is popular to a local audience but which may often be overlooked by commercial or mass-media broadcasters....
station owned and operated by the Bird Street Arbor Day Media Project. The station was built by numerous volunteers from Oroville and around the region in April 2002 at the second
Prometheus Radio ProjectThe Prometheus Radio Project is a non-profit advocacy and community organizing group committed to building an inclusive and representative media landscape in the United States and around the world. Their primary focus has been to create a large community of low power community radio stations and...
barnraising. KRBS broadcasts music, news, and public affairs to listeners at 107.1FM.
Superfund sites
Oroville has three designated
superfundSuperfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 , a United States federal law designed to clean up abandoned hazardous waste sites Superfund created the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry , and it provides broad...
cleanup sites, two of which have been cleaned up and delisted: a Koppers Co. wood treatment plant, a Louisiana Pacific sawmill, and the Western Pacific railyard.
The
Koppers Co.Koppers is a global chemical and materials company based in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States in an art-deco 1920's skyscraper, the Koppers Tower.-Structure:...
plant was listed on September 21 1984 for
pentachlorophenolPentachlorophenol is an organochlorine compound. First produced in the 1930s, it is marketed under many trade names. It can be found in two forms: PCP itself or as the sodium salt of PCP, which dissolves easily in water. In the past, it has been used as a herbicide, insecticide, fungicide,...
(PCP), dioxin,
furanFuran, also known as furane and furfuran, is a heterocyclic organic compound. It is typically derived by the thermal decomposition of pentose-containing materials, cellulosic solids especially pine-wood. Furan is a colorless, flammable, highly volatile liquid with a boiling point close to room...
,
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbonPolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are chemical compounds that consist of fused aromatic rings and do not contain heteroatoms or carry substituents. PAHs occur in oil, coal, and tar deposits, and are produced as byproducts of fuel burning...
(PAH), and heavy metals (
copperCopper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is rather soft and malleable and a freshly-exposed surface has a pinkish or peachy color...
,
chromiumChromium is a chemical element which has the symbol Cr and atomic number 24, first element in Group 6. It is a steely-gray, lustrous, hard metal that takes a high polish and has a high melting point. It is also odourless, tasteless, and malleable...
, and
arsenicArsenic is the chemical element that has the symbol As, atomic number 33 and atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250. Arsenic is a notoriously poisonous metalloid with many allotropic forms, including a yellow and several black and grey forms...
) contamination due to chemicals spilled on unpaved areas.
The
Louisiana-PacificLouisiana-Pacific Corporation , commonly known as "LP", is a building materials manufacturer. It was founded in 1973 and is currently based in Nashville, Tennessee. Key products are oriented strand board, molding and other trimming materials, and wood siding, and other engineered wood products.As...
sawmill was listed on June 10, 1986 for
pentachlorophenolPentachlorophenol is an organochlorine compound. First produced in the 1930s, it is marketed under many trade names. It can be found in two forms: PCP itself or as the sodium salt of PCP, which dissolves easily in water. In the past, it has been used as a herbicide, insecticide, fungicide,...
PCP, dioxin,
furanFuran, also known as furane and furfuran, is a heterocyclic organic compound. It is typically derived by the thermal decomposition of pentose-containing materials, cellulosic solids especially pine-wood. Furan is a colorless, flammable, highly volatile liquid with a boiling point close to room...
, heavy metals (
arsenicArsenic is the chemical element that has the symbol As, atomic number 33 and atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250. Arsenic is a notoriously poisonous metalloid with many allotropic forms, including a yellow and several black and grey forms...
,
boronBoron is the chemical element with atomic number 5 and the chemical symbol B. Boron is a trivalent metalloid element which occurs abundantly in the evaporite ores borax and ulexite....
, and
copperCopper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is rather soft and malleable and a freshly-exposed surface has a pinkish or peachy color...
), and
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbonPolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are chemical compounds that consist of fused aromatic rings and do not contain heteroatoms or carry substituents. PAHs occur in oil, coal, and tar deposits, and are produced as byproducts of fuel burning...
(PAH) contamination. Following remediation, the site was delisted on November 21, 1996. The sawmill was shut down in 2001.
The Western Pacific Railroad yard was listed on August 30, 1990 for
volatile organic compoundVolatile organic compounds areorganic chemical compounds that have highenough vapor pressures under normal conditions to significantlyvaporize and enter the atmosphere.Volatile organic compounds are numerous and varied...
(VOC) and heavy metals (
arsenicArsenic is the chemical element that has the symbol As, atomic number 33 and atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250. Arsenic is a notoriously poisonous metalloid with many allotropic forms, including a yellow and several black and grey forms...
,
leadLead is a main-group element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal, also considered to be one of the heavy metals. Lead has a bluish-white color when freshly cut, but tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed to air...
, and
chromiumChromium is a chemical element which has the symbol Cr and atomic number 24, first element in Group 6. It is a steely-gray, lustrous, hard metal that takes a high polish and has a high melting point. It is also odourless, tasteless, and malleable...
) contamination. Following remediation, the site was delisted on August 29, 2001.
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