Swall Meadows, California | |
|---|---|
 Top end of Swall Meadows (center), below the Wheeler Crest | |
 Location inMono County and the state ofCalifornia | |
  Swall Meadows  Swall Meadows | |
| Coordinates:37°30′06″N118°37′45″W / 37.50167°N 118.62917°W /37.50167; -118.62917 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Mono |
| Area | |
• Total | 4.462 sq mi (11.556 km2) |
| • Land | 4.462 sq mi (11.556 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) |
| Elevation | 6,559 ft (1,999 m) |
| Population (2020)[3] | |
• Total | 178 |
| • Density | 39.9/sq mi (15.4/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP Code | 93514 |
| Area codes | 442/760 |
| FIPS code | 06-77430 |
| GNIS feature IDs | 2583158[2] |
Swall Meadows is anunincorporated community andcensus-designated place (CDP)[2] in southernMono County, California, United States. The population was 178 as of the 2020 census.[3] The community is residential, including second homes and a volunteer fire department, but no commercial development. TheZIP Code is 93514.[4] The community is insidearea code 760.
Swall Meadows sits partway up the Sherwin Grade below theWheeler Crest of the easternSierra Nevada, at an elevation range of approximately 6,000 to 7,000 feet (1,800 to 2,100 m). It is in pinon-juniper/subalpine zone habitat, with views south along the Sierra Crest ofMt. Tom, and east across theOwens Valley to theWhite Mountains and Nevada. It is accessed from "old 395", or Lower Rock Creek Road. Swall Meadows is approximately 20 miles (32 km) north ofBishop and 25 miles (40 km) south ofMammoth Lakes (by highway distance). It also well known in the area as an important deer migration route for the Round Valley mule deer population, which cherish the grazing in the meadow and apple falls from the old orchard trees.[citation needed]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the Swall Meadows CDP covers an area of 4.5 square miles (12 km2), all of it land.[1] At the high, northwestern end is the old Sky Meadows Ranch, then houses and firehouse near the meadow, and at the southeast end a development known as Pinyon Ranch.
In addition to the predominant pinyon-juniper-sagebrush habitat, there are permanent and seasonal streams and the eponymous meadow with wetter-habitat vegetation such asJeffrey pines, willows, stream and bog orchids, and the remnant trees of the old commercial apple orchard. In 2011 theEastern Sierra Land Trust secured a conservation easement to protect 104 acres (42 ha) of the Swall Meadows meadow area (location of the historic homesite), for the continued benefit of the migrating mule deer. A number of other conservation easements have been completed in Swall Meadows since the ESLT organization was founded in 2001.
Between Paradise and Swall Meadows the old wagon road can be seen that climbed about 3,000 ft (910 m) up the Sherwin Grade from Owens Valley towardCrowley Lake.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 220 | — | |
| 2020 | 178 | −19.1% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[5] 2000[6] 2010[7] | |||
Swall Meadows first appeared as acensus designated place in the2010 U.S. census.[7]
The2020 United States census reported that Swall Meadows had a population of 178. The population density was 39.9 inhabitants per square mile (15.4/km2). The racial makeup of Swall Meadows was 152 (85.4%)White, 3 (1.7%)Native American, 3 (1.7%)Asian, 1 (0.6%)Pacific Islander, and 19 (10.7%) from two or more races.Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12 persons (6.7%).[8]
The whole population lived in households. There were 94 households, out of which 11 (11.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 56 (59.6%) were married-couple households, 1 (1.1%) werecohabiting couple households, 7 (7.4%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 30 (31.9%) had a male householder with no partner present. 29 households (30.9%) were one person, and 12 (12.8%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 1.89.[8] There were 62families (66.0% of all households).[9]
The age distribution was 11 people (6.2%) under the age of 18, 7 people (3.9%) aged 18 to 24, 29 people (16.3%) aged 25 to 44, 70 people (39.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 61 people (34.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 63.1 years. There were 94 males and 84 females.[8]
There were 128 housing units at an average density of 28.7 units per square mile (11.1 units/km2), of which 94 (73.4%) were occupied. Of these, 79 (84.0%) were owner-occupied, and 15 (16.0%) were occupied by renters.[8]
In theCalifornia State Legislature, Swall Meadows is inthe 4th senatorial district, represented byRepublican Marie Alvarado-Gil, and inthe 8th Assembly district, represented byRepublican David Tangipa.[10]
In theUnited States House of Representatives, Swall Meadows is inCalifornia's 3rd congressional district, represented byRepublican Kevin Kiley.[11]
On February 6, 2015, Swall Meadows and the neighboring community of Paradise were ravaged by the Round Fire, which burned 7,000 acres (28 km2).[12] The fire destroyed 40 homes: 39 homes in Swall Meadows and 1 home in Paradise.[13]
Municipalities and communities ofMono County, California,United States | ||
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| Town |  | |
| Census-designated places | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Indian reservations | ||
| Former settlements | ||