Humboldt County has dense forests, mountainous regions. To put simply, it can be a bit rugged. It contains more than forty-percent of the old growth Redwood forests and makes up for more than 20% of the forest cover of the state of California. This mountainous and rugged landscape has inhibited the urbanization of this region to a large extent and hence helped to protect this pristine area.
Humboldt County has a population of around 134,623 people according to the United State census data for 2000. The racial makeup being according to the same data: White 109,920(81.7%), African American 1,505(1.1%), Native American 7,726(5.7%), Asians 2,994(2.2%), Hispanics or Latino and any other races 13,211(9.8%) etc.
The majority of the population in Humboldt is concentrated near the Humboldt Bay; places like Eureka and Arcata are better known as educational towns and are also home to the Humboldt State University. In this aspect, Fortuna is another important city. Some of the other regionally important centers include Blue Lake, Ferndale, and Trinidad. This county includes 8 Indian Reservations of which Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation is the largest in California.
The Humboldt County community development services department is responsible for maintaining and protecting public health, safety and welfare. This department is responsible for all these by building permit reviews and other inspections performed according to the rules governing the state of California and approvals which are consented by the County`s General plan.
It is the official department of government which is also responsible for the economic development as well as natural resource grants; in addition to community development assistance. There are other non-governmental organizations like the Redwood coast regional centre which provide assistance to children and adults who have developmental disabilities. Agriculture and dairy are also the principle sources of income for most people.
