Clarkia, Idaho

Clarkia, Idaho
—  Town  —
Clarkia in North Central Idaho
Country	United States
State	Idaho
County	Shoshone
Area[1]
– Total	116.7 km2 (45.07 sq mi)
– Land	116.7 km2 (45.07 sq mi)
– Water	0 km2 (0 sq mi)
Elevation[2]	862 m (2,828 ft)
Population (2000)
– Total	97
– Density	0.8/km2 (2.15/sq mi)
Time zone	Pacific Time Zone (UTC-8)
ZIP code	83812
Area code(s)	208

Clarkia is a small unincorporated town in the southwestern corner of Shoshone County, Idaho United States. It is surrounded by publicly and privately managed forest lands of Douglas-fir, Ponderosa Pine, and Western Larch. Located just to the east of State Highway 3, the town is in the drainage area of the West Fork of the St. Maries River.

A view to the north of Clarkia from Poplar St.

History

The Coeur d’Alene people inhabited this area for thousands of years prior to the coming of white settlers. The native name of the area is Chatnna or Meadow.^[3] The first residents of the town of Clarkia harvested the Western White Pine in the area for lumber.^[4]

Demographics

The 2000 census recorded a population of 97 with an average household income of $39,375. The median age in Clarkia is 37.8 and the average household size is 2.68. In 2000 the agriculture industry made up 40.5% of the jobs in the area, while educational, health and social services jobs accounted for the next largest segment at 21.4%. Workers for government agencies are the largest class of worker at 47.6%.^[5] The city shares a K-8 school district with the communities of Avery and Calder. Currently, all students attend school in the St. Maries district.^[6]

Physical geography

The confluence of the St. Maries River branches near Clarkia, Idaho

Clarkia is located in a flat meadow area which was created by the Miocene Epoch Lake Clarkia.^[7] The sediments from this lake contain abundant and well-preserved fossils of mid-Miocene flora and are well exposed at the Fossil Bowl, an open-to-the-public fossil dig and motorcross racetrack located on Highway 3 in Clarkia. The West and Middle Forks of the St. Maries River join near Clarkia and run parallel to State Highway 3 in a northwesterly direction to St. Maries. The area is on the eastern edge of the Columbia River Plateau and is to the west of the Bitterroot Mountains.

Notes

1. ^ The large area represents the Avery-Clarkia CCD and not the actual area of the city.
2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: USGS Place names
3. ^ Coeur d'Alene Tribe GIS Program
4. ^ Conley, Cort (1982). Idaho for the Curious. Cambridge, Idaho: Backeddy Books. p. 10. ISBN 0-903566-3-0. 
5. ^ United States Census Bureau (2000). "2000 Census of Population". http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=83812&_cityTown=83812&_state=&_zip=83812&_lang=en&_sse=on&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&show_2003_tab=&redirect=Y. Retrieved 2007-03-07 
6. ^ Avery School District #394. "District website". http://www.sd394.com/clarkia.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-09 ^{[dead link]}
7. ^ Smiley, Charles J.; Jane Gray, L. Maurice Huggins (September 1975). "Preservation of Miocene Fossils in Unoxidized Lake Deposits, Clarkia, Idaho". Journal of Paleontology 49 (5): pp. 833–844. ISSN 0022-3360. 

Coordinates: 47°00′39″N 116°15′11″W / 47.01083°N 116.25306°W / 47.01083; -116.25306