City of Portola | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Union Pacific trains in Portola | |
 Location in Plumas County and the state of California | |
  City of Portola Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates: 39°48′37″N 120°28′11″W / 39.81028°N 120.46972°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  California |
| County | Plumas |
| Incorporated | May 16, 1946[1] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5.41 sq mi (14.00 km2) |
| • Land | 5.41 sq mi (14.00 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) 0% |
| Elevation | 4,856 ft (1,480 m) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 2,100 |
| • Density | 390/sq mi (150/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP codes | 96122, 96129 |
| Area code | 530 |
| FIPS code | 06-58352 |
| GNIS feature IDs | 1659425, 2411473 |
| Website | www |
Portola (/pɔːrˈtoʊlə/ por-TOH-lə) is the only incorporated city in Plumas County, California, United States. The population was 2,104 at the 2010 census, down from 2,227 at the 2000 census. Portola is located on the Middle Fork of the Feather River and was named after Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portolá,[5] although he did not explore this area.
Portola is a crew change site on the Western Pacific Railroad (now Union Pacific Railroad) Feather River Route over the Sierra Nevada. The city is also home to the Western Pacific Railroad Museum (formerly Portola Railroad Museum), one of the largest railroad museums in the Western United States. The museum is famous for its Run A Locomotive program, where the public can participate in a "fantasy experience" program allowing them to run a railroad locomotive on the museum grounds. The railroad tradition also extends to a yearly local event called “Railroad Days”.
Portola was in the national media spotlight in 1996–1997 when a conflict occurred between the local community and the Department of Fish and Game over how to deal with an invasive species of northern pike in Lake Davis. The lake was chemically treated in 1997 to eradicate the fish, but they reappeared in 1999. In early September 2007, the California Department of Fish and Game eradicated the pike[6] using CFT Legumine, a new liquid formulation of rotenone.[7]
The town of Portola, California, sits along both sides of the middle fork of the Feather River, in Plumas County, on the upper eastern part of northern California. Portola lies off the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada. The local landscape is best described as being part of the Feather River drainage, which flows westward down the Feather River Canyon.
- ^ "California Cities by Incorporation Date". California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions. Archived from the original (Word) on November 3, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
- ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- ^ "Portola". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
- ^ "US Census Bureau". www.census.gov. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
- ^ Brown, Thomas P. (May 30, 1940). "Over the Sierra". Indian Valley Record. p. 3. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
- ^ "Lake Davis Pike Eradication Project Update". California Department of Fish and Game. October 19, 2007. Archived from the original on October 30, 2007. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
- ^ "2007 Lake Davis Pike Eradication Project: Short-Term Impacts on the Local Economy and Real Estate Values" (PDF). California Department of Fish and Game. December 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 11, 2009. Retrieved November 17, 2020.