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About Tuolumne County
Tuolumne County covers 2,235 square miles of the Sierra Nevadas and their western slopes. At the heart of the California Gold Rush, it is dotted with picturesque mining towns tucked in amongst a labyrinth of hills and canyons. In the highest parts of the mountains, a remote wilderness of forests, granite-domed peaks, leaks and meadows dominates the scenery. About one half of Yosemite National Park lies within Tuolumne County, occupying its southeastern corner.
Sonora, a one-time mining town, is the largest city, and the county seat. California Highways 49 and 108 intersect at Sonora, with Highway 49 traveling north and south through the county, and 108 cutting across the tops of the Sierra Nevadas. California Highway 120 also passes along the southern border of the county, heading into Yosemite. 54,501 make their home in the county, as of 2000.