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California State...
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California Counties
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California Counties
The U.S. state of California is divided into fifty-eight counties.
On January 4, 1850, the California constitutional committee recommended the formation of 18 counties. They were
Benicia, Butte, Fremont, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Monterey, Mount Diablo, Oro, Redding, Sacramento, San Diego, San
Francisco, San Joaquin, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, and Sutter. On April 22, the counties
of Branciforte, Calaveras, Coloma, Colusi, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Trinity, and Yuba were added. Benicia was
renamed Solano, Coloma to El Dorado, Fremont to Yola, Mt. Diablo to Contra Costa, San Jose to Santa Clara, Oro
to Tuolumne, and Redding to Shasta. One of the first state legislative acts regarding counties was to rename
Branciforte County to Santa Cruz, Colusi to Colusa, and Yola to Yolo.
The last California county to have been established is Imperial County in 1907. |
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Imperial County, California
Imperial County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: El Centro
Year Organized: 1907
Square Miles: 4,175 |
Court House: 940 West Main Street, Suite 204
County Administrative Center
El Centro, CA 92243-2869
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Etymology - Origin of County Name
It derived its name from the Imperial Valley and is the
"youngest" of California's counties. The valley was named for the Imperial Land
Company, a subsidiary of the California Development Company, which at the turn
of the century had reclaimed the southern portion of the Colorado desert for
agriculture.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick
Facts
History
Imperial County, originally part of San Diego County, was founded August 7, 1907. The area was visited as early as
1540 by Hernando de Alarcon, discoverer of the Colorado River. It was further explored by Spanish explorers and Catholic
friars. Settlements existed along the Butterfield Stage Route as early as 1858, but no real development took place until
water was brought into the area in 1901.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,482 square miles (11,608 kmē),
of which, 4,175 square miles (10,812 kmē) of it is land and 307 square miles (795 kmē) of it (6.85%) is
water.
The Colorado River forms the county's eastern boundary. Two notable geographic features are found in the
county, the Salton Sea, at 235 feet (72 m) below sea level, and the Algodones Dunes, one of the largest
dune fields in America.
The Chocolate Mountains are located east of the Salton Sea, and extend in a northwest-southeast
direction for approximately 60 miles (97 km).
Neighboring Counties:
- North: Riverside County
- Northeast: La Paz County, Ariz.
- East: Yuma County, Ariz.
- South: Baja California
- West: San Diego County
Cities and Towns:
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- Brawley |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Calexico |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Calipatria |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- El Centro
(County Seat) |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Holtville |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Imperial |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Westmorland |
city |
Incorporated Area |
County Resources:
Enter County Resources and Information Here
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County Resource Guide
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The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic
features of our country!"
But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.
Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally,
act locally." |
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