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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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San Diego County, California
San Diego County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
1600 Pacific Highway, Room 209
County Administration Center
San Diego, CA 92101-2429 |
Court House:
County Seat: San Diego
Year Organized: 1850
Square Miles: 4,204
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Etymology - Origin of County Name
Named after San Diego Bay, which had been rechristened by
Vizcaino in 1602, in honor of the Franciscan, San Diego de Alcala de Henares,
whose name was borne by his flagship.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts:
Census Bureau Quick Facts
History
San Diego County was one of the original counties of California, and was created at the time of statehood in 1850. It
was named after San Diego Bay, which had been rechristened in 1602 by Sebastián Vizcaíno in honor of the Franciscan St.
Didacus of Alcalá, known in Spanish as San Diego de Alcalá de Henares, and whose name was borne by Vizcaíno's flagship
As originally created in 1850 San Diego County was quite large and included most of southeastern
California south and east of Los Angeles County. As such it included major parts of what are now Inyo,
San Bernardino, Riverside, and Imperial counties.
The later part of the 19th century witnessed numerous realignments of county boundaries. The most recent
changes were the creation of Riverside County, in 1893, and Imperial County, in 1907
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,526 sq mi (11,721 km²). 4,200
sq mi (10,878 km²) of it is land and 326 sq mi (843 km²) of it (7.20%) is water.
San Diego County has varied topography. On its western side is seventy miles of coastline. Snow-capped
mountains rise to the northeast, with the Sonoran Desert to the far east. Cleveland National Forest is
spread across the central portion of the county, while Anza-Borrego Desert State Park occupies most of
the northeast.
North San Diego County is known locally as "North County"; the exact geographic definitions of "North
County" vary, but it includes the northern suburbs and sometimes certain northern neighborhoods of the
city of San Diego.
The eastern suburbs are collectively known as "East County", though most still lie in the western third
of the county. The southern suburbs and southern detached portion of the City of San Diego, extending to
the Mexican border, is collectively referred to as "South Bay".
Neighboring Counties:
- North: Riverside County
- East: Imperial County
- South: Baja California
- West: North Pacific Ocean
- Northwest: Orange County
Cities and Towns:
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- Carlsbad |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Chula Vista |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Coronado |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Del Mar |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- El Cajon |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Encinitas |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Escondido |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Imperial Beach |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- La Mesa |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Lemon Grove |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- National City |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Oceanside |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Poway |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- San Diego
(County Seat) |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- San Marcos |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Santee |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Solana Beach |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Vista |
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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