Imperial County, California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Imperial County, California | |
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| Map | |
 Location in the state of California |
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 California's location in the U.S. |
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| Statistics | |
| Founded | 1907 |
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| Seat | El Centro |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
4,482 sq mi (11,608 km²) 4,175 sq mi (10,813 km²) 307 sq mi (795 km²), 6.85% |
| Population - (2000) - Density |
142,361 34/sq mi (13/km²) |
| Website: www.imperialcounty.net | |
Imperial County is a county located in the Imperial Valley, in the far southeast of the U.S. state of California, bordering both Arizona and Mexico. It is part of the El Centro, California Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Imperial County. The population as of 2000 was 142,361. The county seat is the city of El Centro. The county is considered one of the newest of California's counties.
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[edit] History
Imperial County was formed in 1907 from the eastern half of San Diego County. The county took its name from Imperial Valley, itself named for the Imperial Land Company, a subsidiary of the California Development Company, which at the turn of the 20th century had reclaimed the southern portion of the Colorado desert for agriculture. Much of the Imperial Land Company's land also existed in Mexico (Baja California). The objective of the company was commercial crop farming development. By 1910 the land company had managed to settle and develop thousands of farms on both sides of the border.
However, the Mexican Civil War severely disrupted the company's plans. Nearly 10,000 farmers and their families in Mexico were ethnically cleansed by the rival Mexican armies. Not until the 1920s was the other side of California in America sufficiently peaceful and prosperous for the company to earn a return for a large percentage of Mexicans, but some chose to stay and lay down roots in newly sprouted communities in the Imperial valley.
The county experienced a period of migration of "Okies" from drought-trodden dust bowl farms by the need of migrant labor, and prosperous job-seekers alike from across the U.S. arrived in the 1930s and 1940s, especially in World War II, the completion of the All American Canal from its' source, the Colorado River from 1948 to 1951, and by the 1950 census, over 50,000 residents lived in Imperial County alone, about 40 times than of 1910. Most of the population was year-round but would increase every winter by migrant laborers from Mexico.
Until the 1960s the farms in Imperial County provided substantial returns to the company and the county. However, massive immigration from Mexico started placing tremendous burdens on the county's services and quality of life. By 2000, the county was in many respects little different in quality of lifestyle and culture than Mexico. Reflecting this demographic profile, by the turn of the century the formerly prosperous and educated county was listed as the poorest and most illiterate county in California and the United States as a whole.
[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,482 square miles (11,608 km²), of which, 4,175 square miles (10,812 km²) of it is land and 307 square miles (795 km²) 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).
[edit] Cities over 10,000 population
[edit] Cities under 10,000 population
- Imperial (Airport: Imperial County Airport IATA: IPL)
- Calipatria
- Holtville
- Westmorland
[edit] Towns over 1,000 population
[edit] Towns under 1,000 population
See Southern California Zip Codes for individual Zip Code data.
[edit] Adjacent counties and municipios
- Riverside County, California, north
- Yuma County, Arizona, southeast
- La Paz County, Arizona, northeast
- San Diego County, California, west
- Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico - south
- Tecate, Baja California, Mexico - southwest
[edit] Transportation Infrastructure
[edit] Major highways
Interstate 8
State Route 7
State Route 78
State Route 86
State Route 98
State Route 111
State Route 115
[edit] Public Transportation
Imperial County is served by Greyhound Lines and Imperial Valley Transit buses. Amtrak trains also travel through the county, but with no scheduled stops.
[edit] Airports
- Imperial County Airport, located just north of El Centro, is primarily a general aviation airport with limited commercial flight service.
- Holtville Airport is a general aviation airport located roughly five miles east of Holtville.
- Calexico Airport is located 15 miles (24 km) south of Interstate 8 on State Route 111. It is a general aviation field, used in part to service maquiladora factories in nearby Mexicali.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 142,361 people, 39,384 households, and 31,467 families residing in the county. The population density was 34 people per square mile (13/km²). There were 43,891 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 49.37% White, 3.95% Black or African American, 1.87% Native American, 1.99% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 39.08% from other races, and 3.65% from two or more races. 72.22% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 65.7% spoke Spanish and 32.3% English as their first language.
By 2005 the estimated percentage of non-Hispanic whites in the county was 18%. The percentage of Hispanics had risen to 75.3. The African-American percentage now stood at 4.2%, showing that this population was growing significantly in the county. The number of Hispanics rose about 10 times since the first US census in 1910, but there are third or fourth-generation Mexican Americans whom identify more with Anglo-American culture but aren't denying their Hispanic heritage, such as usage of the Spanish language.
Imperial County has a long history of Asian Americans, although small in number compared to urban centers in California. Mainly of Chinese, but also of Filipino, Japanese, Korean and a scant number of Southeast Asian ancestry, often are descendants of railroad workers, ditch diggers and farm laborers in the early 20th century, some arrived through the Mexican border. Imperial County is also home to 10,000 Indian Americans, the highest number outside a US major city, and they provided abit of Indian features in a mainly Latin American culture.
There were 39,384 households out of which 46.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.7% were married couples living together, 17.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.1% were non-families. 17.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.33 and the average family size was 3.77.
In the county the population was spread out with 31.4% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 109.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.4 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $31,870, and the median income for a family was $35,226. Males had a median income of $32,775 versus $23,974 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,239. About 19.4% of families and 22.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.7% of those under age 18 and 13.6% of those age 65 or over.
By 2006 the population had risen to 160,201, the population growth rate since the year 2000 was 30% the highest in California and 5th highest in the US in the time period. High levels of immigration, new residents search for affordable homes, and some came for retirement is to explain such a population increase.
[edit] Politics
| Year | DEM | GOP | Others |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 52.4% 17,964 | 46.4% 15,890 | 1.2% 420 |
| 2000 | 53.5% 15,489 | 43.3% 12,524 | 3.2% 924 |
| 1996 | 55.3% 14,591 | 36.8% 9,705 | 8.0% 2,104 |
| 1992 | 43.9% 11,109 | 38.5% 9,759 | 17.6% 4,450 |
| 1988 | 43.8% 10,243 | 55.2% 12,889 | 1.0% 233 |
| 1984 | 36.9% 8,237 | 62.0% 13,829 | 1.1% 235 |
| 1980 | 36.9% 7,961 | 55.9% 12,068 | 7.2% 1,550 |
| 1976 | 48.2% 10,244 | 49.9% 10,618 | 1.9% 400 |
| 1972 | 34.9% 7,982 | 62.1% 14,178 | 3.0% 689 |
| 1968 | 36.6% 7,481 | 52.9% 10,818 | 10.5% 2,147 |
| 1964 | 51.8% 11,143 | 48.1% 10,330 | 0.1% 19 |
| 1960 | 46.0% 9,119 | 53.6% 10,606 | 0.4% 81 |
Imperial is a Democratic-leaning county in Presidential and congressional elections. The last Republican to win a majority in the county was George H. W. Bush in 1988.
Imperial is part of California's 51st congressional district, which is held by Democrat Bob Filner. In the state legislature, Imperial is part of the 80th Assembly district, which is held by Republican Bonnie Garcia, and the 40th Senate district, which is held by Democrat Denise Ducheny.
[edit] In popular culture
- Dimmsdale is a fictional city located in Imperial County that is shown on the Nickelodeon animated series The Fairly OddParents.
- Scenes for the 2006 film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan were filmed in Imperial County, but were not used in the finished film.
- The majority of Jarhead, Lawrence of Arabia and the Salton Sea was filmed in the Imperial Valley.
- Scenes from Star Wars were filmed in the Imperial Valley sand dunes, Top Gun were also filmed in the El Centro Naval Air Station and Independence Day was located in the Imperial Valley.
- Rock en Espanol group Calexico hails from the border town with the namesake in the Imperial Valley faces Mexicali, Baja California of Mexico.
[edit] References
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
[edit] External links
- Official Imperial County website
- Website for the City of Imperial, California
- Imperial Irrigation District
- Imperial Valley Economic Development Corporation
- Imperial Valley Living
- ImperialAds.com - Imperial Valley's online shopper!
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