List of counties in Arizona
There are 15 counties in the U.S. state of Arizona. Four counties (Mohave, Pima, Yavapai and Yuma) were formed in 1864 in the Arizona Territory in 1862. All but La Paz County were formed by the time Arizona became a State in 1912.[1] There is also one county, Pah-Ute County, Arizona that was formed in 1865 from Mohave County and returned in 1871.
The names of many of the counties honor the state's Native American past. Nine of the fifteen counties are named after native groups that live in parts of what is now Arizona. Three of the other counties have Spanish names from the language of the early Hispanic explorers of Arizona. Another county, Graham County, is named for a physical feature, Mount Graham. Greenlee County is named after one of the state's early pioneers.[2]
Arizona's United States postal abbreviations is AZ and its FIPS code is 04.
Alphabetical listingEdit
County |
FIPS code[3] | County seat[4] | Established[4] | Formed from[1] | Meaning of name[2] | Population[4][5] | Area[4][5] | Map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apache County | 001 | St. Johns | 1879 | Part of Yavapai County. | The Apache Native American people, who live in northeastern Arizona. | 69,980 | ( 29,054 km2) |
11,218 sq mi|
Cochise County | 003 | Bisbee | 1881 | Part of Pima County. | Cochise, the Apache Native American leader. | 127,866 | ( 16,107 km2) |
6,219 sq mi|
Coconino County | 005 | Flagstaff | 1891 | Part of Yavapai County. | Coconino Native American people, a Hopi designation for Havasupai and Yavapai people. | 223,214 | ( 48,332 km2) |
18,661 sq mi|
Gila County | 007 | Globe | 1881 | Parts of Maricopa County and Pinal County. | Gila River, a river that flows through Arizona, whose name comes from a Pima Indian word. | 51,994 | ( 12,422 km2) |
4,796 sq mi|
Graham County | 009 | Safford | 1881 | Parts of Apache County and Pima County. | Mount Graham, a mountain in Arizona's Pinaleno Mountains. | 34,769 | ( 12,020 km2) |
4,641 sq mi|
Greenlee County | 011 | Clifton | 1909 | Part of Graham County. | Mason Greenlee, a pioneer prospector in the area who died in 1903.[6] | 7,754 | ( 4,786 km2) |
1,848 sq mi|
La Paz County | 012 | Parker | 1983 | Part of Yuma County. | La Paz, Arizona, a historic boomtown on the Colorado River. La paz means the peace in Spanish. | 20,172 | ( 11,689 km2) |
4,513 sq mi|
Maricopa County | 013 | Phoenix | 1871 | Parts of Pima County and Yavapai County. | Maricopa Native American people. | 3,990,181 | ( 23,890 km2) |
9,224 sq mi|
Mohave County | 015 | Kingman | 1864 | One of the original 4 counties. | Mohave Indians, one of the Yuma tribes. | 194,944 | ( 34,887 km2) |
13,470 sq mi|
Navajo County | 017 | Holbrook | 1895 | Part of Apache County. | Navajo Native American people. | 111,273 | ( 25,794 km2) |
9,959 sq mi|
Pima County | 019 | Tucson | 1864 | One of the original 4 counties. | Pima Native American people, called in their own language Akimel O'odham (river people). | 1,003,235 | ( 23,799 km2) |
9,189 sq mi|
Pinal County | 021 | Florence | 1875 | Parts of Maricopa and Pima counties. | Pinal Mountains (named from the Spanish for stand of pines) and the Pinal Native American people (a band of Coyotero Apaches) who lived there. | 324,962 | ( 13,919 km2) |
5,374 sq mi|
Santa Cruz County | 023 | Nogales | 1899 | Parts of Cochise and Pima counties. | Santa Cruz River, a small river that flows through Arizona. | 42,845 | ( 3,206 km2) |
1,238 sq mi|
Yavapai County | 025 | Prescott | 1864 | One of the original 4 counties. | Yavapaim Native American people, who are from central Arizona | 212,635 | ( 21,051 km2) |
8,128 sq mi|
Yuma County | 027 | Yuma | 1864 | One of the original 4 counties. | Yuma Indians, today called the Quechan. | 190,557 | ( 14,294 km2) |
5,519 sq mi
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Adams, Ward R. (1997). History of Arizona. Higginson Book Company. ISBN 0832870447.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kane, Joseph and Aiken, Charles (2004). The American Counties: Origins of County Names, Dates of Creation, and Population Data, 1950-2000. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810850362.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- ↑ "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". EPA. Retrieved 2007-04-09.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 National Association of Counties. "NACo - Find a county". Retrieved 2008-04-30.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Arizona QuickFacts". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2007-07-17. (2000 Census)
- ↑ "History of Greenlee County: Mason Greenlee". Greenlee County Government. Archived from the original on 2007-05-02. Retrieved 2007-07-20.