Fresno County, California

Fresno County Education, Geography, and History

Fresno County, officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the state of California. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 930,450. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-largest city in California. Fresno county was created April 19, 1856. The county is named after Fresno Creek. Fresno in Spanish signifies "ash tree" and it was due to the abundance of mountain ash or ash trees in the county that it received its name.

Fresno County comprises the Fresno, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Fresno-Madera, CA Combined Statistical Area. It is located in the Central Valley, south of Stockton and north of Bakersfield.

Etymology - Origin of Fresno County Name

Fresno county is named after Fresno Creek. Fresno in Spanish signifies "ash tree" and it was because of the abundance of mountain ash or ash trees in the county that it received its name.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Fresno County History

Fresno County was formed in 1856 from parts of Mariposa, Merced and Tulare counties. Parts of Fresno County's territory were given to Mono County in 1861 and to Madera County in 1893. The original county seat was placed in Millerton.

The county is named after Fresno Creek. Fresno in Spanish signifies "ash tree" and it was due to the abundance of mountain ash or ash trees in the county that it received its name. Fresno was actually named after two particular ash trees that grew near the town of Minkler on the Kings River. One of the trees is still alive and standing.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 6,017 square miles (15,585 km²), of which, 5,963 square miles (15,443 km²) of it is land and 55 square miles (142 km²) of it (0.91%) is water.

Fresno County is located near the center of California's San Joaquin Valley which, together with the Sacramento Valley to the north, form the Great Central Valley, one of the clear physical regions of the state. The county's western boundary is formed by the Coast Range foothills, and reach a height of over 4,000 feet near Coalinga while some peaks along the top of the Sierra Nevada, the county's eastern boundary, exceed 14,000 feet.

Major watercourses are the San Joaquin, Kings River, Delta-Mendota Canal, Big Creek, Friant Kern Canal and Helm Canal. It is bordered on the west by the Coast Range and on the east by the Sierra Nevada. It is the center of a large agricultural area, known as the most agriculturally rich county in the United States. The county withdrew 3.7 billion gallons of fresh water per day in 2000, more than any other county.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• North: Madera County
• Northeast: Mono County
• East: Inyo County
• Southeast: Tulare County
• South: Kings County
• Southwest: Monterey County
• West: San Benito County
• Northwest: Merced County

Education

Educational institutions in Fresno County include:

• California State University, Fresno which opened in 1911.
• San Joaquin College of Law is a private, nonprofit law school founded in 1969 and located in the City of Clovis.
• Fresno Pacific University is a private university in the City of Fresno.

Within the California Community Colleges System, Fresno County is mostly covered by the State Center Community College District and the West Hills Community College District. The following campuses are in Fresno County:

• Fresno City College in the City of Fresno
• Reedley College in the City of Reedley
• West Hills College Coalinga in the City of Coalinga

In addition, the Fresno County Public Library operates public libraries throughout the county

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