Brief
History:
Imperial County
includes the El Centro, California
Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is also
part of the Southern California
border region, the smallest but most
economically diverse region in the state.
It is located in the Imperial Valley, in
the far
southeast of California, bordering
both Arizona and the Mexican state of Baja
California.
Although this region is a desert,
with high temperatures and low average
rainfall of 3 inches (76 mm) per year, the
economy
is heavily based on agriculture due
to irrigation, supplied wholly from the
Colorado River via the All-American Canal.
The Imperial Valley is divided
between the United States and Mexico, and
Imperial County is heavily influenced by
Mexican
culture. Approximately 80% of the
county's population is Hispanic, with the
vast majority being of Mexican origin. The
remainder of the population is
predominantly non-Hispanic white as well
as smaller African American, Native
American and
Asian minorities.
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