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Colorado Counties
Colorado currently has sixty-four counties. In February 1866, the first new county, Las Animas, was created. Alamosa was created in 1913, and in 2001, Broomfield was recognized as a city-county, bringing a total of 64 counties.Arapahoe County, Colorado
Arapahoe County Education, Geography, and History
Arapahoe County is one of the 64 counties in the state of Colorado. Based on the 2010 census, the
population was 572,003, making it
the third-most populous county in Colorado. The county
seat is Littleton, and the most populous city is Aurora.
Arapahoe County was created on November 1, 1861. The county
is named for
the Arapaho Native American tribe who once lived in the region.
Arapahoe County is part of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. Arapahoe County calls itself "Colorado's First
County" since its origins predate the Pike's Peak Gold Rush.
Etymology - Origin of Arapahoe County Name
Arapahoe County is named for its predecessor county, Arapahoe County, Kansas Territory, which in turn was named for the Arapaho Native American tribe.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts
Arapahoe County History
The county was created as one of the 17 original counties of the Territory of Colorado. Renamed South Arapahoe County for five months from November 15,1902 to April 11, 1903.
Arapahoe County was named for the Arapaho Indians, one of the larger tribes of plains Indians, who along with the Cheyenne occupied Arapahoe County east of the foothills running into what is now western Kansas. Arapahoe County is Colorado's first county, since almost half of the entire area now Colorado was Arapahoe County of the Kansas territory. In 1861, when Kansas was made a state, Colorado was made a territory with Arapahoe County as one of the 17 original counties.
The original Arapahoe County was 30 miles wide and extended from
Sheridan Boulevard, the present western boundary of Denver, Adams
and Arapahoe counties to the Kansas border. This odd shape was
due to the practice of giving counties with large amounts of plains
territory at least some of the foothill territory where there was water
for mining and irrigation. Even though Arapahoe County did not
reach the foothills, the streams running from the mountains supplied
water. As settlers came in and took up lands on the eastern portions
of the state, new counties were created and cut down to their present
size.
Geography: Land and Water
As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 805 square miles (2,086 km2), of
which, 803 square miles (2,080 km2) of it is land and 2 square miles (6 km2) of it (0.28%) is water. The
county measures 72 miles (116 kilometers) east to west and 4 to 12 miles (6 to 19 kilometers) south to
north.
Arapahoe county is located in northeast Colorado. The County spans 850 square miles and is a land of differences.
The western part of the county is mostly urban with residential,
retail, office and industrial areas, while the eastern portion is
relatively rural. Arapahoe County has one of the lowest mill levies
in the Front Range.
Two portions of Arapahoe County remain entirely surrounded by the City and County of Denver. The City of
Glendale occupies one portion.
Neighboring Counties
Bordering counties are as follows:
- North: Adams County
- Northeast: Washington County
- Southeast: Lincoln County; Elbert County
- Southwest: Douglas County
- West: Jefferson County
- Northwest: Denver city & county
Education
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