Mesa County, Colorado

Mesa County Education, Geography, and History

Mesa County is one of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 146,723. The county seat is Grand Junction. Mesa County was created on February 14, 1883 from Gunnison County.  The county is named for the many large mesas in the area, including Grand Mesa.

Mesa County comprises the Grand Junction, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area

Etymology - Origin of Mesa County Name

Mesa County is named for the mesas which are widespread in the county.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Mesa County History

Mesa County was created in 1883 from part of Gunnison County .

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,341 square miles (8,653 km²), of which, 3,328 square miles (8,619 km²) of it is land and 13 square miles (35 km²) of it (0.40%) is water.

Mesa county is on the western border of Colorado, 250 miles west of Denver. The landscape of Mesa County has many  features because it is located in a river valley surrounded by different natural landmarks such as the Colorado National Monument to the West and the Grand Mesa National Forest at the East end.  The County encompasses 3,309 square miles, of which approximately 72% is public owned and is controlled primarily by the US Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Northeast: Garfield County
• East: Pitkin County
• Southeast: Gunnison County; Delta County; Montrose County
• Southwest: San Juan County, Utah
• West: Grand County, Utah

Education

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