Maricopa County, County in South-central Arizona, United States
Maricopa County is an administrative region in south-central Arizona that includes the Phoenix metropolitan area and extends into surrounding desert lands. The territory covers different landscapes, from urban centers to open valleys and mountain ranges that shape the character of the region.
The county was created in February 1871 as one of the four original divisions of the Arizona Territory. Its name comes from the Maricopa people, an indigenous community who have lived along the river valleys of this region for centuries.
The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and Gila River Indian Community maintain their traditions across extensive reservations in the county.
Visitors find county offices and service facilities mainly in Phoenix, where the center of public administration is located. Many communities within the region offer their own information bureaus and contact points for travelers.
More than six out of every ten people living in Arizona call this county home, an unusually high concentration for a single administrative unit in a US state. The Salt River runs through the area and has shaped settlement patterns and agriculture in the lower elevations for centuries.
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