Welcome to the County of Los Angeles! Los Angeles County, one of California's original 27 counties, was established Feb. 18, 1850. Originally the County occupied a comparatively small area along the coast between Santa Barbara and San Diego, but within a year its boundaries were enlarged from 4,340 square miles to 34,520 square miles, an area sprawling east to the Colorado River. During subsequent years, Los Angeles County slowly ebbed to its present size, the last major detachment occurring in 1889 with the creation of Orange County. Los Angeles County remains one of the nation's largest counties with 4,083 square miles, an area some 800 square miles larger than the combined area of the states of Delaware and Rhode Island. Los Angeles County includes the islands of San Clemente and Santa Catalina. It is bordered on the east by Orange and San Bernardino Counties, on the north by Kern County, on the west by Ventura County, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. Its coastline is 76 miles long. It has the largest population (9.8 million as of July, 1999) of any county in the nation, and is exceeded by only eight states. Approximately 29 percent of California's residents live in Los Angeles County. Information provided by the County of Los Angeles.
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