Mohave County, Arizona facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mohave County
U.S. county
Mohave County Courthouse in Kingman
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Arizona
Arizona's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Arizona
Founded	November 9, 1864
Named for	Fort Mohave
Seat	Kingman
Largest city	Lake Havasu City
Area
• Total	13,461 sq mi (34,860 km2)
• Land	13,311 sq mi (34,480 km2)
• Water	150 sq mi (400 km2)  1.1%
Population  (2020)
• Total	213,267
• Estimate  (2023)	223,682
• Density	15.8433/sq mi (6.11714/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
Congressional districts	2nd, 9th

Mohave County is a county in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 213,267. The county seat is Kingman, and the largest city is Lake Havasu City. It is the fifth largest county in the United States (by area).

Mohave County includes the Lake Havasu City–Kingman, Arizona Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Las Vegas-Henderson, Nevada-Arizona Combined Statistical Area.

Mohave County contains parts of Grand Canyon National Park and Lake Mead National Recreation Area and all of the Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument. The Kaibab, Fort Mojave and Hualapai Indian Reservations also lie within the county.

History

Mohave County was the one of four original Arizona Counties created by the 1st Arizona Territorial Legislature. The county territory was originally defined as being west of longitude 113° 20' and north of the Bill Williams River. Pah-Ute County was created from it in 1865 and was merged back into Mohave County in 1871 when much of its territory was ceded to Nevada in 1866. The county's present boundaries were established in 1881. The county is also notable for being home to a large polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints sect located in Colorado City.

Mohave County has had five county seats: Mohave City (1864–1867), Hardyville (1867–1873), Cerbat (1873–1877), Mineral Park (1877–1887), and Kingman (1887–present).

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 13,461 square miles (34,860 km²), of which 13,311 square miles (34,480 km²) is land and 150 square miles (390 km²) (1.1%) is water. It is the second-largest county by area in Arizona and the fifth-largest in the contiguous United States.

The county consists of two sections divided by the Grand Canyon, with no direct land communication between them. The northern section, smaller and less populated, forms the western part of the Arizona Strip, bordering Utah and Nevada. The larger southern section borders Nevada and California across the Colorado River, which forms most of the county's western boundary. The southern section includes Kingman, the county seat, and other cities, as well as part of the Mojave Desert.

Adjacent counties

• Washington County, Utah – north
• Kane County, Utah – northeast
• Coconino County – east
• Yavapai County – east
• La Paz County – south
• San Bernardino County, California – southwest
• Clark County, Nevada – west
• Lincoln County, Nevada – northwest

Mohave County and its adjacent counties form the largest such block of counties outside of Alaska. Their combined land area is 89,567.34 square miles (231,978.3 km²), or larger than that of the state of Idaho. They include the #1 (San Bernardino), #2 (Coconino), #5 (Mohave), and #7 (Lincoln) largest counties outside of Alaska. If Nye County, Nevada- which is #3 for total county area that does not border Mohave but borders neighboring Lincoln and Clark counties is included, then the combined land area would be 107,726.34 squard miles or larger than the state of Colorado.

National protected areas

• Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Grand Canyon National Park (part)
• Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument
• Havasu National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Kaibab National Forest (part)
• Lake Mead National Recreation Area (part)
• Pipe Spring National Monument

There are 18 official wilderness areas in Mohave County that are part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Most of these are managed by the Bureau of Land Management, but some are integral parts of the preceding protected areas, or have shared jurisdiction with the BLM. Some extend into neighboring counties (as indicated below) All wilderness areas within Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument are managed by BLM, although the National Monument shares management with the National Park Service:

• Arrastra Mountain Wilderness (BLM) partly in Yavapai County, Arizona, and La Paz County, Arizona
• Aubrey Peak Wilderness (BLM)
• Beaver Dam Mountains Wilderness (BLM) partly in Washington County, Utah
• Cottonwood Point Wilderness (BLM)
• Grand Wash Cliffs Wilderness (Grand Canyon–Parashant NM) managed by BLM
• Havasu Wilderness (Havasu NWR) partly in San Bernardino County, California
• Kanab Creek Wilderness (Kaibab NF / BLM) mostly in Coconino County, Arizona
• Mount Logan Wilderness (Grand Canyon–Parashant NM) managed by BLM
• Mount Nutt Wilderness (BLM)
• Mount Tipton Wilderness (BLM)
• Mount Trumbull Wilderness (Grand Canyon–Parashant NM) managed by BLM
• Mount Wilson Wilderness (BLM)
• Paiute Wilderness (partly in Grand Canyon–Parashant NM) managed by BLM
• Rawhide Mountains Wilderness (BLM) mostly in La Paz County, Arizona
• Swansea Wilderness (BLM) mostly in La Paz County, Arizona
• Upper Burro Creek Wilderness (BLM) mostly in Yavapai County, Arizona
• Wabayuma Peak Wilderness (BLM)
• Warm Springs Wilderness (BLM)

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 200,186 people, 82,539 households, and 54,036 families living in the county. The population density was 15.0 inhabitants per square mile (5.8/km²). There were 110,911 housing units at an average density of 8.3 units per square mile (3.2 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 86.9% white, 2.2% American Indian, 1.1% Asian, 0.9% black or African American, 0.2% Pacific islander, 6.0% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 14.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 23.1% were German, 16.2% were Irish, 15.6% were English, 5.7% were Italian, and 4.5% were American.

Of the 82,539 households, 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.5% were non-families, and 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.86. The median age was 47.6 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $39,785 and the median income for a family was $47,530. Males had a median income of $36,222 versus $28,060 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,523. About 11.6% of families and 16.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.7% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

K-12 school districts

The following school districts serve Mohave County:

Unified school districts

• Colorado City Unified School District
• Fredonia-Moccasin Unified District
• Kingman Unified School District
• Lake Havasu Unified School District
• Littlefield Unified School District
• Peach Springs Unified School District – While it is a USD, it sends its high school students to other districts

High school districts

• Colorado River Union High School District

Elementary school districts

• Bullhead City Elementary School District
• Hackberry School District
• Mohave Valley Elementary School District
• Owens-Whitney Elementary School District
• Topock Elementary School District
• Valentine Elementary School District
• Yucca Elementary School District

Additionally there is a charter school:

• Kingman Academy of Learning

Colleges

• Mohave Community College
• Arizona State University Lake Havasu City Campus

Public libraries

The Mohave County Library has ten branches. The branches in Bullhead City, Kingman and Lake Havasu City are open 56 hours a week. The branch in Mohave Valley is open 40 hours a week. Branches in Chloride, Dolan Springs, Golden Shores, Golden Valley, Meadview and Valle Vista are open 15 hours a week.

Transportation

Major highways

State Route 389 in Mohave County

• Interstate 15
• Interstate 40
• Historic U.S. Route 66
• U.S. Route 93
• State Route 66
• State Route 68
• State Route 95
• State Route 389

Airports

The following public use airports are located in Mohave County:

• Bullhead City – Eagle Airpark (A09)
• Bullhead City – Laughlin-Bullhead International Airport (IFP)
• Bullhead City – Sun Valley Airport (A20)
• Colorado City – Colorado City Municipal Airport (AZC)
• Kingman – Kingman Airport (IGM)
• Lake Havasu City – Lake Havasu City Airport (HII)
• Meadview – Pearce Ferry Airport (L25)
• Peach Springs – Grand Canyon West Airport (1G4)
• Temple Bar – Temple Bar Airport (U30)

Communities

Cities

• Bullhead City
• Kingman (county seat)
• Lake Havasu City

Town

• Colorado City

Census-designated places

Ghost towns

Indian communities

• Fort Mojave Indian Reservation
• Kaibab Indian Reservation
• Hualapai Indian Reservation

County population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Mohave County.

† county seat

Economy

Mining

• Artillery Peak mine

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Mohave para niños