Maricopa (Kalifornien)

Maricopa is a city in Kern County, California. Maricopa is located 6.5mi south-southeast of Taft, at an elevation of 883 feet (269 m). The population was 1,154 at the 2010 census, up from 1,111 at the 2000 census. Maricopa lies at the junction of Route 166 and Route 33. The Carrizo Plain is located to the northwest, and the enormous Midway-Sunset Oil Field, the third largest oil field in the United States, is adjacent on the north and east.GeographyAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.5sqmi, all of it land. Maricopa is in the extreme southwestern corner of the San Joaquin Valley, on the first rise of land into the foothills of the Coast Ranges, with the Temblor Range, following the San Andreas Fault, trending northwest of town, and the San Emigdio Mountains to the southeast. The climate of the area is hot and semi-arid, with summertime temperatures routinely exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Freezes occur in the winter, with the mean period without freezes being about 275 days. About six inches of rain falls annually in Maricopa.HistoryThe first post office opened in 1901. Maricopa incorporated in 1911. The city was named after the Maricopa Indians.