Imperial County is a county located in the Imperial Valley, in the far southeast of the U.S. state of California, and borders both Arizona and Mexico. The population as of 2000 was 142,361. The county seat is the city of El Centro. Imperial County was formed in 1907 from the eastern half of San Diego County. The county took its name from Imperial Valley, itself named for the Imperial Land Company, a subsidiary of the California Development Company, which at the turn of the 20th century had reclaimed the southern portion of the Colorado desert for agriculture. As of the census2 of 2000, there were 142,361 people, 39,384 households, and 31,467 families residing in the county. The population density was 13/km² (34/mi²). There were 43,891 housing units at an average density of 4/km² (10/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 49.37% White, 3.95% Black or African American, 1.87% Native American, 1.99% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 39.08% from other races, and 3.65% from two or more races. 72.22% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.