- published: 09 Nov 2015
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Sacramento County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Sacramento, which is also the state capital. As of 2010 the county had a population of 1,418,788.
The Greater Sacramento metropolitan area consists of eight counties with Sacramento County being the largest. The County covers about 994 square miles (2,570 km2) in the middle of the California Central Valley, on into Gold Country. Sacramento County extends from the low delta lands between the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River north to about ten miles (16 km) beyond the State Capitol and east into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The southmost portion of Sacramento County has direct access to San Francisco Bay.
Sacramento County was one of the original counties of California, which were created in 1850 at the time of statehood.
The county was named after the Sacramento River, which forms its western border. The river was named by Spanish cavalry officer Gabriel Moraga for the Santisimo Sacramento (Most Holy Sacrament), referring to the Catholic Eucharist.