Editing Imperial County, California (section)

==Geography==
[[File:20220224075821 IMG 3800 Mount Signal.jpg|thumb|Fields with Mount Signal in Background]]
According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|4482|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|4177|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|305|sqmi}} (6.8%) is water.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_06.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=September 26, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files}}</ref> Much of Imperial County is below sea level. Imperial County is roughly twice the size in total square miles as the State of Delaware.

Imperial county is bordered on the north by [[Riverside County, California|Riverside County]]; on the east by [[Yuma County, Arizona|Yuma County]], [[Arizona]]; on the south by [[Mexico]]; and on the west by [[San Diego County, California|San Diego County]]. The [[Colorado River]] forms the county's eastern boundary. Two notable geographic features are found in the county, the [[Salton Sea]], at {{convert|235|ft|m}} below sea level, and the [[Algodones Dunes]], one of the largest dune fields in America.<ref name="citybloc">{{cite web|url=http://citybloc.com/California/Imperial%20County|title=Imperial County|access-date=August 3, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502185618/http://citybloc.com/California/Imperial%20County|archive-date=May 2, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The county is in the [[Colorado Desert]], an extension of the larger [[Sonoran Desert]]. The [[Chocolate Mountains]] are located east of the [[Salton Sea]], and extend in a northwest–southeast direction <ref name="citybloc" /> for approximately {{convert|60|mi|km}}.

In this region, the [[geology]] is dominated by the transition of the [[tectonic plate]] boundary from [[rift]] to [[fault (geology)|fault]]. The southernmost strands of the [[San Andreas Fault]] connect the northernmost extensions of the [[East Pacific Rise]]. Consequently, the region is subject to [[earthquakes]], and the crust is being stretched, resulting in a sinking of the terrain over time. Related to the active geology are some interesting hydrothermal features. The area is also volcanic with multiple volcanic eruptions in the past few thousand years the most recent was 1,800 years ago.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Salton Buttes |url=https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/salton-buttes}}</ref>

===National protected areas===
* [[Cibola National Wildlife Refuge]] (part)
* [[Imperial National Wildlife Refuge]] (part)
* [[Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge]]