[7] It is located in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, north of Fresno, east of Merced, and southeast of Stockton.

[8] Mariposa County's original seat was a now-nonexistent hamlet known as Agua Fria (Spanish for "cold water"), about 3 miles directly west of Mariposa proper on Agua Fria Road, which runs from Highway 140 to the south, to the community of Mt.

Mariposa County is located at the southern end of California's Mother Lode region.

During the California Gold Rush, great quantities of the prized mineral were found and extracted, first in local stream-beds and later in hard rock mines.

"Specimens from these occurrences commonly have bright luster and rich color, with well-developed crystals in unusual and attractive arrangements.

Its run through the Merced River Canyon contains the sole habitat for the limestone salamander, a rare species endemic to Mariposa County.

The largest self-reported ancestry groups in Mariposa County were English (14.5%), German (13.7%), Irish (13.1%), Italian (4.1%), "American" (3.8%), Scottish (3.2%) and Portuguese (3.0%).

The County government is composed of the Board of Supervisors, which has legislative and executive power.

It is composed of five members elected from the five separate districts of the county, on a non-partisan basis, to serve four-year staggered terms.

[32] Over time, however, the county has steadily moved away from its Democratic roots, seen demonstrably in 1948 when Thomas E. Dewey won Mariposa without carrying California, as part of a trend turning the Great Basin into a rock-solid Republican stronghold.

On November 4, 2008, Mariposa County voted 62.1% for Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.

[35] The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.

Mariposa County primarily receives the major Fresno TV and radio stations.

★ Formerly known as the Crane Creek CDP; renamed in 2022 The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Mariposa County.