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County in California, United States

Kings County is a county located in the U. S. state of California. The population was 152,486 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Hanford. Kings County comprises the Hanford Corcoran, CA metropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the Visalia Porterville Hanford, CA combined statistical area. It is in the San Joaquin Valley, a rich agricultural region.

The area was inhabited for thousands of years by Native Americans including the Tachi Yokuts tribe. They continue to live in the area on the Santa Rosa Rancheria. It was colonized by Spain, Mexico and the United States. An 1805 expedition probably led by Spanish Army Lieutenant Gabriel Moraga recorded discovering the river, which they named El Rio de los Santos Reyes (River of the Holy Kings) after the Three Wise Men of the Bible. At the time of the United States conquest of California in 1848, the new government changed the name to Kings River after which the county was named. Settlers reclaimed Tulare Lake and its wetlands for agricultural development. In surface area, it was formerly the largest body of freshwater west of the Great Lakes, and supported a large population of migratory birds as well as local birds and wildlife. Monoculture has sharply reduced habitat for many species. In 1928, oil was discovered in the Kettleman Hills located in the southwestern part of Kings County. The Kettleman North Dome Oil Field became one of the most productive oil fields in the United States. During the Great Depression, over 18,000 cotton pickers in the southern San Joaquin Valley, mostly migrant Mexican workers, went on strike in the California agricultural strikes of 1933. During the strike, 3,500 striking farm workers lived in a four acre camp on the land of a small farmer on the outskirts of Corcoran. Ultimately, the federal government intervened to force both sides to negotiate a settlement. Lemoore Army Airfield was established for training and defense during World War II. In 1961, the U. S. Navy opened NAS Lemoore 9 mile (14 km) west of Lemoore, not far from the earlier site. The completion of the California Aqueduct in the early 1970s brought needed water for agriculture and domestic use to the west side of the county.

According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1392 square miles (3,605 km2), of which 1389 square miles (3,597 km2) is land and 2.1 square miles (5 km2) (0.2%) is water. Kings County is bordered on the north and northwest by Fresno County, on the east by Tulare County, on the south by Kern County and a small part of San Luis Obispo County and on the west by Monterey County. Table Mountain is the highest point in Kings County at an elevation of 3,476 feet (1059 m). It is located in the Diablo Range in southwestern Kings County on the boundary between Kings and Monterey counties. Most of the historic Tulare Lake was within Kings County. Although reclaimed for farming late in the 19th century, it was the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lakes.

Kings County has a large annual celebration held each May called Kings County Homecoming Week. In 2015, the event was scaled back to one day and renamed Pioneer Days. The event returned as Kings County Homecoming Week in 2016 but without the traditional parade.

Kings Area Regional Transit (KART) operates regularly scheduled fixed route bus service, vanpool service for commuters and Paratransit (demand response) services throughout Kings County as well as to Fresno. Amtrak trains stop in Corcoran and Hanford. Orange Belt Stages provides inter city bus service to and from Hanford. Connections with Greyhound can be made in Visalia or Paso Robles.

Hanford Municipal Airport is a general aviation airport located just southeast of Hanford. The privately owned airport in Avenal is the home of the Central California Soaring Club.