The city of Blythe, named after San Francisco developer/financier Thomas Blythe who first came here in 1877 and established primary water rights on the Colorado River, was incorporated on July 21, 1916.

Agriculturally based and heavily impacted by tourism, Blythe is located (map) on the California-Arizona border along the Colorado River. Blythe compromises a population of 21,500 and a stable trade area of about 30,300 which more than triples during the winter months with the arrival of visitors seeking relief from their cold climate home states during that season. Although California seems synonymous with earthquakes, Blythe is one of the most seismically stable cities in the Western States. There has not been an earthquake centered here in over 500,000 years.