Map of Catalina CDP

Catalina is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pima County, Arizona, United States. The population was 7,025 at the 2000 census. Catalina continues to experience increasing population growth, while attempting to maintain its rural character. Catalina remains an unincorporated community, with no plans for annexation into any nearby towns.

Catalina CDP overview:
Name:	Catalina CDP
LSAD Code:	57
LSAD Description:	CDP (suffix)
State:	Arizona
County:	Pima County
Elevation:	3,123 ft (952 m)
Total Area:	14.14 sq mi (36.62 km²)
Land Area:	14.14 sq mi (36.62 km²)
Water Area:	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km²)
Total Population:	7,551
Population Density:	533.98/sq mi (206.17/km²)
ZIP code:	85738-85739
Area code:	520
FIPS code:	0411160
GNISfeature ID:	37213

Online Interactive Map

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Catalina online map. Source: Basemap layers from Google Map, Open Street Map (OSM), Arcgisonline, Wmflabs. Boundary Data from Database of Global Administrative Areas.

Catalina location map. Where is Catalina CDP?

Catalina location on the U.S. Map. Where is Catalina CDP. — Catalina location on the U.S. Map.

Catalina location on the Arizona map. Where is Catalina CDP. — Location of Catalina in Arizona.

History

Much of Catalina’s history and the land it now sits on is connected with the Golder Ranch. According to historian David Leighton of the Arizona Daily Star newspaper, Lloyd Golder III and family moved to Tucson from Illinois in 1956 and by the following year had purchased the Rancho Vistoso, which at the time was a 4,800 acre ranch. In 1959, Golder bought the nearby 18,000-acre, Rail N. Ranch from Roberta Nicholas whose ranch house is now the administration building for the Miraval Resort. The land included parts of what is now Catalina State Park to the south and part of the land where Biosphere 2 now sits, to the north.

From 1961 to 1964 he built the Golder Dam about 4 miles north of the Pinal County line but in a legal action that lasted several decades it was declared unsafe and the lakeside community that would have been called Lago del Oro, was never built. The Saddlebrooke subdivision now occupies that land and only the Lago Del Oro Parkway still exists as a reminder of the failed community. He later developed the Twin Lakes subdivision and the Rail N. Ranch subdivision on his land as well as naming many of the streets on his land.

Around 1976, Chief H.D “Bob” and Della Murray, started Golder Ranch Fire District and retired in 1993. The land for the fire district headquarters, was donated by Lloyd Golder and his brother in law Jim McLaughlin. The new fire department was named after Golder Ranch. Golder’s wife Vicki Cox Golder has served on Golder Ranch Fire District Board for many years.

Lloyd Golder III died in 2013. The ranch commonly known as Golder Ranch is legally still called the Rail N. Ranch and is still an active open-range ranch.