thumb|1901 Clifton railroad station, now used by the Chamber of Commerce and other community organizations.
thumb|[[Azurite specimen from the great Morenci Mine. ]]
Greenlee County is a county in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,563, making it Arizona's least populous county. The county seat is Clifton.
The economy of Greenlee County is dominated by the Morenci Mine, the largest copper mining operation in North America, and one of the largest copper mines in the world. , the mine complex, owned by Freeport-McMoRan, had about 3,300 employees.
History
Greenlee County was created in 1909 and named for Mason Greenlee, who was an early settler in the Clifton area. It was Arizona's 14th county and formed from part of Graham County, which opposed the formation because Graham County would lose considerable revenue. Clifton has always been the county seat.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.3%) is water. It is the second-smallest county by area in Arizona.
Adjacent counties
- Cochise County – south
- Graham County – west
- Apache County – north
- Catron County, New Mexico – east
- Grant County, New Mexico – east
- Hidalgo County, New Mexico – southeast
National protected areas
- Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest (part)
- Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area (part)
Major highways
- 20px U.S. Route 70
- 25px U.S. Route 191
- 20px State Route 75
- 20px State Route 78