Physical Characteristics. Sarasota County is on the Gulf coast, south of the Tampa-St.Petersburg-Bradenton area and is bordered by Charlotte, De Soto, and Manatee counties. The county has 573.14 square miles of land and 31.90 square miles of water for a total of 605.04 square miles. The average January temperature is 61.5 degrees fahrenheit, and the average August temperature is 80.1 degrees fahrenheit. The average annual rainfall is 57.11 inches.
History. Sarasota County was established in 1921 from a portion of Manatee County. The exact meaning of the name is unknown and may be of Indian origin. The name was first applied to a prominent part of the of the county's shoreline known as Point O' Rocks. Early versions of the name include "Saraste," "Sarazota," and "Sara Zota."
