U.S. Route 89 in Arizona
In the U. S. state of Arizona, U. S. Route 89 is a U. S. Highway that begins in Flagstaff and heads north to the Utah border northwest of Page. U. S. 89 begins at Arizona. The highway proceeds north passing through the Navajo Nation. Near the Utah state line the highway splits into U. S. 89 and U. S. Route 89A; the Alternate is the original highway. The two highways rejoin in Utah; the main branch passes over the Colorado River just south of the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell near Page enters Utah. The Alternate branch crosses the Colorado River at Navajo Bridge and proceeds to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon before entering Utah. Prior to 1992, the southern terminus of US 89 was at Arizona. US 89 ran concurrently with Interstate 19 until Green Valley; the route was taken through Tucson via Congress Street and Granada Avenue. The route was carried out of Tucson via State Route 77. Further north it was carried via the Pinal Pioneer Parkway northwest out of Oracle Junction on SR 79. In Maricopa County, it ran concurrently with existing US 60 along Main Street in Mesa, Apache Boulevard and Mill Avenue in Tempe along Van Buren Street in Phoenix to Grand Avenue to Wickenburg.
Departing Wickenburg, it followed SR 89 to Prescott. Departing Prescott, the route followed present-day SR 89 to Ash Fork ran east concurrently with I-40 to Flagstaff. In Flagstaff, US 89 ran along Milton Road and Santa Fe Avenue; the highway crossed the Little Colorado River at Cameron on the Cameron Suspension Bridge until 1959, when the bridge was retired and replaced by a parallel span. On February 20, 2013, the main alignment of US 89 was closed in both directions 25 miles south of Page due to a landslide that caused the roadway to buckle and subside. Traffic was re-routed via 45 miles of tertiary roads on the Navajo Reservation. Alternate routes through Las Vegas, Nevada, or Hurricane and Marble Canyon were suggested. US 89T opened in August 2013 as a bypass of the closed section, utilizing Navajo Route 20 as an alignment. U. S. 89 reopened in March 2015 after a $25 million repair project. The entire route is in Coconino County. U. S. Route 89T was the designation for Navajo Route 20, a 44-mile road running parallel to U.
S. 89 in Arizona. Added to the Arizona state highway system in 2013, US 89T served as a temporary detour for a closed section of US 89; the need for US 89T arose in February 2013, when a geological event caused a 150-foot stretch of US 89 25 miles south of Page to buckle. The loss of this stretch of road forced detours for traffic entering the Page area from the south; the Navajo Nation declared a state of emergency. Motorists were rerouted on a 115-mile detour via US 160 and SR 98 or a 90-mile detour on N20, which had a 28-mile unpaved stretch. At the same time, commute times into Page increased, merchants in Page and the surrounding area lost significant business; the Arizona Department of Transportation added the road to the state highway system as US 89T and moved to get money and equipment to pave the road. As the Navajo had wanted to pave N20 for decades, some design and environmental clearances had been obtained, it took just 79 days to pave N20 in a project that might have otherwise taken more than a year.
In addition to pavement, right-of-way and fencing to separate the road from the local livestock population were required. The improved road opened to traffic on August 29, 2013. Plans call for the road to be used for three years before the road reverts to Bureau of Indian Affairs jurisdiction; the route lacked proper fencing, cattle guards, pavement markings to support safe travel at higher speeds. As a result, US-89T was open to local traffic only at night, posted speed limits as low as 25 miles per hour; as of October 15, US-89T restrictions were lifted following the installation of upgraded control features. With the reopening of mainline US 89 in March 2015, the US 89T designation was retired and ownership of the route returned to the Navajo Reservation in April 2015. U. S. Route 89A Arizona State Route 89 Arizona State Route 89A Pry, Mark E. "FROM BORDER TO BORDER: U. S. ROUTE 89". Arizona transportation history. Final report 660. Phoenix, Ariz.: Arizona Dept. of Transportation, Research Center.
Pp. 95–97. US 89 Landslide at ADOT
Arizona
Arizona is a state in the southwestern region of the United States. It is part of the Western and the Mountain states, it is the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona shares the Four Corners region with Utah and New Mexico. Arizona is the 48th state and last of the contiguous states to be admitted to the Union, achieving statehood on February 14, 1912, coinciding with Valentine's Day. Part of the territory of Alta California in New Spain, it became part of independent Mexico in 1821. After being defeated in the Mexican–American War, Mexico ceded much of this territory to the United States in 1848; the southernmost portion of the state was acquired in 1853 through the Gadsden Purchase. Southern Arizona is known for its desert climate, with hot summers and mild winters. Northern Arizona features forests of pine, Douglas fir, spruce trees. There are ski resorts in the areas of Flagstaff and Tucson. In addition to the Grand Canyon National Park, there are several national forests, national parks, national monuments.
About one-quarter of the state is made up of Indian reservations that serve as the home of 27 federally recognized Native American tribes, including the Navajo Nation, the largest in the state and the United States, with more than 300,000 citizens. Although federal law gave all Native Americans the right to vote in 1924, Arizona excluded those living on reservations in the state from voting until the state Supreme Court ruled in favor of Native American plaintiffs in Trujillo v. Garley; the state's name appears to originate from an earlier Spanish name, derived from the O'odham name alĭ ṣonak, meaning "small spring", which applied only to an area near the silver mining camp of Planchas de Plata, Sonora. To the European settlers, their pronunciation sounded like "Arissona"; the area is still known as alĭ ṣonak in the O'odham language. Another possible origin is the Basque phrase haritz ona, as there were numerous Basque sheepherders in the area. A native Mexican of Basque heritage established the ranchería of Arizona between 1734 and 1736 in the current Mexican state of Sonora, which became notable after a significant discovery of silver there, c.
1737. There is a misconception. For thousands of years before the modern era, Arizona was home to numerous Native American tribes. Hohokam and Ancestral Puebloan cultures were among the many that flourished throughout the state. Many of their pueblos, cliffside dwellings, rock paintings and other prehistoric treasures have survived, attracting thousands of tourists each year; the first European contact by native peoples was with Marcos de Niza, a Spanish Franciscan, in 1539. He explored parts of the present state and made contact with native inhabitants the Sobaipuri; the expedition of Spanish explorer Coronado entered the area in 1540–1542 during its search for Cíbola. Few Spanish settlers migrated to Arizona. One of the first settlers in Arizona was José Romo de Vivar. Father Kino was the next European in the region. A member of the Society of Jesus, he led the development of a chain of missions in the region, he converted many of the Indians to Christianity in the Pimería Alta in the 1690s and early 18th century.
Spain founded presidios at Tubac in 1752 and Tucson in 1775. When Mexico achieved its independence from the Kingdom of Spain and its Spanish Empire in 1821, what is now Arizona became part of its Territory of Nueva California known as Alta California. Descendants of ethnic Spanish and mestizo settlers from the colonial years still lived in the area at the time of the arrival of European-American migrants from the United States. During the Mexican–American War, the U. S. Army occupied the national capital of Mexico City and pursued its claim to much of northern Mexico, including what became Arizona Territory in 1863 and the State of Arizona in 1912; the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo specified that, in addition to language and cultural rights of the existing inhabitants of former Mexican citizens being considered as inviolable, the sum of US$15 million dollars in compensation be paid to the Republic of Mexico. In 1853, the U. S. acquired the land south below the Gila River from Mexico in the Gadsden Purchase along the southern border area as encompassing the best future southern route for a transcontinental railway.
What is now known as the state of Arizona was administered by the United States government as part of the Territory of New Mexico until the southern part of that region seceded from the Union to form the Territory of Arizona. This newly established territory was formally organized by the Confederate States government on Saturday, January 18, 1862, when President Jefferson Davis approved and signed An Act to Organize the Territory of Arizona, marking the first official use of the name "Territory of Arizona"; the Southern territory supplied the Confederate government with men and equipment. Formed in 1862, Arizona scout companies served with the Confederate States Army duri
Maricopa County, Arizona
Maricopa County is a county in the south-central part of the U. S. state of Arizona. The U. S. Census Bureau estimated its population was 4,307,033 as of 2017, making it the state's most populous county, the fourth-most populous in the United States, containing more than half the population of Arizona, it is more populous than 23 states. The county seat is the state capital and fifth-most populous city in the United States. Maricopa County is the central county of the Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area. Maricopa County was named after the Maricopa Indians. There are five Indian reservations located in the county; the largest are the Gila River Indian Community. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 9,224 square miles, of which 9,200 square miles is land and 24 square miles is water. Maricopa County is one of the largest counties in the United States by area, with a land area greater than that of four states. From west to east, it stretches 132 miles and 103 miles from north to south.
It is by far Arizona's most populous county, encompassing well over half of the state's residents. It is the largest county in the United States to have a capital city. La Paz County – west Yuma County – west Pima County – south Pinal County – southeast Gila County – east Yavapai County – north Sonoran Desert National Monument Tonto National Forest As of the census of 2000, there were 3,072,149 people, 1,132,886 households, 763,565 families residing in the county; the population density was 334 people per square mile. There were 1,250,231 housing units at an average density of 136/sq mi; the racial makeup of the county was 77.4% White, 3.7% African American, 1.9% Native American, 2.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 11.9% from other races, 2.9% from two or more races. 29.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 19.1% reported speaking Spanish at home. There were 1,132,886 households out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.6% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.6% were non-families.
24.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.21. The population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 19.80% from 45 to 64, 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $45,358, the median income for a family was $51,827. Males had a median income of $36,858 versus $28,703 for females; the per capita income for the county was $22,251. About 8.0% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.4% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over. As of the 2010 census, there were 3,817,117 people, 1,411,583 households, 932,814 families residing in the county; the population density was 414.9 inhabitants per square mile.
There were 1,639,279 housing units at an average density of 178.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 73.0% white, 5.0% black or African American, 3.5% Asian, 2.1% American Indian, 0.2% Pacific islander, 12.8% from other races, 3.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 29.6% of the population. The largest ancestry groups were: Of the 1,411,583 households, 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.8% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.9% were non-families, 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.25. The median age was 34.6 years. The median income for a household in the county was $55,054 and the median income for a family was $65,438. Males had a median income of $45,799 versus $37,601 for females; the per capita income for the county was $27,816. About 10.0% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.8% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.
According to data provided by the United States Census Bureau in October 2015 and collected from 2009-2013, 73.72% of the population aged five years and over spoke only English at home, while 20.32% spoke Spanish, 0.56% spoke Chinese, 0.47% Vietnamese, 0.41% Tagalog, 0.37% Arabic, 0.36% German, 0.30% French, 0.25% Navajo, 0.21% Korean, 0.20% Hindi, 0.15% Italian, 0.14% Persian, 0.13% Russian, 0.13% Serbocroatian, 0.12% Telugu, 0.12% Polish, 0.11% Syriac, 0.11% Japanese, 0.11% spoke Romanian, 0.10% spoke other Native North American languages at home. The governing body of Maricopa County is its Board of Supervisors; the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors consists of five members chosen by popular vote within their own districts. The Board consists of four Republicans, each representing districts in the more affluent or conservative districts of the county, one Democrat, representing the largest district; each member serves a four-year term, with no term limits. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office provides court protection, administers the county jail, patrols the unincorporated areas of the county plus incorporated towns by contract.
Maricopa County has a long history of being a Republican Party stronghold. While the city of Phoenix leans towards the Democratic Party, along with some other small areas within the county, the rest of the
Yavapai County, Arizona
Yavapai County is near the center of the U. S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 211,073; the county seat is Prescott. Yavapai County comprises AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area. Yavapai County was one of the four original Arizona counties created by the 1st Arizona Territorial Legislature; the county territory was defined as being east of longitude 113° 20' and north of the Gila River. Soon thereafter, the counties of Apache, Coconino and Navajo were carved from the original Yavapai County. Yavapai County's present boundaries were established in 1891; the county is named after the Yavapai people, who were the principal inhabitants at the time the United States annexed the area. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 8,128 square miles, of which 8,123 square miles is land and 4.4 square miles is water. It has about 93% of the area of the U. S. state of New Jersey. It is larger than three U. S. states and the District of Columbia combined. The county's topography makes a dramatic transition from the lower Sonoran Desert to the south to the heights of the Coconino Plateau to the north, the Mogollon Rim to the east.
The highest point above sea level in Yavapai County is Mount Union at an elevation of 7,979 ft and the lowest is Agua Fria River drainage, now under Lake Pleasant. Mohave County—west La Paz County—southwest Maricopa County—south Gila County—east Coconino County—north/northeast Agua Fria National Monument Coconino National Forest Kaibab National Forest Montezuma Castle National Monument Prescott National Forest Tonto National Forest Tuzigoot National MonumentThere are nineteen official wilderness areas in Yavapai County that are part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Fourteen of these are integral parts of National Forests listed above, whereas five are managed by the Bureau of Land Management; some of these extend into neighboring counties: Apache Creek Wilderness Arrastra Mountain Wilderness in Mohave County. Public land: about 75% of the county's area is publicly owned, includingFederal ownership: about 50% of the county's area is owned by the federal government of the United States, includingNational Forest lands, managed by the US Forest Service: 38% of the county's area Federal lands managed by the U.
S. Bureau of Land Management: 11.6% of the county's area Small areas of federal land are managed by the U. S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and the National Park Service: less than 0.5% of the county's area. Yavapai-Prescott Tribe 1,413 acres Yavapai-Apache Nation 685 acres About 25% of Yavapai County is owned by the State of Arizona as state trust lands, managed by the Arizona State Land Department. There are numerous fauna species within Yavapai County. For example, a number of plants within the genus Ephedra and Coreopsis are found in the county. Yavapai County is the location of several groves of the near-threatened California Fan Palm, Washingtonia filifera. Yavapai County is home to Arcosanti, a prototype arcology, developed by Paolo Soleri, under construction since 1970. Arcosanti is just north of Arizona. Out of Africa Wildlife Park is a private zoo; the park moved to the Camp Verde area from the East Valley in 2005. 10 miles northwest of the town of Bagdad lies the Upper Burro Creek Wilderness Area, a 27,440-acre protected area home to at least 150 species of birds and featuring one of the Arizona desert's few undammed perennial streams.
As of the 2000 census, there were 167,517 people, 70,171 households, 46,733 families residing in the county. The population density was 21 people per square mile. There were 81,730 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile; the racial makeup of the county was 91.89% White, 0.39% Black or African American, 1.60% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 3.58% from other races, 1.95% from two or more races. 9.78% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 70,171 households out of which 23.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.00% were married couples living together, 8.10% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.40% were non-families. 26.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.40% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.79. In the county, the population was spread out with 21.10% under the age of 18, 7.10% from 18 to 24, 22.40% from 25 to 44, 27.40% from 45 to 64, 22.00% who were 65 years of age or older.
The median age
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States; the system is named for President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Construction was authorized by the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, the original portion was completed 35 years although some urban routes were cancelled and never built; the network has since been extended. In 2016, it had a total length of 48,181 miles; as of 2016, about one-quarter of all vehicle miles driven in the country use the Interstate system. In 2006, the cost of construction was estimated at about $425 billion; the United States government's efforts to construct a national network of highways began on an ad hoc basis with the passage of the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916, which provided for $75 million over a five-year period for matching funds to the states for the construction and improvement of highways.
The nation's revenue needs associated with World War I prevented any significant implementation of this policy, which expired in 1921. In December 1918, E. J. Mehren, a civil engineer and the editor of Engineering News-Record, presented his "A Suggested National Highway Policy and Plan" during a gathering of the State Highway Officials and Highway Industries Association at the Congress Hotel in Chicago. In the plan, Mehren proposed a 50,000-mile system, consisting of five east–west routes and 10 north–south routes; the system would include two percent of all roads and would pass through every state at a cost of $25,000 per mile, providing commercial as well as military transport benefits. As the landmark 1916 law expired, new legislation was passed—the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921; this new road construction initiative once again provided for federal matching funds for road construction and improvement, $75 million allocated annually. Moreover, this new legislation for the first time sought to target these funds to the construction of a national road grid of interconnected "primary highways", setting up cooperation among the various state highway planning boards.
The Bureau of Public Roads asked the Army to provide a list of roads that it considered necessary for national defense. In 1922, General John J. Pershing, former head of the American Expeditionary Force in Europe during the war, complied by submitting a detailed network of 20,000 miles of interconnected primary highways—the so-called Pershing Map. A boom in road construction followed throughout the decade of the 1920s, with such projects as the New York parkway system constructed as part of a new national highway system; as automobile traffic increased, planners saw a need for such an interconnected national system to supplement the existing non-freeway, United States Numbered Highways system. By the late 1930s, planning had expanded to a system of new superhighways. In 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave Thomas MacDonald, chief at the Bureau of Public Roads, a hand-drawn map of the United States marked with eight superhighway corridors for study. In 1939, Bureau of Public Roads Division of Information chief Herbert S. Fairbank wrote a report called Toll Roads and Free Roads, "the first formal description of what became the interstate highway system" and, in 1944, the themed Interregional Highways.
The Interstate Highway System gained a champion in President Dwight D. Eisenhower, influenced by his experiences as a young Army officer crossing the country in the 1919 Army Convoy on the Lincoln Highway, the first road across America. Eisenhower gained an appreciation of the Reichsautobahn system, the first "national" implementation of modern Germany's Autobahn network, as a necessary component of a national defense system while he was serving as Supreme Commander Of Allied Forces in Europe during World War II, he recognized that the proposed system would provide key ground transport routes for military supplies and troop deployments in case of an emergency or foreign invasion. The publication in 1955 of the General Location of National System of Interstate Highways, informally known as the Yellow Book, mapped out what became the Interstate Highway System. Assisting in the planning was Charles Erwin Wilson, still head of General Motors when President Eisenhower selected him as Secretary of Defense in January 1953.
The Interstate Highway System was authorized on June 29, 1956 by the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, popularly known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956. Three states have claimed the title of first Interstate Highway. Missouri claims that the first three contracts under the new program were signed in Missouri on August 2, 1956; the first contract signed was for upgrading a section of US Route 66 to what is now designated Interstate 44. On August 13, 1956, Missouri awarded the first contract based on new Interstate Highway funding. Kansas claims. Preliminary construction had taken place before the act was signed, paving started September 26, 1956; the state marked its portion of I-70 as the first project in the United States completed under the provisions of the new Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. The Pennsylvania Turnpike could be considered one of the first Interstate Highways. On October 1, 1940, 162 miles of the highway now designated I‑70 and I‑76 opened between Irwin and Carlisle.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania refers to the turnpike as the Granddaddy of the Pikes. Milestones in the construction of the Interstate Highway System include: October 17, 1974: Nebraska becomes
Interstate 15 in Arizona
Interstate 15 is an Interstate Highway, running from San Diego, United States, to the Canada–US border, through Mohave County in northwest Arizona. Despite being isolated from the rest of Arizona, in the remote Arizona Strip, short in length at 29.43 miles, it remains notable for its scenic passage through the Virgin River Gorge. The highway heads in a northeasterly direction from the Nevada border northeast of Mesquite, Nevada, to the Utah border southwest of St. George, Utah; the south portion of I-15's route was built close to the alignment of the old U. S. Route 91, but the northern section, through the Virgin River Gorge, was built along roadless terrain; the southern section of the highway was complete and open in the early 1960s, but the gorge section was inaccessible until 1973. When it opened, the Virgin River Gorge passage was the most expensive section of rural Interstate per mile; the highway is signed and designated the Veterans Memorial Highway, a designation which continues into Utah.
Traffic volume along the Arizona section of I-15 is 23,000 vehicles per day. The highway is a part of the CANAMEX Corridor, a trade corridor in North America linking Edmonton, Alberta in Canada and Mexico City; the highway enters the state in Mohave County northeast of Mesquite and Las Vegas, paralleling the old US 91 heading northeast on an alignment north of the Virgin River. I-15 parallels the Virgin River for its entire length in Arizona, but the terrain abruptly becomes more rugged at mile 13, where the Virgin River Gorge begins; the first interchange is exit 8 at Littlefield. I-15 crosses the river for the first time just beyond Littlefield, soon passes another interchange serving local roads eastwards; this exit, exit 9, is a right-in/right-out design with frontage roads, constructed after the initial opening. Access under I-15 is provided just south of the ramps. Beyond exit 9, I-15 enters the Virgin River Gorge, first passing through "The Narrows". Here, the gorge features limestone cliffs.
Several pulloffs allow access to these cliffs. Within the canyon, through which it ascends northbound and descends southbound, five bridges cross the river; the highway follows the winding course of the river, but several rock cuts bypass bends. The canyon opens up at the Cedar Pocket interchange, allowing for a rest area; this rest area was turned over to the federal Bureau of Land Management in 2002 which maintains the nearby Virgin River Gorge Recreation Area. The rest area was demolished in 2009. I-15 begins to deviate more. Trees here include tamarix, cottonwoods and Joshua trees. Wildflowers such as globemallow and sand verbena dot the route in springtime. At mile 22.5, the highway crosses the Virgin River for the final time, continuing east along the smaller Black Rock Gulch before turning northeast into a flatter area. The final interchange provides local access. A weigh station/port of entry served both sides of the road near mile 28 before the Utah state line; the weigh station/port of entry are now combined into a joint Arizona/Utah facility just north of the state line staffed by the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division and Utah DOT Motor Carrier Division.
I-15 continues on into Utah providing access to St. George as well as Salt Lake City; the Old Spanish Trail from Southern California had two routes through northwestern Arizona, splitting at Littlefield. When the Arrowhead Trail was marked in the 1920s, U. S. Route 91 in 1926, automobile travelers between Nevada and Utah followed the northerly routing, turning east in Utah to reach St. George; when the Interstates were planned, federal authorities decided to save 12 miles over US 91 and pass through the Virgin River Gorge to take advantage of its scenery and lower grades for trucks. Construction was completed first, on the portion between Nevada and the gorge; the bridges over Big Bend Wash were completed in 1962. The bridge over the Virgin River near Littlefield was completed by 1964. By 1965, the overpass over Black Rock Road was complete. Construction through the gorge was slower and much more difficult, the segment could not open until December 14, 1973. To help quicken construction, the state of Utah loaned a portion of their federal highway funds to Arizona.
Though the highway is of little importance to the transportation needs of Arizona, as it does not link any Arizona communities, it does serve as a vital link between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas and Los Angeles to the southwest. Despite extra funding, challenges remained. Flash flooding and quicksand in the gorge caused problems, with equipment and materials disappearing overnight. Worse, the project was to claim a life, when in October 1969, a helicopter performing reconnaissance on the gorge crashed due to wind, killing the pilot. To help navigate the gorge's rugged and unforgiving terrain, a special piece of equipment called a swamp buggy had to be brought from Texas. With this help, the route still demanded construction of four bridges over Virgin River; the westernmost bridge and the bridge carrying the northbound lanes at the third bridge location from the west were completed in 1972. By 1973, all five bridges were complete. Before its opening, it was promoted as the most scenic highway in the state.
Sedona, Arizona
Sedona is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U. S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 10,031. Sedona's main attraction is its array of red sandstone formations; the formations appear to glow in brilliant orange and red when illuminated by the rising or setting sun. The red rocks form a popular backdrop for many activities, ranging from spiritual pursuits to the hundreds of hiking and mountain biking trails. Sedona was named after Sedona Arabella Miller Schnebly, the wife of Theodore Carlton Schnebly, the city's first postmaster, celebrated for her hospitality and industriousness, her mother, Amanda Miller, claimed to have made the name up because "it sounded pretty". The first documented human presence in the Sedona area dates to between 11,500 and 9000 B. C, it was not until 1995 that a Clovis projectile point discovered in Honanki revealed the presence of the Paleo-Indians, who were big game hunters.
Around 9000 B. C. the pre-historic Archaic people appeared in the Verde Valley. These were hunter-gatherers and their presence in the area was longer than in other areas of the Southwest, most because of the ecological diversity and large amount of resources, they left by 300 A. D. There is an assortment of rock art left by the Archaic people in places near Sedona such as Palatki and Honanki. Around 650 A. D. the Sinagua people entered the Verde Valley. Their culture is known for its art such as pottery and their masonry, they left rock art and cliff dwellings such as Montezuma Castle, Honanki and Tuzigoot in the period of their presence. The Sinagua abandoned the Verde Valley about 1400 A. D. Researchers believe the Sinagua and other clans moved to the Hopi mesas in Arizona and the Zuni and other pueblos in New Mexico; the Yavapai came from the west when the Sinagua were still there in the Verde Valley around 1300 A. D, they were nomadic hunter-gatherers. Some archaeologists place the Apache arrival in the Verde Valley around 1450 A.
D. Many Apache groups traveled over large areas; the Yavapai and Apache tribes were forcibly removed from the Verde Valley in 1876, to the San Carlos Indian Reservation, 180 miles southeast. About 1,500 people were marched, to San Carlos. Several hundred lost their lives; the survivors were interned for 25 years. About 200 Yavapai and Apache people returned to the Verde Valley in 1900 and have since intermingled as a single political entity although culturally distinct residing in the Yavapai-Apache Nation; the first Anglo settler, John J. Thompson, moved to Oak Creek Canyon in 1876, an area well known for its peach and apple orchards; the early settlers were ranchers. In 1902, when the Sedona post office was established, there were 55 residents. In the mid-1950s, the first telephone directory listed 155 names; some parts of the Sedona area were not electrified until the 1960s. Sedona began to develop as a tourist vacation-home and retirement center in the 1950s. Most of the development seen today was constructed in the 1990s.
As of 2007, there are no large tracts of undeveloped land remaining. In 1956, construction of the Chapel of the Holy Cross was completed; the chapel rises 70 feet out of a 1,000-foot redrock cliff. The most prominent feature of the chapel is the cross. A chapel was added. Inside the chapel there is a cross with benches and pews. Sedona played host to more than sixty Hollywood productions from the first years of movies into the 1970s. Stretching as far back as 1923, Sedona's red rocks were a fixture in major Hollywood productions—including films such as Johnny Guitar and the Badman, Desert Fury, Blood on the Moon, The Last Wagon, 3:10 to Yuma. However, the surroundings were identified to audiences as the terrain of Texas, California and Canada–US border territory. On June 18, 2006, a wildfire started by campers, began about one mile north of Sedona; the Brins Fire covered 4,317 acres on Brins Mesa, Wilson Mountain and in Oak Creek Canyon before the USDA Forest Service declared it 100 percent contained on June 28.
Containment cost was estimated at $6.4 million. On May 20, 2014, a wildfire started from an unknown cause began north of Sedona at Slide Rock State Park; the Slide Fire spread across 21,227 acres in Oak Creek Canyon over nine days and prompted evacuations. State Route 89A opened to Flagstaff in June, but all parking and canyon access was closed to the public until Oct. 1, 2014. Sedona is located in the Upper Sonoran Desert of northern Arizona. Sedona has hot summers. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.2 square miles, of which 0.04 square miles, or 0.22%, is water. The red rocks of Sedona are formed by a unique layer of rock known as the Schnebly Hill Formation; the Schnebly Hill Formation is a thick layer of red to orange-colored sandstone found only in the Sedona vicinity. The sandstone, a member of the Supai Group, was deposited during the Permian Period. Sedona has a temperate semi-arid climate. In January, the average high temperature is 57 °F with a low of 31 °F.
In July, the average high temperature is 97 °F with a low of 64 °F. Annual precipitation is just over 19 inches; as of the census of 2000, there were 10,192 people, 4,928 households, 2,863 families residing in the city. The population density was 548.0 people per square mile. There were 5,684 housing units at an average density of 305.6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 92.17% White, 0.49% Black or African American, 0.45% Native American, 0.94%
I-10 / US 60 in Phoenix
I-40 / SR 89A in Flagstaff.svg)
→
I-10 west – Sky Harbor
Loop 101
Loop 303 south / Sonoran Desert Drive
SR 74 west (Carefree Highway) – Wickenburg
SR 69 north / Cordes Lakes Road – Prescott
SR 169 south – Dewey-Humboldt, Prescott
CR 30 west – McGuireville, Cornville, Montezuma Well
SR 179 north – Sedona
Primary Interstate Highways