Four Corners

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This article is about the region in the south-western United States. For other uses, see Four Corners (disambiguation).
The Four Corners region is in the red area on this map
The Four Corners region is in the red area on this map
The Four Corners Monument, placed by the Interior Department at the exact point.
The Four Corners Monument, placed by the Interior Department at the exact point.

The Four Corners is a region of the United States consisting of southwest Colorado, northwest New Mexico, northeast Arizona and southeast Utah. The name comes from the Four Corners Monument, located where the four states touch — the only location in the United States that is on the boundaries of as many as four states. The majority of the Four Corners region is part of sovereign indigenous nations. Two of these are the Navajo Nation and the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation which have a boundary at the Four Corners Monument in addition to the four states. The economic capital and largest city in the region is Farmington, New Mexico.

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[edit] Geography

The Four Corners Area is generally defined as a circle around the Four Corners Monument located at 36°59′56.31532″N, 109°02′42.62019″W[1]

The Four Corners is part of a high Colorado Plateau. This makes the area a center for weather systems, which stabilize on the plateau then proceed eastward toward the central and mountain states. This weather system creates snow and rain fall over the central United States.[2]

Protected areas in the Four Corners area include Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Hovenweep National Monument, Mesa Verde National Park and Monument Valley.[3] Mountain Ranges in the Four Corners include Sleeping Ute Mountains, Abajo Mountains and the Chuska Mountains[4]

[edit] Politics

Six governments have jurisdictional boundaries at the Four Corners: the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah as well as the tribal governments of the Navajo Nation and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.[5] The Four Corners Monument itself is administered by the Navajo Nation Department of Parks and Recreation.[6] Other tribal nations within the Four Corners region include Hopi and other Ute tribes.[7] The Four Corners is home to the capital of the Navajo tribal government at Window Rock, Arizona.[6] The Ute Mountain Ute Tribal headquarters are located at Towaoc, Colorado.[8]

[edit] Cities

The Four Corners region is mostly rural. The economic hub, largest city, and only metropolitan in the region is Farmington, New Mexico.[9] The populated settlement closest to the center of Four Corners is Teec Nos Pos, Arizona.[3] Other cities in the region include, Cortez and Durango in Colorado, Monticello and Blanding in Utah, Kayenta and Chinle in Arizona and Shiprock, Aztec and Bloomfield in New Mexico.[9]

[edit] Transportation

Interstate 40 passes along the southern edge of the Four Corners region. The primary U.S. Highways that directly serve the Four Corners include U.S. Route 64, U.S. Route 160, U.S. Route 163, U.S. Route 191, U.S. Route 491 (previously U.S. Route 666[10]) and U.S. Route 550.

The main line of the Santa Fe Railroad, now operated by BNSF Railroad, passes along the southern edge of Four Corners. The area is home to remnants of through railroads that are now heritage railways. These include the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad. The Black Mesa and Lake Powell Railroad, which connects a power plant with a coal mine near Kayenta comes near the Four Corners.[4]

[edit] History

The United States first acquired the area now called Four Corners from Mexico after the Mexican American War in 1848. The area was first surveyed by the U.S. Government in 1868 as part of an effort to form the state of Colorado, the first of the Four Corners states formed. The Four Corners was established as the jurisdictional boundary in 1901 when the boundaries of the state of Arizona were established.[11] The first marker was placed at the spot in 1912.[6] The first Navajo tribal government was established in 1923 to regulate an increasing number of oil exploration activities on Navajo tribal lands.[12]

[edit] See also

[edit] Similar places

[edit] References

  1. ^ Four Corners PID AD9256 (text file). NGS Survey Monument Data Sheet. United States National Geodetic Survey (2003-05-07). Retrieved on 2007-01-15.
  2. ^ Ward, Kathleen. Rainmaker, Go North – Nebraska Needs Help, Too. Kansas State University Research and Extension. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
  3. ^ a b Google Maps. Google using data from NAVTEQ. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
  4. ^ a b Benchmark Maps. Arizona Road and Recreation Atlas [map], 2004 edition, 1:400,000. (2004) ISBN 0-929591-84-4. Section D3.
  5. ^ Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation. U.S. Department of Energy. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  6. ^ a b c Four corners Monument. Navajo Nation. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
  7. ^ Four Corners Indian Tribes. Farmington, New Mexico Convention and Visitors Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
  8. ^ Ute Mountain Ute Tribe - Overview and Statistics. Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  9. ^ a b Four Corners Area Map. Farmington, New Mexico Convention and Visitors Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
  10. ^ Richard F. Weingroff. U.S. 666: Beast of a Highway?. (USDOT - FHWA). Retrieved on 2007-11-17.
  11. ^ Four Corners. Utah Office of Tourism/ Utah Travel Industry. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
  12. ^ Welcome to the Navajo Nation. Navajo Nation. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.