Only region in the United States where four states share a boundary point
The
Four Corners
is a region of the
Southwestern United States
consisting of the
southwestern corner
of
Colorado
,
southeastern corner
of
Utah
,
northeastern corner
of
Arizona
, and
northwestern corner
of
New Mexico
. Most of the Four Corners region belongs to semi-autonomous
Native American
nations, the largest of which is the
Navajo Nation
, followed by
Hopi
,
Ute
, and
Zuni
tribal reserves and nations. The Four Corners region is part of a larger region known as the
Colorado Plateau
and is mostly rural, rugged, and arid.
The Four Corners area is named after the
quadripoint
at the intersection of approximately 37° north latitude with 109° 03′ west longitude, where the boundaries of the four states meet, and are marked by the
Four Corners Monument
. It is the only location in the United States where four states meet. In addition to the monument, commonly visited areas within Four Corners include
Monument Valley
,
Mesa Verde National Park
,
Chaco Canyon
,
Canyons of the Ancients National Monument
and
Canyon de Chelly National Monument
. The most populous city in the Four Corners region is
Farmington, New Mexico
, followed by
Durango, Colorado
.
History
[
edit
]
The United States acquired the four corners region from Mexico after the end of the
Mexican?American War
in 1848. In 1863 Congress created the
Arizona Territory
from the western part of
New Mexico Territory
. The boundary was legally defined as a line running due south from the southwest corner of
Colorado Territory
, which had been created in 1861. This was an unusual act of Congress, which almost always defined the boundaries of new territories as lines of latitude or longitude, or following rivers, but seldom as extensions of other boundaries.
By defining one boundary as starting at the corner of another, Congress ensured the eventual creation of four states meeting at a point, regardless of the inevitable errors of boundary surveying.
[1]
Due to a "standard" survey error of the time, the originally surveyed location of the "Four Corners" point was unintentionally located by its initial surveyor as being 1,821 feet (555 m) east of the original location actually specified by the US Congress in 1863. The area was first surveyed by the U.S. Government in 1868 as part of an effort to make Colorado Territory into a state, the first of the Four Corners states formed.
The first marker was placed at the originally surveyed and current spot in 1868.
[2]
In 1925, some 57 years after Congress had first attempted to specify the spot, the problems surrounding the originally misplaced marker were brought up before the US Supreme Court. In order to amicably remedy this original surveying error, the US Supreme Court then redefined the point of the Four Corners, officially moving the Four Corners point roughly 1,800 feet (550 m) east, to where the original survey had first held it to be all along, and to where it remains to this day, duly marked.
[3]
This initial survey error has resulted in some longstanding misunderstandings about the correct location of the Four Corners marker, some of which remain to this day.
[4]
The first Navajo tribal government was established in 1923 to regulate an increasing number of oil exploration activities on Navajo land.
[5]
Geography
[
edit
]
The
Four Corners Monument
is located at
36°59′56.3″N
109°02′42.6″W
/
36.998972°N 109.045167°W
/
36.998972; -109.045167
.
[6]
The Four Corners is part of the high
Colorado Plateau
. This makes it a center for
weather systems
, which stabilize on the plateau then proceed eastward through Colorado and into the
central states
. This weather system creates snow- and rainfall over the central United States.
[7]
Federally protected areas in the Four Corners area include
Canyon de Chelly National Monument
,
Hovenweep National Monument
,
Mesa Verde National Park
, and
Canyons of the Ancients National Monument
. Mountain Ranges in the Four Corners include
Sleeping Ute Mountains
,
Abajo Mountains
, and the
Chuska Mountains
.
[8]
Politics
[
edit
]
Six governments have jurisdictional boundaries at the Four Corners Monument: the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, as well as the tribal governments of the
Navajo Nation
and
Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
.
[9]
The Four Corners Monument itself is administered by the
Navajo Nation
Department of Parks and Recreation.
[2]
Other tribal nations within the Four Corners region include the
Hopi
and other
Ute
.
[10]
The Four Corners is home to the capital of the Navajo tribal government at
Window Rock
, Arizona.
[5]
The Ute Mountain Ute tribal headquarters are located at
Towaoc
, Colorado.
[11]
The
US federal government
also has a large presence in the area, particularly the
Department of the Interior
with the
Bureau of Indian Affairs
and the
Department of Agriculture
with the
Forest Service
.
Cities
[
edit
]
The Four Corners region is mostly rural. The economic hub, largest city, and only
metropolitan area
in the region is
Farmington, New Mexico
.
[12]
The populated settlement closest to the center of Four Corners is
Teec Nos Pos
, Arizona.
[13]
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.
[12]
Transportation
[
edit
]
Air service is available via the
Durango-La Plata County Airport
in
Durango, Colorado
,
Four Corners Regional Airport
in
Farmington, New Mexico
, and
Cortez Municipal Airport
in
Cortez, Colorado
.
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
(which serves the
Four Corners Monument
itself),
U.S. Route 163
,
U.S. Route 191
,
U.S. Route 491
(previously
U.S. Route 666
[14]
), and
U.S. Route 550
.
The main line of the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
, now operated by the
BNSF Railway
, 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.
[8]
Helium
[
edit
]
The Four Corners region was one of the first locations in the United States in which helium was extracted, and the area is increasingly important as a source of helium supply, with the region being noted for its abundance of high-grade
'green' helium
.
[15]
The most notable helium field in the region is Arizona's Holbrook basin.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Hubbard, Bill Jr. (2009).
American Boundaries: the Nation, the States, the Rectangular Survey
. University of Chicago Press. p.
164
.
ISBN
978-0-226-35591-7
.
- ^
a
b
"Four corners Monument"
. Navajo Nation
. Retrieved
December 6,
2016
.
- ^
"The National Monument That's in the Wrong Place"
. 2013
. Retrieved
December 6,
2020
.
Correction of mistaken federal survey.
- ^
"Why the Four Corners Monument is in Exactly the Right Place"
.
www.ngs.noaa.gov
. 2009
. Retrieved
July 1,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
"Welcome to the Navajo Nation"
.
navajo-nsn.gov
. Navajo Nation. Archived from
the original
on April 17, 2021
. Retrieved
December 6,
2016
.
- ^
"Four Corners PID AD9256"
(
text file
)
.
NGS Survey Monument Data Sheet
. United States
National Geodetic Survey
. May 7, 2003
. Retrieved
January 15,
2007
.
- ^
Ward, Kathleen.
"Rainmaker, Go North ? Nebraska Needs Help, Too"
. Kansas State University Research and Extension. Archived from
the original
on September 12, 2006
. Retrieved
May 8,
2008
.
- ^
a
b
Arizona Road and Recreation Atlas
(Map) (2004 ed.). 1:400,000. Benchmark Maps. 2004. § D3.
ISBN
0-929591-84-4
.
- ^
"Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation"
(PDF)
.
U.S. Department of Energy
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on June 26, 2008
. Retrieved
May 11,
2008
.
- ^
"Four Corners Indian Tribes"
. Farmington, New Mexico Convention and Visitors Bureau
. Retrieved
December 6,
2016
.
- ^
"Ute Mountain Ute Tribe ? Overview and Statistics"
. Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
. Retrieved
May 11,
2008
.
- ^
a
b
"Four Corners Area Map"
. Farmington, New Mexico Convention and Visitors Bureau. Archived from
the original
on September 24, 2007
. Retrieved
May 8,
2008
.
- ^
"Google Maps"
. Google Maps
. Retrieved
May 8,
2008
.
- ^
Richard F. Weingroff.
"U.S. 666: Beast of a Highway?"
. (
USDOT
?
FHWA
)
. Retrieved
November 17,
2007
.
- ^
Fresne, Patrick (July 23, 2023).
"When a Rush Begins: A Field Guide to the Helium Hopefuls of the United States"
.
Gold and Revolution
. Retrieved
September 7,
2023
.
External links
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]
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