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Yuma is a city in and county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2000 census, its total population was 77,515. Yuma is located close to the border with California to the West and with Mexico to the South. Yuma is just ... more »
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Airports Yuma is a city in and county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2000 census, its total population was 77,515.
Yuma is located close to the border with California to the West and with Mexico to the South. Yuma is just west of the Gila and Colorado River confluence.
Yuma contains the historical Yuma Territorial Prison, the Yuma Crossing Historic Park, and the great downtown area; Yuma is an Arizona Main Street City. Around Yuma are the Kofa Mountain Range and wildlife refuge, Martinez and Mittry lakes, as well as the Algodones Dunes, which draw tens of thousands of visitors every year. Winter holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving are very popular. Thousands of people Camp out at the "dunes" each year. Unfortunately, due to careless driving and the use of alcohol while driving, many end up spending their holiday at Yuma Regional Medical Center.
There are many hunting and fishing opportunities in Yuma, as uninhabited areas of the county offer a home for a variety of game and fish. Mule Deer and Desert Bighorn Sheep can be found in surrounding areas. Coyotes can be found throughout the area and even in city limits. Dove and quail seasons are popular sporting occasions each autumn, the Mourning dove being a byproduct of the extensive Colorado river–irrigated agriculture lands.
The city is also host to Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, which conducts an annual air show and many large scale military exercises.
Another site of interest in Yuma is the Colorado River which runs along the west side of town dividing Arizona and California.
Nearby is the town of Los Algodones, Baja California which has become a very popular spot for tourists to shop and eat.
Initially there were several tribes of Native Americans in Yuma.
* Quechan Indians have a reservation here, across the Colorado River north of downtown Yuma. * Cocopah Indians also have a reservation, in three separate parts. One is WNW of the city, right on the Colorado River where it borders Arizona, California and Mexico; one further south along the river; and one south of Yuma.
In 1540 expeditions under Hernando de Alarcon and Melchior Diaz visited here and immediately saw the natural crossing of the Colorado River was an ideal spot for a city.
From the 1850s through the 1870s, the Yuma Crossing was known for its steamboat crossing, and spot for them to stop on the way up and down the river. The steamboats transported passengers and equipment for the various mines and military outposts. Yuma served as the gateway to the new western territory of California, as it was one of the few natural spots to cross the (at that point in time) very wide Colorado River. The Southern Pacific Railroad bridged the river in 1870 and helped continue Yuma as a major hub in the desert southwest. Yuma became the county seat for the area in 1864.
In 1997, the desert city sustained a full tropical storm after Hurricane Nora made landfall at the mouth of the Colorado River and quickly moved due north along it. The extraordinarily rare event cut power to 12,000 customers in Yuma, and dropped 3.59 inches or over 90mm of rain at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma.
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* Yuma is the hottest city of its size in the United States, with average July high temperatures of 107 degrees Fahrenheit. (By way of comparison, the corresponding figure for Death Valley is 115 degrees.) Average January highs are around 69 degrees.
On July 28, 1995 Yuma reached its all-time high at 124 degrees.
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Distances are calculated as the crow flies, and are provided as an aid in planning only.
* This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Source wikipedia.
