| City of Yuma, Arizona | |
|---|---|
| — City — | |
| Old Yuma Post Office | |
| Location of Yuma, Arizona | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Arizona |
| County | Yuma |
| Incorporated | 1914 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Alan L. Kreiger (R) |
| Area | |
| • City | 106.7 sq mi (276.4 km2) |
| • Land | 106.7 sq mi (276.2 km2) |
| • Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2) 0.07% |
| Elevation | 138 ft (43 m) |
| Population (2010)[1] | |
| • City | 93,064 |
| • Density | 726.8/sq mi (280.6/km2) |
| • Urban | 94,842 |
| Time zone | MST (no DST) (UTC-7) |
| Area code(s) | 928 |
| FIPS code | 04-85540 |
| Website | http://www.YumaAZ.gov/ |
Yuma (Cocopah: Yuum) is a city in and the county seat[2] of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. It is located in the southwestern corner of the state, and the population of the city was 77,515 at the 2000 census, with a 2010 Census Bureau population of 93,064.[3]
Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona Metropolitan Statistical Area, which consists of Yuma County. According to the United States Census Bureau, the 2008 estimated population of the Yuma MSA is 194,322,[4] though more than 85,000 retirees make Yuma their winter residence.[5]
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The area's first settlers were Native American tribes whose descendants now occupy the Cocopah and Quechan reservations. In 1540, expeditions under Hernando de Alarcon and Melchior Diaz visited the area and immediately saw the natural crossing of the Colorado River as an ideal spot for a city, as the Colorado River narrows to slightly under 1000 feet wide in one small point. Later military expeditions that crossed the Colorado River at the Yuma Crossing include Juan Bautista de Anza (1774), the Mormon Battalion (1848) and the California Column (1862).
Following the establishment of Fort Yuma, a town sprang up on the New Mexico Territory (now Arizona) side of the Colorado. The townsite was duly registered in San Diego, demonstrating that both banks of the Colorado River just below its junction with the Gila were recognized as being within the jurisdiction of California. The county of San Diego collected taxes from there for many years.[6] The town, initially called Colorado City, was renamed Arizona City in 1858. The city was almost completely destroyed by the Great Flood of 1862 and had to be rebuilt on higher ground.[7] It took the name Yuma in 1873.
From the 1850s through the 1870s, the Yuma Crossing was known for its ferry crossing. From 1852 it was the major steamboat stop on the way up and down the Colorado River. The steamboats transported passengers and equipment for the various mines and military outposts along the Colorado and into New Mexico Territory. They offloaded them from ships at the mouth of the Colorado River at Robinson's Landing and from 1864 at Port Isabel. From 1864, the Yuma Quartermaster Depot, today a state historic park, supplied all forts in present-day Arizona, as well as large parts of New Mexico, Colorado, New Mexico. Yuma served as the gateway to the new Republic (later State) of California, as it was one of the few natural spots where travelers could cross the otherwise very wide Colorado River. After Arizona became a separate territory, Yuma became the county seat for the area in 1864.
The Southern Pacific Railroad bridged the river in 1877, and acquired George Alonzo Johnson's Colorado Steam Navigation Company, the only steamboat company on the river. Yuma became the head of navigation on the river, ending the need for Port Isabel, which was abandoned in 1879.
Yuma is located at (32.692148, -114.615389),[8] near the borders of California to the west and Mexico to the south, and just west of the Gila River's confluence with the Colorado. The city is approximately 60 miles from the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez), a branch of the Pacific Ocean.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 106.7 square miles (276 km2), of which 106.6 square miles (276 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) (0.07%) is water.
Yuma features a desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh), with extremely hot summers and warm winters. Yuma is one of the hottest cities of any size in Arizona, with average July high temperatures of 107 °F (42 °C). Average January highs are around 70 °F (21 °C). According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Yuma is the sunniest place on earth. Of the possible 4,456 hours of daylight each year, the sun shines in Yuma for roughly 4,174 hours, or about 94% of the time. The near perfect flying weather year round attracts military interest in training their pilots here. On average Yuma receives about 3 inches of rain annually.
On July 28, 1995, Yuma reached its all-time high of 124 °F (51 °C). The lowest recorded temperature fell to 13 °F (−11 °C) on the Yuma mesa in January 2007. The temperature fell to 13 °F (−11 °C) for approximately two hours and was deleterious to the many crops grown in and around Yuma. The crop that suffered the most damage was the citrus on the Yuma mesa, most notably the lemon crop which suffered a 75% to 95% loss of crop and trees as stated by the Arizona Department of Agriculture in a February 2007 report.
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 91 mm of rain at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma.
| Climate data for Yuma, AZ | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 88 (31) |
97 (36) |
102 (39) |
107 (42) |
120 (49) |
122 (50) |
124 (51) |
120 (49) |
123 (51) |
112 (44) |
98 (37) |
86 (30) |
124 (51) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 69.9 (21.1) |
75.2 (24.0) |
80.1 (26.7) |
87.2 (30.7) |
94.7 (34.8) |
104.4 (40.2) |
107.3 (41.8) |
106.1 (41.2) |
101.0 (38.3) |
90.3 (32.4) |
77.3 (25.2) |
69.0 (20.6) |
88.5 (31.4) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 46.2 (7.9) |
48.8 (9.3) |
52.8 (11.6) |
58.1 (14.5) |
65.1 (18.4) |
73.2 (22.9) |
80.8 (27.1) |
80.8 (27.1) |
75.3 (24.1) |
64.0 (17.8) |
52.2 (11.2) |
45.8 (7.7) |
61.9 (16.6) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 13 (−11) |
25 (−4) |
31 (−1) |
38 (3) |
39 (4) |
50 (10) |
61 (16) |
58 (14) |
50 (10) |
35 (2) |
29 (−2) |
22 (−6) |
13 (−11) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 0.38 (9.7) |
0.28 (7.1) |
0.27 (6.9) |
0.09 (2.3) |
0.05 (1.3) |
0.02 (0.5) |
0.23 (5.8) |
0.61 (15.5) |
0.26 (6.6) |
0.26 (6.6) |
0.14 (3.6) |
0.42 (10.7) |
3.01 (76.5) |
| Sunshine hours | 272 | 283 | 341 | 375 | 419 | 420 | 403 | 395 | 360 | 334 | 293 | 279 | 4,174 |
| Source: http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/ [9] | |||||||||||||
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1870 | 1,144 |
|
|
| 1880 | 1,200 | 4.9% | |
| 1890 | 1,773 | 47.8% | |
| 1900 | 1,519 | −14.3% | |
| 1910 | 2,914 | 91.8% | |
| 1920 | 4,237 | 45.4% | |
| 1930 | 4,892 | 15.5% | |
| 1940 | 5,325 | 8.9% | |
| 1950 | 9,145 | 71.7% | |
| 1960 | 23,974 | 162.2% | |
| 1970 | 29,007 | 21.0% | |
| 1980 | 42,481 | 46.5% | |
| 1990 | 56,966 | 34.1% | |
| 2000 | 77,515 | 36.1% | |
| [10] | |||
As of the census[11] of 2000, there were 77,515 people, 26,649 households, and 19,613 families residing in the city. The population density was 726.8 people per square mile (280.6/km²). There were 34,475 housing units at an average density of 323.3 per square mile (124.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 68.3% White, 3.2% Black or African American, 1.5% Native American, 1.5% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 21.4% from other races, and 3.9% from two or more races. 45.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 26,649 households out of which 38.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.4% were non-families. 21.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.27.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.6% under the age of 18, 11.9% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 17.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 99.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.2 males.
According to the 2006 American Community Survey estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $39,885, and the median income for a family was $41,588. Males had a median income of $35,440 versus $27,035 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,393. About 14.1% of families and 16.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.4% of those under age 18 and 13.9% of those age 65 or over. The high poverty rate may be due to unemployment, as Yuma tops CareerBuilder.com's list of 20 U.S. cities with the highest unemployment rates.[12]
High unemployment remains an issue in Yuma. Citing April 2009 data, the Bureau of Labor Statistics ranked Yuma as #2 among the 13 U.S. cities that post unemployment rates above 15 percent. Yuma came in at 20.3 percent, under the 26.9 percent in El Centro, California.[13] Yuma's agricultural workforce, which adjusts to the picking season, is cited as the reason for the high unemployment by the Arizona Department of Commerce.[14]
According to the City's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[15] the top employers in the Yuma Metropolitan Statistical Area are:
| # | Employer | # of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marine Corps Air Station Yuma | 5,586 |
| 2 | Yuma Proving Ground | 3,000 |
| 3 | Yuma Regional Medical Center | 2,037 |
| 4 | Yuma Elementary School District One | 1,700 |
| 5 | County of Yuma | 1,400 |
| 6 | Growers Company | 1,200 |
| 7 | United States Border Patrol | 1,064 |
| 8 | City of Yuma | 1,014 |
| 9 | 1,000 | |
| 10 | Yuma Union High School District | 950 |
Other large employers include Bose, Dole Fresh Vegetables and Shaw Industries.[16]
Yuma contains the historical Yuma Territorial Prison*, the Yuma Quartermaster Depot State Historic Park* (formerly known as the Yuma Crossing Historic Park), and a historic downtown area. Yuma is an Arizona Main Street City. * - because of budget cutbacks, Arizona State Parks no longer operates the Territorial Prison and Quartermaster Depot. They are now operated by the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area and the City of Yuma. The Yuma Visitors Bureau oversees the Welcome Center at the Quartermaster Depot and is the official Visitors Center for the Yuma Community.
Near Yuma are the Kofa Mountain Range and wildlife refuge, Martinez and Mittry Lakes, and the Algodones Dunes.
The city is the location of the Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, which conducts an annual air show and many large-scale military exercises. There is also the Yuma Proving Ground, an Army base which tests new military equipment.Yuma Proving Ground is also home to the Special Operations Free Fall School, which provides training in Free fall parachute operations to Special Forces units in all branches of service, as well as those of other nations.
The Colorado River runs along the north and west side of town, and serves as the border between Arizona and California. Yuma is an important station for trucking industry movement of goods between California, Arizona, and Mexico.
The Rialto movie theater once owned a Kilgen pipe organ, one of the most expensive pipe organs to have been made. Originally played as accompaniment to silent films, it has been relocated to the Yuma Theater.
Every February Yumans enjoy the annual rodeo, the Yuma Jaycees Silver Spur Rodeo. A parade opens the events. Cowboys and cowgirls from all over the country compete in the festivities.
The Yuma County fair takes place annually in the Spring at the fairgrounds in Yuma.
Yuma has a minor league ballpark, Desert Sun Stadium home to the Yuma Scorpions of the North American League and site of home games of two (was four) teams for the Arizona Winter League.[17] The San Diego Padres used the field as a spring training facility from 1969 until 1993.[18] and a Japanese baseball team, the Yakult Swallows used the field for spring training for 20 years.[19] Many local club sports exist in the area as well, including the Yuma Sidewinders Rugby Football club. The rugby team participates in the Division III Arizona Men's Rugby League, and travels throughout Arizona, California, and Nevada, as well as playing home games in Yuma.
The city is zoned to the Yuma Union High School District. The Yuma area has 9 high schools: Yuma Union High School (or simply Yuma High), Kofa High School, Cibola High School, the newly built Gila Ridge High School, the private Yuma Catholic High School and Calvary Baptist School, as well as the San Luis area San Luis High School. Yuma also has three special program and charter high schools: Vista High School, Carpe Diem Collegiate High School, and YPIC Charter High School. Yuma has two main elementary school districts, District One and Crane District, which include several schools as well as junior high schools.
Arizona Western College is Yuma's community college serving primarily as a choice for transfer students and those with shorter career goals.
Northern Arizona University has a branch campus in Yuma. As well as University of Phoenix.
Yuma is served by the Yuma County Library District which consists of a Main Library and several branches including locations in Somerton, Wellton, the Foothills, and San Luis. A new main state of the art library is now open.
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