Four Corners Monument (original) (raw)

The Four Corners Monument commemorates the point in the Navajo Nation in the Southwest United States where the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet. It is located west of U.S. Highway 160, 40 miles southwest of Cortez, Colorado, at 109° 02' west, 36° 59' north.

Not only is the point a four-corner intersection, it is the only point in the country shared by four states. A Ute Indian reservation abuts the point in Colorado. The landmark is run by the Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation Department and is a popular, though isolated, tourist attraction.

The first permanent marker at the point was placed in 1912. It was replaced in 1992 with a granite marker embedded with a large circular bronze disk around the point, surrounded by smaller, appropriately located state seals and flags.

See also

Four Corners, Colorado Plateau, Anasazi

A second such intersection in North America was formed when Nunavut was founded in 1999. The intersection of Canada's Nunavut and Northwest Territories and its provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba at 60°N, 102°W, is located in remote northern wilderness, hundreds of kilometers from any road, railway, or airport, and is not graced with a similar monument.