The two highways in the far northwest corner of New Mexico cannot be reached from any other point in New Mexico. People have to go through parts of Colorado or Arizona to get there. No roads connect with these two highways. The nearest road in New Mexico is four miles away and it is a primitive dirt track on the Navajo Reservation. The nearest road, also unpaved, that can be driven by a passenger vehicle is six miles to the southeast. Between these two dirt roads and U.S. Highway 160 are the San Juan River, several miles of desert, Tohache Wash and then another strip of desert.
This creates an unusual situation for the New Mexico Department of Transportation when it comes to maintaining the two highways in this corner of the state. The only way to get there is to go through either Arizona or Colorado. The nearest New Mexico Highway Department maintenance yard is in Farmington. To get to, say, the junction of U.S. Highway 160 and State Highway 597, the highway maintenance crews have to drive 55 miles west and then turn northeast, in Arizona, and then drive 6 miles to the intersection, re-entering New Mexico 4/10 of a mile from the intersection. Nine miles of this route is in the northeast corner of Arizona. Another route they can take is to go twenty-nine miles west from Farmington and then turn north in Shiprock and head into Colorado on U.S. Highway 491. Six miles into Colorado, they would turn left, or southwest, onto Highway 160. Then they would have seventeen miles to travel to re-enter New Mexico and another half mile to arrive at the intersection. Twenty-three miles of this route are in Colorado.
This interesting situation raises another question. What if there is a serious car accident on the short stretch of U.S. Highway 160 that is in New Mexico? I am assuming the New Mexico State Highway Patrol would respond, but they would have to drive through other states, where they have no jurisdiction, to get there. The Navajo Tribe has a police force, but they have very limited jurisdiction over non Navajos. Can a person speed like mad for 9/10 of a mile when they are driving on Highway 160 through New Mexico? What if there is some type of incident right on the Four Corners Monument itself? A person can easily step into another state and out of the jurisdiction of the arresting officer, even though the person is only a few feet away from the officer. I wonder if they have ever had any incidents like this?
Friday, June 25, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
An Unusual Situation
The access road to the Four Corners Monument is in New Mexico. It is State Highway 597 and it is the second shortest state maintained highway in New Mexico. It is only half a mile long. At the end, the highway circles around the Four Corners Monument, which creates an unusual situation. Since the highway circles around the monument, that means that little "pie slice" portions of the highway are in Colorado, Utah and Arizona. This means that, for a short distance, the New Mexico Department of Transportation maintains a road that is not in New Mexico! Driving towards the monument, a person arrives at the circle at the end of the highway. Then 1/4 of the way around the circle, the driver enters Colorado, then Utah, then Arizona and then re-enters New Mexico, but the whole time is on a New Mexico state highway. Weird, huh?
The major highway that is in the area, U.S. Highway 160, is only in New Mexico for 9/10 of a mile. A driver coming out of Arizona, on Highway 160, heading in a northeast direction, will only be in New Mexico for slightly less the one mile before entering Colorado. This driver will just miss Utah if he or she continues through towards Cortez, Colorado. Halfway across this brief trip through New Mexico is the intersection with State Highway 597, leading to the Four Corners Monument.
About halfway down highway 597 is a pay station at the entrance to Four Corners Navajo Tribal Park. I realize that the Navajo Tribe operates a tribal park that encompasses 3 sides of the Four Corners Monument, and they have the right to charge admission to their tribal parks so they will have the funds to maintain the parks, but having the pay booth in the middle of a state-maintained highway poses a bit of a problem with me. This pay station effectively renders State Highway 597 a toll road for half its length. Maybe they could relocate the pay booth to the entrance of the circle? Or they could put a coin-operated turnstile in the railing that runs around the monument. Also, since the Colorado side of the monument is part of the Ute Mountain Indian Reservation, I hope the Ute Tribe gets 1/4 of the proceeds from the entrance fees. I don't know if the Ute side is a tribally maintained park or not, but their portion of the monument is an integral part of the Four Corners because the monument marks the meeting point of 4 states and 1 of those states consists of a separate Indian Reservation occupied by a different tribe.
The major highway that is in the area, U.S. Highway 160, is only in New Mexico for 9/10 of a mile. A driver coming out of Arizona, on Highway 160, heading in a northeast direction, will only be in New Mexico for slightly less the one mile before entering Colorado. This driver will just miss Utah if he or she continues through towards Cortez, Colorado. Halfway across this brief trip through New Mexico is the intersection with State Highway 597, leading to the Four Corners Monument.
About halfway down highway 597 is a pay station at the entrance to Four Corners Navajo Tribal Park. I realize that the Navajo Tribe operates a tribal park that encompasses 3 sides of the Four Corners Monument, and they have the right to charge admission to their tribal parks so they will have the funds to maintain the parks, but having the pay booth in the middle of a state-maintained highway poses a bit of a problem with me. This pay station effectively renders State Highway 597 a toll road for half its length. Maybe they could relocate the pay booth to the entrance of the circle? Or they could put a coin-operated turnstile in the railing that runs around the monument. Also, since the Colorado side of the monument is part of the Ute Mountain Indian Reservation, I hope the Ute Tribe gets 1/4 of the proceeds from the entrance fees. I don't know if the Ute side is a tribally maintained park or not, but their portion of the monument is an integral part of the Four Corners because the monument marks the meeting point of 4 states and 1 of those states consists of a separate Indian Reservation occupied by a different tribe.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Four Corners, The Monument
Even though the north-south boundary line that separates Arizona from New Mexico was never intended to be on the 109th meridian, as is generally perceived, it is still a little bit off. The intended line was supposed to be 109 degrees, 2 minutes and 59.25 seconds west longitude. Due to a surveying error, however, the line is
109 degrees, 2 minutes and 42.62019 seconds. One second of latitude and longitude is equal to 90 feet. That means that the line is about 675 feet east of where it should be (I am using rounded off figures here, for simplicity's sake). That is equal to slightly more than 2 football fields. Charles Robbins did a commendable surveying job given the primitive equipment that he had to work with.
The east-west boundary line that runs through the Four Corners Monument is also slightly off. This line was surveyed several times and none of the surveyors got it right! It moved north and south several times before the present line was accepted and agreed upon by the affected states. The line is currently at 36 degrees, 59 minutes and 56.31532 seconds north latitude, just south of 37 degrees north latitude where it was intended to be. The currently accepted boundary line is about 360 feet south of where it should be, slightly more than a football field.
There has been some controversy about whether New Mexico and Utah really touch each other at a corner. My answer to that is "Yes They Do." Yes they do touch each other at the corner because, even though the Four Corners is a little off, all four states involved have accepted the current spot as the official meeting place of all of the states and that makes it official. It has also been approved by the United States Congress and since everyone involved has approved of it, that trumps any written description of the boundary.
109 degrees, 2 minutes and 42.62019 seconds. One second of latitude and longitude is equal to 90 feet. That means that the line is about 675 feet east of where it should be (I am using rounded off figures here, for simplicity's sake). That is equal to slightly more than 2 football fields. Charles Robbins did a commendable surveying job given the primitive equipment that he had to work with.
The east-west boundary line that runs through the Four Corners Monument is also slightly off. This line was surveyed several times and none of the surveyors got it right! It moved north and south several times before the present line was accepted and agreed upon by the affected states. The line is currently at 36 degrees, 59 minutes and 56.31532 seconds north latitude, just south of 37 degrees north latitude where it was intended to be. The currently accepted boundary line is about 360 feet south of where it should be, slightly more than a football field.
There has been some controversy about whether New Mexico and Utah really touch each other at a corner. My answer to that is "Yes They Do." Yes they do touch each other at the corner because, even though the Four Corners is a little off, all four states involved have accepted the current spot as the official meeting place of all of the states and that makes it official. It has also been approved by the United States Congress and since everyone involved has approved of it, that trumps any written description of the boundary.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Boundary Lines, Facts & Figures
So I have already established the fact that the north-south boundary line that intersects at the Four Corners Monument was never meant to be on the 109th meridian as everyone assumes. That being said, the monument is still not exactly where it should be located. However, that fact is irrelevant because since all of the states involved have accepted the Four Corners Monument as the official meeting point of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona, it is the legal boundary. Since the states have accepted the boundary, that trumps any written description of the boundary.
Yes the north-south boundary is slightly off, but so is the east-west boundary, which is supposed to run precisely on 36 degrees north latitude. This line was not surveyed by Robbins. In fact this line was surveyed by quite a few people and none of them nailed it exactly. As I mentioned in a previous installment about the Four Corners, there is a place where New Mexico, Colorado and Oklahoma all come together and the east-west border is 2 millimeters south of where it should be. But this line, even though it is a little bit off, is the legally accepted boundary between New Mexico and Colorado.
In fact, there is a place on the New Mexico/Colorado border that is even farther off than 2 millimeters. About 150 miles due east of the Four Corners where the state border angles to the southeast for about half a mile before resuming its east-west journey. Twelve miles east of that point, there is a very slight, almost imperceptible slant back to the northeast. The slant is about 3 miles long but it is so slight that it only goes northward only about 1/10 of a mile. On the east side of New Mexico, where the state borders Texas, there was a correction made to an erroneous survey. At this point, New Mexico laps above the top of the Texas Panhandle for 2 1/4 miles. The New Mexico/Oklahoma border is precisely on 103 degrees west longitude, but the New Mexico/Texas border is 2 1/4 miles west of that line because of a serious surveying error that was made.
In Yellowstone National Park, the border between Wyoming and Montana angles northward and southward several times.
The border between Vermont and Quebec, supposedly on the 45th parallel, deviates from that line several times. The line is very erratic. In fact, the town of Derby Line, Vermont, which is located on the Canadian border, is north of the 45th parallel. Technically, it should be in Canada, but the presently accepted boundary line is official, thereby making Derby Line part of the United States. .
People make a big deal about the fact the Four Corners is not exactly in the right place, but there are many, many borders that are not in exactly the right place. It doesn't matter that the Four Corners monument isn't in the exact spot that it should be in because, since all 4 states involved have accepted, it is a legal border and none of the states involved have ever tried to move it.
Yes the north-south boundary is slightly off, but so is the east-west boundary, which is supposed to run precisely on 36 degrees north latitude. This line was not surveyed by Robbins. In fact this line was surveyed by quite a few people and none of them nailed it exactly. As I mentioned in a previous installment about the Four Corners, there is a place where New Mexico, Colorado and Oklahoma all come together and the east-west border is 2 millimeters south of where it should be. But this line, even though it is a little bit off, is the legally accepted boundary between New Mexico and Colorado.
In fact, there is a place on the New Mexico/Colorado border that is even farther off than 2 millimeters. About 150 miles due east of the Four Corners where the state border angles to the southeast for about half a mile before resuming its east-west journey. Twelve miles east of that point, there is a very slight, almost imperceptible slant back to the northeast. The slant is about 3 miles long but it is so slight that it only goes northward only about 1/10 of a mile. On the east side of New Mexico, where the state borders Texas, there was a correction made to an erroneous survey. At this point, New Mexico laps above the top of the Texas Panhandle for 2 1/4 miles. The New Mexico/Oklahoma border is precisely on 103 degrees west longitude, but the New Mexico/Texas border is 2 1/4 miles west of that line because of a serious surveying error that was made.
In Yellowstone National Park, the border between Wyoming and Montana angles northward and southward several times.
The border between Vermont and Quebec, supposedly on the 45th parallel, deviates from that line several times. The line is very erratic. In fact, the town of Derby Line, Vermont, which is located on the Canadian border, is north of the 45th parallel. Technically, it should be in Canada, but the presently accepted boundary line is official, thereby making Derby Line part of the United States. .
People make a big deal about the fact the Four Corners is not exactly in the right place, but there are many, many borders that are not in exactly the right place. It doesn't matter that the Four Corners monument isn't in the exact spot that it should be in because, since all 4 states involved have accepted, it is a legal border and none of the states involved have ever tried to move it.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Four Corners, The Controversy
The source of the rumors about the Four Corners Monument being located in the wrong place is the false assumption that the north and south line that intersects at the Four Corners was intended to be on 109th Meridian, also known as 109 degrees West longitude. That was not the case. Back in the 1800s, many people used lines of latitude(called parallels) and lines of longitude(called meridians) to mark artificial borders. The United States Congress did this when it came to east-west lines using latitude. However, before 1912, Congress predominantly used the "Washington Meridian" instead of the more popular "Greenwich Meridian" to make surveys and mark borders involving longitude. The Greenwich Meridian is the "0" point for lines of longitude and it runs through the Royal Observatory in London, England. The "Washington Meridian" now defunct, once ran through the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C.
Initially, New Mexico and Arizona were combined into a single territory and when the decision was made to split them into separate territories, it was originally decided to split them with an east-west line, running the border on 34 degrees North latitude, a short distance north of Phoenix. However, this idea never came to fruition and it was decided to split the territories on a north-south line. The act of Congress that called for splitting New Mexico Territory, and thus created Arizona Territory during the Civil War stipulated that line would be "32 degrees west of the Washington Meridian."
This worked out to 109 degrees, 2 minutes and 59.25 seconds West longitude. This placed the line 2 3/4 miles west of the 109th meridian.
A reknowned surveyor of the day by the name of Charles Robbins was hired to survey the line. He diligently surveyed the line and marked the intersection of the line with the 37th parallel of latitude with a wooden post. Evidently he had encountered quite a bit of ridicule and skepticism while he was making his survey because, after he finished, he wrote a letter to the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper (which is still in business today) about his survey. His letter is as follows:
" It seems to have been the general impression that the line was 109 degrees of
longitude west of Greenwich. Such is not the case, as was the law makes it 32 degrees
west from Washington, which corresponds to 109 degrees, 02 minutes, 59.25 seconds west
from Greenwich, which places the line a small fraction less than 3 miles farther west than
would have been the case if it had been run as the 109 degrees of longitude"
In the next installment of this blog, I will go into more specifics about the placing of the Four Corners Monument.
Initially, New Mexico and Arizona were combined into a single territory and when the decision was made to split them into separate territories, it was originally decided to split them with an east-west line, running the border on 34 degrees North latitude, a short distance north of Phoenix. However, this idea never came to fruition and it was decided to split the territories on a north-south line. The act of Congress that called for splitting New Mexico Territory, and thus created Arizona Territory during the Civil War stipulated that line would be "32 degrees west of the Washington Meridian."
This worked out to 109 degrees, 2 minutes and 59.25 seconds West longitude. This placed the line 2 3/4 miles west of the 109th meridian.
A reknowned surveyor of the day by the name of Charles Robbins was hired to survey the line. He diligently surveyed the line and marked the intersection of the line with the 37th parallel of latitude with a wooden post. Evidently he had encountered quite a bit of ridicule and skepticism while he was making his survey because, after he finished, he wrote a letter to the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper (which is still in business today) about his survey. His letter is as follows:
" It seems to have been the general impression that the line was 109 degrees of
longitude west of Greenwich. Such is not the case, as was the law makes it 32 degrees
west from Washington, which corresponds to 109 degrees, 02 minutes, 59.25 seconds west
from Greenwich, which places the line a small fraction less than 3 miles farther west than
would have been the case if it had been run as the 109 degrees of longitude"
In the next installment of this blog, I will go into more specifics about the placing of the Four Corners Monument.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
A Unique Place
There is one a very unique geographic place in the United States. It is the only place in the United States where 4 different states meet. It is called "Four Corners" and is the meeting point of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. There are plenty of places where 3 states come together, such as Texas/New Mexico/Oklahoma; Oklahoma/New Mexico/Colorado; Colorado/Nebraska/Wyoming; Nevada/Idaho/Oregon; New York/Vermont/Massachusetts; Indiana/Michigan/Ohio; Arizona/Nevada/California; New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania and plenty of others, but the Four Corners is unique.
The Four Corners Monument lies in Apache County, Arizona; San Juan County, Utah; San Juan County, New Mexico and Montezuma County, Colorado.
The Colorado side of the meeting point is on the Ute Mountain Indian Reservation and the other three sides are on the Navajo Indian Reservation.
This unusual area has become quite a tourist attraction, attracting about 300,000 visitors annually. The last time I visited this area was in June, 2009, I have visited this area on at least a dozen other occasions. It is amusing to watch people posing for pictures in wildly contorted positions so they can be in 4 states at one time!
The Navajo Tribe operates a tribal park on their three sides of the monument. The Ute side is evidently not a tribal-government maintained park, but it is a popular tourist destination nevertheless. When I was approaching the Four Corners on my most recent visit, it was an odd sight to see a big crowd of people gathered in what otherwise is a forbidding desert locale. I saw the crowd of people from about a mile away!
Recently, some of the luster has been taken off of this unique location because of published stories about errors made in the original survey of the boundary line. The stories state that the Four Corners Monument is not in the right place. The fact is, the monument is a little bit off, but so is nearly every other border in the United States that follows lines of latitude and longitude. The tri-point that marks the corner of New Mexico, Colorado and Oklahoma, which is supposed to be exactly on 37 degrees North Latitude, is actually
2 millimeters south of where it should be. Two millimeters! That is 2/3 of an inch! Surveying is not an exact science, but given the primitive nineteenth century surveying equipment that was used in establishing
the Four Corners, I think the surveyor did an impeccable job. Furthermore, since the monument has been accepted by all 4 states involved and approved by the United States Congress, that makes it the legal meeting point of all 4 states. State and Congressional approval trumps written descriptions of the border and this has always been the case.
In the next installment of this blog, I will go into specifics about where the Four Corners Monument was intended to be and where it actually is.
The Four Corners Monument lies in Apache County, Arizona; San Juan County, Utah; San Juan County, New Mexico and Montezuma County, Colorado.
The Colorado side of the meeting point is on the Ute Mountain Indian Reservation and the other three sides are on the Navajo Indian Reservation.
This unusual area has become quite a tourist attraction, attracting about 300,000 visitors annually. The last time I visited this area was in June, 2009, I have visited this area on at least a dozen other occasions. It is amusing to watch people posing for pictures in wildly contorted positions so they can be in 4 states at one time!
The Navajo Tribe operates a tribal park on their three sides of the monument. The Ute side is evidently not a tribal-government maintained park, but it is a popular tourist destination nevertheless. When I was approaching the Four Corners on my most recent visit, it was an odd sight to see a big crowd of people gathered in what otherwise is a forbidding desert locale. I saw the crowd of people from about a mile away!
Recently, some of the luster has been taken off of this unique location because of published stories about errors made in the original survey of the boundary line. The stories state that the Four Corners Monument is not in the right place. The fact is, the monument is a little bit off, but so is nearly every other border in the United States that follows lines of latitude and longitude. The tri-point that marks the corner of New Mexico, Colorado and Oklahoma, which is supposed to be exactly on 37 degrees North Latitude, is actually
2 millimeters south of where it should be. Two millimeters! That is 2/3 of an inch! Surveying is not an exact science, but given the primitive nineteenth century surveying equipment that was used in establishing
the Four Corners, I think the surveyor did an impeccable job. Furthermore, since the monument has been accepted by all 4 states involved and approved by the United States Congress, that makes it the legal meeting point of all 4 states. State and Congressional approval trumps written descriptions of the border and this has always been the case.
In the next installment of this blog, I will go into specifics about where the Four Corners Monument was intended to be and where it actually is.
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