Yucca, Arizona

Yucca, Arizona
unincorporated community

Water tank in Yucca, Arizona
Yucca, Arizona

Location in the United States

Coordinates: 34°52′20″N 114°8′58″W / 34.87222°N 114.14944°W / 34.87222; -114.14944Coordinates: 34°52′20″N 114°8′58″W / 34.87222°N 114.14944°W / 34.87222; -114.14944
State Arizona
County Mohave
Founded 1883
Population 282
Time zone MST
ZIP codes 86438
Area code(s) 928

Yucca is an unincorporated community in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. Located along Interstate 40, it lies southwest of Kingman, just east of the southern section of the Black Mountains and west of the Hualapai and McCracken Mountains in the Sacramento Valley. Yucca has a ZIP Code of 86438; in 2000, the population of the 86438 ZCTA was 282.[1] Students in Yucca attend schools in the Kingman Unified School District.

Location and climate

Yucca is located about 35 miles north of Lake Havasu City, Arizona; 24 miles southwest of Kingman, Arizona; and 38 miles east of Needles, California. Yucca has a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh) with brutally hot summers and cool winters. In summer, it is normal to record temperatures above 110 °F (43 °C) for days on end, while in winter it is very mild with practically no snowfall: the highest rainfall in a month is merely 4.0 inches (0.10 m). The average minimum temperatures in the winter are usually 30 to 45 °F (−1.1 to 7.2 °C). The sun shines throughout the spring and early summer and most of the limited rain falls from extratropical lows in the cooler months.

Climate data for Yucca, Arizona
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 82
(28)		 87
(31)		 96
(36)		 102
(39)		 109
(43)		 117
(47)		 120
(49)		 119
(48)		 111
(44)		 105
(41)		 89
(32)		 81
(27)		 120
(49)
Average high °F (°C) 61.5
(16.4)		 66.3
(19.1)		 71.3
(21.8)		 79.9
(26.6)		 89.4
(31.9)		 100.5
(38.1)		 105.0
(40.6)		 103.2
(39.6)		 97.1
(36.2)		 84.9
(29.4)		 70.7
(21.5)		 61.8
(16.6)		 82.63
(28.15)
Average low °F (°C) 38.2
(3.4)		 41.2
(5.1)		 44.4
(6.9)		 49.9
(9.9)		 59.1
(15.1)		 68.7
(20.4)		 76.7
(24.8)		 75.2
(24)		 67.0
(19.4)		 55.0
(12.8)		 43.8
(6.6)		 37.9
(3.3)		 54.76
(12.64)
Record low °F (°C) 4
(−16)		 18
(−8)		 21
(−6)		 31
(−1)		 35
(2)		 46
(8)		 48
(9)		 48
(9)		 40
(4)		 28
(−2)		 23
(−5)		 15
(−9)		 4
(−16)
Average rainfall inches (mm) 1.12
(28.4)		 1.08
(27.4)		 1.26
(32)		 0.35
(8.9)		 0.20
(5.1)		 0.08
(2)		 0.73
(18.5)		 0.94
(23.9)		 0.73
(18.5)		 0.49
(12.4)		 0.51
(13)		 0.64
(16.3)		 8.13
(206.4)
Average rainy days (≥ 0.01 inch) 4.0 3.7 4.5 2.2 1.6 0.6 2.2 3.3 2.4 2.3 2.0 2.7 31.5
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration[2]

History

Yucca started as an order office and water fill station for Atlantic and Pacific Railroad (affiliated with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway) in the 1880s. It was part of a rail line commissioned by congress spanning from St. Louis, Missouri to Needles, California. This rail line grew to be transcontinental and is a major freight corridor to Southern California.[3]

During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces purchased 2,284 acres (9.24 km2) of land and developed the Yucca Army Airfield for training pilots. In 1954 the air base was purchased by Ford Motor Company and along with additional land, was turned into the Arizona Proving Ground comprising nearly 4,000 acres (16 km2). Chrysler purchased the proving grounds in November 2007 from Ford for $34.9 million.[4][5]

Yucca became part of Route 66 in 1952 when the highway was realigned bypassing Oatman, Arizona. This was the heyday for the small town when motels, cafés, and a Whiting Brothers truck stop operated. In the early 1970s, Interstate 40 replaced the section of Route 66 going through Yucca. The motels and truck stop went out of business as people used facilities in larger Kingman, Arizona, and Needles, California.[6] A small general store/cafe, post office, automotive service center, real estate office, and bar were the only retail businesses remaining by 2008.

In 1997 a land exchange between the Santa Fe Railroad and the US Government of approximately 70,000 acres (280 km2) was completed just southwest of Yucca. Much of the land subsequently owned by the railroad was subdivided into typically 40-acre (160,000 m2) parcels and offered to the general public as the Stage Coach Trails development. This land has primarily been purchased by individuals for residential use or long term investment. Other smaller developments opened just north of Yucca in 2006. Over time these residential developments may spur renewed business growth in the area.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "American FactFinder". Factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2013-06-08.
  2. ↑ "Climatic Averages for the United States 1971-2000: YUCCA 1 NNE, AZ" (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2013-03-31.
  3. ↑ Santa Fe Transcon History
  4. ↑ Chrysler Arizona proving grounds review
  5. ↑ Chrysler Proving Grounds
  6. ↑ Yucca
  7. ↑ Arizona land, Kingman real estate for sale
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