The Four Corners Come Together

In the middle of nowhere

My sister and I always loved to get our pictures taken with the “You are now entering…” sign for states we were visiting.  We thought we hit the jackpot when our dad drove our Ford station wagon to the Four Corners Monument back in 1974. We got to get our picture taken standing on the only point in the United States shared by four states:  Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.  The monument also marks the boundary between two semi-autonomous Native American governments, the Navajo Nation, which maintains the monument as a tourist attraction, and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Reservation.

Me (in the back) with my sister in 1974. Notice that the Arizona state seal has been stolen and the tiles have been damaged.

The Four Corners region was first claimed by Native American tribes.   As the United States expanded from east to west, the area was claimed by different countries and was part of different territories with disputed borders. After the American Civil War ended, proper borders were surveyed and established with the best tools they had at the time to mark out these borders along latitudinal parallels.

Misplacement?

The original surveyors in 1868 didn't actually follow the lines of the meridian and parallel quite as accurately as they should have.  Back in 2009, media reports incorrectly stated that the Four Corners Monument was in error by 2.5 miles and suggested that the monument is not at the intersection of the four states. A spokesperson for the U.S. National Geodetic Survey (USNGS) has determined that the modern monument is actually located roughly 1,800 feet (550 m) east of where the Four Corners marker had originally been intended to be. The spokesperson, however, reiterated that the official survey completed 1875 was accepted by all states and therefore its markers, including the Four Corners Monument, are legally binding.

A basic tenet of boundary surveying is that once a monument has been established and accepted by the parties involved (in the case of the Four Corners monument, the parties were the four territories and the U.S. Congress), the location of the physical monument is the ultimate authority in delineating a boundary.

The current Four Corners Monument that was refurbished in 1992

The monument Itself

The physical monument marking the Four Corners has been rebuilt multiple times by the General Land Office and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) over the years since the original surveyors installed a seven-foot-tall sandstone shaft to mark the spot.

The first “permanent” marker erected in 1912, was a simple cement pad placed at the intersection of the four state boundaries.   In 1962, the BLM and the Bureau of Indian Affairs poured an elevated concrete pad around the 1931 brass marker; this pad included the state border lines and names in tile. This is the one my sister and I stood on back in 1974.  In 1992, the monument was refurbished with a large bronze disk embedded in granite surrounded by smaller state seals.  Circling the disk, starting from Colorado, the inscription reads with two words in each state ‘Here meet in freedom under God four states” There is a small survey marker at the intersection of the states (pictured). This current monument includes a visitor plaza and is more accessible to differently abled visitors.

Left: The survey marker installed in 1992. Right: The monument I visited in 1974. Notice how much more primitive it was than it is today.

The monument is maintained as a tourist attraction by the Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation Department, Four Corners Monument Navajo Tribal Park.

Flags of the four states as well as the flags of the Navajo and Ute Nations are flown around the monument.

How to Visit

The monument is located on the Colorado Plateau west of US Highway 160, approximately 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Cortez, CO.

Around the monument, local Navajo and Ute artisans sell souvenirs and food (love me some fry bread!). An admission fee is required to view and photograph the monument.  As of this writing, the fee is $8.00 per person (children under 6 are free).  The monument is a popular tourist attraction despite its remote and isolated location.  Note that this is not maintained by the National Parks Service so NPS annual passes are not valid here.

Check out the official website for hours of operations, holiday closures and any other important alerts.

Four Corners Monument Navajo Tribal Park | Navajo Nation Parks & Recreation

Due to its isolated geographical location, fuel, accommodation, food, and other amenities and facilities are limited within 30 or so miles of the monument, which means visitors are advised to bring plenty of fuel, cash, water, food, hand sanitizer, and any other items they may need throughout the day.