Navajo County, Arizona

Navajo County, Arizona
Historic Navajo County Courthouse and Museum in Holbrook, Arizona
Location in the state of Arizona
Arizona's location in the U.S.
Founded	March 21, 1895
Seat	Holbrook
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	9,959.49 sq mi (25,795 km²) 9,953.18 sq mi (25,779 km²) 6.31 sq mi (16 km²),
Population  - (2010)  - Density	107,449 10/sq mi (4/km²)
Website	www.navajocountyaz.gov/

Navajo County is located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census its population was 107,449. The county seat is Holbrook.

Navajo County contains parts of the Hopi Indian reservation, the Navajo Nation and Fort Apache Indian Reservation.

History

Navajo County was split from Apache County on March 21, 1895. The first county sheriff was legendary gunman Commodore Perry Owens, who had previously served as the sheriff of Apache County. It was the location for many of the events that played out during the Pleasant Valley War.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 9,959.49 square miles (25,795.0 km²), of which 9,953.18 square miles (25,778.6 km²) (or 99.94%) is land and 6.31 square miles (16.3 km²) (or 0.06%) is water.^[1]

Many people think that Arizona is a vast, open desert without vegetation. However, Navajo County offers not only the Monument Valley, but Keams Canyon, part of the Petrified Forest National Park, and the largest stand of Ponderosa Pines in North America.^{[citation needed]}

Major highways

• Interstate 40
• U.S. Route 60
• U.S. Route 160
• U.S. Route 163
• U.S. Route 180
• State Route 77
• State Route 87
• State Route 98
• State Route 99
• State Route 260
• State Route 264
• State Route 277
• State Route 377

Adjacent counties

• Apache County, Arizona - east
• Graham County, Arizona - south
• Gila County, Arizona - southwest
• Coconino County, Arizona - west
• San Juan County, Utah - north

Indian reservations

Navajo County has 6,632.73 square miles (17,178.7 km²) of federally designated Indian reservation within its borders, the third most of any county in the United States (neighboring Apache County and Coconino County are first and second). In descending order of territory within the county, the reservations are the Navajo Indian Reservation, Hopi Indian Reservation, and Fort Apache Indian Reservation, all of which are partly located within Navajo County.

National protected areas

Petroglyphs at Rock Art Canyon Ranch near Winslow

• Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest (part)
• Navajo National Monument
• Petrified Forest National Park (part)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	8,829		—
1910	11,471		29.9%
1920	16,077		40.2%
1930	21,202		31.9%
1940	25,309		19.4%
1950	29,446		16.3%
1960	37,994		29.0%
1970	47,715		25.6%
1980	67,629		41.7%
1990	77,658		14.8%
2000	97,470		25.5%
2010	107,449		10.2%

2010

Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:

• 49.3% White
• 0.9% Black
• 43.4% Native American
• 0.5% Asian
• 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
• 2.5% Two or more races
• 3.3% Other races
• 10.8% Hispanic or Latino (of any race)

2000

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 97,470 people, 30,043 households, and 23,073 families residing in the county. The population density was 10 people per square mile (4/km²). There were 47,413 housing units at an average density of 5 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 47.74% Native American, 45.91% White, 0.88% Black or African American, 0.33% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 3.15% from other races, and 55.94% from two or more races. 8.22% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 24.77% reported speaking Navajo at home, 5.94% other Southern Athabaskan languages, 4.71% Spanish, and 3.23% Hopi [1].

There were 30,043 households out of which 40.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.50% were married couples living together, 16.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.20% were non-families. 19.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.17 and the average family size was 3.68.

In the county the population was spread out with 35.40% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 25.30% from 25 to 44, 20.40% from 45 to 64, and 10.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 98.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,569, and the median income for a family was $32,409. Males had a median income of $30,509 versus $21,621 for females. The per capita income for the county was $11,609. About 23.40% of families and 29.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 36.60% of those under age 18 and 20.30% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Holbrook
• Show Low
• Winslow

Towns

• Pinetop-Lakeside
• Snowflake
• Taylor

Census-designated places

• Chilchinbito
• Cibecue
• Dilkon
• East Fork
• First Mesa
• Greasewood
• Heber-Overgaard
• Hotevilla-Bacavi
• Jeddito
• Kayenta
• Keams Canyon
• Kykotsmovi Village
• McNary
• Oljato-Monument Valley
• Pinon
• Second Mesa
• Shongopovi
• Shonto
• Whiteriver
• Winslow West

Other communities

• Indian Wells
• Joseph City
• Linden
• Oraibi
• Pinedale

Education

School districts that serve the county include:

• Blue Ridge Unified School District
• Cedar Unified School District
• Heber-Overgaard Unified School District
• Holbrook Unified School District
• Joseph City Unified School District
• Kayenta Unified School District
• Piñon Unified School District
• Show Low Unified School District
• Snowflake Unified School District
• Whiteriver Unified School District
• Winslow Unified School District

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Navajo County, Arizona

References

1. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
2. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

• Official county homepage

Coordinates: 35°29′52″N 110°17′23″W / 35.49778°N 110.28972°W / 35.49778; -110.28972