Supai, Arizona | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 36°13′48″N112°41′33″W / 36.23000°N 112.69250°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Arizona |
County | Coconino |
Area | |
• Total | 1.72 sq mi (4.46 km2) |
• Land | 1.72 sq mi (4.46 km2) |
• Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
Elevation | 3,202 ft (976 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 208 |
• Density | 120.9302/sq mi (46.6367/km2) |
Time zone | UTC-7 (MST) |
ZIP code | 86435 |
Area code | 928 |
FIPS code | 04-71230 |
GNIS feature ID | 2410036 [2] |
Website | theofficialhavasupaitribe |
Supai (Havasupai : Havasuuw) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Coconino County, Arizona, United States, within the Grand Canyon.
As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a population of 208. [3] The capital of the Havasupai Indian Reservation, Supai is the only place in the United States where mail is still carried in and out by mules. [4]
Supai has been referred to as "the most remote community" in the contiguous United States by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. [5] It is accessible only by helicopter, on foot or by mule. Supai is 8 miles (13 km) from the nearest road and has no automobiles in the community. [4]
In 1910 there was a flood of Supai which affected the town. [6]
In the 1960s Martin Goodfriend, a tourist, began to advocate for the Supai people, and a columnist of the Arizona Republic , Don Dedera, wrote articles about Goodfriend's findings. [7] Dedera stated that Goodfriend countered a view that Supai was a kind of "Shangri-la". [8]
Tourists and some residents were evacuated from Supai and surrounding area on August 17 and 18, 2008, [9] due to flooding of Havasu Creek complicated by the failure of the earthen Redlands Dam (subsequent to the main flooding event [10] [11] ) after a night of heavy rainfall. Evacuees were taken to Peach Springs, Arizona. [12] More heavy rains were expected and a flash flood warning was put into effect, necessitating the evacuation, according to the National Park Service. [13] The floods were significant enough to attract coverage from international media. [12] [14]
Damage to the trails, bridges, and campground was severe enough for Havasupai to close visitor access to the village, campground, and falls until the spring of 2009. [15] Further flooding in 2010 resulted in damage to repairs made previously and closures effective until May 2011.[ citation needed ] In July 2018, flash flooding forced the helicopter evacuation of 200 visitors. [16] All tourism was suspended from March 2020 until February 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [17] [18]
Located within the Grand Canyon, Supai is accessible only by foot, pack animal or helicopter. It is the only place in the United States where mules still carry the mail, most of which is food. [19] [20]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 1.7 square miles (4.4 km2), all land. It lies 3,195 feet (974 m) above sea level.
Climate data for Supai, 1956–1987 | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 79 (26) | 87 (31) | 95 (35) | 98 (37) | 104 (40) | 112 (44) | 116 (47) | 111 (44) | 111 (44) | 102 (39) | 86 (30) | 85 (29) | 116 (47) |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 52.8 (11.6) | 59.8 (15.4) | 67.7 (19.8) | 76.1 (24.5) | 85.1 (29.5) | 95.7 (35.4) | 99.0 (37.2) | 95.6 (35.3) | 90.1 (32.3) | 77.0 (25.0) | 62.8 (17.1) | 52.8 (11.6) | 76.1 (24.5) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 29.4 (−1.4) | 34.5 (1.4) | 39.2 (4.0) | 45.5 (7.5) | 53.2 (11.8) | 61.7 (16.5) | 67.1 (19.5) | 65.4 (18.6) | 58.4 (14.7) | 47.8 (8.8) | 37.4 (3.0) | 30.0 (−1.1) | 47.5 (8.6) |
Record low °F (°C) | −1 (−18) | 5 (−15) | 13 (−11) | 23 (−5) | 29 (−2) | 36 (2) | 46 (8) | 42 (6) | 34 (1) | 19 (−7) | 0 (−18) | −4 (−20) | −4 (−20) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.61 (15) | 0.63 (16) | 0.88 (22) | 0.38 (9.7) | 0.41 (10) | 0.26 (6.6) | 1.24 (31) | 1.42 (36) | 0.65 (17) | 0.61 (15) | 0.72 (18) | 0.75 (19) | 8.54 (217) |
Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.4 (1.0) | 0.2 (0.51) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.1 (0.25) | 0.6 (1.5) | 1.2 (3.0) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 44 |
Source: WRCC [21] |
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1990 | 423 | — | |
2000 | 503 | 18.9% | |
2010 | 208 | −58.6% | |
2020 | 0 | −100.0% | |
U.S. Decennial Census [22]
|
As of the census of 2010, [3] there were 208 people and 43 households. The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.6% Native American, 0.5% White, 0.5% Other, and 2.4% of mixed race. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.3% of the population.
There were 43 households, out of which 34.9% were married families living together, 32.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 14.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 18.6% were non-families. 16.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.84.
In the CDP the population was spread out, with 30.8% under the age of 16, 10.4% from 16 to 21, 54.8% from 21 to 65, and 4.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25.2 years. 48.6% of the population was male; 51.4% was female.
In 2023, the Associated Press reported that "about 500 of the nearly 770" members of the Havasupai tribe live in the village. [24]
There is a post office in Supai. Mules are used to ferry mail between Supai and the rest of the United States. Perishable goods are, as of 1989, stored in a refrigerator in Peach Springs, Arizona, while they await being loaded onto mules. [25]
There is one K–8 school in Supai, Havasupai Elementary School, run by the Bureau of Indian Education. Additionally, by 1970 there was a Head Start program in Supai. [26]
Supai lacks a high school. [27] In 1988, Havasupai ES was K-8, and residents went to boarding schools after the 8th grade. The most common boarding school, that year, was Sherman Indian High School in Riverside, California. [28] In 1967, most older students (past the second grade, the upper grade at Havasupai ES at the time) attended school in Fort Apache or Phoenix. [29] In that time period some students went to boarding schools in California. [7] Some other students stayed with host families and attended school district-operated public schools. [30] Prior to its closure, the Phoenix Indian School was the closest Native American boarding high school to Supai. [31]
According to Coconino County's parcel viewer, Supai is in the "Unorganized School District #00". [32] According to Arizona law, an unorganized school district is one that does not have a high school. [33] The 2010 U.S. Census school district map for Coconino County shows Supai as in "School District Not Defined". [34]
Supai can be reached by hiking 8 miles (13 km), descending 2,004 feet (611 m) in elevation from Hualapai Hilltop through the Hualapai Canyon. [35] Alternatively, the AirWest Helicopters service schedules flights from Hualapai Hilltop to Supai. Hualapai Hilltop is located about 70 miles (110 km) from the community of Peach Springs, along paved BIA Road 18.
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2023) |
By 1982 reggae music became popular in the Supai community. [36]
Supai has one small, air-conditioned lodge (Havasupai Lodge), a convenience store and a cafe. [37]
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile.
Coconino County is a county in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. Its population was 145,101 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Flagstaff. The county takes its name from Cohonino, a name applied to the Havasupai people. It is the second-largest county by area in the contiguous United States, behind San Bernardino County, California. It has 18,661 sq mi (48,300 km2), or 16.4% of Arizona's total area, and is larger than the nine smallest states in the U.S.
Peach Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,098 at the 2020 census. Peach Springs serves as the administrative headquarters of the Hualapai people and is located on the Hualapai Reservation.
Lake Montezuma is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yavapai County in the U.S. state of Arizona. The population was 5,111 at the 2020 census. The CDP includes the communities of Rimrock and McGuireville. Located along Interstate 17, it is 20 miles (32 km) south of Sedona and 8 miles (13 km) north of Camp Verde in central Arizona's Verde Valley.
The Havasupai people are an American Indian people and tribe who have lived in the Grand Canyon for at least the past 800 years. Havasu means "blue-green water" and pai "people".
The San Francisco Peaks are a volcanic mountain range in the San Francisco volcanic field in north central Arizona, just north of Flagstaff and a remnant of the former San Francisco Mountain. The highest summit in the range, Humphreys Peak, is the highest point in the state of Arizona at 12,637 feet (3,852 m) in elevation. The San Francisco Peaks are the remains of an eroded stratovolcano. An aquifer within the caldera supplies much of Flagstaff's water while the mountain itself is in the Coconino National Forest, a popular recreation site. The Arizona Snowbowl ski area is on the western slopes of Humphreys Peak, and has been the subject of major controversy involving several tribes and environmental groups.
The South Kaibab Trail is a hiking trail in Grand Canyon National Park, located in the U.S. state of Arizona. Unlike the Bright Angel Trail which also begins at the south rim of the Grand Canyon and leads to the Colorado River, the South Kaibab Trail follows a ridge out to Skeleton Point allowing for 360-degree views of the canyon.
The Bright Angel Trail is a hiking trail located in Grand Canyon National Park in the U.S. state of Arizona.
The Hualapai is a federally recognized Native American tribe in Arizona with about 2300 enrolled members. Approximately 1353 enrolled members reside on the Hualapai Reservation, which spans over three counties in Northern Arizona.
Havasu Falls is a waterfall of Havasu Creek, located in the Grand Canyon, Arizona, United States. It is within Havasupai tribal lands.
The Havasupai Indian Reservation is a Native American reservation for the Havasupai people, surrounded entirely by the Grand Canyon National Park, in Coconino County in Arizona, United States. It is considered one of America's most remote Indian reservations. The reservation is governed by a seven-member tribal council, led by a chairman who is elected from among the members of the council. The capital of the reservation is Supai, situated at the bottom of Cataract Canyon, one of the tributary canyons of the Grand Canyon. Havasupai is a combination of the words Havasu and pai, thus meaning "people of the blue-green waters".
Arizona's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S. state of Arizona. The district is in the north eastern part of the state and includes Apache, Coconino, Gila, Navajo, and Yavapai counties in their entirety and portions of Graham, Maricopa, Mohave, and Pinal counties. The largest city in the district is Flagstaff.
Havasupai–Hualapai (Havasupai–Walapai) is the Native American language spoken by the Hualapai and Havasupai peoples of northwestern Arizona. Havasupai–Hualapai belongs to the Pai branch of the Yuman–Cochimí language family, together with its close relative Yavapai and with Paipai, a language spoken in northern Baja California. There are two main dialects of this language: the Havasupai dialect is spoken in the bottom of the Grand Canyon, while the Hualapai dialect is spoken along the southern rim. As of 2010, there were approximately 1500 speakers of Havasupai-Hualapai. UNESCO classifies the Havasupai dialect as endangered and the Hualapai dialect as vulnerable. There are efforts at preserving both dialects through bilingual education programs.
The Grand Canyon Caverns, located just a few miles east of Peach Springs, Arizona, lie 210 feet (64 m) below ground level. They are among the largest dry caverns in the United States. Dry caverns comprise only 3% of caverns in the world. Because of the lack of water, stalagmites and stalactites are rare in the caverns.
Havasu Creek is a stream in the U.S. state of Arizona associated with the Havasupai people. It is a tributary to the Colorado River, which it enters in the Grand Canyon.
The Phoenix Indian School, or Phoenix Indian High School in its later years, was a Bureau of Indian Affairs-operated school in Encanto Village, in the heart of Phoenix, Arizona. It served lower grades also from 1891 to 1935, and then served as a high school thereafter. It opened in 1891 and closed in 1990 on the orders of the federal government. During its existence, it was the only non-reservation BIA school in Arizona.
The Toroweap Fault of northwest Arizona and southwest Utah is part of a fault system of the west Grand Canyon region, Arizona, US; also the west perimeter regions of the Coconino and Colorado Plateaus. The Hurricane Fault originates at the Toroweap Fault, in the region of the Colorado River, and strikes as the westerly depression of the Toroweap Fault. The Toroweap strikes northerly from the Colorado at the east of Toroweap Valley, and enters south Utah; from the Colorado River, the Hurricane Fault strikes north-northwest along the west flank of the small, regional Uinkaret Mountains, the west border of Toroweap Valley. The Hurricane Fault, and the Hurricane Cliffs strike into southwest Utah as part of the west, and southwest perimeter of the Colorado Plateau. The Hurricane Cliffs are made of Kaibab Limestone, an erosion resistant, cliff-forming rock unit.
Havasupai may refer to:
Mount Huethawali is a 6,281-foot-elevation (1,914-meter) summit located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of northern Arizona, US. It is situated 3.5 miles due east of Explorers Monument, 1.5 mile west of Grand Scenic Divide, and immediately southwest of Huxley Terrace. Surrounded by Garnet, Evolution, and Bass Canyons, Huethawali rises over 800 feet above Darwin Plateau, and over 4,000 feet higher than the nearby Colorado River.
Havasupai Elementary School (HES) is a Bureau of Indian Education (BIE)-operated K–6 school in Supai, Arizona. It serves the Havasupai Indian Reservation.
In 2014, I visited the Supai, Arizona, Post Office™ facility—the last Post Office™ in the U.S. receiving mail by mule.
Media related to Supai, Arizona at Wikimedia Commons