Yavapai County is near the center of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 236,209, making it the fourth-most populous county in Arizona. The county seat is Prescott.
Prescott is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2010 Census, the city's population was 39,843. The city is the county seat of Yavapai County. In 1864, Prescott was designated as the capital of the Arizona Territory, replacing the temporary capital of Fort Whipple. The Territorial Capital was moved to Tucson in 1867. Prescott again became the Territorial Capital in 1877, until Phoenix became the capital in 1889.
The Quabbin Reservoir is the largest inland body of water in Massachusetts, and was built between 1930 and 1939. Along with the Wachusett Reservoir, it is the primary water supply for Boston, 65 miles (105 km) to the east, and 40 other cities and towns in Greater Boston. The Quabbin also supplies water to three towns west of the reservoir and acts as backup supply for three others. By 1989, it supplied water for 2.5 million people, about 40% of the state's population at the time. It has an aggregate capacity of 412 billion US gallons (1,560 GL) and an area of 38.6 square miles (99.9 km2).
The Salt River is a river in Gila and Maricopa counties in Arizona, United States, that is the largest tributary of the Gila River. The river is about 200 miles (320 km) long. Its drainage basin is about 13,700 square miles (35,000 km2) large. The longest of the Salt River's many tributaries is the 195-mile (314 km) Verde River. The Salt's headwaters tributaries, the Black River and East Fork, increase the river's total length to about 300 miles (480 km). The name Salt River comes from the fact that the river flows over large salt deposits shortly after the merging of the White and Black Rivers.
The Tonto National Forest, encompassing 2,873,200 acres, is the largest of the six national forests in Arizona and is the ninth largest national forest in the United States. The forest has diverse scenery, with elevations ranging from 1,400 feet in the Sonoran Desert to 7,400 feet in the ponderosa pine forests of the Mogollon Rim. The Tonto National Forest is also the most visited "urban" forest in the United States.
State Route 89A is an 83.85-mile (134.94 km) state highway that runs from Prescott north to Flagstaff in the U.S. state of Arizona. The highway begins at SR 89 in Yavapai County and heads northward from Prescott, entering Jerome. From Jerome, the route then heads to Cottonwood and Sedona. The highway is notable for its scenic value as it passes through Sedona and the Oak Creek Canyon. The route then enters Coconino County soon after leaving Sedona. The highway proceeds to Flagstaff, where it crosses Interstate 17 (I-17) and I-40. The highway ends at I-40 Business in Flagstaff. What is now SR 89A became a state highway in the late 1920s as SR 79. The highway was extended and improved several times through 1938. SR 79 was renumbered to U.S. Route 89A in 1941 and then to SR 89A in the early 1990s.
Lynx Lake, Arizona, is a 55-acre (220,000 m2) reservoir located within Prescott National Forest, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Prescott, Arizona, in the Bradshaw Mountains. The lake is located at 5,530 feet (1,690 m) elevation and is stocked for fishing. It is one of the most popular recreation areas in central Arizona. Mild weather, the cool ponderosa pine forest, trout fishing, boating, mountain hiking, horseback riding, archaeological sites, and bird watching attract visitors from throughout Arizona. The lake was formed in 1952, when a dam was put in Lynx Creek, 6 miles (9.7 km) below Walker, Arizona.
The Agua Fria River is a 120-mile (190 km) long intermittent stream which flows generally south from 20 miles (32 km) east-northeast of Prescott in the U.S. state of Arizona. Prescott draws much of its municipal water supply from the upper Agua Fria watershed. The Agua Fria runs through the Agua Fria National Monument. The river then flows through a small canyon called "Black Canyon" into Lake Pleasant, a popular recreation area near Peoria, Arizona. (There is a large "Black Canyon" on the Colorado River along the Arizona–Nevada border.)
Goldwater Lake is a reservoir formed by a dam on Banning Creek, located south of Prescott in North Central Arizona. This lake is maintained by the City of Prescott Parks and Recreation Department. The park has facilities for picnicking, fishing, boating, hiking, volleyball, and horseshoes.
The Bradshaw Mountains are a mountain range in central Arizona, United States, named for brothers Isaac and William D. Bradshaw after their deaths, having been formerly known in English as the Silver Mountain Range.
Granite Mountain is a 7,628-foot (2,325 m) mountain located in Yavapai County, Arizona that covers roughly 12 square miles (31 km2). It was once known as Mount Gurley, for the first governor of the Arizona Territory, John A. Gurley. Its southwest face has a sheer granite cliff approximately 500 feet high that is one of the best locations for rock climbing in the state of Arizona. It is located in the Granite Mountain Wilderness, which is managed as a part of the Prescott National Forest. The mountain stands at the northern end of the Sierra Prietas, and borders Skull Valley on the west, on the northwest by the Santa Maria Mountains, and east by the Williamson Valley.
Fain Lake is a reservoir located near Prescott Valley in Yavapai County, North Central Arizona.
Granite Basin Lake is a reservoir located near Prescott, in Yavapai County, North Central Arizona. It is in the Prescott National Forest, adjacent to the Granite Mountain Wilderness Area.
The Granite Dells is a geological feature north of Prescott, Arizona. The Dells consist of exposed bedrock and large boulders of granite that have eroded into an unusual lumpy, rippled appearance. Watson Lake and Willow Lake are small man-made reservoirs in this formation.
Roper Lake State Park is a state park of Arizona, surrounding 32-acre (130,000 m2) Roper Lake. The park is located off U.S. Route 191, 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Safford, at the Gila River and Valley.
Horsethief Basin Lake is a reservoir in the Bradshaw Mountains and the Prescott National Forest, in central Arizona, United States. It is located near Crown King in eastern Yavapai County. Fish species present include Bluegill, Largemouth Bass, Channel Catfish, and Muskie.
Lonesome Valley is a 23-mile (37 km) long valley located in central-north Yavapai County, Arizona; the valley is an extension southeastwards from Chino Valley (Arizona), the location of the Big Chino Wash, which becomes the Verde River at Paulden, Arizona; Paulden is located at the northwest terminus of Lonesome Valley. A small sub-valley is located on the northeast perimeter of Chino Valley, Arizona, located in the center-northwest of Lonesome Valley. The valley is named Little Chino Valley, and is the small valley link between Chino Valley, northwest, and Lonesome Valley, southeast.
The Sierra Prieta is a 14 miles (23 km) long mountain range in central-northwest Arizona. The range is the mountainous region west of Prescott, with prominent Thumb Butte, 6,514 feet (1,985 m), a volcanic plug, on the city's west perimeter.
Granite Creek is a 38-mile (61 km) tributary of the Verde River in the U.S. state of Arizona. It flows generally north-northeast from the Bradshaw Mountains of west-central Arizona through the city of Prescott and the Granite Dells to meet the river at the north end of the Little Chino Valley east of Sullivan Lake.
