Alpine, Arizona
Alpine is an unincorporated community in Apache County, Arizona, United States, in Bush Valley in the east central part of the state. Alpine was settled in 1876 by Anderson Bush who built a log house originally known as "Fort Bush". Bush sold his holdings in 1879 to William Maxwell and Fred Hamblin, Mormon settlers who established the town as a Mormon community.[1] Alpine is located at an elevation of 8,050 ft (2450m) in the eastern end of the White Mountains and surrounded by the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. Alpine is a popular destination for hunting, fishing, and camping. Alpine is near the headwaters of the San Francisco River and six miles from the New Mexico border. As of 1960, it was the highest place in place in the United States where farming was successfully occurring.[1]
The Alpine post office has the ZIP code of 85920;[2] the ZCTA for ZIP Code 85920 had a population of 256 at the 2000 census.[3]
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[edit] Climate
Alpine has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) influence by its very high altitude and the North American Monsoon, which brings frequent thunder showers during the summer. Although temperatures are generally comfortable during the daytime, the sun is very intense and at night frosts have occurred even in summer and are an almost daily occurrence from October to May. Snowfall is less heavy than further west on the Mogollon Rim since Pacific moisture rarely reaches so far east.
| Climate data for Alpine, AZ | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 72 (22) |
72 (22) |
74 (23) |
79 (26) |
92 (33) |
94 (34) |
94 (34) |
88 (31) |
87 (31) |
86 (30) |
77 (25) |
72 (22) |
94 (34) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 44.8 (7.1) |
47.6 (8.7) |
52.3 (11.3) |
59.7 (15.4) |
67.6 (19.8) |
77.5 (25.3) |
78.4 (25.8) |
75.3 (24.1) |
71.2 (21.8) |
62.6 (17.0) |
52.6 (11.4) |
46.2 (7.9) |
61.3 (16.3) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 29.1 (−1.6) |
32.2 (0.1) |
36.6 (2.6) |
42.1 (5.6) |
48.7 (9.3) |
57.0 (13.9) |
61.6 (16.4) |
59.6 (15.3) |
54.3 (12.4) |
45.3 (7.4) |
36.2 (2.3) |
30.2 (−1.0) |
44.4 (6.9) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 13.4 (−10.3) |
16.7 (−8.5) |
20.8 (−6.2) |
24.4 (−4.2) |
29.7 (−1.3) |
36.5 (2.5) |
44.7 (7.1) |
43.9 (6.6) |
37.4 (3.0) |
27.9 (−2.3) |
19.7 (−6.8) |
14.2 (−9.9) |
27.4 (−2.6) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −32 (−36) |
−28 (−33) |
−25 (−32) |
−6 (−21) |
8 (−13) |
13 (−11) |
27 (−3) |
29 (−2) |
17 (−8) |
−1 (−18) |
−18 (−28) |
−28 (−33) |
−32 (−36) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 1.35 (34.3) |
1.29 (32.8) |
1.30 (33) |
0.63 (16) |
0.75 (19.1) |
0.86 (21.8) |
3.43 (87.1) |
4.47 (113.5) |
2.41 (61.2) |
2.38 (60.5) |
1.44 (36.6) |
1.35 (34.3) |
21.66 (550.2) |
| Snowfall inches (cm) | 7.4 (18.8) |
6.8 (17.3) |
5.8 (14.7) |
1.4 (3.6) |
0.2 (0.5) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
1.4 (3.6) |
4.0 (10.2) |
5.8 (14.7) |
32.8 (83.3) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 inch) | 6.2 | 6.2 | 6.7 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 5.3 | 16.5 | 17.4 | 9.7 | 6.8 | 4.5 | 5.1 | 94 |
| Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.1 inch) | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 11.6 |
| Source: NOAA[4] | |||||||||||||
[edit] Government and infrastructure
The U.S. Postal Service operates the Alpine Post Office on U.S. Route 191.[5]
[edit] Attractions
- The Coronado Trail Scenic Byway [1], a 120 mile segment along US Route 191 (formerly US-666) between Springerville and Clifton, Arizona.
- Escudilla Mountain (10,877 ft.), a pine and aspen-covered mesa, popular for hiking, horseback-riding, and viewing fall colors.
- Luna Lake, 3 miles southeast, is a popular fishing and camping spot.
[edit] Education
The Alpine Elementary School District, operating Alpine Elementary School, serves Alpine.[6]
The Apache County Library District operates the Alpine Public Library.[7]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Byrd H. Granger (1960). Arizona Place Names. University of Arizona Press. p. 3. http://books.google.com/books?id=I7r_ZwEACAAJ. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ^ Zip Code Lookup
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "ALPINE, AZ". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. December 2011. http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/climatenormals/clim20/az/020159.pdf. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
- ^ "Post Office™ Location - ALPINE." U.S. Postal Service. Retrieved on January 30, 2011.
- ^ "Alpine Elementary School." Alpine Elementary School District. Retrieved on January 30, 2011.
- ^ "Alpine Public Library." Apache County Library District. Retrieved on January 30, 2011.
[edit] External links
- Alpine Area Chamber of Commerce
- Alpine community profile at Arizona Department of Commerce
- Alpine information at White Mountains Online
Coordinates: 33°50′53″N 109°08′35″W / 33.84806°N 109.14306°W
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