Alpine, Arizona

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Alpine (center of image); Luna Lake, right center. NASA perspective image created by joining Landsat 7 and Digital Elevation Model data.

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]

Contents

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]

Government and infrastructure

The U.S. Postal Service operates the Alpine Post Office on U.S. Route 191.[5]

Attractions

  • 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.

Education

The Alpine Elementary School District, operating Alpine Elementary School, serves Alpine.[6]

The Apache County Library District operates the Alpine Public Library.[7]

See also


References

  1. ^ a b Byrd H. Granger (1960). Arizona Place Names. University of Arizona Press. p. 3. http://books.google.com/books?id=I7r_ZwEACAAJ. Retrieved November 20, 2011. 
  2. ^ Zip Code Lookup
  3. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved January 31, 2008. 
  4. ^ "ALPINE, AZ". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. December 2011. http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/climatenormals/clim20/az/020159.pdf. Retrieved December 6, 2011. 
  5. ^ "Post Office™ Location – ALPINE." U.S. Postal Service. Retrieved on January 30, 2011.
  6. ^ "Alpine Elementary School." Alpine Elementary School District. Retrieved on January 30, 2011.
  7. ^ "Alpine Public Library." Apache County Library District. Retrieved on January 30, 2011.

External links

Coordinates: 33°50′53″N 109°08′35″W / 33.84806°N 109.14306°W / 33.84806; -109.14306



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