Editing Four Corners Monument

{{Short description|National monument in the Southwestern United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox monument
|monument_name = Four Corners Monument
|native_name   =
|image         = Four Corners, NM, reconstructed monument in 2010.jpg
|caption       = Four Corners Monument, after its 2010 reconstruction
|coordinates   = {{coord|36.99898|-109.04517|region:US_type:landmark|name=Four Corners Monument|display=inline,title}}<ref name="FourCorners">{{cite web|title=Shared Solution: Four Corners|url=https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/OPUS/getDatasheet.jsp?PID=BBCD57&ts=10354154008&style=modern|work=NGS Survey Monument Data Sheet|publisher=[[United States National Geodetic Survey]]|date=July 7, 2010|access-date=May 27, 2023}}</ref>
|location      = The [[quadripoint]] in the [[Southwestern United States]] where the states of [[Arizona]], [[Colorado]], [[New Mexico]], and [[Utah]] meet
|designer      = {{hlist |
 [[Navajo Nation]] |
 [[Bureau of Land Management]]
}}
|type          = [[Megalithic]]
|material      = [[Granite]] and [[brass]]
|length        =
|width         =
|height        =
|begin         = 1868
|complete      = 1912
|open          = 1931
|dedicated_to  =
|map_name      = USA West
|map_caption   = The monument's location in the western United States
|map_width     =
|extra         = "Here meet in freedom under God four states"
|website =     [https://navajonationparks.org/tribal-parks/four-corners-monument/ Official website]
}}

The '''Four Corners Monument''' marks the [[quadripoint]] in the [[Southwestern United States]] where the [[U.S. state|states]] of [[Arizona]], [[Colorado]], [[New Mexico]], and [[Utah]] meet.  It is the only point in the United States shared by four states, leading to the area being named the [[Four Corners]] region.<ref name=explore4corners>{{cite web|url = http://www.explorefourcorners.com/|title = Explore Four Corners|publisher = Canyonlands eSolutions|access-date = March 10, 2009|archive-date = March 5, 2009|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090305122900/http://explorefourcorners.com/|url-status = live}}</ref> The monument also marks the boundary between two semi-autonomous [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] governments, the [[Navajo Nation]], which maintains the monument as a tourist attraction, and the [[Ute Mountain Ute Tribe]] Reservation.

The origins of the state boundaries marked by the monument occurred just prior to, and during, the [[American Civil War]], when the [[United States Congress]] acted to form governments in the area to combat the spread of [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] to the region. When the early territories were formed, their boundaries were designated along [[Geographic coordinate system|meridian and parallel lines]]. Beginning in the 1860s, these lines were surveyed and marked. These early surveys included some errors, but even so, the [[Boundary marker|markers]] placed became the legal boundaries, superseding the written descriptions of geographical meridians and parallels. This includes the Four Corners Monument, which has been legally established as the corner of the four states.

==Monument==
[[File:Four Corners Monument Marker 2012.jpg|right|thumb|The current marker at the exact Four Corners point, placed in 1992|alt=A metal disk reading "U.S. Department of the Interior – Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico – 1992 – Cadastral Survey – Bureau of Land Management"]]
The monument is maintained as a [[tourist attraction]] by the Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation Department, Four Corners Monument Navajo Tribal Park. It is an example of a [[border|political boundary]] that is a tourist destination in its own right.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/ibru/publications/full/bsb8-1_timothy.pdf|last=Timothy|first=Dallen J.|date=Spring 2000|title=Borderlands: An Unlikely Tourist Destination?|journal=Boundary and Security Bulletin|publisher=IBRU|volume=8|issue=1|pages=57–65|access-date=May 11, 2009|archive-date=December 4, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204214046/https://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/ibru/publications/full/bsb8-1_timothy.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The monument consists of a [[granite]] disk embedded with a smaller [[bronze]] disk around the point, surrounded by smaller, appropriately located state [[seal (emblem)|seals]] and flags representing both the states and tribal nations of the area. Circling the point, starting from Colorado, the disk reads with two words in each state "Here meet in freedom under God four states".<ref>Arizona Highways (Volume 39), Raymond Carlson (Editor), George M. Avey (Editor), Arizona Highways Department, First Annual Bound Edition, 1963, 440 pages</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://navajonationparks.org/tribal-parks/four-corners-monument/| title = Four Corners Monument – Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation| access-date = January 27, 2019| archive-date = January 28, 2019| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190128083439/https://navajonationparks.org/tribal-parks/four-corners-monument/| url-status = live}}</ref>  Around the monument, local Navajo and Ute artisans sell souvenirs and food. An admission fee is required to view and photograph the monument.<ref name=navajonation>{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.discovernavajo.com/parks.aspx
 |publisher         = Navajo Tourism Department
 |title         = Parks: Four Corners Tribal Park
 |access-date         = August 8, 2018
 |archive-date         = August 8, 2018
 |archive-url         = https://web.archive.org/web/20180808202747/http://www.discovernavajo.com/parks.aspx
 |url-status         = live
 }}</ref> The monument is a popular tourist attraction despite its remote and isolated location. People travel long distances to take pictures of family and friends at the monument in [[Twister (game)|Twister]]-like poses, sitting on the disk, in a circle of friends or family around the disk, or for couples to kiss directly over the disk.<ref name=denverpost>{{cite news|url = http://www.denverpost.com/ci_4280569|title = A corner on the market –"Corner" office with a 4-state view|last = Draper|first = Electa|work = Denver Post|date = September 3, 2006|access-date = May 9, 2009|archive-date = June 5, 2011|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110605011552/http://www.denverpost.com/ci_4280569|url-status = live}}</ref>

==Location==
The monument is located on the [[Colorado Plateau]] west of [[U.S. Route 160 in New Mexico|U.S. Highway 160]], on [[New Mexico State Road 597|State Road 597]], approximately {{convert|40|mi}} southwest of [[Cortez, Colorado]].<ref name=FourCorners/> In addition to the four states, two semi-[[autonomy|autonomous]] American Indian tribal governments have boundaries at the monument, the [[Navajo Nation]] and the [[Ute Mountain Ute Tribe]] Reservation, with the Ute Mountain tribal boundaries coinciding with Colorado's boundaries at the monument.<ref name=doe>{{cite web
 |url=http://www1.eere.energy.gov/tribalenergy/guide/pdfs/ute_mountain_ute.pdf
 |title=Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation
 |publisher=[[U.S. Department of Energy]]
 |access-date=May 11, 2008
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626005051/http://www1.eere.energy.gov/tribalenergy/guide/pdfs/ute_mountain_ute.pdf
 |archive-date=June 26, 2008
}}</ref>

==Climate==
Located in the [[Colorado Plateau|Colorado Plateau region]] of the [[Southwestern United States]], the Four Corners Monument has a strong [[Semi-arid climate|cold semi-arid climate]] (BSk) according to the [[Köppen climate classification]] system. Winters are cold but sunny, while summers are hot and dry. The record high temperature of {{convert|105|F|0}} has been observed five times, on June 19, 29 and 30, 1974, July 14, 2003, and July 21, 2005. The record low temperature of {{convert|−18|F|0}} was observed on January 3, 1974.

{{Weather box
|width                   = auto
|location                = Four Corners National Monument ([[Arizona]], [[Colorado]], [[New Mexico]], [[Utah]])
|single line             = Y
|Jan high F              = 42
|Feb high F              = 50
|Mar high F              = 58
|Apr high F              = 68
|May high F              = 78
|Jun high F              = 89
|Jul high F              = 93
|Aug high F              = 90
|Sep high F              = 82
|Oct high F              = 69
|Nov high F              = 54
|Dec high F              = 43
|year high F             =
|Jan record high F       = 69
|Feb record high F       = 73
|Mar record high F       = 82
|Apr record high F       = 102
|May record high F       = 99
|Jun record high F       = 105
|Jul record high F       = 105
|Aug record high F       = 103
|Sep record high F       = 97
|Oct record high F       = 98
|Nov record high F       = 79
|Dec record high F       = 79
|year record high F      = 105
|Jan low F               = 20
|Feb low F               = 26
|Mar low F               = 33
|Apr low F               = 39
|May low F               = 48
|Jun low F               = 58
|Jul low F               = 64
|Aug low F               = 62
|Sep low F               = 54
|Oct low F               = 41
|Nov low F               = 30
|Dec low F               = 22
|year low F              = 41
|Jan record low F        = −18
|Feb record low F        = −11
|Mar record low F        = 8
|Apr record low F        = 17
|May record low F        = 27
|Jun record low F        = 38
|Jul record low F        = 44
|Aug record low F        = 40
|Sep record low F        = 23
|Oct record low F        = 21
|Nov record low F        = 5
|Dec record low F        = −14
|year record low F       = −18
|precipitation colour    = green
|Jan precipitation inch  = 0.73
|Feb precipitation inch  = 0.43
|Mar precipitation inch  = 0.65
|Apr precipitation inch  = 0.44
|May precipitation inch  = 0.62
|Jun precipitation inch  = 0.24
|Jul precipitation inch  = 0.96
|Aug precipitation inch  = 1.12
|Sep precipitation inch  = 0.72
|Oct precipitation inch  = 1.01
|Nov precipitation inch  = 0.59
|Dec precipitation inch  = 0.57
|year precipitation inch =
|Jan snow inch           = 3.4
|Feb snow inch           = 3.6
|Mar snow inch           = 1.4
|Apr snow inch           = 0.2
|May snow inch           = 0
|Jun snow inch           = 0
|Jul snow inch           = 0
|Aug snow inch           = 0
|Sep snow inch           = 0
|Oct snow inch           = 0.3
|Nov snow inch           = 0.9
|Dec snow inch           = 3.2
|year snow inch          =
|source 1                = ,<ref>{{cite web
| title = Climate Teec Nos Pos – Arizona
| url = http://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/teec-nos-pos/arizona/united-states/usaz0464
| access-date = May 27, 2015
| archive-date = May 28, 2015
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150528070320/http://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/teec-nos-pos/arizona/united-states/usaz0464
| url-status = live
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.intellicast.com/Local/History.aspx?location=USAZ0232 | title=Intellicast &#124; Weather Underground | access-date=May 22, 2017 | archive-date=July 28, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728122931/http://www.intellicast.com/Local/History.aspx?location=USAZ0232 | url-status=live }}</ref>
|source 2                = <ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.intellicast.com/Local/History.aspx?location=USNM0109 | title=Intellicast &#124; Weather Underground | access-date=May 22, 2017 | archive-date=March 18, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318094824/http://www.intellicast.com/Local/History.aspx?location=USNM0109 | url-status=live }}</ref>
}}

==History==
{{multiple image
 | direction = vertical
 | width     = 220
 | header    = History of the borders
 | image1    = Evolution of borders at Four Corners, USA - June 2013.gif
 | alt1      =
 | caption1  = The evolution of the borders that make up Four Corners, beginning in 1850. The monument is marked by the yellow dot, with modern state boundaries underlaid for reference.
 | image2    = Borders of Four Corners, USA survey years.svg
 | alt2      =
 | caption2  = The borders that make up Four Corners, along with the year each border was officially surveyed and marked. The markers left in the original survey are today's current borders, and supersede any earlier written descriptions.
}}
The area now called Four Corners was initially [[Native Americans in the United States|American Indian]] land, and beginning in the 16th century it was claimed by Spain as part of [[New Spain]]. After Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, the area was governed by Mexico until being [[Mexican Cession|ceded]] to the United States by the [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]] in 1848, following the United States' victory in the [[Mexican–American War]].<ref name=treaty>{{cite web
|url = http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=26
|title = Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)
|publisher = U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
|access-date = May 9, 2009
|archive-date = July 15, 2007
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070715115058/http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=26
|url-status = live
}}</ref>
The first boundary which would become part of the monument was set as part of the [[Compromise of 1850]], which created the [[New Mexico Territory]] and [[Utah Territory]]. The border between the two territories was congressionally defined as the [[37th parallel north]] by the [[31st United States Congress]]. In 1861, the [[36th United States Congress]] transferred land previously allocated to the Utah Territory to the newly created [[Colorado Territory]]. The Colorado Territory's southern border would remain as the 37th parallel north, but a new border—between the Colorado and Utah Territories—was declared to be the [[32nd meridian west from Washington]]. This line was derived from the reference used at the time, the [[Washington meridian]].<ref name=ColoradoTerritory>{{cite journal
|url=http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/territory.pdf
|title=An Act to provide a temporary Government for the Territory of Colorado
|publisher=[[Thirty-sixth United States Congress]]
|date=February 28, 1861
|access-date=January 15, 2007
|journal=
|archive-date=December 15, 2006
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061215042743/http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/territory.pdf
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

In 1860, just prior to the outbreak of the [[American Civil War]], a group of people in the southern portion of [[New Mexico Territory]] passed a resolution condemning the United States for creating such a vast territory with only a single, small government in place at [[Santa Fe, New Mexico|Santa Fe]]. They claimed that by doing so, the U.S. had ignored the needs of the southern portion, left it without a functional system of law and order, and allowed the situation to deteriorate into a state of chaos and near-anarchy.<ref name=lascruces>{{cite web|url=http://www.las-cruces.org/public-services/museums/history_exhibit/LearnMore/documents/CivWarArizona.html |title=History of Las Cruces:Confederate Territory of Arizona |publisher=City of Las Cruces, New Mexico |access-date=May 9, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110215055447/http://www.las-cruces.org/public-services/museums/history_exhibit/LearnMore/documents/CivWarArizona.html |archive-date=February 15, 2011 }}</ref> The group declared secession from the United States and announced their intent to join the [[Confederate States of America]] under the name of the [[Arizona Territory (Confederate States of America)|Arizona Territory]]. The U.S. Congress responded in 1863 by creating another [[Arizona Territory]] with different but partially overlapping boundaries. The Confederate boundaries split New Mexico along an east–west line, the [[34th parallel north]], allowing for a single state connection from Texas to the [[Colorado River]]. This would give the Confederacy access to California and the Pacific coast. The Union definition split New Mexico along a north-south line, the 32nd meridian west from Washington, which simply extended the boundary between Colorado and Utah southward. The Union plan eventually became reality, and this created the [[quadripoint]] at the modern Four Corners.<ref name=nytimes>{{cite news
|via = The New York Times
|work = Atlanta Constitution
|url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A02E2DF113EEF33A25756C0A96E9C946197D6CF
|title = Two Arizona Territories; One Organized by the Confederate States in 1862, the Other a Year Later by the United States
|date = September 5, 1900
|page = 11
|last = Rodgers
|first = R.L.
|access-date = February 7, 2017
|archive-date = March 3, 2016
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230538/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A02E2DF113EEF33A25756C0A96E9C946197D6CF
|url-status = live
}}</ref> After the split, New Mexico resembled its modern form, with only slight differences.<ref name=nmbar>{{cite web
 |publisher=New Mexico State Bar Association
 |title=The New Mexico Constitution meets the facts on the ground
 |last=Thompson
 |first=Mark
 |work=Bar Bulletin
 |date=October 22, 2007
 |access-date=May 9, 2009
 |url=http://www.nmbar.org/AboutSBNM/Committees/Historical/NMConstitutionMeetsFacts.pdf
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721062608/http://www.nmbar.org/AboutSBNM/Committees/Historical/NMConstitutionMeetsFacts.pdf
 |archive-date=July 21, 2011
}}</ref>

===Surveying the boundaries===
After the Civil War, efforts began to survey and mark the actual borders. In 1868, the [[United States General Land Office]] (GLO) had Ehud N. Darling survey and set markers along the border between the Colorado and New Mexico Territories (the 37th parallel north); this border over time has become known as the "Darling Line".<ref name=AThousandThings>{{cite book |last= Stimpson |first= George|title= A Book About A Thousand Things |url= https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.75602 |publisher= Harper & Brothers |year= 1946 |isbn= 0-7607-3803-3}}</ref> In 1875, another GLO surveyor, Chandler Robbins, surveyed and marked the border between the Arizona and New Mexico Territories (the 32nd meridian west of Washington). Robbins began near the [[Mexico–United States border]] and worked his way north, marking the border every so often. Near the 37th parallel north, he intersected the Darling Line, and here he erected a sandstone shaft. This sandstone shaft marked today's location of the Four Corners Monument.<ref name=navajo2/><ref name="BLM_Field_Notes_1992">{{cite journal
  | title = Field Notes of the Remonumentation of the Corner Common to the State of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah
  | publisher = Bureau of Land Management
  | year = 1992
  | url = http://www.blm.gov/az/surveys/AZ_Survey_Plats/scanned_survey_notes/AZR5383.pdf
  | access-date = June 9, 2013
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131224094509/http://www.blm.gov/az/surveys/AZ_Survey_Plats/scanned_survey_notes/AZR5383.pdf
  | archive-date = December 24, 2013
  | url-status = dead
  }}</ref>

In 1878, Rollin J. Reeves surveyed and marked the border between the newly created State of Colorado and the Utah Territory. Reeves located the sandstone shaft marker placed by Robbins at today's Four Corners Monument. He then began to survey and mark the border between Colorado and Utah from this point northward. In 1901, Howard B. Carpenter surveyed and marked the border between Arizona and Utah, completing the survey of borders making up the Four Corners Monument.<ref name="BLM_Field_Notes_1992"/>

The results of these surveys and the markers placed were later accepted as the legal boundaries between the various states.<ref name=ap2/>

===Development into a monument===
[[Image:Four-States-At-Once.jpg|thumb|left|A child straddling all four states, on the monument as it looked following the 1962 reconstruction.|alt=A child with one arm or leg in each of the four states.]]
By 1899, the sandstone shaft marker placed by Chandler Robbins in 1875 had been disturbed and broken, so it was replaced with a new stone by two U.S. surveyors, Hubert D. Page and James M. Lentz. In 1912, a simple concrete pad was poured around the marker. The first modern Navajo government convened in 1923 in an effort to organize and regulate an increasing amount of oil exploration activities on Navajo lands, and they played a significant role in the monument's further development.<ref name=navajonation/><ref name=navajo3>{{cite web
 |title=The Navajo Nation – History Page
 |url=http://www.navajo.org/history.htm
 |publisher=Navajo Nation
 |access-date=May 9, 2009
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422100514/http://www.navajo.org/history.htm
 |archive-date=April 22, 2009
 |url-status=dead
}}</ref>
In 1931, Everett H. Kimmell, another U.S. surveyor, found this newer stone had broken too, and he replaced it with a brass disc marker set in concrete. In 1962, the [[Bureau of Land Management]] and the [[Bureau of Indian Affairs]] poured an elevated concrete pad around the 1931 brass marker; this pad included the state border lines and names in tile. The monument was rebuilt in 1992, and the 1931 brass marker was replaced with a disc-shaped aluminum-bronze plate set in granite. The monument was again rebuilt in 2010, although the disc-shaped plate from 1992 remained in place.<ref name="BLM_Field_Notes_1992"/><ref name=utahmonuments>{{cite web
 |title       = Utah History Resource Center – Monuments and Markers Database
 |url         = http://history.utah.gov/apps/markers/detailed_results.php?markerid=1370
 |publisher   = State of Utah
 |access-date  = May 9, 2009
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://archive.today/20120712103054/http://history.utah.gov/apps/markers/detailed_results.php?markerid=1370
 |archive-date = July 12, 2012
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
 | title = Tourists Discover You Can't Get There From Here
 | first = Kirk
 | last = Johnson
 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/us/30corners.html?src=mv
 | newspaper = The New York Times
 | access-date = August 4, 2010
 | date = July 29, 2010
 | archive-date = July 10, 2012
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120710144238/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/us/30corners.html?src=mv
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref>

===Misplacement controversy===
Since the early 20th century, controversies have arisen regarding the accuracy of the monument's placement.<ref name=desnews>{{cite news
 |first=Lynn
 |last=Arave
 |title=Four Corners marker 2½ miles off? Too late
 |url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705298412,00.html
 |work=[[Deseret News]]
 |date=April 19, 2009
 |access-date=April 20, 2009
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421225556/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1%2C5143%2C705298412%2C00.html
 |archive-date=April 21, 2009
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|url = https://abcnews.go.com/WaterCooler/wireStory?id=7404559
|title = Correction: Four Corners marker story
|agency = Associated Press
|date = April 22, 2009}}</ref> After the initial surveys, it was found that the borders did not always follow the lines of meridian and parallel (as had been intended) due to the primitive surveying technology available at the time. This discrepancy left the four states asking if the correct borders were the exact lines of meridian and parallel (and if new, more accurate, surveys needed to be done), or if the markers placed during the initial surveys were now the actual border.

New Mexico sued Colorado in 1919, and when the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] in 1925 ruled that the markers placed during the initial surveys were the actual borders, even if the markers were off in some locations (including the Four Corners Monument and the [[Preston Monument]] to the east), the issue was resolved.<ref name=supremecourt>{{cite web
|url = http://supreme.justia.com/us/267/30/case.html
|title = New Mexico V. Colorado, 267 U.S. 30
|year = 1925
|publisher = U.S. Supreme Court
|access-date = April 20, 2009
|archive-date = May 16, 2008
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080516101304/http://supreme.justia.com/us/267/30/case.html
|url-status = live
}}</ref> Today's legal description of these border lines is based on the original markers, and not the written description of the borders created when the territories were formed. Because of this, the borders between these states are not perfectly straight and often zigzag.

One example is the border between Colorado and Utah, where in one area the border jogs west about {{convert|1.5|mi}} from where it was intended to be placed by the written description (i.e. the [[32nd meridian west from Washington]] – {{ Coord|38.27619|-109.06065|format=dms|display=inline|type:landmark_region:US-CO}}). Because of the Supreme Court decision, the border set out by the markers remains the border between the two states.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://geology.utah.gov/surveynotes/gladasked/gladkink.htm |title=Kink in Utah's border |last1=Case |first1=William F. |year=2000 |website=Utah Geological Survey: Survey Notes |publisher=Utah Geological Survey |access-date=June 9, 2013 |archive-date=August 21, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821235603/http://geology.utah.gov/surveynotes/gladasked/gladkink.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

This issue resurfaced briefly in 2009 with U.S. media reports that the monument was placed {{convert|2.5|mi}} west of its intended location. This was soon found to be the result of a mistaken assumption: that the [[Prime Meridian]], used in the United States since 1912, was used. In actuality, the 19th century surveys used the previous [[Washington meridian]].<ref name=americansurveyer>{{cite journal
|first = Fred
|last = Roeder
|publisher = American Surveyor Magazine
|date = April 21, 2009
|access-date = April 22, 2009
|title = The Washington Meridian
|url = http://www.amerisurv.com/content/view/6120/
|journal = 
|archive-date = November 20, 2009
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091120222036/http://www.amerisurv.com/content/view/6120/
|url-status = live
}}</ref> A spokesperson for the [[U.S. National Geodetic Survey]] (USNGS) has stated that the USNGS has determined that the modern monument is located roughly {{convert|1800|ft}} east of where the Four Corners marker had originally been intended to be located by the US Congress in 1863. The spokesperson, however, reiterated that the 1875 survey was accepted by all states and therefore its markers, including the Four Corners Monument, are legally binding.<ref name=ap2>{{cite news
|agency = Associated Press
|last = White
|first = Elizebeth
|title = Marker was off, but Four Corners monument legit
|date = April 22, 2009
|url = https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j1eQO9txrrRrlxiCIHk9YcxWRv2wD97NQU680
|access-date = November 11, 2016
|archive-date = April 28, 2009
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090428000332/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j1eQO9txrrRrlxiCIHk9YcxWRv2wD97NQU680
|url-status = dead
}}</ref> Similar statements were issued by the Navajo Nation, defending their work in maintaining and promoting the monument.<ref name=navajo2>{{cite web
|url = http://www.navajonationparks.org/pr/pr_4Cmarker.htm
|title = Four Corners Monument still the legally recognized landmark despite reports
|publisher = Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation
|date = April 22, 2009
|access-date = May 3, 2009
|archive-date = September 25, 2010
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100925001128/http://navajonationparks.org/pr/pr_4Cmarker.htm
|url-status = live
}}</ref>

===COVID-19 closures===
From 2020 to 2021, the Four Corners Monument was closed to the public as part of Navajo Nation coronavirus safety regulations.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.aspentimes.com/news/tourist-sites-on-navajo-nation-to-remain-closed-through-2020/#:~:text=%E2%80%94%20Tourist%20sites%20on%20the%20Navajo,order%20in%20making%20the%20announcement. |title = Tourist sites on Navajo Nation to remain closed through 2020 |publisher = The Aspen Times |date = October 6, 2020 |access-date = March 19, 2021 |archive-date = October 20, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201020151913/https://www.aspentimes.com/news/tourist-sites-on-navajo-nation-to-remain-closed-through-2020/#:~:text=%E2%80%94%20Tourist%20sites%20on%20the%20Navajo,order%20in%20making%20the%20announcement. |url-status = live }}</ref> The monument was reopened in 2021, with a requirement for visitors to wear [[Face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|masks]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lerner |first1=Shanti |title=These 4 Navajo Nation historic sites have reopened. Here's what to know and how to visit |url=https://eu.azcentral.com/story/travel/arizona/road-trips/2021/08/16/four-corners-navajo-national-monument-canyon-de-chelly-hubbell-trading-post-open/8101076002/ |access-date=17 December 2021 |work=The Arizona Republic |archive-date=June 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619142534/https://www.azcentral.com/story/travel/arizona/road-trips/2021/08/16/four-corners-navajo-national-monument-canyon-de-chelly-hubbell-trading-post-open/8101076002/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|United States|Arizona|Colorado|New Mexico|Utah}}
* [[Four Corners]]
* [[Navajo Nation]]
** [[Navajo Indian Reservation]]
* [[Ute Mountain Ute Tribe]]
** [[Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation]]
* [[37th parallel north]] – Congressionally defined border running east–west through the monument
* [[32nd meridian west from Washington]] – Congressionally defined border running north–south through the monument
* [[New Mexico State Road 597]] – Highway used to access the monument
* [[Cornered (Breaking Bad)|Cornered (''Breaking Bad'')]] – Episode of the television series ''[[Breaking Bad]]'' that features the monument

===Similar places===
* [[Cameron Corner Survey Marker|Cameron's Corner]]
* [[Four corners (Canada)|Canadian four corners]]
* [[No Man's Heath, Warwickshire|No Man's Heath]]
* [[Tres Fronteras]]
* [[Triple Frontier]]
* [[Three-Country Cairn]]
* [[Vaalserberg]]
{{clear}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|auto=yes}}
* [https://navajonationparks.org/tribal-parks/four-corners-monument/ Official site] – Navajo Parks and Recreation
* [http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/ds_mark.prl?PidBox=AD9256 NGS Survey Information]
* [http://www.geocaching.com/mark/details.aspx?PID=AD9256 Geocaching Recovery Logs]
{{Good article}}

[[Category:Borders of Arizona]]
[[Category:Borders of Colorado]]
[[Category:Borders of New Mexico]]
[[Category:Borders of Utah]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Arizona]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Colorado]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in New Mexico]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Utah]]
[[Category:Navajo Nation]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Apache County, Arizona]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Montezuma County, Colorado]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in San Juan County, Utah]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in San Juan County, New Mexico]]
[[Category:Boundary markers]]
[[Category:Quadripoints and higher]]
[[Category:Ute (ethnic group)]]