Flagstaff

Sister cities

• Manzanillo

History

The Sinagua people were a pre-Columbian culture that occupied a large area in Arizona between and 1425 CE. The Northern Sinagua were living in the pine forests of northern Arizona before moving into the area that is now Flagstaff about 700 CE. The 1064 and 1066 eruptions of Sunset Crater covered the area in ash, which greatly enriched the soil for farming; The Northern Sinagua had various cultural phases, including Sunset Crater, the Rio de Flag (leaving the Picture Canyon site), Angell and Winona, Padre Canyon, Elden Pueblo, Turkey Hill Pueblo, Clear Creek, The Sinagua peoples left the area by the early 15th century, likely moving north and later becoming the Hopi. The San Francisco Peaks, which overlook Flagstaff, are a sacred site in Hopi culture. Until western expansion in the 1860s, the Yavapai, specifically the (Northeastern Yavapai), occupied the land up to the San Francisco Peaks. The Yavapai land in the area saw overlap with the land of the Northern Tonto Apache that stretched across the San Francisco Peaks to the Little Colorado River. Of the Northern Tonto Apache, two tribes lived within the area of present-day Flagstaff: the Oak Creek band and the Mormon Lake band. The Mormon Lake band were centered around Flagstaff and were exclusively hunter-gatherers, traveling around places like the foot of the San Francisco Peaks, at Mount Elden, Lake Mary, Stoneman Lake, and Padre Canyon. The area of Flagstaff had a wagon road to California in the 1800s, constructed by Edward Fitzgerald Beale's men. The first permanent settlement came in 1876, when Thomas F. McMillan built a cabin just north of the present-day main town. McMillan was a key developer of Northern Arizona. In 1888, McMillan purchased an unfinished building that sits at the present-day…

Geography

Flagstaff is the county seat of Coconino County. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which only (0.08%) is water. Flagstaff lies at approximately elevation, and is surrounded by the largest contiguous ponderosa pine forest in North America. It is in a mountainous area, and lies along the Rio de Flag watercourse. It is about north of the State capital, Phoenix. The geology of the area is in line with that of the Colorado Plateau on which it lies, The San Francisco Peaks are a main aspect of Flagstaff's local geography and can be seen from everywhere in the city. Humphreys Peak is the highest point in Arizona at . Several trails around the peaks provide views of the Grand Canyon. While the most popular access point is Arizona Snowbowl (southwest face), the peaks can also be approached from the north and east. The peaks are about northwest of downtown Flagstaff, with the Snowbowl resort just southwest of Humphreys Peak. A soft basalt layer covers some of the rock at the surface. Moenkopi Formation red sandstone is a distinctive feature of Flagstaff, as it was used as a building material from the 1880s because of its fire retardant properties. The source used for quarrying most of this rock was a deposit 1 mile east of the town, which fell under the control of Charles Begg in 1887, who then began selling the stone across the southwest – after he made a successful sale in California that expanded the business, he was replaced in 1888 by a master quarryman. While it was used as building material across the West, some of Flagstaff's most prominent buildings are famous for the stone, including the Bank Hotel, Flagstaff's climate type on the Köppen climate classification system is variously reported as a warm dry-summer…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Steller's Jay

  Cyanocitta stelleri (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  15,751
• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  15,075
• Mountain Chickadee

  Poecile gambeli (Ridgway, 1886) · Aves
  13,724
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,196
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  12,909
• Pygmy Nuthatch

  Sitta pygmaea Vigors, 1839 · Aves
  12,907
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  12,701
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  12,555

Largest nearby schools

• Flagstaff High School
  High · FLAGSTAFF · 1,620 students · 20.8:1 ratio
• Coconino High School
  High · FLAGSTAFF · 1,528 students · 20.4:1 ratio
• Sinagua Middle School
  Middle · FLAGSTAFF · 1,016 students · 17.8:1 ratio
• Mount Elden Middle School
  Middle · FLAGSTAFF · 757 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• BASIS Flagstaff
  Other · FLAGSTAFF · 737 students
• Northland Preparatory Academy
  High · Flagstaff · 641 students
• Manuel DeMiguel Elementary School
  Elementary · FLAGSTAFF · 579 students · 15.2:1 ratio
• Thomas M Knoles Elementary School
  Elementary · FLAGSTAFF · 490 students · 16.3:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.7 — 2026-04-07
  5 km W of LeChee, Arizona
• M 2.5 — 2025-04-15
  14 km N of Clarkdale, Arizona
• M 2.6 — 2024-10-15
  20 km NE of Parks, Arizona
• M 2.6 — 2023-08-14
  9 km WSW of Williams, Arizona
• M 3.8 — 2023-07-23
  2 km E of Chino Valley, Arizona
• M 3.1 — 2023-05-10
  31 km SW of Cameron, Arizona