Meridian Prime

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The origins of these boundaries trace back to the era just prior to and during the American Civil War. The US Congress formed governments in the area to combat the spread of slavery, designating boundaries along meridian and parallel lines. Beginning in the 1860s, surveyors marked these lines, though early surveys contained errors. Crucially, the markers placed became the legal boundaries, superseding written descriptions. In 1850, the Compromise created New Mexico and Utah territories, but their border was not the 37th parallel; that line later became the border between Colorado and New Mexico. In 1861, the Colorado Territory was formed, and in 1863 the Arizona Territory was split from New Mexico, creating the quadripoint—not by splitting New Mexico along a north-south line in 1861. In 1868, surveyor Ehud N. Darling set markers for the Colorado-New Mexico border (the "Darling Line"), which runs about 2.5 miles south of the 37th parallel. In 1875, Chandler Robbins surveyed the Arizona-New Mexico border and erected a sandstone shaft where it intersected the Darling Line, marking today's monument location.

In Their Own Story

By 1899, the original 1875 sandstone shaft had been disturbed and broken. Two surveyors, Hubert D. Page and James M. Lentz, replaced it with a new stone. In 1912, a simple concrete pad was poured around this marker. The first modern Navajo government convened in 1923 to regulate oil exploration, playing a significant role in the site's development. By 1931, surveyor Everett H. Kimmell found the newer stone broken again and replaced it with a brass disc marker set in concrete. In 1962, federal bureaus poured an elevated concrete pad featuring state border lines and names in tile. A major reconstruction occurred in 1992, replacing the 1931 brass marker with a disc-shaped aluminum-bronze plate set in granite. Another rebuild happened in 2010, though the 1992 disc remained in place. Legal disputes arose regarding placement accuracy; New Mexico sued Colorado in 1919. The Supreme Court ruled in 1925 that the original markers were the actual borders, even if off from intended lines. This decision resolved that the border between Colorado and Utah jogs west about 1.5 miles from its written description.

Reader's Guide

The monument is maintained by the Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation Department as a tourist attraction on State Road 597, approximately 40 miles southwest of Cortez, Colorado. It sits on the Colorado Plateau with a cold semi-arid climate (BSk). Winters are cold but sunny; summers are hot and dry. Record highs include 105 °F observed five times between 1974 and 2005, while the record low was −18 °F on January 3, 1974. The monument consists of a granite disk with a smaller bronze disc around the central point, surrounded by state seals and flags. Circling from Colorado, the disk reads: "Here meet in freedom under God four states." Local Navajo and Ute artisans sell souvenirs and food nearby. An admission fee is required to view and photograph the site. Visitors often pose on the disk or take photos of groups and couples kissing directly over the intersection.

Did You Know?

• The Four Corners Monument is the only point in the United States shared by four states.
• In 1925, the Supreme Court ruled on the Colorado-New Mexico border, not the quadripoint itself, but physical markers placed during early surveys constitute the legal borders, even if they deviate from written meridian an
• The original sandstone shaft marking the site was erected by surveyor Chandler Robbins in 1875, replaced by a granite marker in 1912, and later by a brass disc set in concrete.
• The Colorado-Utah border does not jog at the Four Corners; the well-known boundary error is that the Colorado-New Mexico border (the Darling Line) is about 2.5 miles south of the 37th parallel.