Cave Creek is a town in

Maricopa County Maricopa County () is a county in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census the population was 4,420,568, or about 62% of the state's total, making it the fourth-most populous county in the United States and ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, United States. It is part of the

Phoenix metropolitan area The Phoenix metropolitan area, also known as the Valley of the Sun, the Salt River Valley, metro Phoenix, or The Valley, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the Southwestern United States, with its largest principal city being the c ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 4,892.

History

Cave Creek was settled in 1870 by soldiers on horseback from Fort McDowell. In 1873, prospectors from the Bradshaw Mountains found gold in the town. The town is named for the cave next to the creek the town was founded on. The town was incorporated in 1986.

Geography

Cave Creek is a town in the

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert () is a hot desert and ecoregion in North America that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the Southwestern United States (in Arizona and California). It ...

. It sits in northern Maricopa County on the northern edge of Scottsdale, with mountains rising to the north that eventually connect with the New River Mountains and the

Black Hills The Black Hills is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk Peak, which rises to , is the range's highest summit. The name of the range ...

. It is north of

downtown Phoenix Downtown Phoenix is the central business district (CBD) of the City of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It is in the heart of the Phoenix metropolitan area or Valley of the Sun. Phoenix, being the county seat of Maricopa County, Arizona, ...

, although the Phoenix city limits extend north to Cave Creek's southern border. The town is bordered to the east by the town of Carefree, to the west by unincorporated New River and Desert Hills, and to the north by

Tonto National Forest The Tonto National Forest, encompassing , is the largest of the six national forests in Arizona and is the ninth largest national forest in the United States. The forest has diverse scenery, with elevations ranging from 1,400 feet (427 m) in ...

. Elephant Mountain rises to an elevation of in the northernmost part of the town. Local landmark Black Mountain, elevation , is in the southern part of town on the border with Carefree. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town of Cave Creek has a total area of , of which , or 0.02%, are listed as water. Cave Creek flows through the western side of the town southward into Phoenix, where it disappears into the Salt River valley. In 2000, the state of Arizona,

, and the town of Cave Creek bought Spur Cross Ranch, a tract of Sonoran desert just north of Phoenix, for $21 million. It had unusual cacti, stone formations, and hundreds of pre-historic Hohokam Indian tribal artifacts, and is now a Maricopa County park.

Climate

Cave Creek is located in a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

, receiving more rainfall than a

desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

. Cave Creek is at a higher elevation, and therefore is cooler than the lower elevations of the Phoenix area. The hot season lasts for 3.5 months, from May 31 to September 19, with an average daily high temperature at or above . The hottest month of the year is July, with an average high of and low of . The cool season lasts for 3.4 months, from November 20 to March 1, with an average daily high temperature below . The coldest month of the year is January, with an average low of and high of . In July–September, the North American monsoon season brings rain and thunderstorms to the Cave Creek area. The wettest month of the year is August, with an average of 6 days of rain, and averaging .

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2020, there were 4,892 people, 2,321 households, and 2.17 persons per household. The population density was . There were 1,753 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 95.0%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, <0.1%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 2.6% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 7.0% of the population. Out of the 1,571 households some 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. SpurCross

In the town, the population was spread out, with 20.9% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 36.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $102,589, and the

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $63,573. About 8.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 12.9% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Historic properties located at the Cave Creek Museum include the Tubercular Cabin (listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

(NRHP)), the First Church of Cave Creek, and Golden Reef Stamp Mill. Two historic properties have been converted into restaurants: the Cave Creek Inn, and the Cave Creek Service Station (listed on NRHP). Another location, Frontier Town, has some of Cave Creek's original structures. Every year the Sonoran Arts League holds an open studio event that offers an opportunity for the public to learn about artists’ techniques from 150+ artists at over 40 Host Studio venues in the area of Cave Creek, "Hidden in the Hills". The signature events of Cave Creek are Cave Creek Rodeo Days, a PRCA Professional Rodeo, and Bike Week

Government

In June 2009, Cave Creek attracted media attention when a

game of chance A game of chance is in contrast with a game of skill. It is a game whose outcome is strongly influenced by some randomizing device. Common devices used include dice, spinning tops, playing cards, roulette wheels, numbered balls, or in the case ...

was used to break a tie in a vote for Town Council. The drawing of playing cards led to the victory of 25-year-old law student Adam Trenk over incumbent Town Council member Thomas McGuire. The Arizona State Constitution allows a game of chance to be used to break ties. "Where the Wild West Lives" was adopted as the town motto by the Cave Creek Town Council during a November 2013 meeting. Cave Creek is a Council-Manager form of government; the town manager is Grady Miller. Town council is led by Mayor Robert Morris.

Education

The portion of Cave Creek west of longitude 111°59'44.21"W is served by Deer Valley Unified School District, and the remainder of the town is served by Cave Creek Unified School District.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Cave Creek residents use

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is a civil-military public international airport east of downtown Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is Arizona's largest and busiest airport; among the largest commercial airports ...

or Mesa Gateway Airport to fly on commercial airlines. Deer Valley Airport, the closest airport to Cave Creek, is a very active general aviation airport. Cave Creek is not a member of Valley Metro and therefore, does not have local bus service. The junction of Cave Creek Road and Carefree Highway is located at the south edge of Cave Creek.

Notable people

* Sonny Barger, founder of the Oakland chapter of the

Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is an international outlaw motorcycle club founded in California whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells ...

* Bob "Boze" Bell, publisher of True West Magazine * Brian Dales, singer of The Summer Set *

Shane Doan Shane Albert Doan (born October 10, 1976) is a Canadian ice hockey executive and former player currently serving as an assistant to Brad Treliving for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). Doan List of NHL players who spe ...

, NHL player for the

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

Kiowa Gordon Kiowa Joseph Gordon is a Native American actor of Hualapai heritage. He is best known for his role as shapeshifter Embry Call in ''The Twilight Saga (film series), The Twilight Saga,'' as well as Junior in the TV series ''The Red Road (TV series ...

, actor *

David Henrie David Clayton Henrie ( ; born July 11, 1989) is an American actor, writer, and director. He is noted for playing Ted Mosby's future son Luke on ''How I Met Your Mother''; Justin Russo in ''Wizards of Waverly Place'' and its sequel '' Wizards B ...

, actor * Taylor Lewan, NFL player for the Tennessee Titans, drafted in 2014 * Daisy Mallory, country music singer-songwriter * Earl Simmons, rapper and actor (DMX) *

Dee Dee Wood Audrey Wood Breaux ( Donella; June 7, 1927 – April 26, 2023), better known as Dee Dee Wood, was an American choreographer. She was best known for her work on musical films of the 1960s and 1970s, especially for The Sound of Music (film), The Soun ...

, Emmy Award-winning choreographer

References

External links

*
"That Cave Creek Movie"
(YouTube) {{authority control Towns in Maricopa County, Arizona Phoenix metropolitan area Populated places established in 1986