Dateland is a CDP, populated place, and colonia in Yuma County,

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 in an area well known for date palm dates. Dateland has the ZIP Code of 85333; in 2000, the population of the 85333 ZCTA was 852. The community is part of the Yuma Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Demographics

History

Dateland began as a road stop in the 1920s. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Dateland was the site of two of General Patton's desert training camps, Camp Horn and Camp Hyder. In addition, in 1942, three airstrips were built in Dateland for training B25 Bombers, including the Dateland Air Force Auxiliary Field. The U.S. military still uses the Dateland area for periodic training. American troops that served in Iraq and Afghanistan, have spent some time training in Dateland. Sugar rationing in 1942 during World War II led to the increase of date production in Arizona, leading to growing popularity for dates as a sweet alternative to candy, boosting Arizona's date industry. After the closure of the airfield, the land was subdivided in the 1970s. The developers of one subdivision on the former airfield, El Camino Del Sol, were convicted of fraud in 1977. Most of Dateland consists of undeveloped lots.

Climate

This area has a large amount of sunshine year round due to its stable descending air and high pressure. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Dateland has 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 ...

, abbreviated "Bwh" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Dateland, Arizona
/ref> A locality near Dateland called Montezuma recorded a temperature of 105.1 °F (40.6 °C) on February 3, 1963, making it the record holder for the highest temperature in the United States in February.

Infrastructure

Utilities

Dateland is served by the following utilities: * Arizona Public Service – electric * Arizona Telephone Co. (a subsidiary of TDS Telecom) – telephone * Dateland Public Service Co. (a tax-exempt utility) – water

Buildings

Dateland has several historic properties due to its history as stopping point along many pioneer trails and as a military training ground.

References

External links

* *
Dateland community website
{{authority control Populated places in the Sonoran Desert Census-designated places in Yuma County, Arizona Census-designated places in Arizona