Snowflake () is a town in Navajo 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 was founded in 1878 by Erastus Snow and William Jordan Flake,

Mormon pioneers The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter-day Saints, who Human migration, migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the ...

. Snowflake is south of

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...

(formerly

U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) is one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The high ...

) via Highway 77. The Apache Railway provides freight service.

Geography

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 has a total area of , of which are land and (0.16%) are water.

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 2000, there were 4,460 people, 1,312 households, and 1,070 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,536 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 87.2%

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 ...

, 0.3%

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 ...

, 6.9% Native American, 0.5% 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 ...

, 3.0% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. 8.1% of the population were

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. There were 1,312 households, out of which 46.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.5% 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, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.4% were non-families. 15.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.37 and the average family size was 3.81. In the town, the population was spread out, with 37.9% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 21.8% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $37,439, and the median income for a family was $42,500. Males had a median income of $30,517 versus $21,164 for females. 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 $13,391. About 10.4% of families and 15.0% 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 18.7% of those under age 18 and 14.1% of those age 65 or over. Recently, the town and surrounding area have experienced steady growth, primarily to the east, west and south. An additional 9-holes were added to the 18-hole golf course. The remoteness of Snowflake and the low level of pollution attracts many individuals suffering from

multiple chemical sensitivity Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) is an unrecognized and controversial diagnosis characterized by chronic symptoms attributed to exposure to low levels of commonly used chemicals. Symptoms are typically vagueness, vague and non-specific sympt ...

syndrome (MCS) to the town. As of July 2016 there were approximately 20 households who report to be suffering from MCS.

Economy

Major industries in Snowflake include pork production, electrical generation, and

Cannabis cultivation Cultivation of cannabis is the production of cannabis infructescences ("buds" or "leaves"). Cultivation techniques for other purposes (such as hemp production) differ. In the United States, all cannabis products in a regulated market must be ...

. Copperstate Farms, a cannabis greenhouse and wholesaler, is the largest employer in the town.

Education

Snowflake is a part of the Snowflake Unified School District, consisting of Highland Primary School, Snowflake Intermediate School, Snowflake Junior High and Snowflake High School. Taylor Elementary School in the neighboring town of Taylor, Arizona, is also part of the Snowflake Unified school District.

Northland Pioneer College Northland Pioneer College (NPC) is a public community college serving the communities of northeastern Arizona. Campuses are located in four of the largest Navajo County communities: Holbrook, Show Low, Snowflake, and Winslow. Five centers are l ...

's Silver Creek campus extension is located in Snowflake.

Climate

Snowflake experiences a four-season

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a aridity, dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as l ...

climate with a warm (sometimes hot) summer, mild autumn, mild to cold winter and cool, windy spring. Typical high temperatures hover around 90 °F (32 °C) during July and August and 30 (-1 °C) to 49 °F (13 °C) in December/January.

In popular culture

* Some members of the logging crew involved in the Travis Walton abduction incident live in this town, and several events surrounding that incident happened here. These events were dramatized in the sci-fi film '' Fire in the Sky'' (1993).

Notable people

Walter Blackman Walter Blackman (born 1965/1966) is an American politician who serves as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 7th district. He previously served in the legislature from 2019 to 2023 for District 6, and was the first black Re ...

, current Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives *

Jeff Flake Jeffry Lane Flake (born December 31, 1962) is an American politician and diplomat who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the United States House of Repr ...

, former United States Ambassador to Turkey, former

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

* Marilyn Jarrett (1939–2006), Arizona businesswoman and politician, was born in Snowflake. * David Marshall, Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives * Buzz Miller (1923–1999), dancer, was born in Snowflake. * Jesse N. Smith (1834–1906), Mormon pioneer, church leader, politician and colonizer of Snowflake. The Jesse N. Smith House in Snowflake is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. * Travis Walton, who was allegedly abducted by space aliens, is an author and was played by D. B. Sweeney in the sci-fi film '' Fire in the Sky'' (1993), lives in Snowflake.

References

External links

Town website

{{Authority control 1878 establishments in Arizona Territory Populated places established in 1878 Towns in Navajo County, Arizona White Mountains (Arizona)