About Yuma

Yuma resides near the borders of California and the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California, and near the convergence of the Colorado and Gila rivers. Known as one of the sunniest places on Earth, Yuma offers residents a year-round vista of surrounding mountains and valleys with lush agricultural fields.

The incorporated area of Yuma is approximately 121 square miles within Yuma County, which occupies the southwestern corner of Arizona. Approximately 96,000 residents call the City of Yuma their full-time home, according to the 2020 Census, with 204,000 or so living in Yuma County. An additional 90,000 or so stay in the Yuma area during the winter. Agriculture is the largest segment of Yuma’s economy, along with military and tourism.

The City of Yuma is a full-service, council-manager government governed by a charter, Arizona state statutes, and an adopted strategic plan. Public services include police, fire, water and wastewater utilities, public works, solid waste services, parks and recreation, and arts and culture services.

History of Yuma

The waters of the Colorado River shaped the geography and history of the entire Southwest. Prior to being tamed with dams and siphons, the full volume of water that now sustains life in seven western states and parts of Mexico ran through Yuma. The course of the river was unpredictable from year to year and from season to season, and in the table-flat floodplains where it met the Gila River, the riverbed often stretched across 15 miles of silty bottoms laced with unexpected back channels and even pockets of quicksand. Getting across was no easy matter, even when the river was not in flood. At the place that would become Yuma, two outcroppings of granite held their place and squeezed the river into a narrower channel. Here the waters ran swift, but the banks held firm and the passage was, if still hazardous, at least predictable. From the time the earliest people came to the area, the Yuma Crossing was the easiest and safest place to cross the river.

Yuma Events

Click here for Yuma Events