Yuma Regional Medical Center Hospital Page

Yuma

Yuma is a city in and county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2000 census, its total population was 77,515. Geography Yuma is located at (32.692148, -114.615389), close to the border with California to the West and with Mexico to the South. Yuma is just west of the Gila and Colorado River confluence. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 276.4 km� (106.7 mi�). 276.2 km� (106.7 mi�) of it is land and 0.2 km� (0.1 mi�) of it (0.07%) is water.

History

Initially there were several tribes of Native Americans in Yuma.

Quechan Indians have a reservation here, across the Colorado River north of downtown Yuma.
Cocopah Indians also have a reservation, in three separate parts. One is WNW of the city, right on the Colorado River where it borders Arizona, California and Mexico; one further south along the river; and one south of Yuma.

In 1540 expeditions under Hernando de Alarcon and Melchior Diaz visited here and immediately saw the natural crossing of the Colorado River was an ideal spot for a city.

From the 1850s through the 1870s, the Yuma Crossing was known for its steamboat crossing, and spot for them to stop on the way up and down the river. The steamboats transported passengers and equipment for the various mines and military outposts. Yuma served as the gateway to the new western territory of California, as it was one of the few natural spots to cross the (at that point in time) very wide Colorado River. The Southern Pacific Railroad bridged the river in 1870 and helped continue Yuma as a major hub in the desert southwest. Yuma became the county seat for the area in 1864.

In 1997, the desert city sustained a full tropical storm after Hurricane Nora made landfall at the mouth of the Colorado River and quickly moved due north along it. The extraordinarily rare event cut power to 12,000 customers in Yuma, and dropped 3.59 inches or over 90mm of rain at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma.