The Four Corners Monument

There's no view to speak of at Four Corners Monument, but it's a popular photo op nonetheless. Set on Navajo land, about one usually dusty mile off U.S. 60, the monument is the only place in the nation where the borders of four states meet. The first permanent marker, a simple "look-what's-here," was erected at the intersection of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona in 1912. As long as there have been cameras, people have gone out of their way just to stand in such a way as to be in four states at once.

The monument was refurbished in 1992, and a larger marker, consisting of a bronze disk embedded in granite, was put in place. Though bigger and more ornate than the first marker, it still seems far too unassuming to have attracted the bazaar that surrounds it. In response to a ready market of tourists and trinket hounds, the main drive is rimmed with plywood booths hawking Ute, Navajo, Apache, and other American Indian artwork, crafts, artifacts, and rugs. You can also buy fry bread and corn on the cob. It's all genuine, but the opportunistic nature of the site—it costs $5 per person just to enter (cash only; kids 6 and under are free)—detracts from what began as the simple fascination of standing at the very point where four southwestern states meet.

No major cities are nearby. Cortez, Colorado, is 40 miles away on U.S. 60; tiny Teec Nos Pos, Arizona, is 6 miles away; Shiprock, New Mexico, is about 27 miles to the east; and Bluff, Utah, is 53 miles distant.

The Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation Department administers the Four Corners Monument, along with numerous natural sites and thousands of square miles of pristine wilderness. For more information, email [email protected].