Clyde Tombaugh peers through a 6-inch telescope at the University of Kansas, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees. This photo was made in 1936, six years after Tombaugh’s discovery of Pluto at Flagstaff’s Lowell Observatory. | New Mexico State University
Staring Into Space
Looking through a hand magnifier, Clyde Tombaugh could barely see the stars on the image in front of him at Flagstaff’s Lowell Observatory. “My hand was shaking,” he later told his biographer. “I was…
Described by some as eccentric, Wilhelm Smith had connections to many better-known figures in the history of the American Southwest. | SHARLOT HALL MUSEUM
She’s a Relative Unknown
Sedona’s newest park honors the city’s history, and one of the city’s oldest buildings is its focus. But just beyond the borders of Ranger Station Park on Brewer Road stands a reminder of a lesser-…
Michael Kotutwa Johnson, a Hopi farmer, and his dog gaze out over farmland in Northeastern Arizona.
Michael Kotutwa Johnson
Coming up through the Painted Desert from Flagstaff, we pull into the Kykotsmovi Village convenience store, where Michael Kotutwa Johnson greets us. He’s a faculty member at the University of Arizona…
Dinosaur tracks etched in stone lead to layered rock formations in the Painted Desert. By Tom Bean
Tom Bean: This Is My Story
Like many photographers, I got my start behind a camera while doing something else. In my case, after graduating from Iowa State University with a degree in wildlife biology, I worked as a seasonal…
Arizona Highways Policy on Generative AI
Arizona Highways does not publish words, images or other content created or edited, in whole or in part, by generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT. While we recognize that…
Toroweap Ranger Station, located near the Grand Canyon’s Toroweap Overlook on the North Rim, is one of the most remote postings in the National Park Service. The station’s buildings were built of local stone in 1935. By John Burcham
Fringe Benefits
Green after recent monsoon rains, Toroweap Valley spreads west, toward the Uinkaret Mountains. Rabbitbrush and sunflowers splash the remote expanse, more than 50 miles from the nearest pavement, with…
A saguaro heavy with fruit grows in Saguaro National Park’s Tucson Mountain District. In this area, the fruit typically ripens in late June and early July. | A saguaro heavy with fruit grows in Saguaro National Park’s Tucson Mountain District. In this area, the fruit typically ripens in late June and early July. | Bill Hatcher
With A 10-Foot Pole
At 6 p.m. on a late-June evening, it’s 102 degrees at Stella Tucker’s campsite at Saguaro National Park. A graniteware pot bubbles over a fire, the fragrance of burning mesquite mingling with the…
The aurora borealis fills the night sky over the Grand Canyon in a view from Desert View Watchtower, on the East Rim, in October 2024. Far below the rim, the Colorado River mirrors the red hues of the northern lights. | Rich Rudow
Red Sky At Night, Photographer's Delight
Galileo named the aurora borealis, or the northern lights, in the early 17th century, honoring Aurora, Roman goddess of the dawn, and Boreas, Greek god of the cold north wind. In the Southern…