Four Corners Monument - Location

Location

The monument is located on the Colorado Plateau west of U.S. Highway 160, approximately 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Cortez, Colorado. The monument is centered at 36°59′56.31532″N 109°02′42.62019″W / 36.9989764778°N 109.045172275°W / 36.9989764778; -109.045172275. In addition to the four states, two semi-autonomous Native American tribal governments have boundaries at the monument, the Navajo Nation and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Reservation, with the Ute Mountain tribal boundaries coinciding with Colorado's boundaries at the monument.

Media reports sometimes claim that the monument was not placed in the intended location. The American Surveyor Magazine has responded to these stories claiming the boundary surveys for the New Mexico – Arizona border were accurate. They explain that the reference point used by the U.S. Congress at the time was the Washington meridian, which has an offset from the modern reference, the Prime Meridian. This offset is often missed by those not familiar with the history of American surveying. The geography department at the University of Oregon teaches that this offset can be ignored to simplify estimates of distance, but the simplification results in an error of between 2.3 miles (3.7 km) and 3 miles (4.8 km). A common claim is the monument was misplaced 2.5 miles (4.0 km) west of the true Four Corners, within this range.

In 2009, a spokesperson for the U.S. National Geodetic Survey admitted the monument is placed 1,807 feet (551 m) east of where modern surveyors would mark the point. However, he defended the accuracy of the 1875 survey, stating surveyors "nailed it" considering the primitive tools of the day. Pointing out the achievement given the conditions, he further stated, "Their ability to replicate that exact point — what they did was phenomenal, what they did was spot on." He concluded by stating that any claims of errors in the location of the monument are irrelevant. Once a survey commissioned to establish a boundary has been accepted by the involved parties, the survey markers are legally binding, regardless of any error that is later discovered. Similar statements were issued by the Navajo Nation, defending their work in maintaining and promoting the monument. In addition, general U.S. land principles, law, and the Supreme Court have established that the location of the monument is the legal corner of the four states.