page_title: Four Corners Monument
section_title: Misplacement controversy
hierarchical_section_title: Four Corners Monument / History / Misplacement controversy
caption_attribution_description: English: Four Corners Monument April 2007 by David Jolley
context_page_description: The Four Corners Monument marks the quadripoint in the Southwestern United States where the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet. It is the only point in the United States shared by four states, leading to the area being named the Four Corners region. The monument also marks the boundary between two semi-autonomous Native American governments, the Navajo Nation, which maintains the monument as a tourist attraction, and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Reservation.
  The origins of the state boundaries marked by the monument occurred just prior to, and during, the American Civil War, when the United States Congress acted to form governments in the area to combat the spread of slavery to the region. When the early territories were formed, their boundaries were designated along meridian and parallel lines. Beginning in the 1860s, these lines were surveyed and marked. These early surveys included some errors, but even so, the markers placed became the legal boundaries, superseding the written descriptions of geographical meridians and parallels. This includes the Four Corners Monument, which has been legally established as the corner of the four states.
context_section_description: Since the early 20th century, controversies have arisen regarding the accuracy of the monument's placement. After the initial surveys, it was found that the borders did not always follow the lines of meridian and parallel (as they had been intended to) due to the primitive surveying technology available at the time of construction. This discrepancy left the four states asking if the correct borders were the exact lines of meridian and parallel (and if new, more accurate, surveys needed to be done), or if the markers placed during the initial surveys were now the actual border. The issue was resolved when New Mexico sued Colorado in 1919, and in 1925 the Supreme Court ruled that the markers placed during the initial surveys were the actual borders, even if the markers were off in some locations (this includes the Four Corners Monument). Today's legal description of these border lines is based on the original markers, and not the written description of the borders created when the territories were formed. Because of this, the borders between these states are not perfectly straight and often zigzag. One example is the border between Colorado and Utah, where in one area the border jogs west about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from where it was intended to be placed (38°16′34″N 109°03′38″W). Because this error occurred in the original survey, which superseded the written description (being simply the 32nd meridian west of Washington), the border set out by the markers remains the border between the two states.
  In 2009 this issue was again brought to the forefront due to U.S. media reports that the monument was placed 2.5 miles (4.0 km) west of its intended location. These reports were quickly corrected after it was discovered that sources had forgotten that when the initial surveys were conducted that the Washington meridian was used. This meridian has an offset from the modern reference, the Prime Meridian, which has been used in the United States since 1912. This offset is often missed by those not familiar with the history of U.S. surveying.
  Even after the mistakes in the reports were discovered, 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 original 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.
caption: Flags surrounding the Four Corners Monument. In clockwise order starting from the frontmost flag, the state flag of Arizona, Flag of the Navajo Nation (twice), Utah, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico, Navajo Nation (third instance), and the flag of the United States.
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