Tonopah is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...

(CDP) in western

Maricopa County Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and the fourth-most populous in the United States. It contains about ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, United States, west of downtown

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

off

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally p ...

. The community is near the

Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station The Palo Verde Generating Station is a nuclear power plant located near Tonopah, Arizona, in western Arizona. It is located about due west of downtown Phoenix, Arizona, and it is located near the Gila River, which is dry save for the rainy seas ...

, the largest power producer in the country, nuclear or otherwise. As of the 2020 census, the population of Tonopah was 23, down from 60 at the 2010 census. It is located on the Tonopah Desert. Many wells in Tonopah are warm, in the to range, and many are hot; to wells are common. Prior to being called Tonopah, the settlement was known as "Lone Peak". The area is also known to have been inhabited by groups of people for resource gathering area of the

Hohokam Hohokam () was a culture in the North American Southwest in what is now part of Arizona, United States, and Sonora, Mexico. It existed between 300 and 1500 AD, with cultural precursors possibly as early as 300 BC. Archaeologists disagree about ...

Patayan Patayan is a group of prehistoric and historic Native American cultures in parts of modern-day Arizona, west to Lake Cahuilla in California, and in Baja California, from AD 700 to 1550. This included areas along the Gila River, Colorado Riv ...

, and

Yavapai The Yavapai are a Native American tribe in Arizona. Historically, the Yavapai – literally “people of the sun” (from ''Enyaava'' “sun” + ''Paay'' “people”) – were divided into four geographical bands who identified as separate, i ...

cultures.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2010, there were 60 people living in the CDP. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 1.13 people per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 87%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 2% Native American, 3% Asian, and 8% from other races. Twenty-three percent of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Schools

* Crossroads Academy * Ruth Fisher Middle School * Tonopah Valley High School * Winters Well Elementary School

Incorporation efforts

In 2009, a political action committee named Tonopah United for Our Future (TUFF) filed paperwork with the county, proposing the incorporation of the area into a town. The proposal ran into difficulties when the neighboring town of Buckeye voted to publicly oppose the measure. State law forbids the incorporation of a new city or town within a specified distance of existing municipalities without their approval, and the proposed boundaries for Tonopah would abut the corporate boundaries of Buckeye, essentially giving Buckeye veto power over any incorporation efforts. In 2003, Buckeye had passed a measure approving of any future incorporation effort by Tonopah, but the current town council rescinded the measure, citing concerns that the proposal would extend the new town's boundaries east of the

Hassayampa River The Hassayampa River ( Yavapai: Hasaya:mvo or ʼHasayamcho:) is an intermittent river, the headwaters of which are just south of Prescott, Arizona, and flows mostly south towards Wickenburg, entering the Gila River near Hassayampa. Although the r ...

and into area Buckeye intends to annex. Council members did indicate that they were open to future incorporation efforts using the river as a boundary. Residents also expressed concern that the proposal was too ambitious and that the new town would be incapable of managing the of land included in the proposal. Geographically it would be among the largest in the state, while estimates placed the population of the proposed town at approximately 6,000. Additionally, a number of residents opposed the plan because they believed large tax increases would be necessary to fund a new government. Ultimately the measure was defeated on March 10, 2009, by a vote of 523 against incorporation versus 356 in support.

Belmont

In November 2017, media outlets reported that a company associated with billionaire

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...

purchased between Buckeye and Tonopah for $80 million. Gates's company plans to create a "smart city" called Belmont on the site.

Climate

In popular culture

The chorus of the song "Willin'" by

Lowell George Lowell Thomas George (April 13, 1945 – June 29, 1979) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer, who was the primary guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and founder/leader for the rock band Little Feat. Ear ...

Little Feat Little Feat is an American rock band formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles. George disbanded the group because of creative differences shortly before his death in 1979. Surviving m ...

on the albums ''

'', ''

Sailin' Shoes ''Sailin' Shoes'' is the second studio album by the American rock band Little Feat, released in 1972. Produced by Ted Templeman, it marked a shift away from the sound of the band's eponymous debut, to that of their subsequent album, '' Dixie Chi ...

'' and '' Waiting for Columbus'' refers to either Tonopah, Arizona, or

Tonopah, Nevada Tonopah ( , Shoshoni language: Tonampaa) is an unincorporated town in, and the county seat of, Nye County, Nevada, United States. It is located at the junction of U.S. Routes 6 and 95, approximately midway between Las Vegas and Reno. In th ...

Image gallery

Pictured are the following images related to Tonopah: * The ruins of the house of John Beauchamp, a major landowner in the area and Tonopah's first postmaster. The Beauchamp homestead house was built in 1920. The ruins of the house are located near the corner of Indian School and 411th Avenue . * The former Saguaro Sanitarium, now the Motel Saguaro Mineral Wells, whose groundbreaking ceremony was officially dedicated on June 17, 1934, and attended by George W. P. Hunt, the first elected governor of Arizona. * The ruins related to the Tonopah-Belmont mine workers camp.