Peridot ( "Blue Rock") is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

(CDP) in Gila and Graham counties in the U.S. state of

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. The population was 1,350 at the 2010 census. Peridot is named for the mineral peridot, found in basalt flows nearby.

Geography

Peridot is located in southeastern Gila County and northwestern Graham County within the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. U.S. Route 70 passes through the community, leading west to

Globe A globe is a spherical Earth, spherical Model#Physical model, model of Earth, of some other astronomical object, celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but, unlike maps, they do not distort the surface ...

, the Gila County seat, and southeast to Safford, the Graham County seat. The San Carlos River, a tributary of the Gila River, flows southward through the CDP and forms the county boundary. Coolidge Dam, forming San Carlos Lake on the Gila and San Carlos rivers, is to the south. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the Peridot CDP has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 1,266 people, 307 households, and 261 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 346 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 98.0% Native American, 1.4%

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, and 0.6% from two or more races. 2.6% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. Out of the town's Native Americans, 93.0% are Apache, making Peridot the most Apache community in the United States. There were 307 households, out of which 50.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% were married couples living together, 20.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 14.7% were non-families. 12.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.12 and the average family size was 4.50. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 40.4% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 17.5% from 45 to 64, and 5.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.8 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $18,194, and the median income for a family was $18,750. Males had a median income of $19,348 versus $17,102 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $5,765. About 49.4% of families and 58.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 69.9% of those under age 18 and 36.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Peridot-Our Savior's Lutheran School is a Christian K-8 school of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod in Peridot.

Attractions

Specimens of the mineral peridot can be collected in the volcanic hills between Peridot and Globe, or purchased at local rock shops. After wet winters, the Peridot area often has displays of spring wildflowers. Travel off the main highways requires a tribal recreation permit, available from the San Carlos Recreation and Wildlife department, and at local convenience and sporting-goods stores. In 2011, the San Carlos Apache Tribe's Language Preservation Program, located in Peridot, began its outreach to the 14,000 tribal members residing within the districts of Bylas, Gilson Wash, Peridot and Seven Mile Wash.

Transportation

San Carlos Apache Nnee Bich'o Nii Transit provides transportation on the reservation and to Safford and

. Greyhound Lines serves Peridot on its Phoenix– El Paso via

route.

References