Paradise, Arizona
Paradise is a small ghost town located in Cochise County in the U.S. state of Arizona. The town was settled in 1901 in what was then the Arizona Territory.
Paradise, Arizona  | |
|---|---|
![]() Paradise Cemetery  | |
![]() Paradise, Arizona Location in the state of Arizona ![]() Paradise, Arizona Paradise, Arizona (the United States)  | |
| Coordinates: 31°56′5″N 109°13′8″W | |
| Country | United States | 
| State | Arizona | 
| County | Cochise | 
| Founded | 1901 | 
| Abandoned | 1943 | 
| Elevation | 5,482 ft (1,671 m) | 
| Population  (2011)  | |
| • Total | 5 | 
| Time zone | UTC-7 (MST (no DST)) | 
| Post Office opened | October 23, 1901 | 
| Post Office closed | September 30, 1943 | 
| GNIS feature ID | 9192 | 
History
    

In 1901 the Chiricahua Development Company located a vein of ore here. A post office was established on October 23, 1901, and at its peak, the town had saloons, general stores, a jail and a hotel. The town was essentially abandoned when the local mines failed, and the post office closed on September 30, 1943.[2][3] However, a few residents remained. In June 2011, there were five permanent residents and 29 standing structures[4] when the Horseshoe 2 Fire swept through the area.[5] A few homes and cemetery remain.[6]
Geography
    
Paradise is located 5.7 miles west (up-mountain) from Portal, Arizona, and is surrounded by Coronado National Forest land.[1]
Climate
    
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Paradise has a hot-summer mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Paradise was 104 °F (40.0 °C) on July 8, 1912, while the coldest temperature recorded was −2 °F (−18.9 °C) on February 3, 2011.[7]
| Climate data for Paradise, Arizona, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1906–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year | 
| Record high °F (°C) | 75 (24)  | 
81 (27)  | 
88 (31)  | 
89 (32)  | 
96 (36)  | 
103 (39)  | 
104 (40)  | 
101 (38)  | 
96 (36)  | 
95 (35)  | 
89 (32)  | 
78 (26)  | 
104 (40)  | 
| Average high °F (°C) | 54.4 (12.4)  | 
58.5 (14.7)  | 
64.8 (18.2)  | 
72.5 (22.5)  | 
81.0 (27.2)  | 
89.7 (32.1)  | 
87.5 (30.8)  | 
83.7 (28.7)  | 
79.7 (26.5)  | 
74.3 (23.5)  | 
63.2 (17.3)  | 
54.2 (12.3)  | 
72.0 (22.2)  | 
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 39.3 (4.1)  | 
43.4 (6.3)  | 
49.1 (9.5)  | 
55.7 (13.2)  | 
63.3 (17.4)  | 
72.3 (22.4)  | 
74.1 (23.4)  | 
70.9 (21.6)  | 
66.2 (19.0)  | 
58.1 (14.5)  | 
47.5 (8.6)  | 
39.9 (4.4)  | 
56.7 (13.7)  | 
| Average low °F (°C) | 24.3 (−4.3)  | 
28.3 (−2.1)  | 
33.4 (0.8)  | 
38.9 (3.8)  | 
45.6 (7.6)  | 
54.9 (12.7)  | 
60.8 (16.0)  | 
58.2 (14.6)  | 
52.6 (11.4)  | 
42.0 (5.6)  | 
31.9 (−0.1)  | 
25.7 (−3.5)  | 
41.4 (5.2)  | 
| Record low °F (°C) | 1 (−17)  | 
−2 (−19)  | 
8 (−13)  | 
16 (−9)  | 
25 (−4)  | 
37 (3)  | 
39 (4)  | 
44 (7)  | 
27 (−3)  | 
18 (−8)  | 
4 (−16)  | 
2 (−17)  | 
−2 (−19)  | 
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 1.14 (29)  | 
1.28 (33)  | 
0.89 (23)  | 
0.33 (8.4)  | 
0.31 (7.9)  | 
0.61 (15)  | 
3.58 (91)  | 
3.41 (87)  | 
1.80 (46)  | 
1.01 (26)  | 
1.07 (27)  | 
1.53 (39)  | 
16.96 (432.3)  | 
| Source 1: NOAA[8] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service[7] | |||||||||||||
In media
    
The ghost-town of Paradise is also notably featured in media, such as video games and motion pictures.
- Postal (1997)
 - Postal 2 (2003)
 - Postal 2: Apocalypse Weekend (2005)
 - Postal Babes (2009)
 - Postal 2: Paradise Lost (2015)
 - A Long Ride From Hell (1968 - Motion Picture)
 
References
    
- U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Paradise
 - Sherman, James E.; Barbara H. Sherman (1969). "Paradise". Ghost Towns of Arizona (First ed.). University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 114–115. ISBN 0806108436.
 - Granger, Byrd H. (1970) Arizona Place Names, Tucson: University of Arizona Press
 - Southwest Incident Management Team (21 May 2011) "Emergency Bulletin: Horseshoe Two Fire Update; Precautionary Evacuation Remains in Effect" Arizona Emergency Information Network (AzEIN)
 - Rocky Basin Type-2 Incident Management Team (10 June 2011) "Emergency Bulletin: Horseshoe Two Fire 40 Percent Contained; Winds Expected from Southwest" Arizona Emergency Information Network (AzEIN)
 - Varney, Philip (1980). "Eleven: The Chiricauhua Ghosts". Arizona's Best Ghost Towns. Flagstaff: Northland Press. p. 122. ISBN 0873582179. LCCN 79-91724.
 - "NOAA Online Weather Data – NWS Tucson". National Weather Service. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
 - "U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access – Station: Paradise, AZ". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
 
Further reading
    
- Alden Hayes, A Portal to Paradise, University of Arizona Press (1999), ISBN 0816521441
 
External links
    
 Media related to Paradise, Arizona at Wikimedia Commons
 Ghost towns travel guide from Wikivoyage



