Camp Verde lies near the geographic center of Arizona. It is in the Verde River valley of central Arizona, 85 miles north of Phoenix, at an elevation of approximately 3100 feet. Camp Verde is the oldest community in the valley, and was established in 1865.

Clarkdale is at the upper end of the Verde Valley in Yavapai County and is approximately 110 miles north of Phoenix and south of the Grand Canyon at an elevation of 3,542 feet. Topography of the area is characterized by numerous mesas and buttes along the rise from the Verde River on the east, at 3,300 feet, to the Mingus Mountains on the west, at 7,000 feet. Clarkdale, incorporated in 1957, was laid out in 1914 near the site of the Clarkdale Smelter, which was financed by Senator William A. Clark of Montana.

Cottonwood began as a small adobe where soldiers took refuge in 1874. Soon, settlers began moving in, and created a place whose namesake is a circle of 16 cottonwood trees near the Verde River. The community was established in 1879 and incorporated in 1960. In Yavapai County, Cottonwood is near the geographic center of Arizona at an elevation of 3,300 feet. The city is approximately 100 miles north of Phoenix.

Verde Valley Links
Verde Independent
Cottonwood Chamber of Commerce
Yavapai College
Verde Valley Tourism Council
Yavapai Apache Nation