EDITOR'S LETTER

It seemed like such a simple
question: How many canyons are in the state of Arizona? As simple as it seemed, it wasn’t so easy. In fact, we never did get a definite answer. Just a ballpark from the Bureau of Land Management.

Our first call was to the Arizona Geological Survey, but they couldn’t give us a number. They did, however, connect us with Sarah Scott, a GIS specialist with the BLM in Phoenix. GIS stands for “geographic information system,” and because of what she does for a living, Sarah was able to access a geographic names database that was built by the U.S. Geological Survey. After running a search, she learned there are 2,631 canyons in Arizona. Or, there might be 2,631 canyons in Arizona. There could be more. There could be less. We really don’t know. As Sarah patiently explained: “Asking how many canyons are in the state of Arizona can be subjective, so the number you get from this dataset should be taken as approximate. Or with a grain of salt.”

It seemed so simple.

Nevertheless, even if you round down to a couple of thousand, we have a lot of canyons in Arizona. There’s the big one, of course — the one you can see from outer space — and many others you may have heard of. Most, however, are unfamiliar. Mother Hubbard Canyon, Beef Eater Canyon, Hole in the Ground Canyon ... no one on my team had ever heard of any of those places. And when I asked them about Hellzapoppin Canyon, they just laughed, as if I’d had too much eggnog. It’s a real place, though. Northwest of Prescott. Unfortunately, we couldn’t come up with any good photographs of Hellzapoppin Canyon. Not that it matters. Not when you see the other 31 canyons we’re featuring in our annual “Postcard to the World.”

That phrase, by the way — “Postcard to the World” — has been used to describe our December issue for decades. Raymond Carlson, our editor emeritus, was the first to use it. And the tradition continues this month with a portfolio titled Arizona Is Gorges.

Like the wondrous Canyon that can be seen from outer space, the portfolio is substantial — it took every page we had. Although we sacrificed a lot of words to make room for the photos, we think the vast collection makes a pretty good “postcard.” We hope you’ll agree. If not, we’ll have more words (and photographs) in January, when we kick off a yearlong project we’re calling the “Explore Arizona!” series.

As the name suggests, each issue in 2017 will be dedicated to one of the state’s most scenic places. We have some excellent stories in the works. And some extraordinary covers, too. You’ll see. Meanwhile, whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or just a few days off from work, happy holidays, and thank you for spending another year with Arizona Highways.