Paradise, Arizona

Paradise, Arizona
Paradise, Arizona
Ghost town
	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 / 31.93472°N 109.21889°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

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 is also the setting for the first two Postal games.

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)
Mean daily maximum °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)
Mean daily minimum °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.^{[citation needed]}

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

^ ^a ^b 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 ^{[page needed]}^{[ISBN missing]}
^ 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.
^ ^a ^b "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.

External links

Media related to Paradise, Arizona at Wikimedia Commons
Ghost towns travel guide from Wikivoyage

[gnis-paradise-1] U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Paradise

[ghosttowns-arizona-2] Sherman, James E.; Barbara H. Sherman (1969). "Paradise". Ghost Towns of Arizona (First ed.). University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 114–115. ISBN 0806108436.

[3] Granger, Byrd H. (1970) Arizona Place Names, Tucson: University of Arizona Press ^{[page needed]}^{[ISBN missing]}

[4] Southwest Incident Management Team (21 May 2011) "Emergency Bulletin: Horseshoe Two Fire Update; Precautionary Evacuation Remains in Effect" Arizona Emergency Information Network (AzEIN)

[5] 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)

[6] Varney, Philip (1980). "Eleven: The Chiricauhua Ghosts". Arizona's Best Ghost Towns. Flagstaff: Northland Press. p. 122. ISBN 0873582179. LCCN 79-91724.

[NOWData-7] "NOAA Online Weather Data – NWS Tucson". National Weather Service. Retrieved August 10, 2023.

[NOAA-8] "U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access – Station: Paradise, AZ". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved August 10, 2023.

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