Location
Northern Arizona University's 738-acre
main campus is in Flagstaff, northern Arizona's largest city with a population
of about 59,000. Surrounded by the world's largest ponderosa pine forest,
the city is dominated by the 12,600-foot San Francisco Peaks. In the
summer, Flagstaff is cool and comfortable with an average daytime high of 81
degrees F, and a low of 50 degrees F. The winter offers sunny days and
beautiful snow scenes. Flagstaff has an average of 288 days of sunshine
each year as well as a mild four-season climate offering excellent condition for
study and recreation.
Because of the location on the Colorado Plateau, NAU has ready access to the
Grand Canyon National Park and many
national monuments, as well as forest, deserts, mountains, lakes, unique and
varied geological phenomena, ruins of early Indian cultures, sites of
significant historical interest and the home of several Native American peoples.
The diverse landscape offers and exciting array of recreational activities from
hiking and biking to skiing and
rafting.
National Panoramas abound, providing great opportunities for photographers and
sightseers.
Flagstaff boasts a friendly, small town, atmosphere combined with outstanding
cultural, scientific and
recreational opportunities. Cultural resources include the
Flagstaff Symphony, the
Flagstaff Festival of the Arts, the Museum of
Northern Arizona, the Pioneer Historical Museum, and Riordan State
Historical Park. Flagstaff is also home to the
Lowell Observatory, from which Pluto was
discovered in 1930. Other nearby attractions include
Walnut Canyon and
meteor Crater, the result of
a meteor impact nearly 49,000 years ago.
Further, our campus is located in one of the cultural and recreational
destination spots in the American West. We are near at least four very
different Indian Nations, and the Navajo and Hopi Reservations stretch from near
Flagstaff all the way to the Colorado and New Mexico borders, each over a
hundred miles away. Outdoor recreation is well-represented, with students
participating in the mountain-biking, skiing, hiking, and other outdoor
activities. Looming over the city of Flagstaff are the San Francisco
Peaks, stretching up to a height over over 12,500 feet - the highest point in
the region. We tend to have pleasant winters, characterized by frequent
snows with clear days in between - this means conditions are usually very
pleasant, even in mid-winter.
Flagstaff was recently named one of USA Today's 10 Great College
Towns. Read the
article here.
Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine lists Flagstaff as one of five
"great college towns". Check out
this article.
Northern Arizona University is featured in Princeton Review's "Best
282 Business Schools". Here is
the article.
For more information about Flagstaff visit the
Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce
page.
Mountain Campus
Northern Arizona University enjoys a reputation as one of the premier
campuses of the west. NAU is a comprehensive full-service public
university in the heart of the southern Colorado Plateau. The school was
established in 1889 and now has a student population of more than 19,500
throughout Arizona. NAU offers comprehensive academic programs leading to
approximately ninety baccalaureate, forty master's, and eight doctoral degrees.
We are located in building #81 on the NAU campus map. Click here to see
a map of NAU.
Metro Phoenix
Phoenix, located about a two-hour drive south of Flagstaff on Interstate 17, is
the nation's seventh largest metropolitan area, with a population of nearly 2.5
million. High tech, aerospace, transportation and tourism-related service
industries are large-scale employers in this Valley of the Sun. A
world-class symphony orchestra, theaters, museums, art galleries, and
professional sports thrive. In addition, Phoenix tends to have "t-shirt"
temperatures during winter, so if you ever get tired of looking at snowy peaks,
you can drive for just a couple hours and enjoy the Sonoran Desert instead.