Front Plate Required: No
Area Codes: 480, 520, 602, 623, 928
License Plates:
Windshield Stickers:
Road and Highway Signs:
County Roads:
Highways:
Highway Adoption:
Historical:
None
The stereotypical Arizona landscape is desert or grasslands, but this only applies to the south central region, where most of its population lives. However, it can appear greener or even snowy depending on what month the coverage was taken.
Stereotypical scrub desert
Rainy season
Winter snow coverage
In the north, elevation rises quickly, then plateaus, creating steep canyons of red and pink layered rock similar to neighboring Utah. National Forests run through the center of the state, most composed of low growing pines.
North Arizona
National forests
Outside of Phoenix and Tucson, much of Arizona's coverage is Interstates and US Highways through the desert. Any road markings or construction equipment marked "ADOT" is Arizona, as opposed to "ALDOT" for Alabama and "ARDOT" for Arkansas. There is only one standard license plate, and it's easiest to identify by looking for the splotch of purple in the bottom left corner. Google coverage for the southwestern United States was orignially taken by a white google car with a small black antenna, and is still the only existing coverage on some roads.
Plate with purple in lower left corner
ADOT
White car, small antenna
Yellow and black grid diamond warning signs as well as a white band with black edges on certain signposts are both good clues for Arizona. On state roads, look for white square/diamond bollards and wood supports on guardrails instead of the usual metal or rubber. In places prone to snow, guardrail ends have green and/or white bollards. The Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon was developed in Tucson, and can be found sporadically all over the state.
Black grid T-Intersection warning
Stop sign marker
Wooden guardrail supports
Green & white guardrail bollard
Square bollard and elevation sign
Pedestrian hybrid beacon
A very small portion of southern Arizona contains saguaro cacti and distance markers in kilometers. Both are Arizona-specific, but they are also very localized and don't come up very often.
Saguaros near Mexican border
Distances in Km near S border
Overhead signs on interstate highways are mounted on curved poles more often than straight poles. It's the most obvious clue on interstates, but it's not unique to Arizona. Plastic bollards of solid yellow and solid white are common in the desert stretches, but metal bollards with white or yellow squares can be found in and around Phoenix and Tucson.
Curved metal billboard posts
Metal square bollards
Plastic rectangle bollards
Interstate overpasses list the clearance height and crossing road name on green signs, with the exception of some in downtown Phoenix that do not. "No Uturn" signs aren't always posted at crossovers, but when you see one, you're in Arizona. Green markers labeled with a number and a "C" on offramps and onramps is unique to Arizona, and is the most reliable clue, but is only plausable if you're near an exit.
Interstate overpass green signs
No Uturn signs in crossovers
Green onramp and offramp marker
Phoenix is a huge metropolitan area in the center of the state with three designated area codes, although 602 is the primary. Street signs on major roads have a red bird symbol in the lower right corner. Side streets are marked with white signs and stop signs have red stripes on their posts. A streetcar line runs through downtown, and public transit vehicles and info signs have a purple and yellow theme.
Phoenix city symbol
White street signs / red stripe stop signs
602 Area Code
Streetcar Line
Purple streetcar
The metro area surrounding Phoenix is divided into several smaller cities, such as Mesa, Scottsdale, and Tempe. In suburban areas, each of these districts uses a different label on trash bins. Major road signs outside the city center have an arrow in the top left, but not the red bird symbol. A smaller version of the yellow and black grid can appear, with only three sections instead of nine.
City name on trash bins
Arrow without red bird symbol
Abbreviated black grid warning
Maine also has some distances posted in kilometers.
Arizona
Several towns in Oregon also have red/white stripes on their stop signs, and the Texas red stripes can also look similar if there are multiple stripes.
