Yucca is located about 35 miles north of Lake Havasu City, Arizona; 24 miles southwest of Kingman, Arizona; and 38 miles east of Needles, California. Yucca has a hot desert climate with brutally hot summers and cool winters. In summer, it is normal to record temperatures above for days on end, while in winter it is very mild with practically no snowfall: the highest rainfall in a month is merely. The average minimum temperatures in the winter are usually. The sun shines throughout the spring and early summer and most of the limited rain falls from extratropical lows in the cooler months.
History
Yucca started as an order office and water fill station for Atlantic and Pacific Railroad in the 1880s. It was part of a rail line commissioned by congress spanning from St. Louis, Missouri to Needles, California. This rail line grew to be transcontinental and is a major freight corridor to Southern California. During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces purchased of land and developed the Yucca Army Airfield for training pilots. In 1954 the air base was purchased by Ford Motor Company and along with additional land, was turned into the Arizona Proving Ground comprising nearly. Chrysler purchased the proving grounds in November 2007 from Ford for $34.9 million. Yucca became part of Route 66 in 1952 when the highway was realigned bypassing Oatman, Arizona. This was the heyday for the small town when motels, cafés, and a Whiting Brotherstruck stop operated. In the early 1970s, Interstate 40 replaced the section of Route 66 going through Yucca. The motels and truck stop went out of business as people used facilities in larger Kingman, Arizona, and Needles, California. A small general store/cafe, post office, automotive service center, real estate office, and bar were the only retail businesses remaining by 2008.Yucca is also home to Stage Coach Trails Guest Ranch. A dude ranch with 360,000 acres of natural western desert land at the foot of the Mohave Hualapai mountains. In 1997 a land exchange between the Santa Fe Railroad and the US Government of approximately was completed just southwest of Yucca. Much of the land subsequently owned by the railroad was subdivided into typically parcels and offered to the general public as the Stage Coach Trails development. This land has primarily been purchased by individuals for residential use or long term investment. Other smaller developments opened just north of Yucca in 2006. Over time these residential developments may spur renewed business growth in the area.
