Flagstaff, Arizona (pop. 76,831; met. area pop. 145,101), is a retail and transportation center near the San Francisco Mountains in northern Arizona. It serves as a gateway city to the Grand Canyon. It is the home of Northern Arizona University, the Museum of Northern Arizona, and Lowell Observatory, from which an astronomer discovered Pluto. Flagstaff is the headquarters of a United States Geological Survey science center and the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation. Walnut Canyon, Sunset Crater Volcano, and Wupatki national monuments are nearby. In 1876, the United States centennial, settlers made a flagstaff from a pine tree and flew the U.S. flag from it. The city’s name is said to have come from this incident. Flagstaff has a council-manager government. It is the seat of Coconino County.
