What’s The Deal With Arizona’s “Letter Mountains”?

Since I moved to Arizona, I've lived in Bisbee. It's a quaint little hippie town nestled in the southern mountains of the state, full of vintage fashion and architecture, but it's most notable landmark sits atop it's largest hill.

Arizona is full of these weird "letter mountains", but what do they mean, and how did their story start?

Why Are Arizona's Mountains Full of Letters?

If you've driven anywhere in the state of Arizona, it's likely you've come across one of these. Whether the Bisbee "B" or the Tucson "A", these strange markings can be found anywhere, but why did this trend start?

This all started with a WWII fighter pilot named Charlie Merritt who realized that most of the land around Phoenix was nothing but barren, open desert. As such, he began a project with a local Boy Scout Troop to build a massive sign that reads "Phoenix" approximately 20 miles from the airfield on Usery Mountain in Mesa. It took five and a half years to complete, but the project didn't stop there...

The Plague, Yes THAT Plague, Has Hit Arizona

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Arizona's Hillside Letters

While the Phoenix sign may be the origin, these hillside letters are peppered throughout the Arizona landscape. As of right now, there are an estimated 63 mountains adorned with these pieces of the alphabet.

Some of the most well known are Tempe and Tucson's "A" mountains, likely built as a monument to the rivalry between the two schools. Arizona also has a fake hillside letter, denoting "RS" for Radiator Springs, the fictional Arizona town that Pixar's Cars takes place in.

[Let's Go Check It Out][List of Hillside Letters in Arizona via Wikipedia]