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Friday, February 04, 2011

Scottsdale, Arizona- The Desert Adventure - Fountain Hills

Today we went to see the huge fountain in Fountain Hills, Arizona. I know, I know, big whoopie, a fountain, but it was a beautiful area and the fountain was quite amazing.


The Fountain was once listed in Guinness World Records as the tallest fountain in the world, although that listing doesn't exist anymore and there may be taller fountains now.
  • The Fountain has been operational since 1970.
  • When the fountain is operating, it has a column of water that can reach 562 feet in height.
  • The Fountain is set in the middle of a 30 acre lake. It spurts a column of water for 15 minutes every hour on the hour between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m., unless weather conditions (wind) prohibit it.
  • If the wind reaches 10 MPH, the Fountain automatically turns itself off.
  • On most days, the water from the Fountain only reaches a height of about 330 feet. That's because there are three pumps operating the Fountain. Usually, only two are in use, with one of them being a backup. When all three pumps are operating together, water stream can get as high as 560 feet.
  • You won't hear the fountain when it is working--it's very quiet!
  • Once a year, on St. Patrick's Day, the Town of Fountain Hills adds color--green, of course--to the water.


The area was filled with lovely million dollar homes and the terrain was very hilly. It seemed to be a very artsy area with bronze statues everywhere.

And there was this statue made of tons of scrap metal, name Maytag Matilda, by Dixie Jewett.

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