Quartzsite, Desert community in La Paz County, Arizona, United States.
Quartzsite is a town in western Arizona at the crossroads of two major highways in the Sonoran Desert. The few streets run through flat land with low shrubs and rocky hills stretching in all directions.
A stagecoach rest stop was established here in the mid-1800s and the settlement grew slowly around this water source. Official town incorporation came only in the late 1980s.
Collectors of minerals and gemstones from many countries come here each January and February, visiting markets and vendor stalls along the main street. The population swells for a few weeks from a few thousand to over a million visitors who stay in motorhomes and tents across the desert landscape.
The best time to visit is between November and March when daytime temperatures are comfortable, though nights can turn cool. Water and supplies should be brought along since few stores operate outside the main season.
A cemetery on the edge of town holds a monument to a Syrian camel driver who worked for the army in the region during the 1800s. This pyramid-shaped stone memorial recalls an unusual transport experiment in the American desert.
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