Editing Why, Arizona

{{short description|Unincorporated community in Pima County, Arizona, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}

{{Infobox settlement
|name                     = Why, Arizona
|official_name            =
|settlement_type          = [[Unincorporated area|Unincorporated town]]
|nickname                 =
|motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = Why, Arizona.jpg
|imagesize                = 267px
|image_caption            = Why road sign
|image_flag               =
|image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
|pushpin_map              = USA Arizona#USA
|pushpin_label            = Why
|pushpin_label_position   = <!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
|pushpin_map_caption      = Location within the state of Arizona
|pushpin_mapsize          =
|image_map                =
|map_caption              = Location within Pima County

<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Arizona]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Arizona|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Pima County, Arizona|Pima]]
|government_footnotes     =
|government_type          =
|leader_title             =
|leader_name              =
|leader_title1            =
|leader_name1             =
|established_title        =
|established_date         =

<!-- Area -->
|area_footnotes           =
|area_magnitude           =
|area_total_sq_mi         =
|area_land_sq_mi          =
|area_water_sq_mi         =

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     =
|population_total         = 122
|population_density_sq_mi = auto

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[North American Mountain Time Zone|Mountain (MST)]]
|utc_offset               = -7
|timezone_DST             = MST
|utc_offset_DST           = -7
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=GNIS>{{Cite GNIS|7544|Feature Detail Report for: Lukeville}}</ref>
|elevation_ft             =
|elevation_m              =
|coordinates              = {{coord|32|16|4.20|N|112|44|11.99|W|region:US-AZ_type:city|display=inline,title}}

<!-- Area/postal codes & others -->
|postal_code_type                = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 85321{{cn|date=April 2025}}
|area_code                = 520
|website                  =
|footnotes                =
}}

'''Why'''{{efn|[[O'odham language|O'odham]]: ''Ban Hi:nk''{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}}} is an [[unincorporated area|unincorporated rural community]] in [[Pima County, Arizona|Pima County]], [[Arizona]], United States. It lies near the western border of the [[Tohono Oʼodham Indian Reservation]] and due north of [[Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument]] in [[Southern Arizona]]. It is approximately {{convert|30|mi|km}} north of the [[Mexico–United States border|Mexican border]] where [[Lukeville, Arizona]], and [[Sonoyta]], Sonora, [[Mexico]], border each other, and {{convert|10|mi}} south of [[Ajo, Arizona]].

The population in Why at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]] was about 122 people.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=US Census Bureau Publications – Census of Population and Housing|last=Division|first=US Census Bureau Administration and Customer Services|website=www.census.gov|language=EN-US|access-date=November 13, 2019}}</ref>

==History==
The town derives its name from the fact that two major [[highways]], State Routes [[Arizona State Route 85|85]] and [[Arizona State Route 86|86]], originally intersected in a [[Three-way junction|Y-intersection]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theactivetimes.com/travel/oddest-named-town-every-state | title=The Oddest Named Town in Every State | publisher=The Active Times | date=April 19, 2018 | access-date=July 3, 2019}}</ref> At the time of its naming, state law required all city names to have at least three letters, so the town's founders named the town "Why" as opposed to simply calling it "Y."  The [[Arizona Department of Transportation]] (ADOT) later removed the old Y-intersection for traffic safety reasons and built the two highways in a conventional [[T-intersection|intersection]] south of the original intersection.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://arizonaoddities.com/2014/01/why-why-is-why/|title = Why Why is Why|date = January 25, 2014}}</ref>

It has frequently been noted on lists of [[Place names considered unusual|unusual place names]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=29zh3dIgmv8C&pg=PR12 | title=Welcome to Horneytown, North Carolina, Population: 15: An insider's guide to 201 of the world's weirdest and wildest places | publisher=Adams Media | author=Parker, Quentin | year=2010 | page=xii | isbn=9781440507397 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.bbcamerica.com/mind-the-gap/2014/01/13/american-place-name-pronunciations-guide-brits/ | title=No, Arkansas Doesn't Sound the Way It Looks: A Guide to Pronouncing U.S. Place Names | publisher=BBC America | date=January 13, 2014 | access-date=July 14, 2014 | author=Hargis, Toni}}</ref>

==Services==
Why is not in a school district. The closest district is the [[Ajo Unified School District]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.schools.pima.gov/schools/unorganized-territories|title=Unorganized Territories - Pima County Schools - Tucson, AZ|website=www.schools.pima.gov}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population|align=left
|2000= 116
|2010= 167
|2020= 122 
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name=":0" />
}}
{{clear}}

==Education==
A portion of Why is in the [[Indian Oasis-Baboquivari Unified School District]],<!--UNI 03950--><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st04_az/schooldistrict_maps/c04019_pima/DC20SD_C04019.pdf|title=2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Pima County, AZ|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]|page=1 (PDF p. 2/3)|access-date=2024-11-07}} - [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st04_az/schooldistrict_maps/c04019_pima/DC20SD_C04019_SD2MS.txt Text list]</ref> while another is not in any school district.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/sch_dist/st04_az/c04019_pima/DC10SD_C04019_000.pdf|title=SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Pima County, AZ|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]|access-date=2024-11-07}} - Page [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/sch_dist/st04_az/c04019_pima/DC10SD_C04019_001.pdf 1] - [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/sch_dist/st04_az/c04019_pima/DC10SD_C04019_SD2MS.txt Text list]: "UNI 99997[...]School District Not Defined" - The [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st04_az/schooldistrict_maps/c04019_pima/DC20SD_C04019.pdf 2020 map] shows no school district label.</ref> The Pima County School Superintendent arranges for education of K-12 students living in areas without school districts, and that office arranges for transportation to the [[Ajo Unified School District]] to the Why areas not in any school district.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.schools.pima.gov/schools/unorganized-territories|title=Unorganized Territories|publisher=Pima County|access-date=2024-11-07}}</ref>

==See also==
* {{portal-inline|Arizona}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|22em}}

{{note|1}} This is the sum of the populations of Blocks 1131–1153, Census Tract 49, Pima County, Arizona according to [https://www.census.gov US Census U.S. Census website].

==External links==
{{commons category-inline|Why, Arizona}}

{{Pima County, Arizona}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Populated places in the Sonoran Desert]]
[[Category:Unincorporated communities in Pima County, Arizona]]
[[Category:Unincorporated communities in Arizona]]
[[Category:Tohono O'odham Nation]]