Unique Gifts Commemorating the World's Most Spectacular Places

Kitt Peak  Pin
  • Kitt Peak  Pin
  • Kitt Peak  Pin
  • 1 inch diameter
  • Cast in fine pewter
  • Military clutch back
  • Mounted on story card
Place Name: Kitt Peak
Elevation: 6875 ft.
Coordinates: N31° 57' 50'' W111° 35' 57''
Location: Arizona, USA
MarkerSleuth Photo Contributor: No Station Found; Original Artwork
The mission of the National Observatories is to advance United States astronomy. Following a three-year survey that involved more than 150 sites, Kitt Peak was selected in 1958 as the site for the first National Observatory. Today, it the home of the world's largest collection of optical telescopes. Located high above the Sonoran Desert on the Tohono O'odham Reservation, Kitt Peak presently has twenty-five telescopes, including two radio telescopes and offers astronomers some of the finest observing to be found in the world.
The National Science Foundation signed a lease in October of 1958 with the Tribal Council of the Tohono O'odham Nation for use of 200 acres of the mountaintop under a perpetual agreement that is valid as long as only scientific research facilities are maintained at the site.