Uncover the Fascinating Secrets of Time in Arizona

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Found in every state situated in America, the United States Department of Transportation regulates time in Arizona, as influenced by federal and regional laws. The entire state of Arizona is located within the Mountain Time Zone, except for specific areas. Arizona has not observed daylight saving time, except for the Navajo Nation, which follows the practice. Though the Hopi Reservation is encircled by the Navajo Nation, they do not observe daylight saving time. As a result, driving east along Arizona State Route 264 from Tuba City while daylight saving time is in place compels motorists to traverse six time zones in under 100 miles.

Reasoning[edit]

Arizona's scorching weather renders daylight saving time (DST) practically redundant. The counterposition is that people prefer engaging in their activities in the cooler temperatures of the morning rather than extending the daylight into the evening.

The Navajo Nation, a partially self-governing Native American enclave, observes the same DST schedule as the rest of the United States. This region spans the northeastern area of Arizona, parts of northeastern New Mexico and southeastern Utah, and is bound by state borders but maintains the same time throughout tribal lands.[3]

Legislative history[edit]

On March 21, 1968, the Arizona legislature adopted the final version of SB1, which placed Arizona under standard time.[4]: 629 [5] The proposed bill had been progressing through the legislative process since January that year, and was authored by state Senators Tenney, Goetze, Porter, Halacy, Garfield, Campbell, Lewis, Gregovich, Giss, Crowley, and Holsclaw. It passed the Senate with a vote of 25–3–2 and went on to clear the House with a vote of 49–1–10. Governor Jack Williams gave his approval on the same day.[5]

tz database[edit]

The tz database version 2023c includes two entries for Arizona:

Example[edit]

If DST is not in effect, the time in Phoenix and Albuquerque, New Mexico will be the same (Mountain Standard Time), and both will be one hour ahead of Los Angeles, California (Pacific Standard Time).

While DST is active, the time in Phoenix (Mountain Standard Time) and Los Angeles (Pacific Daylight Time) will be the same and both one hour behind Albuquerque (Mountain Daylight Time).

The time in Navajo Nation will always be the same as in Albuquerque.

Example of times:

• Time 
• California
• Arizona
• New Mexico
• Ref.
• Los Angeles
• Phoenix
• Navajo Nation
• Albuquerque
• Standard time (winter)

At 1 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, the clock strikes 2 p.m. in the Mountain Standard Time zone. The time remains the same until 2 p.m., as daylight time takes effect, making it 2 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time and 3 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time. For further information, please refer to the following sources.

The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) is responsible for regulating the country's time zones and ensuring that Daylight Saving Time is uniformly observed. The DOT received this responsibility because time standards are crucial in many modes of transportation. (Source: "Uniform Time," US Department of Transportation, February 13, 2015.)

Timeanddate.com provides information on the time zones in Arizona, United States. According to this source, daylight saving time is not observed in most of Arizona. (Source: "Time Zones in Arizona, United States," timeanddate.com, accessed March 9, 2019.)

The State of Arizona's 1968 legislative sessions, from the Twenty-Eighth Legislature's second, regular session to its second to fourth special sessions, passed a bill that excluded the state from daylight saving time. (Source: "Session laws, State of Arizona, 1968, Twenty-Eighth Legislature, Second Regular Session, Second to Fourth Special Sessions," State of Arizona, accessed October 13, 2018; and "Journal of the Senate, State of Arizona, 1968, Twenty-Eighth Legislature, Second Regular Session, Fourth Special Session," Arizona Memory Project, 1968, p. 740.)

"The World Clock Meeting Planner for March 1, 2019" and "The World Clock Meeting Planner for April 1, 2019" can be accessed through timeanddate.com by clicking on the provided hyperlinks. These links will redirect you to the respective pages where you can find the date, time, and time zone information for the specified meetings. The data was retrieved on March 9, 2019, and is accurate as of that date.