Frequently Asked Questions
About the Project
What is Central Arizona Research?
Central Arizona Research explores the history of central Arizona's railways, mining communities, and early settlements through interactive and immersive technology. It includes virtual tours, an Atlas, railway tours, railyard overlays, photo albums, and downloadable research papers.
Who created it, and why?
Central Arizona Research was created by Mark Reha, founder and CEO of On The Edge Software Consulting, after a 30-plus-year career in software engineering and more than a decade teaching it in higher education. His interest began about four years ago, during a stay at Prescott's historic Hassayampa Inn while he and his wife were looking for a summer home near Prescott. Read more on the Background page.
How much do the tours cost?
Nothing. All tours and content on the site are free.
What areas does it cover?
Chino Valley, Clarkdale, Cottonwood, Humboldt, Jerome, Mayer, and Prescott, plus a Ghost Town tour covering over 12 ghost towns, over 10 virtual railway rides, the region's historic railroads, and railyards. See the Explore page for the full list.
Is new content still being added?
Yes. To see what's new, click the Updates button in the top left corner of the Home page.
Exploring
What are the ways to explore?
Atlas: freely explore central Arizona's towns, mines, and railroads in Google Earth.
Virtual Tours: self-guided tours of each town, stop by stop.
Railway Tours: videos that take you on a virtual train ride along the actual path of each historic railway, shown in today's Google Earth terrain.
Photo Albums and Research Papers: available for each town.
What's the difference between the Atlas and a Virtual Tour?
The Atlas includes all of the tour stop placemarks, railroads, and mines from the Virtual Tours, but you explore it freely instead of following a tour. A Virtual Tour takes you through one town's stops in order, at your own pace.
How do I start the Atlas?
Open the Atlas link and double-click the "Start Here" placemark. A card will be displayed with hyperlinks to numerous towns and places.
How do I start a Virtual Tour?
Go to the town's page under Explore and select Virtual Tour. When Google Earth opens, click the Slideshow button at the top of the screen. Use the navigation bar at the bottom left to move forward and back between stops. At each stop, an Information Card on the right shows the site's name, photos, and history.
Where do I find the Photo Albums and Research Papers?
On each town's page under Explore, alongside the Virtual Tour and Atlas.
Are the Research Papers downloadable?
Yes, they're PDFs you can download.
I opened a photo album. How do I start viewing the photos?
The photo albums are hosted on Google Photos. Once an album opens, tap or click the first photo, then use the forward and back arrows to move through the album at your own pace. To see information about a photo, select the small "i" in a circle. To watch the album as a slideshow, open the three-dot menu and choose Slideshow.
Devices and Google Earth
What devices are supported?
The Atlas and Virtual Tours run in the Google Earth mobile app on iOS and Android. On a phone or tablet, you'll need to install the free Google Earth app. Download links for the App Store and Google Play are on the Supported Platforms page.
On a desktop computer, you can view them in a web browser. Chrome is highly recommended, since it gives the best performance and reliability with Google Earth.
How do I move around in Google Earth?
On a desktop: click and drag to pan, use the mouse wheel or double-click to zoom, and right-click and drag to tilt.
On a tablet: drag with one finger to pan, pinch to zoom, and use two fingers to rotate.
See the Google Earth Help page for details.
How do I use 3D and Street View?
3D view shows depth and elevation, and 2D gives a flat map that makes historic routes and town layouts easier to follow. Street View lets you explore at ground level using panoramic photos, and it's available wherever the streets show blue lines. See the Google Earth Help and Virtual Tour Help pages.
Is there a demo or a guide to the map symbols?
Yes. The Help Center has demo videos for the Virtual Tours, the Atlas, and the railyard overlays, plus a Tour Legend Help page that explains the map symbols.
Sources and Use of Content
Where does the research come from?
The main sources are listed on the Resources page: the Arizona Memory Project, Rail Guide, railroad maps from ArcGIS, Sanborn Maps, and the Sharlot Hall Museum and Archives. Each research paper lists its own sources.
Can I use content from this research?
Use the Contact form and select "Permission to Use Research Content."
Contact
How do I ask a question, report a problem, or suggest a feature?
Use the Contact form and choose General Question, Report a Bug or Issue, or Request a New Feature.
What is Central Arizona Research?
Central Arizona Research explores the history of central Arizona's railways, mining communities, and early settlements through interactive and immersive technology. It includes virtual tours, an Atlas, railway tours, railyard overlays, photo albums, and downloadable research papers.
Who created it, and why?
Central Arizona Research was created by Mark Reha, founder and CEO of On The Edge Software Consulting, after a 30-plus-year career in software engineering and more than a decade teaching it in higher education. His interest began about four years ago, during a stay at Prescott's historic Hassayampa Inn while he and his wife were looking for a summer home near Prescott. Read more on the Background page.
How much do the tours cost?
Nothing. All tours and content on the site are free.
What areas does it cover?
Chino Valley, Clarkdale, Cottonwood, Humboldt, Jerome, Mayer, and Prescott, plus a Ghost Town tour covering over 12 ghost towns, over 10 virtual railway rides, the region's historic railroads, and railyards. See the Explore page for the full list.
Is new content still being added?
Yes. To see what's new, click the Updates button in the top left corner of the Home page.
Exploring
What are the ways to explore?
Atlas: freely explore central Arizona's towns, mines, and railroads in Google Earth.
Virtual Tours: self-guided tours of each town, stop by stop.
Railway Tours: videos that take you on a virtual train ride along the actual path of each historic railway, shown in today's Google Earth terrain.
Photo Albums and Research Papers: available for each town.
What's the difference between the Atlas and a Virtual Tour?
The Atlas includes all of the tour stop placemarks, railroads, and mines from the Virtual Tours, but you explore it freely instead of following a tour. A Virtual Tour takes you through one town's stops in order, at your own pace.
How do I start the Atlas?
Open the Atlas link and double-click the "Start Here" placemark. A card will be displayed with hyperlinks to numerous towns and places.
How do I start a Virtual Tour?
Go to the town's page under Explore and select Virtual Tour. When Google Earth opens, click the Slideshow button at the top of the screen. Use the navigation bar at the bottom left to move forward and back between stops. At each stop, an Information Card on the right shows the site's name, photos, and history.
Where do I find the Photo Albums and Research Papers?
On each town's page under Explore, alongside the Virtual Tour and Atlas.
Are the Research Papers downloadable?
Yes, they're PDFs you can download.
I opened a photo album. How do I start viewing the photos?
The photo albums are hosted on Google Photos. Once an album opens, tap or click the first photo, then use the forward and back arrows to move through the album at your own pace. To see information about a photo, select the small "i" in a circle. To watch the album as a slideshow, open the three-dot menu and choose Slideshow.
Devices and Google Earth
What devices are supported?
The Atlas and Virtual Tours run in the Google Earth mobile app on iOS and Android. On a phone or tablet, you'll need to install the free Google Earth app. Download links for the App Store and Google Play are on the Supported Platforms page.
On a desktop computer, you can view them in a web browser. Chrome is highly recommended, since it gives the best performance and reliability with Google Earth.
How do I move around in Google Earth?
On a desktop: click and drag to pan, use the mouse wheel or double-click to zoom, and right-click and drag to tilt.
On a tablet: drag with one finger to pan, pinch to zoom, and use two fingers to rotate.
See the Google Earth Help page for details.
How do I use 3D and Street View?
3D view shows depth and elevation, and 2D gives a flat map that makes historic routes and town layouts easier to follow. Street View lets you explore at ground level using panoramic photos, and it's available wherever the streets show blue lines. See the Google Earth Help and Virtual Tour Help pages.
Is there a demo or a guide to the map symbols?
Yes. The Help Center has demo videos for the Virtual Tours, the Atlas, and the railyard overlays, plus a Tour Legend Help page that explains the map symbols.
Sources and Use of Content
Where does the research come from?
The main sources are listed on the Resources page: the Arizona Memory Project, Rail Guide, railroad maps from ArcGIS, Sanborn Maps, and the Sharlot Hall Museum and Archives. Each research paper lists its own sources.
Can I use content from this research?
Use the Contact form and select "Permission to Use Research Content."
Contact
How do I ask a question, report a problem, or suggest a feature?
Use the Contact form and choose General Question, Report a Bug or Issue, or Request a New Feature.