University of Arizona Webcam – Tucson’s Desert Campus

The University of Arizona Webcam streams a view from high on the Gould-Simpson building in Tucson, looking north across the main campus toward the Santa Catalina Mountains. Red tile roofs and the red brick that defines almost every building here fill the foreground, the low rooflines of central and north Tucson spread out behind them, and the Catalina ridgeline closes the horizon. The camera runs an 80 degree wide angle, so the frame takes in a broad slice of the valley rather than a single quad. Light does most of the work. Morning sun strikes the range flat and grey, afternoon clouds stack over the ridge through late summer, and desert haze softens the mountains to blue as the day runs out.

About the University of Arizona

The university was established in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the first in the Arizona Territory and older than statehood itself. Old Main, the original building, took its first class of 32 students in 1891 and is still in use. It anchors the west end of the Mall, the long grassy strip that runs east to Campbell Avenue and splits the campus into northern and southern halves. Much of what sits in frame is the work of Roy Place, the local architect whose red brick became the campus signature; nearly every building carries it as either the main material or an accent.

The campus covers 159 hectares (392 acres) and holds 179 buildings, with 54,384 students enrolled as of fall 2025. The camera itself sits on Gould-Simpson, completed in 1985 and, at 40 meters (131 feet), the sixteenth tallest building in the city. That height is what makes the shot work: enough elevation to clear the tree canopy and the two and three story academic blocks, not so much that the campus flattens into a street grid.

Tucson sits at 806 meters (2,643 feet) in a valley ringed by four ranges, with 542,629 residents at the 2020 census. The Santa Catalinas are the tallest and the closest of those ranges, rising straight off the city’s north edge to a high point of 2,788 meters (9,147 feet) at Mount Lemmon. On a clear morning the whole wall of rock reads as a single ridge across the top third of the frame.

Weather and Climate at the University of Arizona

Winter is the gentle season. January averages a high of 19 C (67 F) and a low of 5 C (41 F), and the camera typically shows hard sun, sharp shadows and a mountain ridge that can carry snow above roughly 2,000 meters while the campus below stays in shirtsleeves. Spring warms quickly: April runs 28 C (83 F) by day and 12 C (53 F) overnight, with the clearest air of the year and the longest sight lines to the Catalinas. By June the valley is into genuine desert heat.

July is the hottest and the most interesting month on screen, averaging 38 C (100 F) with overnight lows that stay near 25 C (76 F). It is also the wettest. Tucson takes only 269 mm (10.61 inches) of rain in an average year, and the monsoon delivers most of it, 56 mm (2.21 inches) in July and 50 mm (1.98 inches) in August. The season officially opens on June 15 and closes on September 30, though the rains usually arrive around July 3 and often run into September; storms build over the mountains during the afternoon and can put a wall of cloud and dust across the northern half of the view within minutes. October settles back to 30 C (86 F) and 15 C (59 F), and the light turns long and clean again.

Things to Do Near the University of Arizona

Several of the campus attractions sit inside the camera’s own field of view. The Arizona State Museum holds the oldest anthropology collection in the Southwest, the Center for Creative Photography keeps the archives of Ansel Adams and other major American photographers, and the Flandrau Science Center runs a planetarium and public telescope nights. The University of Arizona Museum of Art is a short walk from either. Old Main and the Mall are the obvious ground-level counterpart to the camera’s view, and a walk east along the Mall puts the Catalinas directly ahead of you the whole way.

The mountains on the skyline are the region’s main outdoor draw. Sabino Canyon cuts into the range’s southern face with shuttle access and trailheads, and the hike to Romero Pools climbs the same wall from the west. Mount Lemmon Ski Valley, whose lodge sits at 2,791 meters (9,157 feet), is about 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the edge of the city, and the road up passes through five biozones, from Sonoran desert uplands with saguaro and mesquite through juniper and oak to mixed conifer forest. West of town, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum combines a zoo, a botanical garden and a natural history museum on one site. Kitt Peak National Observatory and the telescopes on Mount Hopkins are the reason Tucson counts as one of the world’s astronomy capitals.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

Three more views from the same theme and the same corner of the Southwest.

• Tucson Webcam
• Utah State University Webcam
• Grand Canyon Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the University of Arizona Webcam located?

The camera is mounted on the Gould-Simpson building on the main University of Arizona campus in central Tucson, Arizona, and is operated by the university’s Department of Computer Science. It faces north across the campus.

What can you see on the University of Arizona Webcam?

The red brick academic buildings and tile roofs of the campus in the foreground, central and north Tucson beyond them, and the full ridgeline of the Santa Catalina Mountains across the horizon. The 80 degree lens covers a wide arc of the valley.

What mountains are visible from the University of Arizona campus?

The Santa Catalina Mountains, the tallest and nearest of the four ranges around Tucson. They top out at 2,788 meters (9,147 feet) at Mount Lemmon, roughly 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the city’s edge.

What is the weather like in Tucson, Arizona?

Hot and dry for most of the year. January averages 19 C (67 F) by day, April 28 C (83 F), July 38 C (100 F) and October 30 C (86 F), on only 269 mm (10.61 inches) of rain annually.

When is the monsoon season in Tucson?

Officially June 15 to September 30, with the rains typically starting around July 3 and often continuing into September. July and August are the wettest months, at 56 mm (2.21 inches) and 50 mm (1.98 inches) respectively.

How big is the University of Arizona campus?

The main campus covers 159 hectares (392 acres) with 179 buildings, and enrollment stood at 54,384 students in fall 2025.

What is Old Main at the University of Arizona?

The first building on campus. It opened in 1891 with a class of 32 students, predates Arizona statehood, and remains in use at the west end of the Mall.

Source: UArizona Department of Computer Science