document_title: History of the Los Angeles Rams

question_text: when did the rams move to saint louis

question_tokens: when did the rams move to saint louis

text: History of the Los Angeles Rams

text: History[edit]

text: 1946–1948: Starting over in Los Angeles[edit]

text: On January 12, 1946, Dan Reeves was denied a request by the other National Football League (NFL) owners to move his team, the Cleveland Rams to Los Angeles and the then-103,000-seat Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.[2] Reeves threatened to end his relationship with the NFL and get out of the professional football business altogether unless the Rams transfer to Los Angeles was permitted.[2][3][4] A settlement was reached and, as a result, Reeves was allowed to move his team to Los Angeles.[2][5][6][7] Consequently, the NFL became the first professional coast-to-coast sports entertainment industry.[2]

text: From 1933, when Joe Lillard left the Chicago Cardinals, through 1946, there were no Black players in American professional football.[8] After the Rams had received approval to move to Los Angeles, the Rams entered into negotiations to lease the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Rams were advised that a precondition to them getting a lease was that they would have to integrate the team with at least one African-American; the Rams agreed to this condition.[9][10][11][12] Subsequently, the Rams signed Kenny Washington on March 21, 1946.[13][14][15] The signing of Washington caused "all hell to break loose" among the owners of the NFL franchises.[16] The Rams added a second black player, Woody Strode, on May 7, 1946, giving them two black players going into the 1946 season.

text: The Rams were the first team in the NFL to play in Los Angeles (the 1926 Los Angeles Buccaneers were strictly a road team), but they were not the only professional football team to play its home games in the Coliseum between 1946 and 1949. The upstart All-America Football Conference had the Los Angeles Dons compete there as well. Reeves was taking a gamble that Los Angeles was ready for its own professional football team – and suddenly there were two in the City of Angels. Reeves was proved to be correct when the Rams played their first pre-season game against the Washington Redskins in front of a crowd of 95,000 fans. The team finished their first season in L.A. with a 6–4–1 record, second place behind the Chicago Bears. At the end of the season Walsh was fired as head coach. The Coliseum would be the home of the Rams for more than 30 years (the Dons merged with them in late 1949),[17] but the facility was already over 20 years old on the day of the first kickoff. In 1948, halfback Fred Gehrke painted horns on the Rams' helmets, making the first modern helmet emblem in pro football.[18]

text: The Rams' play-by-play announcer from 1937 through 1965 was Robert J. "Bob" Kelley, known as "The Voice of the Rams", also broadcast for NCAA teams Notre Dame and Michigan football as well as the Los Angeles Angels Pacific Coast League team and American League team. Kelley had an early evening talk show on L.A. radio station KMPC, that was considered by most sports enthusiasts as highly entertaining. Kelley was generally considered a Legend and a true professional, one of the great radio, play-by-play announcers of our time. At the beginning of the 1951 World Championship game after the kickoff, Kelley was able to cite every player on the field prior to the first snap from scrimmage, an 80-yard touchdown ("and I think he's going to go all the way").

text: 1949–1956: Three-end formation[edit]

text: The Rams' first heyday in Southern California was from 1949 to 1955, when they played in the pre-Super Bowl era NFL Championship Game four times, winning once in the 1951. During this period, they had the best offense in the NFL, even though there was a quarterback change from Bob Waterfield to Norm Van Brocklin in 1951. The defining Offensive players of this period were wide receiver Elroy Hirsch, Van Brocklin and Waterfield. Teamed with fellow Hall of Famer Tom Fears, Hirsch helped create the style of Rams football as one of the first big play receivers. During the 1951 Championship season, Hirsch posted a then stunning 1,495 receiving yards with 17 touchdowns. The popularity of this wide-open offense enabled the Los Angeles Rams to become the first pro football team to have all their games televised in 1950.

text: 1957–1964: Newcomers to L.A. and record attendance[edit]

text: In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Los Angeles Rams went from being the only major professional sports franchise in Southern California and Los Angeles to being one of five. The Los Angeles Dodgers moved from Brooklyn in 1958, the Los Angeles Chargers of the upstart AFL was established in 1960, the Los Angeles Lakers moved from Minneapolis in 1960, and the Los Angeles Angels were awarded to Gene Autry in 1961. In spite of this, the Rams continued to thrive in Southern California. In the first two years after the Dodgers moved to California, the Rams drew an average of 83,681 in 1958 and 74,069 in 1959. The Rams were so popular in Los Angeles that the upstart Chargers chose to relocate to San Diego rather than attempt to compete with the immensely popular Rams. The Los Angeles Times put the Chargers plight as such: "Hilton [the Chargers owner at the time] quickly realized that taking on the Rams in L.A. was like beating his head against the wall."[19]

text: During this time, the Rams were not as successful on the field as they had been during their first decade. The team's combined record from 1957 to 1964 was 24–35–1 (.407), but the Rams continued to fill the cavernous Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on a regular basis. While the National Football League's average attendance ranged from the low 30,000s to the low 40,000s during this time, the Rams were drawing anywhere from 10,000 to 40,000 fans more than the league average. In 1957, the Rams set the all-time NFL attendance record that stood until 2006 and broke the 100,000 mark twice during the 1958 campaign.[20][21]

text: Tanking out[edit]

text: The Rams posted losing records in all but two seasons between 1956 and 1966. In those two seasons, the club finished with a 6 and 6 record in 1957 followed by an 8 and 4 mark and a strong second place showing the next year. Led by business executive Pete Rozelle's shrewd understanding of how to use television as a (then-) revolutionary promotional device, the Rams remained a business success despite the team's poor record. In a 1957 game against the San Francisco 49ers, the Rams set a record for attendance for a regular-season NFL game (102,368 people).[citation needed] The Rams drew over 100,000 fans twice the following year.

text: 1965–1969: The Fearsome Foursome[edit]

text: The 1960s were defined by the Rams great defensive line of Rosey Grier, Merlin Olsen, Deacon Jones, and Lamar Lundy, dubbed the "Fearsome Foursome." It was this group of players who restored the on-field luster of the franchise in 1967 when the Rams reached (but lost) the conference championship under legendary coach George Allen. That 1967 squad would become the first NFL team to surpass one million spectators in a season, a feat the Rams would repeat the following year. In each of those two years, the L.A. Rams drew roughly double the number of fans that could be accommodated by their current stadium for a full season.

text: George Allen led the Rams from 1966 to 1970 and introduced many innovations, including the hiring of a young Dick Vermeil as one of the first special teams coaches. Though Allen would enjoy five straight winning seasons and win two divisional titles in his time with the Rams he never won a playoff game with the team, losing in 1967 to Green Bay 28–7 and in 1969 23–20 to Minnesota. Allen would leave after the 1970 season to take the head coaching job for the Washington Redskins.

text: 1970–72: Changes[edit]

text: Quarterback Roman Gabriel played eleven seasons for the Rams dating from 1962–72. From 1967–71, Gabriel led the Rams to either a first- or second-place finish in their division every year. He was voted the MVP of the entire NFL in 1969, for a season in which he threw for 2,549 yards and 24 TDs while leading the Rams to the playoffs. During the 1970 season, Gabriel combined with his primary receiver Jack Snow for 51 receptions totaling 859 yards. This would prove to be the best season of their eight seasons as teammates.

text: In 1972, Chicago industrialist Robert Irsay purchased the Rams for $19 million and then traded the franchise to Carroll Rosenbloom for his Baltimore Colts and cash. The Rams remained solid contenders in the 1970s, winning seven straight NFC West championships between 1973–79. Though they clearly were the class of the NFC in the 1970s along with the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings, they lost the first four conference championship games they played in that decade, losing twice each to Minnesota (1974, 1976) and Dallas (1975, 1978) and failing to win a league championship.

text: 1973–1979: NFC West champions[edit]

text: Chuck Knox's first stint[edit]

text: The Rams' coach for this run was Chuck Knox, who led the team through 1977. The Chuck Knox-coached Rams featured an unremarkable offense carried into the playoffs annually by an elite defensive unit. The defining player of the 1970s L.A. Rams was Jack Youngblood. Youngblood was called the 'Perfect Defensive End' by fellow Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen. His toughness was legendary, notably playing on a broken leg during the Rams' run to the 1980 Super Bowl. His blue-collar ethic stood in opposition to the perception that the Rams were a soft 'Hollywood' team. However, several Rams players from this period took advantage of their proximity to Hollywood and crossed over into acting after their playing careers ended. Most notable of these was Fred Dryer, who starred in the TV series Hunter from 1984 to 1991, as well as Olsen, who retired after 1976. During the 1977 offseason, the Rams, looking for a veteran quarterback, acquired Joe Namath from the Jets. In spite of a 2–1 start to the regular season, Namath's bad knees rendered him nearly immobile and after a Monday night defeat in Chicago, he never played again. With Pat Haden at the helm, the Rams won the division and advanced to the playoffs, but lost at home to Minnesota. Chuck Knox left for the Bills in 1978, after which Ray Malavasi became head coach. Going 12–4, the team won the NFC West for the sixth year in a row and defeated the Vikings, thus avenging their earlier playoff defeat. However, success eluded them again as they were shut out in the NFC Championship by the Cowboys.

text: 1979: First Super Bowl appearance[edit]

text: Ironically, it was the Rams' weakest divisional winner (an aging 1979 team that only achieved a 9–7 record) that would achieve the team's greatest success in that period. Led by third-year quarterback Vince Ferragamo, the Rams shocked the heavily favored and two-time defending NFC champion Dallas Cowboys 21–19 in the Divisional Playoffs, then shut out the upstart Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9–0 in the conference championship game to win the NFC and reach their first Super Bowl. Along with Ferragamo, key players for the Rams were halfback Wendell Tyler, offensive lineman Jackie Slater, and Pro Bowl defenders Jack Youngblood and Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds.

text: The Rams' opponent in their first Super Bowl was the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers. The game would be a virtual home game for the Rams as it was played in Pasadena at the Rose Bowl. Although some oddsmakers set the Rams as a 10½ point underdog, the Rams played Pittsburgh very tough, leading at halftime 13–10 and at the end of the third quarter 19–17. In the end, however, the Steelers finally asserted themselves, scoring two touchdowns in the 4th quarter and completely shutting down the Rams offense to win their fourth Super Bowl, 31–19.

text: 1980–1982: The move to Anaheim[edit]

text: Prior to the 1979 NFL season, owner Carroll Rosenbloom died in a drowning accident, and his widow, Georgia Frontiere, inherited 70 percent ownership of the team. Frontiere then fired stepson Steve Rosenbloom and assumed total control of Rams operations. As had been planned prior to Rosenbloom's death, the Rams moved from their longtime home at the Coliseum to Anaheim Stadium in nearby Orange County in 1980.

text: The reason for the move was twofold. First, the NFL's blackout rule forbade games from being shown on local television if they did not sell out within 72 hours of the opening kickoff. As the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum seated 92,604 at the time, it was rarely possible to sell that many tickets even in the Rams' best years, and so most Rams home games were blacked out. Second, this move was following the population pattern in Southern California. During the 1970s and 1980s, the decline of manufacturing industries in the northeastern United States combined with the desire of many people to live in a warmer climate caused a large-scale population shift to the southern and western states. As a result, many affluent new suburbs were built in the Los Angeles area. Anaheim Stadium was originally built in 1966 to be the home of the California Angels. To accommodate the Rams' move, the ballpark was reconfigured and enclosed to accommodate a capacity of 69,008 in the football configuration. With their new, smaller home, the Rams had no problem selling out games.

text: In 1980, the team posted an 11–5 record, but only managed a wild card spot and were sent packing after a loss to the Cowboys. Age and injuries finally caught up with the Rams in 1981, as they only won six games and missed the playoffs for the first time in nine years. After the 1982 season was shortened to nine games by a strike, the Rams went 2–7, the team's worst season since 1962, when they won only 1 game.

text: Competition with the Raiders[edit]

text: In 1982, the Oakland Raiders moved to Los Angeles and took up residence in the Rams' then-former home, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The combined effect of these two moves was to divide the Rams' traditional fanbase in two. This was coupled with the early 1980s being rebuilding years for the club, while the Raiders were winners of Super Bowl XVIII in the 1983 season. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers won championships in 1980 and 1982 en route to winning five titles in that decade, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series in 1981 and 1988, and even the Los Angeles Kings made a deep run in the playoffs in 1982. As a result, the Rams declined sharply in popularity during the 1980s even though the team remained a playoff contender during the decade.

text: 1983–1991: Robinson takes over the Rams and the Dickerson era[edit]

text: The hiring of coach John Robinson in 1983 provided a needed boost for pro football in Orange County. The former USC coach began by cutting the aged veterans left over from the 1970s teams. His rebuilding program began to show results when the team rebounded to 9–7 in 1983 and defeated Dallas in the playoffs. However, the season ended after a rout at the hands of the soon-to-be champion Redskins. Another trip to the playoffs in 1984 saw them lose to the Giants. They made the NFC Championship Game in 1985 after winning the division, where they would be shut out by the eventual champion Chicago Bears 24–0.

text: The most notable player for the Rams during that period was running back Eric Dickerson, who was drafted in 1983 out of SMU and won Rookie of the Year. In 1984, Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards, setting a new NFL record. Dickerson would end his five hugely successful years for the Rams in 1987 by being traded to the Indianapolis Colts for a number of players and draft picks after a bitter contract dispute, shortly after the players' strike that year ended. Dickerson was the Rams' career rushing leader until 2010, with 7,245 yards. Despite this trade, the Rams remained contenders due to the arrival of the innovative offensive leadership of Ernie Zampese. Zampese brought the intricate timing routes he had used in making the San Diego Chargers a state-of-the-art offense. Under Zampese, the Rams rose steadily from 28th rated offense in 1986 to 3rd in 1990. The late 1980s Rams featured a gifted young QB in Jim Everett, a solid rushing attack and a fleet of talented WRs led by Henry Ellard.

text: After a 10–6 season in 1986, the Rams were booted from the playoffs by Washington. After one game of the 1987 season was lost to the players' strike, the NFL employed substitutes, most of which were given derogatory nicknames (in this case the Los Angeles Shams). After a 2–1 record, the Rams' regulars returned, but the team only went 6–9 and did not qualify for the postseason.

text: The Rams managed to return in 1988 with a 10–6 record, but then were defeated by Minnesota in the wild card round. Los Angeles won the first five games of 1989, including a sensational defeat of the defending champion 49ers. They beat the Eagles in the wild card game, then beat the Giants in overtime before suffering a 30–3 flogging at the hands of the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.

text: Although it wasn't apparent at the time, the 1989 NFC Championship Game was the end of an era. The Rams did not have another winning season in their first stint in Los Angeles. They crumbled to 5–11 in 1990, followed by a 3–13 season in 1991.

text: 1992–1994: The end of the original Southern California team[edit]

text: Robinson was fired at the end of the 1991 season. The return of Chuck Knox as head coach, after Knox's successful stints as head coach of the Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks, would not boost the Rams' fortunes. His run-oriented offense marked the end of the Zampese tenure in 1993. Knox' game plans called for an offense that would be steady, if unspectacular. Unfortunately for the Rams, Knox's offense was not only aesthetically unpleasing but dull as well, especially by 1990s standards. The Rams finished last in the NFC West during all three years of Knox' second stint, and were never a serious contender during this time.

text: As the losses piled up and the team was seen as playing uninspired football, the Rams' already dwindling fan base was reduced even further. By 1994, support for the Rams had withered to the point where they were barely part of the Los Angeles sports landscape. With sellouts becoming fewer and far between, the Rams saw more of their games blacked out in Southern California. One of the few bright spots during this time was Jerome Bettis, a bruising running back from Notre Dame. Bettis flourished in Knox' offense, running for 1,429 yards as a rookie, and 1,025 in his sophomore effort.

text: As it has become increasingly common with sports franchises, the Rams began to blame much of their misfortune on their stadium situation. With Orange County mired in a deep recession resulting largely from defense sector layoffs, the Rams were unable to secure a new or improved stadium in the Los Angeles area, which ultimately cast their future in Southern California into doubt.

text: Georgia's endgame for the Los Angeles Rams[edit]

text: The first half of the 1990s featured four straight 10-loss seasons, no playoff appearances, and waning fan interest. The return of Chuck Knox as head coach (after his successful stints as head coach of the Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks), would not boost the Rams' fortunes. His run-oriented offense brought the end of Zampese's tenure, in 1993. John Shaw, the team's general manager, was perceived by some to continually squander NFL Draft picks on sub-standard talent. The offensive scheme was not only unspectacular to watch, but dull by 1990s standards—further alienating fans.

text: Team management traded quarterback Jim Everett, and released All-Pro linebacker Kevin Greene, which set the once-proud franchise further back. At this point, Georgia Frontiere blamed the poor front office decisions on their stadium situation. However, neither Orange County nor the city of Los Angeles were prepared to build a taxpayer-financed stadium just for the Rams. Claiming that Southern California was so unprofitable that the Rams would go bankrupt without a new stadium, Mrs. Frontiere decided to move the team.

text: Georgia Frontiere initially attempted to relocate the Rams to Baltimore, but her fellow owners turned that proposal down. Mrs. Frontiere then sought to relocate the team to St. Louis. This move was initially voted down as well. The other owners (led by Buffalo's Ralph Wilson, the Jets' Leon Hess, the Giants' Wellington Mara, Washington's Jack Kent Cooke, Arizona's Bill Bidwill and Minnesota's John Skoglund) believed that the Rams' financial problems were due to the Frontieres' mismanagement. When Georgia Frontiere threatened to sue the league, Commissioner Paul Tagliabue acquiesced to Frontiere's demands.

text: As part of the relocation deal, the city of St. Louis agreed to build a taxpayer-financed stadium, the Trans World Dome (now the Dome at America's Center) and guaranteed that the stadium's amenities would be maintained in the top 25 percent of all NFL stadiums. Frontiere waived the clause after a 10-year threshold period passed, as the city implemented a later plan to improve the stadium.

text: The move left many in the Los Angeles area, and many of those indifferent to the whole situation, embittered toward the NFL. That sentiment was best expressed by Fred Dryer, who at the time said "I hate these people (the organization and its owner) for what they did, taking the Rams logo with them when they moved to St. Louis. That logo belonged to Southern California."[citation needed] Steve Rosenbloom, the general manager of the team during Carroll Rosenbloom's tenure, opined that teams come and go, but for a team to leave Los Angeles—the second largest media market in America—for St. Louis (approximately the 18th-largest) was simply irresponsible and foolish, in spite of the notoriously fickle support of Los Angeles fans. With the Raiders moving from Los Angeles back to Oakland only a few months later, the NFL would have no franchise in Los Angeles for the first time in 50 seasons.

text: 1995: Departure[edit]

text: By 1995, the Rams franchise had withered to a mere shadow of its former self. Accusations and excuses were constantly thrown back and forth between the Rams fan base, ownership, and local politicians. Many in the fan base blamed the ownership of Georgia Frontiere for the franchise's woes, while ownership cited the out-dated stadium and withering fan support.

text: Frontiere finally gave up and decided to move the Rams to St. Louis. However, on March 15, 1995, the other league owners rejected Frontiere's bid to move the franchise by a 21–3–6 vote. Then-Commissioner Paul Tagliabue stated after rejecting the move, "This was one of the most complex issues we have had to approach in years. We had to balance the interest of fans in Los Angeles and in St. Louis that we appreciate very much. In my judgment, they did not meet the guidelines we have in place for such a move." The commissioner also added: "Once the bridges have been burned and people get turned off on a sports franchise, years of loyalty is not respected and it is difficult to get it back. By the same token, there are millions of fans in that area who have supported the Rams in an extraordinary way. The Rams have 50 years of history and the last 5 or so years of difficult times can be corrected."[22][23]

text: Frontiere, however, responded with a thinly veiled threat at a lawsuit. On April 12, 1995 the owners acquiesced to her demands, wary of going through a long, protracted legal battle. Tagliabue simply stated that "The desire to have peace and not be at war was a big factor" in allowing the Rams move to go forward. In a matter of a month, the vote had gone from 21–6 opposed to 23–6 in favor. Jonathan Kraft, son of Patriots owner Robert Kraft, elaborated on the commissioner's remarks by saying that "about five or six owners didn't want to get the other owners into litigation, so they switched their votes." Only six teams remained in opposition to the Rams move from Los Angeles: the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Arizona Cardinals, and Washington Redskins. After the vote was over, Steelers owner Dan Rooney publicly stated that he opposed the move of the Los Angeles Rams because "I believe we should support the fans who have supported us for years."[24]

text: 1995–2015: St. Louis era[edit]

text: Time in St. Louis[edit]

text: While in St. Louis, the Rams played their first few home games at Busch Memorial Stadium before the Trans World Dome (now known as the Dome at America's Center) was completed during the middle of the 1995 season. Aided by an offense nicknamed "The Greatest Show on Turf", a period of success occurred between 1999 and 2004 when the team qualified for the playoffs in five out of those six seasons, including a win in Super Bowl XXXIV against the Tennessee Titans, and a loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI. Other than that period of success, the St. Louis Rams repeatedly suffered losing seasons.

text: Attempts to move the NFL back to Los Angeles[edit]

text: Within months of the moves of the Rams and Raiders, several NFL teams were rumored to be replacements. They included the Cleveland Browns, the Cincinnati Bengals, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Seattle Seahawks. However, the Browns moved to become the Baltimore Ravens in 1996 amid major controversy, and a new Browns team occupied a new stadium in 1999. The Bengals, Buccaneers and Seahawks, meanwhile, used L.A.'s vacancy as leverage to convince their cities to help finance new stadiums. Meanwhile, various entities proposed new stadiums in Los Angeles in an attempt to lure a team to the market.

text: Seattle Seahawks in Los Angeles[edit]

text: The closest Los Angeles had come to getting a new NFL franchise was prior to 2016 was the Seattle Seahawks. In March 1996, Seahawks owner Ken Behring moved office equipment and some athletic gear to the elementary school in Anaheim that once held Rams practices, hoping to get approval for a permanent move to Southern California.[25] He also had plans to change the team's name and colors if a move to Los Angeles was successful. Because of an owners' revolt, Behring halted the process and moved the equipment back to Seattle. Eventually, Paul Allen bought the team and kept it in Seattle by building Seahawks Stadium, now known as CenturyLink Field.

text: 1999 NFL expansion[edit]

text: Los Angeles again came close to regaining an NFL team in 1999, when the NFL approved a new franchise, the league's 32nd, for Los Angeles, on the condition that the city and NFL agree on a stadium site and stadium financing.[26] Those agreements were never reached, and on October 6, 1999, the franchise was awarded to a Houston ownership group instead, which formed the Houston Texans.

text: Using Los Angeles as leverage[edit]

text: During the Rams' 21-year absence from Los Angeles, the market had been used on many different occasions as leverage to finance new stadiums or upgrade existing venues. An excellent example of this was when Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay's airplane appeared at Van Nuys Airport,[27] presumably for meetings with local officials on moving his team to Los Angeles. He eventually signed a deal to build a new venue in Indianapolis and Los Angeles continued to be without representation in the National Football League.

text: City of Champions Revitalization Initiative; Los Angeles Entertainment Center[edit]

text: On January 31, 2014, both the Los Angeles Times and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Rams owner Stan Kroenke had purchased approximately 60 acres of land adjacent to the Forum in Inglewood, California. The purchase price was rumored to have been between $90 million and $100 million. Commissioner Roger Goodell represented that Mr. Kroenke informed the league of the purchase. As an NFL owner, any purchase of land in which a potential stadium could be built must be disclosed to the league. Kroenke subsequently announced plans to build an NFL stadium on the site, in connection with the owners of the adjacent 238-acre Hollywood Park site, Stockbridge Capital Group.[28] This development has further fueled rumors that the Rams intend to return its management and football operations to Southern California. The land was initially targeted for a Walmart Supercenter but Walmart could not get the necessary permits to build it. Kroenke is married to Ann Walton Kroenke who is a member of the Walton family and many of Kroenke's real estate deals have involved Walmart properties.

text: On January 5, 2015, the Los Angeles Times reported that Kroenke Sports & Entertainment and Stockbridge Capital Group were partnering up in developing a new NFL stadium on the Inglewood property owned by Kroenke. The project will include a stadium of 80,000 seats and a performance venue of 6,000 seats while reconfiguring the previously approved Hollywood Park plan for up to 890,000 square feet of retail, 780,000 square feet of office space, 2,500 new residential units, a 300-room hotel and 25 acres of public parks, playgrounds, open space and pedestrian and bicycle access. The stadium would likely be ready by 2018.[28]

text: In lieu of this, St. Louis countered with a stadium plan for the north riverfront area of downtown, with the hope of keeping the Rams in the city. On February 24, 2015, the Inglewood City Council approved the stadium plan and the initiative with construction on the stadium planned to begin in December 2015. On December 21, 2015, Construction was officially underway for the stadium on the Hollywood Park site.[29][30][31]

text: Stadium issues in St. Louis[edit]

text: The Rams and the St. Louis CVC began negotiating deals to get the Rams home stadium, the Edward Jones Dome into the top 25 percent of stadiums in the league (i.e., top eight teams of the 32 NFL teams in reference to luxury boxes, amenities and overall fan experience). Under the terms of the lease agreement, the St. Louis CVC was required to make modifications to the Edward Jones Dome in 2005. However, then-owner, Georgia Frontiere, waived the provision in exchange for cash that served as a penalty for the city's noncompliance. The city of St. Louis, in subsequent years, made changes to the scoreboard and increased the natural lighting by replacing panels with windows, although the overall feel remains dark. The minor renovations which totaled about $70 million did not bring the stadium within the specifications required under the lease agreement; thus, keeping the Dome in a state of uncertainty.

text: On February 1, 2013, an Arbitrator (3 panel) selected to preside over the arbitration process found that the Edward Jones Dome was not in the top 25 percent of all NFL venues as required under the terms of the lease agreement between the Rams and the CVC. The Arbitrator (three panel) further found that the estimated $700 million in proposed renovations by the Rams was not unreasonable given the terms of the lease agreement. Finally, the city of St. Louis was ordered to pay the Rams attorneys' fees which totaled a reported $2 million.

text: Publicly, city, county and state officials expressed no interest in providing further funding to the Edward Jones Dome in light of those entities, as well as taxpayers, continuing to owe approximately $300 million more on that facility. As such, if a resolution was not reached by the end of the 2014 NFL season and the city of St. Louis remained non-compliant in its obligations under the lease agreement, the Rams would be free to nullify their lease and go to a year-to-year lease. Months later, the Rams scheduled to play in London, which violates the Edward Jones Dome's terms of lease.

text: Filing for relocation; Houston meetings[edit]

text: On January 4, 2016, the St. Louis Rams filed for relocation to move to the Los Angeles area for the 2016 NFL season. They were among the three teams (the Rams, Oakland Raiders, and the San Diego Chargers) that filed for relocation to Los Angeles. All three franchises previously played in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Weeks later, the NFL owners gathered in Houston for a meeting on January 11 and January 12, a meeting that decided the end of the Los Angeles race. A few days before the scheduled owners meeting, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones suggested that the Rams and Chargers should share Stan Kroenke's Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park. This suggestion was taken as a possible option discussed in the Houston meetings. During the Los Angeles meeting, the Committee on Los Angeles Opportunities, which consists of six NFL owners, favored the Carson project over the Rams' Inglewood project. Despite this, thanks to Jerry Jones' pitch, the first round of voting during the meeting, the Rams got the greater amount of votes, conquering the Carson project 21–11.[32] However, the Rams did not meet the required 24 votes in the second round of voting the Rams Inglewood project received 20 votes while the Chargers and Raiders Carson project received only 12 votes. After hours of searching to find a compromise, it was determined that the Rams would relocate to Los Angeles and the Chargers would have the option to join them, while the Raiders would have the option to join the Rams if the Chargers elected not to move.[33][34] [35] The Chargers used their option in January 2017 becoming the Los Angeles Chargers (and returning to their original home where they played in their inaugural season of 1960).

text: 2016–present: Return to Los Angeles[edit]

text: Until the Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park has finished construction and is ready for use, the Rams are playing their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which had been home to the team for 33 seasons (1946–1979), and is currently also the home of the USC Trojans college football team.

text: The Rams' return to Los Angeles is also being used to help expand the league's presence around the globe. In 2016, the Rams faced the New York Giants in London at Twickenham Stadium, as part of the NFL's International Series.[36] The Rams are also expected to play a game in China in time for the 2018 NFL season.[37] Kevin Demoff, the team's Executive Vice President of Football Operations/Chief Operating Officer, told The Guardian that he sees L.A. as a gateway to Asia and says being in L.A. will help sell the brand, more so, than in St. Louis.[38]

text: On February 4, 2016, the Los Angeles Rams selected Oxnard, California to be the site of their minicamp, offseason team activities, and offseason program that began on April 18. In March, it was announced that the Rams would be featured on HBO's Hard Knocks.[39] On March 30, California Lutheran University and the Rams reached an agreement that allowed the team to have regular-season training operations at CLU's campus for the next two years. The Rams paid for two practice fields, paved parking, and modular buildings constructed on the northwestern corner of the campus.[40][41]

text: 2016 season: Jared Goff era begins[edit]

text: On April 13, 2016, the Los Angeles Rams traded their 2016 first-round pick, two second-round picks, a third-round pick, and their 2017 first-round and third-round picks to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for the number one pick, alongside their fourth-round pick and a sixth-round pick. The Rams decided to wait until after Lakers great Kobe Bryant's last game before announcing the blockbuster trade.[42]

text: On April 28, 2016, the Rams drafted quarterback Jared Goff from California, with the 1st overall pick in the 1st round. The team also selected tight end Tyler Higbee and wide receiver Pharoh Cooper in the 4th round with the 110th and 117th picks, tight end Temarrick Hemingway, linebacker Josh Forrest, and wide receiver Mike Thomas in the 6th round with the 190th, 193th, and 206th picks. In June 2016, it was reported that the Rams had sold 63,000 season tickets, which was short of their goal of 70,000. Later on July 12, 2016, it was reported that they had sold 70,000 tickets, reaching their goal. In July 2016, the Rams signed a three-year agreement with UC Irvine to use the university's facilities for training camp, with an option to extend it to two more years. On July 29, 2016, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Rams would host their first training-camp practice and "Rams Family Day" on Saturday, August 6 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which was open to the public.[43]

text: The Rams played their first game in the Los Angeles area since 1994, a 22-year absence, with a preseason opener against the Dallas Cowboys at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on August 13. The Rams defeated the Cowboys 28–24 in front of a crowd of 89,140, a record attendance for a pre-season game.[44]

text: On September 12, 2016, the Rams played their first regular season game since returning to Los Angeles, where they lost to the San Francisco 49ers 28–0 at Levi's Stadium. On September 18, in front of over 91,000 fans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, The Rams played their first home game on September 18, 2016, defeating the Seattle Seahawks 9-3[45]

text: Fisher's firing[edit]

text: On December 12, 2016, the team fired head coach Jeff Fisher after starting the season with a 4−9 record.[46] The team announced later that day that John Fassel would be taking over as interim head coach.[47] Fassel is the son of former NFL head coach Jim Fassel and has been the Rams special teams coach since the 2012 season.

text: 2017 season: McVay's hiring and first winning season since 2003[edit]

text: On January 12, 2017 (the same day the Chargers moved to the Los Angeles area as the team did) the Rams hired Sean McVay for the team's head coaching vacancy. McVay, then 30, became the youngest head coach in NFL history. McVay was formerly the offensive coordinator the Redskins, working under coach Jay Gruden. Quarterback Jared Goff had begun to come into his own as an elite quarterback under McVay and running back Todd Gurley had return to dominance. On November 26, 2017, the Rams defeated the New Orleans Saints 26–20. The win was their eighth of the season, which secured their first non-losing year since 2006 (and first in Los Angeles since 1989). A week later, the Rams would defeat the Arizona Cardinals 32–16 to secure a winning season for the first time since the 2003 season. On December 24, 2017, the Rams defeated the Tennessee Titans 27–23 to clinch their first NFC West title since 2003 (and first in Los Angeles since 1985).

text: The Rams would lose in the Wild Card game against the defending NFC champion Atlanta Falcons 26–13.

text: List of seasons[edit]

text:
Season
Team
League
Conference
Division
Regular Season
Attendance
Postseason Results
Awards

Finish
Wins
Losses
Ties
Rams Average
NFL Average

Los Angeles Rams (1946–1994)[48]

1946
1946
NFL

West
2nd
6
4
1
42,834 (2/10)
34,397

1947
1947
NFL

West
4th
6
6
0
32,130 (5/10)
30,226

1948
1948
NFL

West
3rd
6
5
1
28,258 (5/10)
26,240

1949
1949
NFL

West
1st
8
2
2
44,043 (1/10)
24,798
Lost NFL Championship (Eagles) 14–0

1950
1950
NFL
National

1st
9
3
0
26,341 (6/13)
27,070
Won National Conference Playoff (Bears) 24–14
Lost NFL Championship (Browns) 30–28

1951
1951
NFL
National

1st
8
4
0
44,196 (1/12)
28,741
Won NFL Championship (2) (Browns) 24–17

1952
1952
NFL
National

2nd
9
3
0
53,157 (1/12)
31,278
Lost National Conference Playoff (Lions) 31–21
Hamp Pool (COY)

1953
1953
NFL
Western

3rd
8
3
1
54,744 (1/12)
32,895

1954
1954
NFL
Western

4th
6
5
1
54,734 (1/12)
33,769

1955
1955
NFL
Western

1st
8
3
1
66,159 (1/12)
37,796
Lost NFL Championship (Browns) 38–14

1956
1956
NFL
Western

T-5th
4
8
0
61,190 (1/12)
38,293

1957
1957
NFL
Western

4th
6
6
0
74,296 (1/12)
42,160

1958
1958
NFL
Western

T-2nd
8
4
0
83,681 (1/12)
44,690

1959
1959
NFL
Western

6th
2
10
0
74,069 (1/12)
46,134

1960
1960
NFL
Western

6th
4
7
1
61,724 (1/21)
32,150

1961
1961
NFL
Western

6th
4
10
0
47,992 (7/22)
33,874

1962
1962
NFL
Western

7th
1
12
1
41,572 (9/22)
35,355

1963
1963
NFL
Western

6th
5
9
0
42,302 (9/22)
36,610

1964
1964
NFL
Western

5th
5
7
2
55,764 (5/22)
40,636

1965
1965
NFL
Western

7th
4
10
0
40,333 (13/22)
43,489

1966
1966
NFL
Western

3rd
8
6
0
49,776 (10/24)
45,732

1967
1967
NFL
Western
Coastal
1st
11
1
2
60,000 (6/25)
48,606
Lost Conference Playoff Game (Packers) 28–7
George Allen (COY)
Deacon Jones (DPOY)

1968
1968
NFL
Western
Coastal
2nd
10
3
1
65,127 (4/26)
48,777

Deacon Jones (DPOY)

1969
1969
NFL
Western
Coastal
1st
11
3
0
71,242 (3/26)
51,053
Lost Conference Playoff Game (Vikings) 23–20
Roman Gabriel (MVP)/(Rams MVP)

1970
1970
NFL
NFC
West
2nd
9
4
1
71,242 (2/26)
54,375

Merlin Olsen (Rams MVP)

1971
1971
NFL
NFC
West
2nd
8
5
1
72,453 (3/26)
56,935

Isiah Robertson (DROY)
Marlin McKeever (Rams MVP)

1972
1972
NFL
NFC
West
3rd
6
7
1
72,461 (4/26)
58,416

Merlin Olsen (Rams MVP)

1973
1973
NFL
NFC
West
1st
12
2
0
74,168 (2/26)
55,339
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Cowboys) 27–16
Chuck Knox (COY)
John Hadl (NFC)/(Rams MVP)

1974
1974
NFL
NFC
West
1st
10
4
0
75,492 (2/26)
52,098
Won Divisional Playoffs (Redskins) 19–10
Lost Conference Championship (Vikings) 14–10
Lawrence McCutcheon (Rams MVP)

1975
1975
NFL
NFC
West
1st
12
2
0
65,284 (4/26)
52,754
Won Divisional Playoffs (Cardinals) 35–23
Lost Conference Championship (Cowboys) 37–7
Jack Youngblood (DPOY)/(Rams MVP)

1976
1976
NFL
NFC
West
1st
10
3
1
63,141 (4/26)
53,983
Won Divisional Playoffs (Cowboys) 14–12
Lost Conference Championship (Vikings) 24–13
Jack Youngblood (Rams MVP)

1977
1977
NFL
NFC
West
1st
10
4
0
53,585 (10/28)
52,711
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Vikings) 14–7
Lawrence McCutcheon (Rams MVP)

1978
1978
NFL
NFC
West
1st
12
4
0
53,388 (14/28)
53,983
Won Divisional Playoffs (Vikings) 34–10
Lost Conference Championship (Cowboys) 28–0
Jim Youngblood (Rams MVP)

1979
1979
NFL
NFC
West
1st
9
7
0
52,970 (17/28)
55,960
Won Divisional Playoffs (Cowboys) 21–19
Won Conference Championship (Buccaneers) 9–0
Lost Super Bowl XIV (Steelers) 31–19
Jack Youngblood (Rams MVP)
Kent Hill (Rams ROY)

1980
1980
NFL
NFC
West
2nd
11
5
0
62,550 (8/28)
56,667
Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Cowboys) 34–13
Vince Ferragamo (Rams MVP)
Johnnie Johnson (Rams ROY)

1981
1981
NFL
NFC
West
3rd
6
10
0
60,503 (11/28)
57,665

Nolan Cromwell (Rams MVP)
Jairo Penaranda (Rams ROY)

1982[49]
1982
NFL
NFC

14th
2
7
0
51,690 (16/28)
52,527

Vince Ferragamo (Rams MVP)
Barry Redden (Rams ROY)

1983
1983
NFL
NFC
West
2nd
9
7
0
52,780 (15/28)
54,364
Won Wild Card Playoffs (Cowboys) 24–17
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Redskins) 51–7
Eric Dickerson (OROY)/NFC/Rams MVP/Rams ROY

1984
1984
NFL
NFC
West
2nd
10
6
0
54,455 (17/28)
55,528
Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Giants) 16–13
Eric Dickerson (NFC)/(Rams MVP)
Ron Brown (Rams ROY)

1985
1985
NFL
NFC
West
1st
11
5
0
56,242 (15/28)
55,408
Won Divisional Playoffs (Cowboys) 20–0
Lost Conference Championship (Bears) 24–0
LeRoy Irvin (Rams MVP)
Dale Hatcher (Rams ROY)

1986
1986
NFL
NFC
West
2nd
10
6
0
59,285 (10/28)
56,872
Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Redskins) 19–7
Eric Dickerson (OPOY)(NFC)/(Rams MVP)
Jim Everett (Rams ROY)

1987[50]
1987
NFL
NFC
West
3rd
6
9
0
47,356 (18/28)
48,639

Charles White (Rams MVP)
Cliff Hicks (Rams ROY)

1988
1988
NFL
NFC
West
2nd
10
6
0
54,469 (17/28)
56,727
Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Vikings) 28–17
Henry Ellard (Rams MVP)
Robert Delpino (Rams ROY)

1989
1989
NFL
NFC
West
2nd
11
5
0
58,846 (11/28)
57,257
Won Wild Card Playoffs (Eagles) 21–7
Won Divisional Playoffs (Giants) 19–13
Lost Conference Championship (49ers) 30–3
Jim Everett (Rams MVP)
Darryl Henley (Rams ROY)

1990
1990
NFL
NFC
West
3rd
5
11
0
59,920 (12/28)
59,665

Buford McGee (Rams MVP)
Bern Brostek (Rams ROY)

1991
1991
NFL
NFC
West
4th
3
13
0
51,586 (22/28)
58,926

Robert Delpino (Rams MVP)
Todd Lyght (Rams ROY)

1992
1992
NFL
NFC
West
4th
6
10
0
47,811 (25/28)
58,734

Jackie Slater (Rams MVP)
Sean Gilbert(Rams ROY)

1993
1993
NFL
NFC
West
4th
5
11
0
45,401 (25/28)
59,352

Jerome Bettis (OROY)(Rams MVP)/(Rams ROY)

1994
1994
NFL
NFC
West
4th
4
12
0
43,312 (28/28)
60,107

Shane Conlan (Rams MVP)
Isaac Bruce (Rams ROY)

St. Louis Rams (1995–2015)

Los Angeles Rams (2016–present)

2016
2016
NFL
NFC
West
4th
4
12
0
84,457 (2/32)

2017
2017
NFL
NFC
West
1st
11
5
-

Lost Wildcard Playoffs (Falcons) 26-13

Total
11 Division titles
4 Conference Titles
1 NFL Title (1951)
368
309
18
(regular season)[51]

12
20
0
(playoffs)

380
329
18
(regular season and playoffs)[51]

text: * Between 1946 and 1994, the Los Angeles Rams Played a total of 679 Regular Season Games and 32 Playoff Games (711 Games)

text: * Between 1946 and 1994, the Los Angeles Rams had a total record of 364-297 (Regular), 12-20 (Postseason), and 376-317 (Total)

text: Pro Football Hall of Famers[edit]

text: Former Los Angeles Rams in the Pro Football Hall of Fame include Jerome Bettis (36), Joe Namath (12), Ollie Matson (33), Andy Robustelli (84), Dick "Night Train" Lane (81), and general manager Tex Schramm. GM and later NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle and coach Sid Gillman are also members of the Hall of Fame, but were elected on the basis of their performances with other teams or (in the case of Rozelle) NFL administration.

text:
Los Angeles Rams Hall of Famers

No.
Player
Class
Position(s)
Tenure

—
George Allen
2002
Coach
1966–1970

36
Jerome Bettis
2015
RB
1993–1994

76
Bob Brown
2004
OT
1969–1970

29
Eric Dickerson
1999
RB
1983–1987

55
Tom Fears
1970
End
1948–1956

40
Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch
1968
RB, WR
1949–1957

75
Deacon Jones
1980
DE
1961–1971

65
Tom Mack
1999
G
1966–1978

74
Merlin Olsen
1982
DT
1962–1976

–
Dan Reeves
1967
Owner
1946–1971

67, 48
Les Richter
2011
LB, K
1954–1962

78
Jackie Slater
2001
OT
1976–1994

25
Norm Van Brocklin
1971
QB, P
1949–1957

7
Bob Waterfield
1965
QB, DB, K, P
1946–1952

85
Jack Youngblood
2001
DE
1971–1984

91
Kevin Greene
2016
LB, DE
1985–1992

text: Retired numbers[edit]

text: Numbers that have been retired by the Rams. This list includes players who have played most of their career in Los Angeles Only.

text:
Los Angeles Rams retired numbers

No.
Player
Position
Tenure

7
Bob Waterfield
QB
1945–1952

29
Eric Dickerson
RB
1983–1987

74
Merlin Olsen
DT
1962–1976

75
Deacon Jones
DE
1961–1971

78
Jackie Slater
OT
1976–1995

85
Jack Youngblood
DE
1971–1984

text:
Bob Waterfield played his first season in Cleveland
Jackie Slater played his last season in St. Louis

text: Radio and television[edit]

text: The Rams were the first NFL team to televise their home games; in a sponsorship arrangement with Admiral television, all home games of the 1950 NFL season were shown locally. The Rams also televised games in the early 1950s. The 1951 NFL Championship Game was the first championship game televised coast-to-coast (via the DuMont Network). During the team's years in Los Angeles all games were broadcast on KMPC radio (710 AM); play-by-play announcers were Bob Kelley (who accompanied the team from Cleveland and worked until his death in 1966), Dick Enberg (1966–1977), Al Wisk (1978–1979), Bob Starr (1980–1989, 1993), Eddie Doucette (1990), Paul Olden (1991–1992), and Steve Physioc (1994). Analysts included Gil Stratton, Steve Bailey, Dave Niehaus (1968–1972), Don Drysdale (1973–1976), Dick Bass (1977–1986), Jack Youngblood (1987–1991), Jack Snow (1992–1994), and Deacon Jones (1994). Today, Pac-12 Network broadcaster J.B. Long is the current play-by-play announcer with former running back Maurice Jones-Drew as the side analyst.

text: In popular culture[edit]

text: In the 1978 film Heaven Can Wait, Joe Pendleton (Warren Beatty), a fictional quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, is looking forward to leading his team to the Super Bowl.


document_title: Seafloor spreading

question_text: when was the theory of seafloor spreading proposed

root

text: Seafloor spreading

text: Significance[edit]

text: Seafloor spreading helps explain continental drift in the theory of plate tectonics. When oceanic plates diverge, tensional stress causes fractures to occur in the lithosphere. The motivating force for seafloor spreading ridges is tectonic plate pull rather than magma pressure, although there is typically significant magma activity at spreading ridges.[1] At a spreading center basaltic magma rises up the fractures and cools on the ocean floor to form new seabed. Hydrothermal vents are common at spreading centers. Older rocks will be found farther away from the spreading zone while younger rocks will be found nearer to the spreading zone. Additionally spreading rates determine if the ridge is a fast, intermediate, or slow. As a general rule, fast ridges have spreading (opening) rates of more than 9 cm/year. Intermediate ridges have a spreading rate of 5–9 cm/year while slow spreading ridges have a rate less than 5 cm/year.[2][3]:2

tag: p

text: Earlier theories (e.g. by Alfred Wegener and Alexander du Toit) of continental drift postulated that continents "ploughed" through the sea. The idea that the seafloor itself moves (and also carries the continents with it) as it expands from a central axis was proposed by Harry Hess from Princeton University in the 1960s.[4] The theory is well accepted now, and the phenomenon is known to be caused by convection currents in the asthenosphere, which is ductile, or plastic, and the brittle lithosphere (crust and upper mantle).[5][clarification needed]

text: Spreading center[edit]

text: Seafloor spreading occurs at spreading centers, distributed along the crests of mid-ocean ridges. Spreading centers end in transform faults or in overlapping spreading center offsets. A spreading center includes a seismically active plate boundary zone a few kilometers to tens of kilometers wide, a crustal accretion zone within the boundary zone where the ocean crust is youngest, and an instantaneous plate boundary - a line within the crustal accretion zone demarcating the two separating plates.[6] Within the crustal accretion zone is a 1-2 km-wide neovolcanic zone where active volcanism occurs.[7][8]

text: Incipient spreading[edit]

text: This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

tag: table

text: In the general case, sea floor spreading starts as a rift in a continental land mass, similar to the Red Sea-East Africa Rift System today.[9] The process starts by heating at the base of the continental crust which causes it to become more plastic and less dense. Because less dense objects rise in relation to denser objects, the area being heated becomes a broad dome (see isostasy). As the crust bows upward, fractures occur that gradually grow into rifts. The typical rift system consists of three rift arms at approximately 120 degree angles. These areas are named triple junctions and can be found in several places across the world today. The separated margins of the continents evolve to form passive margins. Hess' theory was that new seafloor is formed when magma is forced upward toward the surface at a mid-ocean ridge.

text: If spreading continues past the incipient stage described above, two of the rift arms will open while the third arm stops opening and becomes a 'failed rift'. As the two active rifts continue to open, eventually the continental crust is attenuated as far as it will stretch. At this point basaltic oceanic crust begins to form between the separating continental fragments. When one of the rifts opens into the existing ocean, the rift system is flooded with seawater and becomes a new sea. The Red Sea is an example of a new arm of the sea. The East African rift was thought to be a "failed" arm that was opening somewhat more slowly than the other two arms, but in 2005 the Ethiopian Afar Geophysical Lithospheric Experiment[10] reported that in the Afar region, September 2005, a 60 km fissure opened as wide as eight meters.[11] During this period of initial flooding the new sea is sensitive to changes in climate and eustasy. As a result, the new sea will evaporate (partially or completely) several times before the elevation of the rift valley has been lowered to the point that the sea becomes stable. During this period of evaporation large evaporite deposits will be made in the rift valley. Later these deposits have the potential to become hydrocarbon seals and are of particular interest to petroleum geologists.

text: Sea floor spreading can stop during the process, but if it continues to the point that the continent is completely severed, then a new ocean basin is created. The Red Sea has not yet completely split Arabia from Africa, but a similar feature can be found on the other side of Africa that has broken completely free. South America once fit into the area of the Niger Delta. The Niger River has formed in the failed rift arm of the triple junction.

text: Continued spreading and subduction[edit]

text: As new seafloor forms and spreads apart from the mid-ocean ridge it slowly cools over time. Older seafloor is therefore colder than new seafloor, and older oceanic basins deeper than new oceanic basins due to isostasy. If the diameter of the earth remains relatively constant despite the production of new crust, a mechanism must exist by which crust is also destroyed. The destruction of oceanic crust occurs at subduction zones where oceanic crust is forced under either continental crust or oceanic crust. Today, the Atlantic basin is actively spreading at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Only a small portion of the oceanic crust produced in the Atlantic is subducted. However, the plates making up the Pacific Ocean are experiencing subduction along many of their boundaries which causes the volcanic activity in what has been termed the Ring of Fire of the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific is also home to one of the world's most active spreading centers (the East Pacific Rise) with spreading rates of up to 13 cm/yr. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a "textbook" slow-spreading center, while the East Pacific Rise is used as an example of fast spreading. Spreading centers at slow and intermediate rates exhibit a rift valley while at fast rates an axial high is found within the crustal accretion zone.[2] The differences in spreading rates affect not only the geometries of the ridges but also the geochemistry of the basalts that are produced.[12]

text: Since the new oceanic basins are shallower than the old oceanic basins, the total capacity of the world's ocean basins decreases during times of active sea floor spreading. During the opening of the Atlantic Ocean, sea level was so high that a Western Interior Seaway formed across North America from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean.

text: Debate and search for mechanism[edit]

text: At the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (and in other areas), material from the upper mantle rises through the faults between oceanic plates to form new crust as the plates move away from each other, a phenomenon first observed as continental drift. When Alfred Wegener first presented a hypothesis of continental drift in 1912, he suggested that continents ploughed through the ocean crust. This was impossible: oceanic crust is both more dense and more rigid than continental crust. Accordingly, Wegener's theory wasn't taken very seriously, especially in the United States.

text: Since then, it has been shown that the motion of the continents is linked to seafloor spreading by the theory of plate tectonics. In the 1960s, the past record of geomagnetic reversals was noticed by observing the magnetic stripe "anomalies" on the ocean floor.[13] This results in broadly evident "stripes" from which the past magnetic field polarity can be inferred by looking at the data gathered from simply towing a magnetometer on the sea surface or from an aircraft. The stripes on one side of the mid-ocean ridge were the mirror image of those on the other side. The seafloor must have originated on the Earth's great fiery welts, like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the East Pacific Rise.

text: The driver for seafloor spreading in plates with active margins is the weight of the cool, dense, subducting slabs that pull them along. The magmatism at the ridge is considered to be "passive upswelling", which is caused by the plates being pulled apart under the weight of their own slabs.[14][15] This can be thought of as analogous to a rug on a table with little friction: when part of the rug is off of the table, its weight pulls the rest of the rug down with it.

text: Sea floor global topography: half-space model[edit]

text: The depth of the seafloor (or the height of a location on a mid-ocean ridge above a baselevel) is closely correlated with its age (age of the lithosphere where depth is measured). The age-depth relation can be modeled by the cooling of a lithosphere plate[16][17] or mantle half-space in areas without significant subduction.[18]

text:
In the half-space model,[18] the seabed height is determined by the oceanic lithosphere temperature, due to thermal expansion. Oceanic lithosphere is continuously formed at a constant rate at the mid-ocean ridges. The source of the lithosphere has a half-plane shape (x = 0, z < 0) and a constant temperature T1. Due to its continuous creation, the lithosphere at x > 0 is moving away from the ridge at a constant velocity v, which is assumed large compared to other typical scales in the problem. The temperature at the upper boundary of the lithosphere (z=0) is a constant T0 = 0. Thus at x = 0 the temperature is the Heaviside step function

T

1

⋅
Θ
(
−
z
)

{\displaystyle T_{1}\cdot \Theta (-z)}

. Finally, we assume the system is at a quasi-steady state, so that the temperature distribution is constant in time, i.e. T=T(x,z).

text:
By calculating in the frame of reference of the moving lithosphere (velocity v), which have spatial coordinate x' = x-vt, we may write T = T(x',z,t) and use the heat equation:

∂
T

∂
t

=
κ

∇

2

T
=
κ

∂

2

T

∂

2

z

+
κ

∂

2

T

∂

2

x
′

{\displaystyle {\frac {\partial T}{\partial t}}=\kappa \nabla ^{2}T=\kappa {\frac {\partial ^{2}T}{\partial ^{2}z}}+\kappa {\frac {\partial ^{2}T}{\partial ^{2}x'}}}

 where

κ

{\displaystyle \kappa }

 is the thermal diffusivity of the mantle lithosphere.

text:
Since T depends on x' and t only through the combination

x
=

x
′

+
v
t

{\displaystyle x=x'+vt}

, we have:

∂
T

∂

x
′

=

1
v

⋅

∂
T

∂
t

{\displaystyle {\frac {\partial T}{\partial x'}}={\frac {1}{v}}\cdot {\frac {\partial T}{\partial t}}}

text:
Thus:

∂
T

∂
t

=
κ

∇

2

T
=
κ

∂

2

T

∂

2

z

+

κ

v

2

∂

2

T

∂

2

t

{\displaystyle {\frac {\partial T}{\partial t}}=\kappa \nabla ^{2}T=\kappa {\frac {\partial ^{2}T}{\partial ^{2}z}}+{\frac {\kappa }{v^{2}}}{\frac {\partial ^{2}T}{\partial ^{2}t}}}

text:
We now use the assumption that

v

{\displaystyle v}

 is large compared to other scales in the problem; we therefore neglect the last term in the equation, and get a 1-dimensional diffusion equation:

∂
T

∂
t

=
κ

∂

2

T

∂

2

z

{\displaystyle {\frac {\partial T}{\partial t}}=\kappa {\frac {\partial ^{2}T}{\partial ^{2}z}}}

 with the initial conditions

T
(
t
=
0
)
=

T

1

⋅
Θ
(
−
z
)

{\displaystyle T(t=0)=T_{1}\cdot \Theta (-z)}

.

text:
The solution for

z
≤
0

{\displaystyle z\leq 0}

 is given by the error function

erf

{\displaystyle \operatorname {erf} }

:

text: Due to the large velocity, the temperature dependence on the horizontal direction is negligible, and the height at time t (i.e. of sea floor of age t) can be calculated by integrating the thermal expansion over z:

text:
where

α

e
f
f

{\displaystyle \alpha _{\mathrm {eff} }}

 is the effective volumetric thermal expansion coefficient, and h0 is the mid-ocean ridge height (compared to some reference).

text:
Note that the assumption the v is relatively large is equivalently to the assumption that the thermal diffusivity

κ

{\displaystyle \kappa }

 is small compared to

L

2

/

T

{\displaystyle L^{2}/T}

, where L is the ocean width (from mid-ocean ridges to continental shelf) and T is its age.

text:
The effective thermal expansion coefficient

α

e
f
f

{\displaystyle \alpha _{\mathrm {eff} }}

 is different from the usual thermal expansion coefficient

α

{\displaystyle \alpha }

 due to isostasic effect of the change in water column height above the lithosphere as it expands or retracts. Both coefficients are related by:

text:
where

ρ
∼
3.3
g

/

c

m

3

{\displaystyle \rho \sim 3.3g/cm^{3}}

 is the rock density and

ρ

0

=
1
g

/

c

m

3

{\displaystyle \rho _{0}=1g/cm^{3}}

 is the density of water.

text:
By substituting the parameters by their rough estimates:

κ
∼
8
⋅

10

−
7

{\displaystyle \kappa \sim 8\cdot 10^{-7}}

 m2/s,

α
∼
4
⋅

10

−
5

{\displaystyle \alpha \sim 4\cdot 10^{-5}}

 °C−1 and T1 ~1220 °C (for the Atlantic and Indian oceans) or ~1120 °C (for the eastern Pacific), we have:

text: for the eastern Pacific Ocean, and:

text: for the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, where the height is in meters and time is in millions of years. To get the dependence on x, one must substitute t = x/v ~ Tx/L, where L is the distance between the ridge to the continental shelf (roughly half the ocean width), and T is the ocean age.


document_title: ZIP Code

question_text: what is the last 4 digits of a zip code called

text: ZIP Code

text: History[edit]

text: Early history and five-digit ZIP Codes[edit]

text: The early history and context of postal codes began with postal district/zone numbers. The United States Post Office Department (USPOD) implemented postal zones for numerous large cities in 1943. For example:

text: Mr. John Smith

text: 3256 Epiphenomenal Avenue

text: The "16" was the number of the postal zone from the specific city.

text: By the early 1960s a more organized system was needed, and on July 1, 1963, non-mandatory five-digit ZIP Codes were introduced nationwide. Three months later, on October 1, 1963, the U.S. Department of the Post Office issued its Publication 59: Abbreviations for Use with ZIP Code, with the list of two-letter state abbreviations, which are generally written with both letters capitalized.[3] An earlier list in June had proposed capitalized abbreviations ranging from two to five letters.[3] According to Publication 59, the two-letter standard was "based on a maximum 23-position line, because this has been found to be the most universally acceptable line capacity basis for major addressing systems",[3] which would be exceeded by a long city name combined with a multi-letter state abbreviation, such as "Sacramento, Calif." along with the ZIP Code. The abbreviations have remained unchanged, with the exception that in 1969, at the request of the Canadian postal administration, the abbreviation for Nebraska was changed from NB to NE to avoid confusion with the Canadian province of New Brunswick.[3]

text: Robert Moon is considered the father of the ZIP Code; he submitted his proposal in 1944 while working as a postal inspector.[4] The post office gives credit to Moon only for the first three digits of the ZIP Code, which describe the sectional center facility (SCF) or "sec center." An SCF is a central mail processing facility with those three digits. The SCF sorts mail to all post offices with those first three digits in their ZIP Codes. The mail is sorted according to the final two digits of the ZIP Code and sent to the corresponding post offices in the early morning. Sectional centers do not deliver mail and are not open to the public (though the building may include a post office open to the public), and most of their employees work night shift. Mail picked up at post offices is sent to their own SCF in the afternoon, where the mail is sorted overnight. In the cases of large cities, the last two digits coincided with the older postal zone number,[citation needed] thus:

text: Mr. John Smith

text: 3256 Epiphenomenal Avenue

text: In 1967, these became mandatory for second- and third-class bulk mailers, and the system was soon adopted generally. The United States Post Office used a cartoon character, which it called Mr. ZIP, to promote the use of the ZIP Code. He was often depicted with a legend such as "USE ZIP CODE" in the selvage of panes of stamps or on labels contained in, or the covers of, booklet panes of stamps.

text: In 1983, the U.S. Postal Service introduced an expanded ZIP Code system that it called ZIP+4, often called "plus-four codes", "add-on codes", or "add-ons". A ZIP+4 Code uses the basic five-digit code plus four additional digits to identify a geographic segment within the five-digit delivery area, such as a city block, a group of apartments, an individual high-volume receiver of mail, a post office box, or any other unit that could use an extra identifier to aid in efficient mail sorting and delivery. But initial attempts to promote universal use of the new format met with public resistance and today the plus-four code is not required.[5] In general, mail is read by a multiline optical character reader (MLOCR) that almost instantly determines the correct ZIP+4 Code from the address—along with the even more specific delivery point—and sprays an Intelligent Mail barcode (IM) on the face of the mail piece that corresponds to 11 digits—nine for the ZIP+4 Code and two for the delivery point.

text: For Post Office Boxes, the general (but not invariable) rule is that each box has its own ZIP+4 code. The add-on code is often one of the following: the last four digits of the box number (e.g. PO Box 107050, Albany, NY 12201-7050), zero plus the last three digits of the box number (e.g., PO Box 17727, Eagle River, AK 99577-0727), or, if the box number consists of fewer than four digits, enough zeros are attached to the front of the box number to produce a four-digit number (e.g., PO Box 77, Juneau, AK 99750-0077). However, there is no uniform rule, so the ZIP+4 Code must be looked up individually for each box.[citation needed]

text: Postal bar code[edit]

text: The ZIP Code is often translated into an Intelligent Mail barcode that is printed on the mailpiece to make it easier for automated machines to sort. A barcode can be printed by the sender (some word-processing programs such as WordPerfect[6] and Microsoft Word[7] include the feature - but is not recommended as the address to ZIP lookup tables can be significantly out of date). It is better to let the post office put one on when it processes the piece. In general, the post office uses OCR technology, though in some cases a human may have to read and enter the address.

text: Customers who send bulk mail can get a discount on postage if they have printed the barcode themselves and have presorted the mail. This requires more than just a simple font; mailing lists must be standardized with up-to-date Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS)-certified software that adds and verifies a full, correct ZIP+4 Code and an additional two digits representing the exact delivery point.[citation needed] Furthermore, mail must be sorted in a specific scheme to an 11 digit zip with at least 150 mailpieces for each qualifying ZIP code and must be accompanied by documentation verifying this. These steps are usually done with PAVE-certified software that also prints the barcoded address labels and the barcoded sack or tray tags.

text: This means that every single mailable point in the country has its own 12-digit number (at least in theory). The delivery-point digits (the 10th and 11th digits) are calculated based on the primary or secondary number of the address. The USPS publishes the rules for calculating the delivery point in a document called the CASS Technical Guide.[8] However, when confronted with two addresses like 18 and 18C, often CASS will assign the same 12-digit number to two distinct mail delivery points. The last digit is always a check digit, which is obtained by summing all 5, 9 or 11 digits, taking the residue modulo 10 of this sum (i.e., the remainder after dividing by 10) and finally subtracting this from 10. (Thus, the check digit for 10001-0001 00 would be 7, since 1+1+1=3, 3≡3(mod 10) and 10–3=7.)

text: Structure and allocation[edit]

text: Scope and international mail[edit]

text: ZIP Codes designate delivery points within the United States (including territories), and overseas stations of its armed forces. There are also ZIP Codes for independent countries of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau, each of which is integrated into the U.S. postal system under a Compact of Free Association.

text: Mail to U.S. diplomatic missions overseas is addressed as if it was to a street address in Washington, D.C. The four-digit diplomatic pouch number is used as a building number, while the city in which the embassy or consulate is located is combined with the word "Place" to form a street name. Each mission uses a ZIP+4 Code consisting of 20521 and the diplomatic pouch number. For example, the mailing address of the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India would be:

text: Embassy of the United States of America

text: 9000 New Delhi Place

text: By type and use[edit]

text: There are four types of ZIP Codes:

text:
Unique: assigned to a single high-volume address
Post Office Box only: used only for PO Boxes at a given facility, not for any other type of delivery
Military: used to route mail for the U.S. military
Standard: all other ZIP Codes.

tag: ul

text: Unique ZIP Codes are used for governmental agencies, universities, businesses, or buildings that receive such extremely high volumes of mail that they need their own ZIP Codes. Government examples include 20505 for the Central Intelligence Agency in Washington, D.C.; 81009 for the Federal Citizen Information Center of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)[10] in Pueblo, Colorado. Examples of private address unique ZIP Codes include the headquarters of Wal-Mart (72716) and the Empire State Building (10118).

text: An example of a PO Box only ZIP Code is 22313, which is used for PO Boxes at the main post office in Alexandria, Virginia, such as those used by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In the area surrounding that post office, home and business mail delivery addresses use ZIP Code 22314, which is thus a Standard ZIP Code.

text: In certain exceptional cases, a nominally Standard-type ZIP Code may, in practice, be used as one of the three other types. For example, the ZIP Code 43210 in Columbus, Ohio is listed as a Standard-type ZIP Code. However, since its geographic boundaries are essentially coterminous with those of The Ohio State University's main campus, it is effectively exclusive to the university even though it is not officially a "Unique"-type ZIP code.

text: By geography[edit]

text: Primary state prefixes[edit]

text: ZIP Codes are numbered with the first digit representing a certain group of U.S. states, the second and third digits together representing a region in that group (or perhaps a large city) and the fourth and fifth digits representing a group of delivery addresses within that region. The main town in a region (if applicable) often gets the first ZIP Codes for that region; afterward, the numerical order often follows the alphabetical order.[citation needed] Because ZIP Codes are intended for efficient postal delivery, there are unusual cases where a ZIP Code crosses state boundaries, such as a military facility spanning multiple states or remote areas of one state most easily serviced from a bordering state. For example, ZIP Code 42223 serves Fort Campbell, which spans Christian County, Kentucky and Montgomery County, Tennessee, and ZIP Code 97635 includes portions of Lake County, Oregon and Modoc County, California.

text: In general, the first three digits designate a sectional center facility, the mail sorting and distribution center for an area. A sectional center facility may have more than one three-digit code assigned to it. For example, the Northern Virginia sectional center facility in Merrifield is assigned codes 220, 221, 222 and 223. In some cases, a sectional center facility may serve an area in an adjacent state, usually due to the lack of a proper location for a center in that region. For example, 739 in Oklahoma is assigned to Liberal, Kansas; 865 in Arizona is assigned to Gallup, New Mexico; and 961 in California to Reno, Nevada.

text: In terms of geographic location, many of the lowest ZIP Codes, which begin with '0', are in the New England region. Also in the '0' region are New Jersey (non-contiguous with the remainder of the '0' area), Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and APO/FPO military addresses for personnel stationed in Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia and aboard vessels based in the waters adjoining those lands. The lowest ZIP Code is in Holtsville, New York (00501, a ZIP Code exclusively for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service center there).[11] Other low ZIP Codes are 00601 for Adjuntas, Puerto Rico; 01001 for Agawam, Massachusetts, and the zip codes 01002 and 01003 for Amherst, Massachusetts; 01002 is used for mail in town, while 01003 is reserved for the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Until 2001, there were six ZIP Codes lower than 00501 that were numbered from 00210 to 00215 (located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire) and were used by the Diversity Immigrant Visa program to receive applications from non-U.S. citizens.[citation needed]

text: The numbers increase southward along the East Coast, such as 02115 (Boston), 10001 (New York City), 19103 (Philadelphia), 21201 (Baltimore), 20008 (Washington, D.C.), 30303 (Atlanta) and 33130 (Miami) (these are only examples, as each of these cities contain several ZIP Codes in the same range). From there, the numbers increase heading westward and northward east of the Mississippi River, southward west of the Mississippi River, and northward on the West Coast. For example, 40202 is in Louisville, 50309 in Des Moines, 60601 in Chicago, 63101 in St. Louis, 77063 in Houston, 80202 in Denver, 94111 in San Francisco, 98101 in Seattle, and 99950 in Ketchikan, Alaska (the highest ZIP Code).

text: The first digit of the ZIP Code is allocated as follows:

text:
0 = Connecticut (CT), Massachusetts (MA), Maine (ME), New Hampshire (NH), New Jersey (NJ), New York (NY, Fishers Island only), Puerto Rico (PR), Rhode Island (RI), Vermont (VT), Virgin Islands (VI), Army Post Office Europe (AE), Fleet Post Office Europe (AE)
1 = Delaware (DE), New York (NY), Pennsylvania (PA)
2 = District of Columbia (DC), Maryland (MD), North Carolina (NC), South Carolina (SC), Virginia (VA), West Virginia (WV)
3 = Alabama (AL), Florida (FL), Georgia (GA), Mississippi (MS), Tennessee (TN), Army Post Office Americas (AA), Fleet Post Office Americas (AA)
4 = Indiana (IN), Kentucky (KY), Michigan (MI), Ohio (OH)
5 = Iowa (IA), Minnesota (MN), Montana (MT), North Dakota (ND), South Dakota (SD), Wisconsin (WI)
6 = Illinois (IL), Kansas (KS), Missouri (MO), Nebraska (NE)
7 = Arkansas (AR), Louisiana (LA), Oklahoma (OK), Texas (TX)
8 = Arizona (AZ), Colorado (CO), Idaho (ID), New Mexico (NM), Nevada (NV), Utah (UT), Wyoming (WY)
9 = Alaska (AK), American Samoa (AS), California (CA), Guam (GU), Hawaii (HI), Marshall Islands (MH), Federated States of Micronesia (FM), Northern Mariana Islands (MP), Oregon (OR), Palau (PW), Washington (WA), Army Post Office Pacific (AP), Fleet Post Office Pacific (AP)

text: Secondary regional prefixes (123xx) and local ZIP Codes (12345)[edit]

text: The next two digits represent the sectional center facility (SCF) (e.g. 477xx = Vanderburgh County, Indiana), and the fourth and fifth digits represent the area of the city (if in a metropolitan area), or a village/town (outside metro areas): 47722 (4=Indiana, 77=Vanderburgh County, 22=University of Evansville area). When a sectional center facility's area crosses state lines, that facility is assigned separate three-digit prefixes for the states that it serves.

text: In some urban areas, like 462 for Marion County, Indiana, the three-digit prefix will often exist in one county, while, in rural and most suburban areas, the prefix will exist in multiple counties; for example, the neighboring 476 prefix is found in part or entirely in six counties: Gibson, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, and Warrick. In some cases, an urban county may have more than one prefix. This is the case with Allen (467, 468), Lake (464, 463), St. Joseph (465, 466), and Vanderburgh (476, 477) Counties. Cities like Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York City have multiple prefixes within their city limits. In some cases, these may be served from the same SCF, such as in San Diego County, California, where the three-digit prefixes 919 and 920 are used for suburban and rural communities, and 921 for the city of San Diego itself, although all three are processed through the same SCF facility.[citation needed]

text: Despite the geographic derivation of most ZIP Codes, the codes themselves do not represent geographic regions; in general, they correspond to address groups or delivery routes. As a consequence, ZIP Code "areas" can overlap, be subsets of each other, or be artificial constructs with no geographic area (such as 095 for mail to the Navy, which is not geographically fixed). In similar fashion, in areas without regular postal routes (rural route areas) or no mail delivery (undeveloped areas), ZIP Codes are not assigned or are based on sparse delivery routes, and hence the boundary between ZIP Code areas is undefined. For example, some residents in or near Haubstadt, Indiana, which has the ZIP Code 47639, have mailing addresses with 47648, the ZIP Code for neighboring Fort Branch, Indiana, while others living in or near Fort Branch have addresses with 47639. Many rural counties have similar logistical inconsistencies caused by the aforementioned sparse delivery routes, often known as Rural Routes or by some other similar designation.

text: For example, almost all U.S. government agencies in and around the capital are assigned ZIP Codes starting with 20200 to 20599, which are Washington, D.C. ZIP Codes, even if they are not located in Washington itself. While the White House itself is located in ZIP Code 20006, it has the ZIP Code 20500. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is located in Rockville, Maryland, at ZIP Code 20852, but has been assigned by the Postal Service the address "Washington, DC 20555".

text: In similar manner, the ZIP Code for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, a federally chartered independent authority, is 20001-6000[12], even though the physical address of the Authority's office, "1 Aviation Circle",[13] is in Arlington, Virginia.[citation needed]

text: One current exception to this rule is the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). When the USPTO was located in the Crystal City neighborhood in Arlington, Virginia, it was assigned by the Postal Service the address "Washington, DC 20231" despite being physically located in ZIP Code 22202. However, the USPTO now uses a ZIP Code (22313-1450 in ZIP+4) assigned to its current PO box in Alexandria, Virginia.[14]

text: In rare circumstances, a locality is assigned a ZIP Code that does not match the rest of the state. In even rarer cases a ZIP Code may cross state lines. Usually, this occurs when the locality is so isolated that it is most conveniently served from a sectional center in another state. Examples:

text:
Fishers Island, New York, bears the ZIP Code 06390 and is served from Connecticut because the only ferry service is to Connecticut – all other New York ZIP Codes (excepting those at Holtsville for the IRS) begin with "1".
Returned government parcels from Washington, D.C. are sent to ZIP Codes beginning with "569" so that returned parcels are security checked at a remote facility (this was put into place after the 2001 anthrax attacks).
Some Arkansas roads north of Bull Shoals Lake can best be accessed by the Protem, Missouri, delivery unit (ZIP Code 65733).
Fort Campbell (ZIP Code 42223), primarily in Tennessee, but the main entrance is in Kentucky.

text: ZIP Codes and previous zoning lines[edit]

text: This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: A ZIP Code's address and the city name written on the same line do not necessarily mean that address is within the boundaries of that city. The Postal Service designates one preferred place name for each ZIP Code. This may be an incorporated town or city, a subentity of a large city or an unincorporated census-designated place, or a small unincorporated community. Additional place names may be recognized as acceptable for a certain ZIP Code. Still, others are deemed not acceptable, and if used may result in a delay in mail delivery.

text: Preferred place names are generally the city or town in which the address is located. However, for many cities that have incorporated since ZIP Codes were introduced, the city name is not the preferred place name. Many databases automatically assign the preferred place name for a ZIP Code, without regard to any acceptable place names. For example, Centennial, Colorado is divided among seven ZIP Codes assigned to Aurora, Englewood or Littleton as its preferred place names; none of these seven ZIP Codes carries "Centennial" as a preferred name, and in the ZIP Code directory, Centennial addresses are listed under those three cities. Since it is acceptable to write "Centennial" in conjunction with any of the seven ZIP Codes, one can write "Centennial" in an address in Aurora, Englewood, or Littleton, as long as it is in one of the shared ZIP Codes.

text: Acceptable place names are usually added to a ZIP Code in cases where the ZIP Code boundaries divide them between two or more cities, as in the case of Centennial. However, in many cases, only the preferred name can be used, even when many addresses in the ZIP Code are in another city. People sometimes must use the name of a post office rather than their own city.

text: One extreme example is ZIP Code 85254; it was assigned the place name Scottsdale, Arizona because it is served by the Scottsdale post office, but 85% of its territory is inside the city limits of neighboring Phoenix. Another notorious example is an entire neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles known as Beverly Hills Post Office. Naturally, its residents prefer the more glamorous Beverly Hills address and 90210 ZIP Code, but this regularly causes problems with an emergency response when dispatchers have to sort out whether a given home in 90210 is in Los Angeles or Beverly Hills.

text: Similarly, Missouri City, Texas, straddles Harris and Fort Bend counties. The portion within Harris County is within the ZIP Code 77071, which must use the city name of Houston instead of Missouri City. At the same time, a small portion of the city of Houston is in Fort Bend County in the ZIP Code 77489, and residents there must use the name Missouri City for their address even though they are in Houston.

text: This also occurs in some rural areas where portions of one town have their mail delivered to other post offices. For example, while most of the town of Plainfield, Massachusetts is in ZIP Code 01070, some sections of town are in the ZIP Code area for the neighboring town of Cummington with ZIP Code 01026. Only the preferred name of Cummington is allowed in ZIP Code 01026, so residents of parts of Plainfield must list their address as being in Cummington.

text: This phenomenon is repeated across the country. The previously mentioned Englewood, Colorado is an inner-ring suburb that was built out by the 1960s. Its post office served the area that is now the high-growth southern tier of the Denver metropolitan area, and ZIP Codes in this area were assigned Englewood as their preferred place name. A business community as large as downtown Denver has grown in this area, with headquarters for many internationally recognized corporations. These companies indicate Englewood as their location (the preferred postal place name), although they are located in other cities. As a result, there are really two Englewoods – the city, small and with a largely working-class residential population, and, a number of miles away, the postal Englewood, a vast suburban area of upscale subdivisions and office parks that have nothing to do with the city of Englewood yet share a split identity with it solely because of ZIP Codes. People who say they live or work in Englewood and identify closely with it may rarely enter the city. In Indiana, the ZIP Code for a town usually indicates the ZIP Code for its corresponding township, as nearly all of Indiana's small town post offices have rural routes.[citation needed]

text: Acceptable place names also come into play in areas where citizens identify more strongly with a particular urban center than their own municipality. For example, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, has 130 distinct municipalities, yet many of the county's residents, and even some residents of adjacent counties, commonly use Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as their postal address. On the opposite end of the spectrum, in some urban areas, neighborhood names may be acceptable even though they have no legal standing, such as La Jolla, California, which is the preferred place name for ZIP Code 92037, despite the fact that La Jolla is a district of San Diego, California and not a separate legal entity (this ZIP Code is also in the 919/920 sequence used by San Diego County's suburban and rural areas, not in the 921 sequence used in the remainder of the City of San Diego, even though La Jolla has always been part of San Diego).

text: Many ZIP Codes are for villages, census-designated places, portions of cities, or other entities that are not municipalities. For example, ZIP Code 03750 is for Etna, New Hampshire, but Etna is not a city or town; it is a village district in the town of Hanover, which itself is assigned the ZIP Code 03755. Another example is ZIP Code 08043, which corresponds to the census-designated place of Kirkwood, New Jersey, but serves the entirety of Voorhees Township. This is also the case in LaGrange, New York, a portion of which is served by the 12603 ZIP Code based in the neighboring town of Poughkeepsie. The rest of LaGrange is served by the LaGrangeville Post Office. LaGrangeville is itself not a town at all, but a section of LaGrange. Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, served by the 19090 ZIP Code, is a village that straddles the border of Upper Moreland Township and Abington Township, and that post office also serves a small portion of Upper Dublin Township. Furthermore, non-municipal place names may also share ZIP Codes with municipal place names. For example, West Windsor Township, New Jersey, is commonly referred to in most mailing databases as Princeton Junction, a census-designated place within West Windsor.

text: Postal designations for place names become de facto locations for their addresses, and as a result, it is difficult to convince residents and businesses that they are located in another city or town different from the preferred place name associated with their ZIP Codes. Because of issues of confusion and lack of identity, some cities, such as Signal Hill, California, have successfully petitioned the Postal Service to change ZIP Code boundaries or create new ZIP Codes so their cities become the preferred place name for addresses within the ZIP Code.

text: Postal designation confusion may have financial implications for local governments because mail volume is one factor used by the U.S. Census Bureau to estimate population changes between decennial census enumerations.[citation needed] Sometimes local officials in a community that is not the preferred place name for a ZIP Code but is an acceptable place name will advise residents to always use the name of the community, because if the census estimate of that town's population is low they may receive fewer funds that are computed based on population. A typical example is Paddock Lake, Wisconsin, whose preferred place name is Salem. Paddock Lake is incorporated as a village within the town of Salem, even though there are more people in the village of Paddock Lake than there are in the unincorporated parts of the town of Salem. Further confusion is caused because Silver Lake, Wisconsin, which is also a village in the town of Salem and is of similar size and status to Paddock Lake, has its own ZIP Code and post office.

text: In another case, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) denied a radio station (now WNNX FM) a move requiring a change in its city of license to Sandy Springs, Georgia, largely because it was not a city (until municipal incorporation in late 2005), despite being the seventh-largest place in the state by population. The FCC cited the use of "Atlanta" on letters of support from local organizations, even though the USPS forced them to use Atlanta for 30328 until well after incorporation took effect. Currently "Sandy Springs" is only acceptable, despite none of 30328 being in Atlanta, or anywhere else outside the Sandy Springs city limit. This even applies to the ZIP Code used only for PO boxes at the Sandy Springs main post office.

text: Because ZIP Codes and their associated place names can ignore county lines, problems may occur where street addresses are based on quadrant location within a county. For example, 30339 spans over Vinings, Georgia and Atlanta, Georgia, in southeastern Cobb County; therefore every street address is labeled SE, and has a house number on that county's grid (according to the distance from the town square in the county seat). However, because the USPS demands the use of Atlanta, Vining's addresses are written such that they appear to be in southeast Atlanta, instead of in the opposite (northwest metro Atlanta) side.

text: Division and reallocation of ZIP codes[edit]

text: Like area codes, ZIP codes are sometimes divided and changed, especially when a rural area becomes suburban. Typically, the new codes become effective once announced, and a grace period (e.g., one year) is provided in which the new and old codes are used concurrently so that postal patrons in the affected area can notify correspondents, order new stationery, etc.[15]

text: In rapidly growing communities, it is sometimes necessary to open a new sectional center facility, which must then be allocated its own three-digit ZIP-code prefix or prefixes. Such allocation can be done in various ways. For example, when a new sectional center facility was opened at Dulles Airport in Virginia, the prefix 201 was allocated to that facility; therefore, for all post offices to be served by that sectional center facility the ZIP Code changed from an old code beginning with 220 or 221 to a new code or codes beginning with 201. However, when a new sectional center facility was opened to serve Montgomery County, Maryland, no new prefix was assigned. Instead, ZIP Codes in the 207 and 208 ranges, which had previously been assigned alphabetically, were reshuffled so that 207xx ZIP Codes in the county was changed to 208xx codes, while 208xx codes outside that county were changed to 207xx codes. Because Silver Spring (whose postal area includes Wheaton) has its own prefix, 209, there was no need to apply the reshuffling to Silver Spring; instead, all mail going to 209xx ZIP Codes was simply rerouted to the new sectional center facility.

text: On the other hand, depopulation may cause a post office to close and its associated ZIP Code to be deallocated. For example, Centralia, Pennsylvania's ZIP Code, 17927, was retired in 2002.[16]

text: Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, was originally issued the 19117 ZIP Code, although it lies in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Because of the 191 prefix, which is found only in Philadelphia with that lone exception, auto insurance companies charged higher city premiums to that suburban location. For that reason, residents petitioned the USPS for a 190-prefix ZIP Code, which is common to the inner-ring Pennsylvania suburbs of that city, and, after several attempts that were initially disapproved by the USPS, Elkins Park was finally reassigned to the 19027 ZIP Code.

text: ZIP Codes also change when postal boundaries are realigned. For example, at the same time at which the above-noted change in Montgomery County, Maryland, took place, and under pressure from then-mayor of Washington, D.C., Marion Barry, the USPS realigned the postal boundaries between Washington, D.C. and Maryland to match the boundary. Previously, many inner suburbs, such as Bethesda and Takoma Park, Oxon Hill, Temple Hills, Suitland, and Capitol Heights had been in the Washington, D.C., postal area. As a result of the change, ZIP Codes in Maryland beginning with 200 were changed to new ZIP Codes beginning with 207, 208 or 209, depending on their location, and ZIP Codes straddling the D.C.-Maryland line were split. For example, 20016 (Bethesda) became 20816, while the Maryland portion of 20012 (Takoma Park) became 20912.

text: Other uses[edit]

text: Delivery services[edit]

text: Delivery services other than the USPS, such as FedEx, United Parcel Service and DHL require a ZIP Code for optimal internal routing of a package.

text: Statistics[edit]

text: There are over 42,000 ZIP Codes in the United States.[17] ZIP Codes are used not only for tracking of mail but also in gathering geographical statistics in the United States. The U.S. Census Bureau calculates approximate boundaries of ZIP Codes areas, which it calls ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs). Statistical census data is then provided for these approximate areas. The geographic data provided for these areas includes the latitude and longitude of the center-point of the ZCTAs. There are approximately 32,000 ZCTAs. The reason that there is not one ZCTA for every ZIP Code is that PO Boxes are excluded, since only populated areas are included in the Census data.[18] The Census Bureau provides many statistical data sets for ZIP Codes, but does not keep up-to-date datasets of all ZCTAs. Complete datasets providing a similar approximate geographic extent are commercially available.

text: ZIP Codes are inherently discrete data, or point-based data, as they are assigned only at the point of delivery, not the spaces in between the delivery points. The U.S. Census Bureau then interpolates this discrete data set to create polygons, or areal features representing the approximate extent of the ZIP Code to use for mapping and data presentation. ZCTAs are not to be confused with ZIP Codes, and they are not updated as frequently as ZIP Codes. However, for many research and planning purposes, they are very useful and can be used with ZIP Code data.

text: Marketing[edit]

text: The data is often used in direct mail marketing campaigns in a process called ZIP-code marketing. Point-of-sale cashiers sometimes ask consumers their home ZIP Code. Besides providing purchasing-pattern data useful in determining the location of new business establishments, retailers can use directories to correlate this ZIP Code with the name on a credit card to obtain a consumer's full address and telephone number. ZIP-Coded data are also used in analyzing geographic factors in risk, an insurance-industry and banking practice pejoratively known as redlining. This can cause problems (e.g., expensive insurance) for people living near a town with a high crime rate and sharing its ZIP Code, while they live in a relatively crime-free town (see Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, above).

text: According to an online CNN news story by Greg Botelho posted on Thursday, February 10, 2011, "California's high court ruled Thursday that retailers do not have the right to ask customers for their ZIP Code while completing credit card transactions, saying that doing so violates a cardholders' right to protect his or her personal information."[19]

text: Legislative districts[edit]

text: ZIP Codes cannot be used to identify legislative districts. Although the website of the U.S. House of Representatives has a "Find Your Representative" feature that looks up congressional districts based on ZIP Codes alone, it often returns multiple districts corresponding to a single ZIP Code.[20][21] This is because different parts of one ZIP Code can be in different districts.[22]

text: Internet[edit]

text: A 1978 proposal for a nationwide system of community networks suggested using ZIP Codes for routing.[23]

text: ZIP Code data is an integral part of dealer/store locator software on many web sites, especially brick-and-click websites. This software processes a user-input ZIP Code and returns a list of store or business locations, usually in the order of increasing distance from the center of the input ZIP Code. As the ZIP system is confined to the U.S. Postal network, websites that require ZIP Codes cannot register customers outside the U.S. Many sites will either purchase postal code data of other countries or make allowances in cases where the ZIP Code is not recognized.

text: ZIP Codes can also be used to pull up local news stories and weather forecasts tailored to the ZIP code, along with local television listings and channel lineups for cable/satellite or over-the-air broadcast.

text: Credit card security[edit]

text: ZIP Codes are used in credit card authorization, specifically Address Verification System (AVS). When a merchant collects the entire address, the ZIP Code is an important part of AVS. In some cases, the ZIP Code is the only thing used for AVS, specifically where collecting a signature, or other information is infeasible, such as pay at the pump or vending machines.

text: Insurance rating[edit]

text: ZIP Codes are used by most insurance carriers to determine the rate the customer will receive. Higher populated areas will generally receive a higher rate, but that is not always true. In some areas with a high population, the rate for comprehensive coverage can be lower because the area has a low crime rate.