Cottonwood is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States.

As settlers arrived in the area, a stand of cottonwood trees near the Verde River served as a meeting place for travellers.

[4] Main Street in Cottonwood was created 1908, when two settlers "used a mule team to pull and drag through brush".

[5] The Clemenceau smelter closed in 1936, causing job loses and a disruption to the area.

[6] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.7 square miles (28 km2), all land.

The city became one of the Arizona municipalities to approve of civil unions for same-sex partners.

[11][12] The Cottonwood Public Library is part of the Yavapai County Library Network and serves the city of Cottonwood along with surrounding cities including Clarkdale, Camp Verde, Jerome, Rimrock and unincorporated areas of the Verde Valley in Yavapai County.