[6] In 1872, at the height of the American Indian Wars, a band of raiding Apache horsemen were ambushed by a United States Cavalry force from Picket Post Mountain.

According to local legend, in the face of defeat, the remaining Apache leapt to their death rather than being captured by the cavalry, thus giving the mountain its name.

[10] By 1950, before the United States Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision, schools in Superior segregated Anglo and Mexican students.

In 1910, William Boyce Thompson and George Gunn bought the Silver Queen Mine, and organized the Magma Copper Company.

In 1915, a narrow-gauge railway connected Superior with the Southern Pacific Railroad, which was converted to standard gauge in 1923.

[12] After 71 years of production, the Magma Mine closed in August 1982 due to high operating costs and declining copper prices.

9 shaft atop Apache Leap is being used to explore the huge Resolution Copper deposit below.

Superior is located approximately 70 miles (110 km) east of Phoenix and the same distance north of Tucson.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.9 sq mi (5.0 km2), all land.

The Boyce Thompson Arboretum is a 323-acre (1.31 km2) botanical collection that includes a wide range of habitats and a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) walking trail.

[17] Despite its relatively high precipitation due to favourable aspect, Superior is too low for significant snow even in winter.