State of Arizona
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): The Grand Canyon State; The Copper State
Motto(s): Ditat Deus
Official language(s)	English
Spoken language(s)	English 72.58%[1] Spanish 21.57%[1] Navajo 1.54%[1]
Demonym	Arizonan[2]
Capital (and largest city)	Phoenix
Largest metro area	Phoenix Metropolitan Area
Area	Ranked 6th in the U.S.
- Total	113,990[3] sq mi (295,234 km2)
- Width	310 miles (500 km)
- Length	400 miles (645 km)
- % water	0.35
- Latitude	31°  20′ North to 37° North
- Longitude	109°  03′ West to 114°  49′ West
Population	Ranked 16th in the U.S.
- Total	6,482,505 (2011 est)[4]
- Density	57/sq mi  (22/km2) Ranked 33rd in the U.S.
Elevation
- Highest point	Humphreys Peak[5][6][7] 12,637 ft (3852 m)
- Mean	4,100 ft  (1250 m)
- Lowest point	Colorado River at the Sonora border[6][7] 72 ft (22 m)
Admission to Union	February 14, 1912 (48th)
Governor	Jan Brewer (R)
Secretary of State	Ken Bennett (R)
Legislature	Arizona Legislature
- Upper house	Senate
- Lower house	House of Representatives
U.S. Senators	John McCain (R) Jon Kyl (R)
U.S. House delegation	Five Republicans and three Democrats (list)
Time zones
- Most of state	Mountain: UTC-7
- Navajo Nation	Mountain: UTC-7/-6
Abbreviations	AZ Ariz. US-AZ
Website	www.az.gov

Arizona State symbols
The Flag of Arizona.
Animate insignia
Amphibian	Arizona Tree Frog
Bird(s)	Cactus Wren
Butterfly	Two-tailed Swallowtail
Fish	Apache trout
Flower(s)	Saguaro Cactus blossom
Mammal(s)	Ring-tailed Cat
Reptile	Arizona Ridge-Nosed Rattlesnake
Tree	Palo verde
Inanimate insignia
Colors	Blue, Old Gold
Firearm	Colt Single Action Army revolver
Fossil	Petrified wood
Gemstone	Turquoise
Mineral	Fire Agate
Rock	Petrified wood
Ship(s)	USS Arizona
Slogan(s)	The Grand Canyon State
Soil	Casa Grande
Song(s)	"Arizona March Song" "Arizona" (alternate)
Route marker(s)
State Quarter
Released in 2008
Lists of United States state insignia

Arizona (ⁱ/ɛrɪˈzoʊnə/; /ærɪˈzoʊnə/) (Navajo: Hoozdo Hahoodzo; O'odham: Alĭ ṣonak) is a state of the United States, located in the southwestern region of the country. Arizona is also part of the Western United States and of the Mountain West states. Arizona is the sixth most extensive and the 16th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. The second largest city is Tucson, followed in population by eight cities of the Phoenix metropolitan area: Mesa, Chandler, Glendale, Scottsdale, Gilbert, Tempe, Peoria, and Surprise.

Arizona is the 48th state and last of the contiguous states to be admitted to the Union, and it achieved statehood on February 14, 1912. Arizona is noted for its desert climate in its southern half, where there are very hot summers and quite mild winters. The northern half of Arizona also features forests of pine, Douglas fir, and spruce trees, a very large, high plateau (the Colorado Plateau) and some mountain ranges—such as the San Francisco Mountains—as well as large, deep canyons, where there is much more moderate weather for three seasons of the year, plus significant snowfalls. There are ski resorts in the areas of Flagstaff and Alpine.

Arizona is one of the Four Corners states. Arizona has borders with New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, California, and Mexico, and it has one point in common with the southwestern corner of Colorado. Arizona has a 389-mile (626 km)-long international border with the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California.

Arizona is the most populous landlocked state of the United States, ranking slightly ahead of Tennessee as of 2011. In addition to the Grand Canyon National Park, several national forests, national parks, and national monuments are located in Arizona. About one-quarter of Arizona^[8] is federal land that serves as the home of the Navajo Nation; the Hopi tribe; the Tohono O'odham; the Apache tribe; the Yaqui peoples; and various Yuman tribes, such as the Yavapai people, the Quechan people, and the Hualapai people.

Etymology[link]

The general consensus is that the name of the state comes from an earlier Spanish name, Arizonac, derived from the O'odham name alĭ ṣonak, meaning “small spring”, which initially applied only to an area near the Mexican silver mining camp of Planchas de Plata, Sonora.^{[9][10][11][12]} This is supported by the fact that that area is still known as alĭ ṣonak in the O'odham language.^[13] Other possible origins that have been proposed are the Spanish phrase árida zona (“arid zone”), shortened to “Arizona” or the Basque phrase aritz ona (“the good oak”).^[14][15][16]

Geography[link]

Saguaro at Sunset from Saguaro National Park Rincon District east of Tucson, Arizona

See also lists of counties, islands, rivers, lakes, state parks, national parks, and national forests.

Arizona is located in the Southwestern United States as one of the Four Corners states. Arizona is the sixth largest state in area, after New Mexico and before Nevada. Of the state's 113,998 square miles (295,000 km²), approximately 15% is privately owned. The remaining area is public forest and park land, state trust land and Native American reservations.

Arizona is best known for its desert landscape, which is rich in xerophyte plants such as the cactus. It is also known for its climate, which presents exceptionally hot summers and mild winters. Less well known is the pine-covered high country of the Colorado Plateau in the north-central portion of the state, which contrasts with the desert Basin and Range region in the southern portions of the state (see Arizona Mountains forests).

Like other states of the Southwest, Arizona has an abundance of topographical characteristics in addition to its desert climate. Mountains and plateaus are found in more than half of the state. Despite the state's aridity, 27% of Arizona is forest,^[17] a percentage comparable to modern-day France or Germany. The largest stand in the world of Ponderosa pine trees is contained in Arizona.^[18]

The Mogollon Rim, a 1,998-foot (609 m) escarpment, cuts across the central section of the state and marks the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau, where the state experienced its second worst forest fire ever in 2002.

Arizona belongs firmly within the Basin and Range region of North America. The region was shaped by prehistoric volcanism, followed by the cooling-off and related subsidence.

Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is a colorful, steep-sided gorge, carved by the Colorado River, in northern Arizona. The canyon is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and is largely contained in the Grand Canyon National Park—one of the first national parks in the United States. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of designating the Grand Canyon area, visiting on numerous occasions to hunt mountain lion and enjoy the scenery.

The canyon was created by the Colorado River cutting a channel over millions of years, and is about 277 miles (446 km) long, ranges in width from 4 to 18 miles (6 to 29 km) and attains a depth of more than 1 mile (1.6 km). Nearly 2 billion years of the Earth's history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut through layer after layer of sediment as the Colorado Plateaus have uplifted.

Meteor Crater

Arizona is home to one of the most well-preserved meteorite impact sites in the world. The Barringer Meteorite Crater (better known simply as “Meteor Crater”) is a gigantic hole in the middle of the high plains of the Colorado Plateau, about 25 miles (40 km) west of Winslow. A rim of smashed and jumbled boulders, some of them the size of small houses, rises 150 feet (46 m) above the level of the surrounding plain. The crater itself is nearly 1 mile (1.6 km) wide, and 570 feet (170 m) deep.

Arizona is one of two states that does not observe Daylight Saving Time, except in the Navajo Nation, located in the northeastern region of the state. The other state is Hawaii.

Climate[link]

The Horseshoe Bend of the Colorado River

Due to its large area and variations in elevation the state has a wide variety of localized climate conditions. In the lower elevations, the climate is primarily desert, with mild winters and hot summers. Typically, from late fall to early spring, the weather is mild, averaging a minimum of 60 °F (16 °C). November through February are the coldest months with temperatures typically ranging from 40–75 °F (4–24 °C), although occasional frosts are not uncommon. About midway through February, the temperatures start to rise again with warm days, and cool breezy nights. The summer months of June through September bring a dry heat ranging from 90–128 °F (32–53 °C), with occasional high temperatures exceeding 128 °F (53 °C) having been observed in the desert area.^[19] Arizona’s all time record high is 128 °F (53 °C) recorded at Lake Havasu City on June 29, 1994, and July 5, 2007; the all time record low of −40 °F (−40 °C) was recorded at Hawley Lake on January 7, 1971.

Due to the primarily dry climate, large temperature swings often occur between day and night in less developed areas of the desert. The swings can be as large as 50 °F (28 °C) in the summer months. In the state’s urban centers, the effects of local warming result in much higher measured nighttime lows than in the recent past.

Arizona has an average annual rainfall of 12.7 inches (323 mm),^[20] which comes during two rainy seasons, with cold fronts coming from the Pacific Ocean during the winter and a monsoon in the summer.^[6] The monsoon season occurs towards the end of summer. In July or August, the dewpoint rises dramatically for a brief period. During this time, the air contains large amounts of water vapor. Dewpoints as high as 81 °F (27 °C)^[21] have been recorded during the Phoenix monsoon season. This hot moisture brings lightning, thunderstorms, wind, and torrential, if usually brief, downpours. These downpours often cause flash floods, which can turn deadly. In an attempt to deter drivers from crossing flooding streams, the Arizona Legislature enacted the Stupid Motorist Law. It is rare for tornadoes and hurricanes to occur in Arizona, but there are records of both occurring.

The northern third of Arizona is a plateau at significantly higher altitudes than the lower desert, and has an appreciably cooler climate, with cold winters and mild summers. Extremely cold temperatures are not unknown; cold air systems from the northern states and Canada occasionally push into the state, bringing temperatures below 0 °F (−18 °C) to the northern parts of the state.

Indicative of the variation in climate, Arizona is the state which has both the metropolitan area with the most days over 100 °F (38 °C) (Phoenix), and the metropolitan area in the lower 48 states with nearly the most days with a low temperature below freezing (Flagstaff).^[22]

History[link]

Marcos de Niza, a Spanish Franciscan, explored parts of the area in 1539 and met some of its original native inhabitants, probably the Sobaipuri. The expedition of Spanish explorer Coronado entered the area in 1540–1542 during its search for Cíbola. Father Kino was the next European in the region. A member of the Society of Jesus, he led the development of a chain of missions and converted many of the Indians to Christianity in the Pimería Alta (now southern Arizona and northern Sonora) in the 1690s and early 18th century. Spain founded presidios (“fortified towns”) at Tubac in 1752 and Tucson in 1775. When Mexico achieved its independence from Spain in 1821, what is now Arizona became part of the Territory of Nueva California, also known as Alta California.^[23] In the Mexican–American War (1847), the U.S. occupied Mexico City and pursued its claim to much of northern Mexico, including what later became Arizona. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) specified that the sum of US$15 million in compensation (equivalent to about $403 million in 2012^[24]) be paid to the Republic of Mexico.^[25] In 1853, the land below the Gila River was acquired from Mexico in the Gadsden Purchase. Arizona was administered as part of the Territory of New Mexico until southern New Mexico seceded^[26] from the Union as the Confederate Territory of Arizona on March 16, 1861. Arizona was recognized as a Confederate Territory by presidential proclamation of Jefferson Davis on February 14, 1862. This is the first official use of the name. Arizona supported the Confederate cause with men, horses, and supplies. Formed in 1862 Arizona Scout Companies fought with the Confederate Army throughout the war. Arizona has the farthest recorded Western engagement of the war, the Battle of Picacho Pass. A new Arizona Territory, consisting of the western half of New Mexico Territory was declared in Washington, D.C., on February 24, 1863. The new boundaries would later form the basis of the state.

Although names, including “Gadsonia”, “Pimeria”, “Montezuma” and “Arizuma” had been considered for the territory,^[27] when President Lincoln signed the final bill, it read “Arizona”, and the name became permanent. (Montezuma was not the Aztec Emperor, but the sacred name of a divine hero to the Pima people of the Gila River Valley, and was probably considered—and rejected—for its sentimental value before the name “Arizona” was settled upon.)

Brigham Young sent Mormons to Arizona in the mid-to-late 19th century. They founded Mesa, Snowflake, Heber, Safford and other towns. They also settled in the Phoenix Valley (or “Valley of the Sun”), Tempe, Prescott, and other areas. The Mormons settled what became northern Arizona and northern New Mexico, but these areas were located in a part of the former New Mexico Territory.

Children of the Depression-era migrant workers, Pinal County, 1937

During the Mexican Revolution from 1910 to 1920, a few battles were fought in the Mexican towns just across the border from Arizonan border settlements. Throughout the revolution, Arizonans were enlisting in one of the several armies fighting in Mexico. The Battle of Ambos Nogales in 1918, other than Pancho Villa’s 1916 Columbus Raid in New Mexico, was the only significant engagement on U.S. soil between American and Mexican forces. The battle resulted in an American victory. After U.S. soldiers were fired on by Mexican federal troops, the American garrison then launched an assault into Nogales, Mexico. The Mexicans eventually surrendered after both sides sustained heavy casualties. A few months earlier, just west of Nogales, an Indian War battle occurred, thus being the last engagement in the American Indian Wars which lasted from 1775 to 1918. The participants in the fight were U.S. soldiers stationed on the border and Yaqui Indians who were using Arizona as a base to raid the nearby Mexican settlements, as part of their wars against Mexico.

Arizona became a U.S. state on February 14, 1912. This resulted in the end to the territorial colonization of Continental North America. Arizona was the 48th state admitted to the U.S. and the last of the contiguous states to be admitted.

Eleanor Roosevelt at the Gila River relocation center, April 23, 1943

Cotton farming and copper mining, two of Arizona’s most important statewide industries, suffered heavily during the Great Depression, but it was during the 1920s and 1930s that tourism began to be the important Arizonan industry it is today. Dude ranches, such as the K L Bar and Remuda in Wickenburg, along with the Flying V and Tanque Verde in Tucson, gave tourists the chance to experience the flavor and life of the “old West”. Several upscale hotels and resorts opened during this period, some of which are still top tourist draws to this day; they include the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in central Phoenix (opened 1929) and the Wigwam Resort on the west side of the Phoenix area (opened 1936).

Arizona was the site of German and Italian POW camps during World War II and Japanese-American internment camps. The camps were abolished after World War II. The Phoenix area site was purchased after the war by the Maytag family (of major home appliance fame), and is currently the site of the Phoenix Zoo. A Japanese-American internment camp was located on Mount Lemmon, just outside of the state’s southeastern city of Tucson. Another POW camp was located near the Gila River in eastern Yuma County. Because of wartime fears of Japanese invasion of the west coast, all Japanese-American residents in western Arizona were required to reside in the war camps.

Arizona was also home to the Phoenix Indian School, one of several federal institutions designed to forcibly assimilate Native American children into Anglo-American culture. Children were often enrolled into these schools against the wishes of their parents and families. Attempts to suppress native identities included forcing the children to cut their hair and take on English names.^[28]

Arizona’s population grew tremendously after World War II, in part because of the development of air conditioning, which made the intense summers more comfortable. According to the Arizona Blue Book (published by the Arizona Secretary of State’s office each year), the state population in 1910 was 294,353. By 1970, it was 1,752,122. The percentage growth each decade averaged about 20% in the earlier decades and about 60% each decade thereafter.

The 1960s saw the establishment of retirement communities, special age-restricted subdivisions catering exclusively to the needs of senior citizens who wanted to escape the harsh winters of the Midwest and the Northeast. Sun City, established by developer Del Webb and opened in 1960, was one of the first such communities. Green Valley, south of Tucson, was another such community and was designed to be a retirement subdivision for Arizona’s teachers. Many senior citizens arrive in Arizona each winter and stay only during the winter months; they are referred to as snowbirds.

In March 2000, Arizona was the site of the first legally binding election to nominate a candidate for public office ever held over the internet.^[29] In the 2000 Arizona Democratic Primary, under worldwide attention, Al Gore defeated Bill Bradley, and voter turnout increased more than 500% over the 1996 primary.

Three ships named USS Arizona have been christened in honor of the state, although only USS Arizona (BB-39) was so named after statehood was achieved.

Demographics[link]

The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Arizona was 6,482,505 on July 1, 2011, a 1.42% increase since the 2010 United States Census.^[4]

Arizona remained sparsely settled for most of the 19th century.^[30] The 1860 census reported the population of “Arizona County” to be 6,482, of whom 4,040 were listed as “Indians”, 21 as “free colored” and 2,421 as “white”.^[31][32] In 1980, the Census Bureau reported Arizona's population as 16.2% Hispanic, 5.6% Native American, and 74.5% non-Hispanic white.^[33] As of 2006, Arizona had an estimated population of 6,166,318.^[34] Arizona’s continued population growth puts an enormous stress on the state’s water supply.^[35]

View of suburban development in the Phoenix metropolitan area

The population of metropolitan Phoenix increased by 45.3% from 1991 through 2001, helping to make Arizona the second fastest growing state in the U.S. in the 1990s (the fastest was Nevada).^[36] As of January 2012, the population of the Phoenix area is estimated to be over 4.3 million.

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Arizona had a population of 6,392,017. In terms of race and ethnicity, the state was 73.0% White (57.8% Non-Hispanic White Alone), 4.1% Black or African American, 4.6% Native American and Alaska Native, 2.8% Asian, 0.2% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 11.9% from Some Other Race, and 3.4% from Two or More Races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race made up 29.6% of the state’s population.^[37]

Arizona’s five largest ancestry groups, as of 2009, were:^[38]

1. Mexican (27.4%);
2. German (16.0%);
3. Irish (10.8%);
4. English (10.1%);
5. Italian (4.6%).

Arizona is home to the largest number of speakers of Native American languages in the 48 contiguous states, with over 85,000 individuals speaking Navajo,^[1] and 10,403 persons reporting Apache as the language spoken at home in 2005.^[1] Arizona’s Apache County has the highest concentration of speakers of Native American Indian languages in the United States.^[39]

In 2010, illegal immigrants constituted an estimated 7.9% of the population. This was the second highest percentage of any state in the U.S.^[40][41]

Religion[link]

As of the year 2000, the RCMS^[42] reported that the three largest denominational groups in Arizona were Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant and Mainline Protestant. The Roman Catholic Church has the highest number of adherents in Arizona (at 974,883), followed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 251,974 members reported and the Southern Baptist Convention, reporting 138,516 adherents. The religious body with the largest number of congregations is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (with 805 congregations^[43]) followed by the Southern Baptist Convention (with 323 congregations).

According to a 2007 survey conducted by The Pew Forum, the religious affiliation of the people of Arizona were:^[44]

• Protestant– 40%
  • Mainline – 15%
  • Evangelical – 23%
  • Other Protestant – 2%
• Roman Catholic – 25%
• Unaffiliated – 22%
• LDS (Mormon) – 4%
• Jehovah Witness – 1%
• Jewish – 1%
• Buddhist – 1%
• Other Religions – 4%
• Don't Know/Refused – 2%

LGBT[link]

A November 2011 Public Policy Polling survey found that 44% of Arizona voters supported the legalization of same-sex marriage, while 45% opposed it and 12% were not sure. A separate question on the same survey found that 72% of respondents supported legal recognition of same-sex couples, with 40% supporting same-sex marriage, 32% supporting civil unions, 27% opposing all legal recognition and 1% not sure.^[45]

Economy[link]

The 2011 total gross state product was $259 billion. This figure gives Arizona a larger economy than such countries as Ireland, Finland, and New Zealand. The composition of the state's economy is moderately diverse; although health care, transportation and the government remain the largest sectors. The hub of economic output remains in the phoenix metropolitan area accounting for approximately 74% of the states domestic product. Arizona’s projected $1.5 billion deficit for fiscal year 2012, one of the largest in the country, behind such states as Texas, California, Michigan, and Florida, to name a few.^[46][47]

A sunset in the Arizona desert near Scottsdale. The climate and imagery are two factors behind Arizona’s tourism industry.

The state’s per capita income is $40,828, ranking 39th in the U.S. The state had a median household income of US$50,448, making it 22nd in the country and just below the U.S. national median.^[48] Early in its history, Arizona’s economy relied on the “five C’s”: copper (see Copper mining in Arizona), cotton, cattle, citrus, and climate (tourism). At one point, Arizona was the largest producer of cotton in the country. Copper is still extensively mined from many expansive open-pit and underground mines, accounting for two-thirds of the nation’s output.

Employment[link]

The state government is Arizona’s largest employer, while Wal-Mart is the state’s largest private employer, with 17,343 employees (2008). As of June 2010, the state’s unemployment rate was 9.6%.^[49]

Nearly 70 percent of the land in Arizona is owned by the U.S. government, which leases a portion of the public domain to ranchers or miners.

Largest employers[link]

According to the Arizona Republic, the largest private employers in the state as of 2010 were:^[50]