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Arizona
Arizona was the 48th State admitted to the United States and is considered to be part of the Southwest United States. It is one of the Four Corners states located south State nickname: "The Grand Canyon and east of the Colorado River, State" or "The Copper State" bordering New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, California and Mexico. Major cities are Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma and Flagstaff. Besides the Grand Canyon, a number of other National Forests, Parks, Monuments and Indian Capital Phoenix reservations are located in the Largest City Phoenix state. Area Ranked 6th Historians disagree about the origin Ê- Total 295,254 km2 of the name "Arizona" and its Ê- Land 294,312 km2 attachment to the region. Three Ê- Water 942 km2 possible derivations are: Ê- % water 0.32% * Pagago Indian word "arizonac" Population Ranked 20th meaning (place of) little Ê- Total (2000) 5,130,632 springs Ê- Density 17.4/km2 * Spanish words "‡rida zona" Admittance into meaning arid zone Union * Aztec word "arizuma" meaning Ê- Order 48th silver bearing Ê- Date February 14, 1912 Arizonac is a small town about eight Mountain: UTC-7 miles south of the United (Arizona doesn't States-Mexican border. In 1736 a Time zone observe DST small silver-mining camp called "Real except in the Arissona" by the Spanish was Navajo Nation) established near the town. Later in Latitude 31¡20'N to 37¡N the mid 18th century Spanish Longitude 109¡3'W to missionaries changed Father Eusebio 114¡50'W Francisco Kino's maps of the area; Width 500 km they renamed the town Arizonac as Length 645 km Arizona. As the maps were republished Elevation Ê and circulated in Europe, the name Ê-Highest 3,851 meters Arizona became attached to the whole Ê-Mean 1,250 meters northern part of New Spain. Ê-Lowest 21 meters USS Arizona was named in honor of ISO 3166-2: US-AZ this state. History Beyond its original native inhabitants, Marcos de Niza, a Franciscan, explored the area in 1539. Coronado's expedition entered the area in 1540-42 during its search for Cibola. Father Kino developed a chain of missions and taught the Indians Christianity in Pimer’a Alta (now southern Arizona and northern Sonora), in the 1690's and early 1700's. Spain founded fortified towns (presidios) at Tubac in 1752 and Tucson in 1775. All of what is now Arizona became part of Mexico's northwest frontier upon the Mexican assertion of independence from Spain in 1821. The United States took possession of most of Arizona at the end of the Mexican War in 1848. 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 it was organized into a separate territory on February 24, 1863. At the direction of Brigham Young, Mormons came from Utah in the mid to late 1800s to the Phoenix Valley (or "Valley of the Sun"), Prescott, Snowflake, Heber and many other Arizona towns to settle there. One of the first LDS temples built in the Southwest was the Mesa temple, finished in 1927. Arizona was admitted into the union on February 14, 1912. Law and Government The government consists of a thirty-member senate and a 60-member house of Representatives. The majority party is the Republican party, which has held power since 1950. The 2002 budget of the Arizona state legislature is 14.3 billion, while the executive budget is 13.8 billion. Besides the money spent on state agencies, money has also been allocated for tax cuts, pay raises for government employees, and health insurance for government employees. The executive budget has allocated money to previously passed legislation. The governor is elected for a four-year term, and may serve any number of terms, though no more than two in a row. Senators and Representatives are elected for two year terms, and may also serve as many as they like, but no more than four in a row. The Governor of Arizona is Janet Napolitano, a Democrat. She has been governor since 2003. Napolitano was born in New York City, moving to Arizona after graduating from law school in 1983. At this time Napolitano clerked for a U.S. Appeals Court judge before joining a Phoenix lawfirm and becoming a partner in 1989. She was appointed United States Attorney for the District of Arizona by President Clinton in 1993. In 1998, Napolitano was elected as the first female Attorney General by Arizona voters. During this time, she prosecuted a number of cases -- many backlogged -- and established herself as a guardian of children, the elderly, women, and the environment.See:List of Arizona Governors The two Arizona State Senators are Senator John McCain (Republican) and Senator Jon Kyl (Republican). The Grand Canyon State Geography State Bird: Cactus Wren State Mammal: Ringtail Cat State Tree: Palo Verde State Flower: Saguaro Blossom Ê Arizona state parks State Gem: Turquoise State Fossil: Petrified Wood Like other states of the Southwest, Arizona has an State Neckwear: Bola Tie abundance of topographical State Capital: Phoenix characteristics in addition to its desert climes. More than half State Motto: Ditat Deus (God Enriches) of the state features mountains State Nicknames: "The Grand Canyon State" and plateaus and contains the "The Copper State" largest stand of Ponderosa pine in the United States. The State Songs: "Arizona March Song" "Arizona" Mogollon Rim, a 2000-foot escarpment, cuts across the central section of the state and marks the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau, where the state experienced its worst forest fire ever in 2002. Statistics o Largest City: Phoenix o Highest Point: Humphreys Peak - 12,633 ft. near Flagstaff o Lowest Point: Colorado River - 70 ft. Economy Early in its history, Arizona's economy relied on the the "five C's": copper, cotton, cattle, citrus and climate (i.e., tourism). At one point Arizona was the largest producer of cotton in the country. Copper is still found in abundance from many of its small mining towns. (See, for instance, Bisbee, Ajo or Globe.) While the state government itself is the state's largest employer, Motorola is the state's largest private employer followed far behind by Wal-Mart. Demographics Population Breakdown: ([U.S. Census Bureau 2000]) o White: 75.5% (Not of Hispanic Origin: 63.8) o Native: 5.0 o African American: 3.1 o Asian: 1.8 o Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.1 o Other Race: 11.6 o Persons reporting two or more races: 2.9% Notable People Famous Arizonans also include Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O'Connor, author, Zane Grey, former Governor and Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbitt, architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, Presidential candidate and former Senator, Barry Goldwater and native son Rex E. Lee former Solicitor General. Education Colleges and Universities * American Graduate School of * Grand Canyon University International Management * Mesa Community College * American Indian College of the * Northern Arizona University Assemblies of God * Prescott College * Arizona State University * Southwestern College * Arizona State University East * University of Arizona * Arizona State University West * University of Phoenix * DeVry University, Phoenix * Western International * Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University University Professional Sports Teams * Arizona Diamondbacks (Major League Baseball) * Arizona Cardinals (National Football League) * Phoenix Suns (National Basketball Association) * Phoenix Mercury (Women's National Basketball Association) * Phoenix Coyotes (National Hockey League) * Tucson Sidewinders (minor league baseball) Spring Training Arizona is an extremely popular location for Major League Baseball spring training. The state hosts the following major league teams for spring training: * Anaheim Angels in Tempe * Arizona Diamondbacks in Tucson * Chicago Cubs in Mesa * Chicago White Sox in Tucson * Colorado Rockies in Tucson * Kansas City Royals in Surprise * Milwaukee Brewers in Phoenix * Oakland Athletics in Phoenix * San Diego Padres in Peoria * San Francisco Giants in Scottsdale * Seattle Mariners in Peoria * Texas Rangers in Surprise
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