Arizona (AZ).

• Region: Southwest
• Population: 7,359,197 (ranked 14th) (2022 estimate)
• Capital: Phoenix (pop. 1,644,408) (2022 estimate)
• Largest city: Phoenix (pop. 1,644,408) (2022 estimate)
• Number of counties: 15
• State nickname: Grand Canyon State
• State motto: Ditat Deus (God enriches)
• State flag: Blue field on bottom half; thirteen red and yellow rays and a copper star on top half

Situated in the southwestern region of the United States along the Mexican border, Arizona is also bordered by the states of California, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico. It was the forty-eighth state to join the Union and the last of the contiguous continental states. It achieved statehood on February 14, 1912. Arizona has one of the fastest-growing populations in the country due to its “Sun Belt” appeal, which also draws many tourists to state. Among its popular historical and natural attractions are the Grand Canyon, and the iconic saguaro cactus that grows in the desert climate.

State Name: The origin of the name Arizona is a matter of some contention among historians. The Spanish referred to an area of southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico as Arizonac, Arissona, or Arizona. Derivations also refer to the Papago words aleh-zon, meaning “small spring.” Nicknames include the Grand Canyon State and the Copper State.

Capital:Phoenix, located in the Salt River valley in the south central part of the state, was settled in the 1860s as a hay camp for Camp McDowell and has been the capital since 1889. Phoenix is the largest city in Arizona, and over half of the state’s population live in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

Flag: The flag features thirteen red and yellow rays on its upper half, symbolizing the sun, and a solid blue field on the lower half. The red and blue are the same shades used in the US flag; the red and yellow are the colors of the historic Spanish conquistadores; and blue and yellow are the state colors. A five-pointed star at the center of the flag is the color of copper, the state’s leading mineral product. The flag was adopted in 1917.

The state seal, adopted in 1911, portrays symbols of Arizona’s major industries: mining, cattle ranching, and farming. In the background a dam and reservoir indicate the importance of water. The state motto, Ditat Deus (God Enriches) also appears on the seal.

Official Symbols

• Flower: Blossom of the Saguaro Cactus
• Bird: Cactus Wren
• Tree: Paloverde
• Fish: Apache trout
• Song: "Arizona March Song" by Margret Rowe Clifford and Maurice Blumenthal

State and National Historic Sites

• Canyon de Chelly National Monument (Chinle)
• Casa Grande Ruins National Monument (Casa Grande)
• Chiricahua National Monument (Willcox)
• Coronado National Memorial (Hereford)
• Fort Bowie National Historic Site (Willcox)
• Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site (Ganado)
• Jerome State Historic Park (Jerome)
• Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail (Nogales, AZ to San Francisco, CA)
• Montezuma Castle National Monument (Camp Verde)
• Navajo National Monument (Black Mesa)
• Old Spanish National Historic Trail (AZ, CA, CO, NV, NM, UT)
• Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (Ajo)
• Parashant National Monument (Northern Arizona)
• Painted Rock Petroglyph Site and Campground (near Gila Bend)
• Pipe Spring National Monument (Fredonia)
• San Xavier del Bac Mission (Tucson)
• Sunset Crater Volcano (Flagstaff)
• Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park (Tombstone)
• Tonto National Monument (Roosevelt)
• Tubac Presidio State Historic Park (Tubac)
• Tumacácori National Historical Park (Tumacácori)
• Tuzigoot National Monument (Clarkdale)
• Walnut Canyon National Monument (Flagstaff)
• Wupatki National Monument (Flagstaff)
• Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park (Yuma)

State-Specific Holidays

• American Family Day, first Sunday in August

DEMOGRAPHICS

• Population: 7,359,197 (ranked 14th) (2022 estimate)
• Population density: 62.9/sq mi (2020 estimate)
• Urban population: 89.3% (2020 estimate)
• Rural population: 10.7% (2020 estimate)
• Population under 18: 21.6% (2022 estimate)
• Population over 65: 18.8% (2022 estimate)
• White alone: 81.9% (2022 estimate)
• Black or African American alone: 5.5% (2022 estimate)
• Hispanic or Latino: 32.5% (2022 estimate)
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone: 5.2% (2022 estimate)
• Asian alone: 3.9% (2022 estimate)
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone: 0.3% (2022 estimate)
• Two or More Races: 3.3% (2022 estimate)
• Per capita income: $34,644 (ranked 29th; 2021)
• Unemployment: 3.8% (2022 estimate)

American Indians: American Indian settlement in Arizona extends back thousands of years to the civilizations of the Ancestral Puebloans, Mogollon, and Hohokam. Many of federally recognized tribes in modern-day Arizona have long roots into the history of the region. The Navajo are the state’s largest tribe. Other peoples include the Apache, Hualapai, Havasupai, Hopi, Maricopa, Mohave, Paiute, Pima, Tohono O’odham, and Yavapaí. Approximately a quarter of the state's land is given to reservations.

ENVIRONMENT AND GEOGRAPHY

• Total area: 113,990 sq mi (ranked 6th)
• Land area: 113,594 sq mi (99.7% of total area)
• Water area: 396 sq mi (0.3% of total area)
• National parks: 22
• Highest point: Humphreys Peak (12,633 feet)
• Lowest point: Colorado River (70 feet)
• Highest temperature: 128° F (Lake Havasu City, June 29, 1994)
• Lowest temperature: -40° F (Hawley Lake, January 7, 1971)

Topography: The northern regions of the state feature level plateaus broken in places by deep canyons; the most famous of these is the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River in the northwest. The central part of the state is crisscrossed by several mountain ranges, many of them covered by forests. The state’s highest mountain, Humphreys Peak, is found in this area, near Flagstaff. The southern desert region is both warmer and drier than the north. While most of the state is naturally sparsely vegetated desert, intense irrigation efforts have made some areas more fertile for cultivation.

In addition to the Grand Canyon, Arizona has numerous other unique geographic features including the unusual rock formations of Monument Valley, the Petrified Forest, and the beautiful colors of the Painted Desert.

Major Lakes

• Alamo Reservoir
• Apache Lake
• Bartlett Reservoir
• Canyon Lake
• Lake Havasu
• Lake Mead
• Lake Mohave
• Lake Powell
• Saguaro Lake
• San Carlos Lake
• Theodore Roosevelt Lake

Major Rivers

• Bill Williams River
• Colorado River
• Gila River
• Little Colorado River
• Salt River
• San Pedro River
• Santa Cruz River

State and National Parks: One of the natural wonders of the world can be seen at Grand Canyon National Park, probably the state’s most famous sight. Arizona also boasts more national monuments than any other state, including Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. Many of the parks, national and state, feature both unique geographical points of interest and historically significant sites. These include Petrified Forest National Park, Saguaro National Park, Picacho Peak State Park, and Kartchner Caverns State Park. Glen Canyon National Recreation area offers water-based and backcountry recreation on more than 1.25 million acres from Lees Ferry, AZ, to Utah's Orange Cliffs.

Natural Resources: Arizona abounds with mineral deposits, the most important of which is copper. Uranium and vanadium are found in the Colorado Plateau region as are coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Other nonmetallic minerals to be found around the state include asbestos, feldspar, gypsum, mica, perlite, pumice, pyrites, and quartz, as well as stone, sand, and gravel. The mountain areas include commercial forests that are rich in fir, pine, and spruce trees, which are used for timber.

Plants and Animals: Forests cover one-quarter of Arizona’s land area and include aspen, blue spruce, cottonwood, Douglas fir, juniper, piñon, walnut, and white fir. Arizona also has the country’s largest forest of ponderosa pines. In the desert regions grow many varieties of cactus, including cholla, creosote bush, prickly pear, organ-pipe, and saguaro (the largest cactus in the United States). Wildflowers include geranium, golden columbine, paintbrush, phlox, pink, poppy, and sand verbena.

The variety of natural habitats and landscapes in Arizona boast an equally wide variety of animal life. Large animals commonly found throughout the state include many mule deer and white tail deer as well as black bear, brown bear, desert bighorn sheep, elk, and pronghorn antelope. Bobcats and mountain lions inhabit the forest regions. Smaller mammals include badgers, beavers, foxes, jackrabbits, javelinas, porcupines, raccoons, skunks, squirrels, and weasels.

More than forty varieties of lizards also inhabit Arizona, including the Gila monster. Rattlesnakes can be found all around the state, and desert regions shelter other poisonous creatures like black widow spiders, scorpions, and tarantulas.

Over four hundred types of birds can be found in Arizona. Game birds include doves, grouse, waterfowl, and wild turkeys. The Arizona waters are home to many kinds of freshwater fish, including bass, bluegills, crappies, and trout.

Climate: Arizona’s climate features a broad range of weather and temperatures. Generally speaking, the southern part of the state is warmer and drier than the north. The mountains in the central region get winter snow and below-zero temperatures, but the deserts may not have freezing temperatures for long spans of time. In Phoenix, average temperatures range from about 51 degrees Fahrenheit in winter to 95 degrees in summer.

As with temperatures, precipitation amounts also vary widely throughout the state. Less than five inches of rain a year fall in the southern deserts, while the mountain regions may get thirty inches of precipitation annually. Climate change has caused increased problems with water availability in drier areas of the state.

EDUCATION AND CULTURE

Major Colleges and Universities

• Arizona State University (Tempe, Phoenix, Mesa)
• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Prescott)
• Grand Canyon University (Phoenix)
• Midwestern University (Glendale)
• Diné College (Arizona: Chinle, Tsaile, Tuba City, Window Rock; New Mexico: Crownpoint, Shiprock )
• Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff)
• Prescott College (Prescott)
• University of Arizona (Tucson)

Major Museums

• Arizona Historical Society (Tucson)
• Arizona–Sonora Desert Museum (Tucson)
• Arizona Capitol Museum (Phoenix)
• Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona (Tucson)
• Heard Museum (Phoenix)
• Museum of Northern Arizona (Flagstaff)
• Phoenix Art Museum (Phoenix)
• Pima Air and Space Museum (Tucson)
• Pueblo Grande Museum (Phoenix)
• Sharlot Hall Museum (Prescott)
• University of Arizona Museum of Art (Tucson)

Major Libraries

• Arizona State Museum Library (Tucson)
• Cline Library, Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff)
• Hayden Library, Arizona State University (Tempe)
• Lowell Observatory Library (Flagstaff)
• Phoenix Public Library (Phoenix)
• Pima County Public Library (Tucson)

ECONOMY AND INFRASTRUCTURE

• Gross domestic product (in millions $USD): 458,949.8 (ranked 18th) (2022)
• GDP percent change: 2.5%

Airports: There are dozens of regional and municipal airports located around the state of Arizona. Principal among them are Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and Tucson International Airport. Other international airports in Arizona include the Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport in Bullhead City and the Yuma International Airport in Yuma.

GOVERNMENT

• Governor: Katie Hobbs (Democrat)
• Present constitution date: 1911
• Electoral votes: 11
• Number of counties: 15
• Violent crime rate: 484.8 (per 100,000 residents)
• Death penalty: Yes

Constitution: The state constitution was adopted in 1911. There are more than 150 amendments to the original constitution.

Branches of GovernmentExecutive: The governor serves as the state’s chief executive officer and is elected every four years. An individual may serve an unlimited number of terms but no more than two in a row. Arizona has no lieutenant governor. The governor appoints the heads of each of the state’s operating departments.

The state’s other officials elected by the voters are secretary of state, attorney general, state treasurer, and superintendent of public instruction. All are elected for four years. The secretary of state performs the duties of governor when the elected governor is out of state or if that official dies or leaves office.

Legislative: The Arizona legislature is made up of a thirty-one-member senate and a sixty-two-member house of representatives. One senator and two representatives are elected from each of the state’s thirty-one legislative districts. Both senators and representatives serve two-year terms.

Judicial: The state supreme court is the highest court in the state. It is comprised of five justices who are appointed by the governor from candidates chosen by the Commission on Appellate Court Appointments. After a six-year term, voters approve each justice’s retention on the court. The five justices elect a chief justice from among their ranks to serve for five years. In addition to the state supreme court, the judicial system includes a court of appeals with divisions in Phoenix and Tucson, county superior courts, and municipal courts.

HISTORY

500 BCE–1400 CE Ancestral Puebloan, Mogollon, and Hohokam cultures flourish, and agriculture is introduced to the region.

ca. 1125 Hopi people establish the village of Oraibi.

ca. 1400 Navajo and Apache people emigrate to Arizona region.

1536 Spaniard Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, with his companions Alonso del Castillo Maldonado, Andrés Dorantes de Carranza, and Esteban (also called Estevanico, Estevan, and Stephen), probably passes through the Arizona region on an overland journey from the Gulf of Mexico. They then journey to Mexico with stories of pueblo dwellers and the natural wonders of the region.

1539 Missionary Marcos de Niza travels through Arizona on a quest for the Seven Cities of Cíbola, legendary cities of gold.

1540–42 Garcia Lopez de Cardenas, leading a small party from Francisco Vasquez de Coronado’s expedition into the Southwest, becomes the first European to see the Grand Canyon.

1629–41 The Spanish impose Christianity on American Indian populations of New Mexico (the region that is now Arizona and New Mexico).

1680Pueblos rise up against Spanish domination and destroy Catholic missions.

1692Eusebio Francisco Kino, a Roman Catholic missionary, establishes Guevavi mission, the first of twenty he will set up before his death in 1711.

1752 The Spanish presidio of Tubac becomes the first European settlement in what is now Arizona.

1776 The Spanish army establishes a presidio at Tucson.

1781 Yuman revolt in the Gila and Colorado River area decimates White settlements.

1821 When Mexico gains independence from Spain, Arizona becomes part of Mexico.

1846 The Mexican War begins. United States troops under Colonel Stephen W. Kearny move across Arizona and occupy California.

1848 The Mexican War ends with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Most of present-day Arizona is ceded to the United States.

1853 The area of Arizona south of the Gila River becomes part of the United States through the Gadsden Purchase.

1854 Arizona’s first copper mine opens at Ajo.

1862 The Apaches, under the leadership of Cochise, start war on White settlers; the Confederate States of America sends occupying forces to Arizona/New Mexico area. The Confederate troops are defeated by Union forces.

1863 Congress creates Arizona Territory. John Noble Goodwin becomes the first territorial governor.

1864 About 7,000 Navajos captured by Kit Carson are forced to leave Arizona.

1869John Wesley Powell leads an expedition to explore the Grand Canyon by boat.

1877 Tombstone is the site of a major silver strike; the Southern Pacific Railroad is constructed between Arizona and California.

1886 Apache Chief Geronimo surrenders, ending the war between American Indians and White settlers. Geronimo is exiled.

1889 Phoenix becomes the capital of Arizona.

1902 Federal government passes the Reclamation Act, enabling large-scale irrigation projects in the West.

1911 The state’s first major irrigation dam, Theodore Roosevelt Dam in the Salt River valley, is completed. Roosevelt himself dedicates the dam.

1912 Arizona is admitted to the Union as the forty-eighth state on February 14.

1919 Grand Canyon National Park is established.

1936 The Hoover Dam on the Colorado River is completed.

1947 A bill for the Central Arizona Project, designed to bring water from the Colorado River to Tucson, Phoenix, and central areas of agriculture, is introduced in the US Senate.

1948 The state’s American Indians obtain the right to vote.

1964Glen Canyon Dam completed; Barry M. Goldwater, United States senator from Arizona, runs for president as the Republican candidate. He loses the race to Lyndon B. Johnson.

1968 US Congress finally approves the Central Arizona Project.

1969 Navajo Community College (later known as Diné College) in Tsaile becomes the first college on an American Indian reservation.

1975 Raúl H. Castro is elected as the first Mexican American governor of Arizona.

1981 Appointed by President Ronald Reagan, Arizona judge Sandra Day O’Connor becomes the first woman to serve as a US Supreme Court justice .

1985 The Central Arizona Project is dedicated and the first stage goes into operation, bringing water to Phoenix. The project is completed in 1991.

1988 Governor Evan Mecham is impeached, charged with making an illegal transfer of state money to his own automobile dealership. After he is removed from office, Secretary of State Rose Mofford is the first woman to become Arizona’s acting governor.

1990 Devastating forest fires burn through central Arizona.

1991–93 Eight participants in the Biosphere 2 experiment live in a closed ecosystem in a greenhouse-like structure located in the Sonoran Desert.

1997 Governor Fife Symington resigns after a fraud conviction related to his work as a real estate developer prior to his tenure as governor. Secretary of State Jane Dee Hull becomes governor.

1998 Governor Jane Hull runs for a full term and becomes the first woman ever elected as governor of Arizona; a 1988 state law mandating the use of English for all state and local government business is declared unconstitutional by the Arizona supreme court.

1999 A federal appeals court overturns Fife Symington’s conviction.

2004 In the November elections, Arizona passes a new measure that would require proof of citizenship for voter registration and proof of immigration status to receive government aid. The law is later struck down.

2005 A July heat wave causes the death of dozens of people in Arizona. The city of Phoenix endures above-average temperatures for several weeks, reaching 111 degrees in some locations. Officials warn the homeless and those who work outside that prolonged exposure to the heat is a serious health risk.

2008 Arizona Republican senator John McCain wins his party’s nomination for president. He selects Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.

2010 On April 23, Governor Jan Brewer signs Arizona Senate Bill 1070 into law, making it a crime for illegal immigrants in Arizona to be without required immigration documents. Critics of the legislation claim that it would result in sanctioned racial profiling. A legal challenge from the US Department of Justice results in an injunction that prevents the most controversial elements of the law from taking effect.

2011 On January 8, twenty people are shot when a gunman opens fire in a supermarket parking lot during a public relations event held by US Representative Gabrielle Giffords. Six people are killed, including John Roll, chief judge for the US District Court for Arizona. Representative Giffords is listed in critical condition after suffering a gunshot wound to the head. The gunman, Jared Lee Loughner, is arrested at the scene of the incident and charged with murder and attempted assassination.

2012 In Arizona v. United States, the US Supreme Court rules in a 5–3 vote that several sections of Arizona SB 1070 regarding undocumented immigrants are unconstitutional.

2018 Vietnam War hero, presidential candidate, and longtime US senator John McCain (Republican) dies on August 24, while in office. Governor Doug Ducey appoints former US senator Jon Kyl (Republican) to fill McCain's vacant Senate seat.

2020 The global COVID-19 pandemic reaches Arizona, which eventually sees one of the highest infection rates in the country.

FAMOUS PEOPLE

Bruce (Edward) Babbitt, 1938– (Flagstaff) , Politician, US Interior Secretary during Clinton administration.

Michael Carbajal, 1967– (Phoenix) , Boxer.

Lynda Carter, 1951– (Phoenix) , Actor.

Movita Castaneda, 1916–2015 (Nogales) , Actor, Mutiny on the Bounty.

César Estrada Chávez, 1927–93 (Yuma) , Labor leader.

Cochise, ca. 1810–74 (Arizona Territory) , Chiricahua Apache chief.

Barbara Eden, 1934– (Tucson) , Actor.

Louie Espinoza, 1962– (Chandler) , Boxer.

Pablo Francisco, 1974– (Tucson) , Comedian.

Diana Gabaldon, 1952– (Scottsdale), Novelist.

Geronimo, 1889–1909 (No-doyohn Canyon, Arizona Territory) , Apache chief.

Kimiko Glenn, 1989– (Phoenix) , Actor.

Barry Goldwater, 1909–98 (Phoenix) , US senator, Republican presidential candidate (1964).

R. C. (Rudolph Carl) Gorman, 1931–2005 (Chinle) , Artist

Carl Trumbull Hayden, 1877–1972 (Phoenix) , Politician.

Helen Hull Jacobs, 1908–97 (Globe) , Professional tennis player.

Joe Jonas, 1989– (Casa Grande) , Singer.

Frank Luke Jr., 1897–1918 (Phoenix) , WWI fighter ace.

Charles Mingus, 1922–79 (Nogales ) , Jazz musician and composer.

Stevie Nicks, 1948– (Phoenix) , Singer.

Alberto Ríos, 1952– (Nogales) , Poet.

Linda Ronstadt, 1946– (Tucson) , Singer.

Garry Shandling, 1949–2016 (Tucson) , Actor, comedian.

Kerri Strug, 1977– (Tucson) , Olympic gymnast.

Alexandra Shipp, 1991– (Phoenix) , Actor.

Morris (Mo) Udall, 1922–98 (St. Johns) , Politician.

Stewart Udall, 1920–2010 (St. Johns) , Politician, conservationist.

TRIVIA

• Arizona’s population experienced a major “growth spurt” between 1950 and 2000. During that fifty-year period, the population increased by seven times.
• The largest solar telescope in the world is the McMath telescope on Kitt Peak. It is among thirty telescopes in the Tucson area, which is known as “the astronomy capital of the world.”
• The “Four Corners” is the only place in the United States where a person can stand in four states at the same time. The states are: Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.
• The Prescott rodeo has been held every year since July 4, 1888. Originally called a “cowboy tournament,” it was the first organized rodeo, complete with event prizes and an admission fee.
• The saguaro is the largest type of cactus in America. The age of a saguaro cactus can be determined by its height.
• The state of Arizona observes Mountain Standard Time year round, with the exception of the Navajo Nation, which observes the change to daylight savings time.
• Arizona has the largest percentage of designated Indian lands of all the states.
• Tucson was the first city in the United States to have its own municipal airport, which opened in 1919.
• Petrified wood is Arizona's official state fossil.

Bibliography

Altheide, David L., and John M. Johnson. "Living in Arizona: Reflections on Life in the Tumultuous Sunbelt." Cultural Studies/Critical Methodologies, vol. 11, no. 4, 2011, pp. 346–58. Academic Search Premier, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=66699028&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Accessed 24 Apr. 2013.

"Arizona." QuickFacts, US Census Bureau, 1 July 2022, www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/AZ/PST045222. Accessed 11 Sept. 2023.

"Arizona: 2020 Census." US Census Bureau, 25 Aug. 2021, www.census.gov/library/stories/state-by-state/arizona-population-change-between-census-decade.html. Accessed 3 Oct. 2022.

Cole, David. "United States 1, Arizona 0." Nation, vol. 295, no. 3/4, 2012, pp. 4–6. Academic Search Premier, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=77457882&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Accessed 24 Apr. 2013.

"BEARFACTS." Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Dept. of Labor, 31 Mar. 2023, apps.bea.gov/regional/bearfacts/. Accessed 11 Sept. 2023.

"Federal Bureau of Investigation Crime Data Explorer." Federal Bureau of Investigation, cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/explorer/crime/crime-trend. Accessed 11 Sep. 2023.

Presmyk, Les, and John Taylor. "Arizona, 100 Years of Statehood, 150 Years of Mining, as Captured by Early Photographers." Rocks & Minerals, vol. 87, no. 1, 2012, pp. 76–82. Academic Search Premier, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=70443411&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Accessed 24 Apr. 2013.

"Unemployment Rates for States, 2022 Annual Averages." Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1 Mar. 2023, www.bls.gov/lau/lastrk22.htm. Accessed 11 Sept. 2023.

Melissa Sherman