The 'State of Arizona' (
IPA: /
/) is a
state located in the
southwestern region of the
United States of America. It has a
desert landscape, exceptionally hot summers and mild winters. Less well-known is the pine-covered high country in the north-central portion of the state, which contrasts with the lower deserts.
Arizona is one of the
Four Corners states. It borders
New Mexico,
Utah,
Nevada,
California, touches
Colorado, and has a 389
mi (626
km)
international border with the states of
Sonora and
Baja California in
Mexico. Aside from the
Grand Canyon, many other
National Forests,
Parks,
Monuments, and
Indian reservations are located in the state. Arizona was the 48th and last of the
contiguous states admitted to the Union on
February 14,
1912. Residents are called Arizonans.
Geography
: ''See also lists of
counties,
rivers,
lakes,
state parks,
National Parks and
National Forests.
Arizona is located in the
Western 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 118,000
square miles, approximately 15% is privately owned. The remaining area is government forest and park land, recreation areas and Native American reservations.
Arizona is best known for its
desert landscape, which is rich in
xerophyte plants such as
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 desertic
Basin and Range region in the southern portions of the state.
Like other states of the
Southwest, Arizona has an abundance of topographical characteristics in addition to its
desert climate. More than half of the state features
mountains and
plateaus and contains the largest stand of
Ponderosa pine in the
United States. The
Mogollon Rim, a 2000-foot (600 m)
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. Arizona belongs firmly within the Basin and Range region of North America. The region was shaped by prehistoric
volcanism, followed by a cooling-off and related
subsidence. The entire region is slowly sinking.
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 kilometers) and attains a depth of more than 1 mile (1.6 km). Nearly 2 billion years of the
Earth's history has been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut through layer after layer of
sediment as the
Colorado Plateaus have uplifted.
Arizona is home to one of the largest and 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 west of
Winslow. A rim of smashed and jumbled boulders, some of them the size of small houses, rises 150 feet above the level of the surrounding plain. The crater itself is nearly a mile wide, and 570 feet deep.
Arizona does not observe
Daylight Saving Time, except in the
Navajo Nation, located in the northeastern region of the state.
Climate
A view of an Arizona sunset looking over a lake.
Horsethief Lake near Crown King, Arizona.
The North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
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 degrees
Fahrenheit (15
°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 May through August bring a dry heat ranging from 90–120 °F (32–48 °C), with occasional high temperatures exceeding 125 °F (52 °C) having been observed in the desert area. Due to the primarily dry climate, large temperature swings often occur between day and night, with some as large as 50 °F (28 °C) in the summer months.
However, 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. Extreme 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 higher parts of the state.
Arizona has an average annual rainfall of 12.7
inches (322
mm),
[1] which comes during two rainy seasons, with
cold fronts coming from the
Pacific Ocean during the winter and a
monsoon in the summer.
[2] The monsoon season occurs from the middle of July through August and brings
lightning,
thunderstorms, wind, and torrential, if usually brief, downpours. It is rare for
tornadoes and
hurricanes to occur in Arizona, but there are records of both occurring.
Indicative of the variation in climate, Arizona is the state which has both the metropolitan area with the most days over 100 °F (37.8 °C) (
Phoenix), and the metropolitan area in the lower 48 states with nearly the most days with a low temperature below freezing (
Flagstaff)
[3].
History
There is some disagreement over the proper
etymology of the name "Arizona." The two most likely explanations are that it derives from a
Basque phrase ''aritz onak'', "good oaks,"
[4][5] or that it comes from an
O'odham phrase '', "small spring"
[6]. The former etymology is the one preferred by Arizona state historian Marshall Trimble, among other specialists. The name ''Arizonac'' was initially applied to the silver mining camp, and later (shortened to ''Arizona'') to the entire territory.
Meeting its original
native inhabitants,
Marcos de Niza, a Spanish
Franciscan, explored the area in 1539. The expedition of Spanish explorer
Coronado entered the area in 1540–42 during its search for
CÃbola.
Father Kino developed a chain of missions and taught the Indians
Christianity in
PimerÃa Alta (now southern Arizona and northern
Sonora) in the 1690s and early 1700s.
Spain founded fortified towns (presidios) 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 Mexican State Nueva California, also known as Alta California.
[7] In the
Mexican–American War (1847), the U.S. occupied Mexico City and forced the newly founded Mexican Republic to give up its northern territories, including the later Arizona. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) specified that the U.S. pay Mexico the sum of $15 Million US in compensation.
[8] 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
[9] from the Union as the
Confederate Territory of Arizona on
March 16,
1861. This is the first official use of the name. 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.
Other names including "Gadsonia", "Pimeria", "Montezuma", "Arizuma", and "Arizonia" had been considered for the territory
[10], however when
President Lincoln signed the final bill, it read "Arizona", and the name became permanent. (
Montezuma was not the Mexican Emperor, but the sacred name of a divine hero to the
Pueblo people of the
Gila 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, among other areas. The Mormons settled what became known as
Northern Arizona and northern New Mexico, but these areas were located in a part of the former
New Mexico Territory. The largest ancestry of these settlers is
German American.
Arizona became a U.S. state on
February 14,
1912. Arizona was the 48th state admitted into the U.S. and the last of the
contiguous states admitted.
A sunset in the Arizona desert near
Scottsdale. The climate and imagery are two factors behind Arizona's tourism industry.
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 Arizona 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 US-resident internment camps (for national security during the time of martial law). The Phoenix area site was purchased after the war by the
Maytag family (of major home
appliance fame), and is currently utilized as 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
California's proximity to Japan, a line was drawn somewhat parallel to the California border, and all Japanese residents west of that line were required to reside in the war camps. Grand Avenue, (perhaps because of it's similarity to the California border) was chosen as part of that boundary, which resulted in many extended Japanese families being separated; some interned, some free--and some free families, in and odd bid for family values, requested to be interrned to stay with their families at a camp built by the original Dell Webb Co., a modern manufacturer of large housing developments).
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
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 designed to be a retirement subdivision for Arizona's teachers. (Many of these senior citizens arrive in Arizona each winter and stay only during the
winter months; they are referred to as snowbirds.)
Three ships named
USS ''Arizona'' have been named in honor of the state, although only
USS ''Arizona'' (BB-39) was so named after statehood was achieved.
Demographics
As of 2006, Arizona had an estimated population of 6,166,318,
[ Table 1: Estimates of Population Change for the United States and States, and for Puerto Rico and State Rankings: July 1, 2005 to July 1, 2006 ] which is an increase of 213,311, or 3.6%, from the prior year and an increase of 1,035,686, or 20.2%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 297,928 people (that is 564,062 births minus 266,134 deaths) and an increase due to net
migration of 745,944 people into the state.
Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 204,661 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 541,283 people. New population figures for the year ending
July 1,
2006, indicate that Arizona is the fastest growing state in the United States, with 3.6% population growth since 2005, exceeding the growth of the previous leader,
Nevada.
[11]
The
center of population of Arizona is located in
Maricopa County, in the town of
Gilbert [12].
Arizona Population Density Map
According to 2003
U.S. Census estimates, Arizona has the third highest number (and the sixth highest percentage) of
Native Americans of any state in the Union. 286,680 were estimated to live in Arizona, representing more than 10% of the country's total Native American population of 2,752,158. Only
California and
Oklahoma [13] have more Native Americans. The perimeters of Phoenix, Tucson, Prescott, and Yuma abut Native American reservations.
The largest ancestry groups in Arizona are
Mexican (21%),
German,
English,
Irish, and
Native American. The southern and central parts of the state are heavily
Mexican-American, especially in
Santa Cruz County and
Yuma County near the Mexican border. The north-central and northwestern counties are largely inhabited by residents of
English ancestry. The northeastern part of Arizona has many American Indians.
African Americans have had a relatively small presence in Arizona, but their numbers are increasing due to in-migration from other states, especially California, the
Midwest and the
Northeast. The African American population of the Phoenix metropolitan area doubled between 1990 and 2005.
[14]
Arizona is projected to become a
minority-majority state by the year 2035, if current population growth trends continue. In 2003, for the first time, there were more
Hispanic births in the state than
white (non-Hispanic) births.
As of 2000, 74.16% of Arizona residents age 5 and older speak only
English at home and 19.52% speak
Spanish.
Navajo is the third most spoken language at 1.89%
[15].
49.9% of the population is male, 50.1% is female.
''See also the list of
native peoples. ''
Religion
A 2000 survey by the
Association of Religion Data Archives found that 45.3% of Arizonans were active adherents to a particular religion. Those adherents break down as follows:
[16]
★
Roman Catholic - 41.9%
★
Evangelical Protestant - 20.9%
★
Latter-Day Saint / Mormon - 10.8%
★
Mainline Protestants - 9.6%
★
Jewish - 3.5%
★ Others (less than 1% each) - 13.3%
Economy
The 2004 total
gross state product was $187 billion. If Arizona (and each of the other US states) were an independent country along with all existing countries (2005), it would have the 61
st largest economy in the world (
CIA - The World Factbook). This figure gives Arizona a larger economy than such countries as
Ireland,
Finland, and
New Zealand. Arizona currently has the 21
st largest economy among states in the
United States.
The state's
per capita income is $27,232, 39
th in the U.S. 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
The state government is Arizona's largest employer, while
Wal-Mart is the state's largest private employer, with 17,343 employees (2003).
In 2001, 161,166 Arizonans were employed in the high-tech sector, accounting for about 8.3% of total private-sector employment of more than 1.9 million. High-tech payroll in 2001 was $2.2 billion, or 14.7% of the private-sector total. High-tech employment was led by
software and
computers, with 34,314;
electronics components manufacturing, 30,358;
aerospace manufacturing, 25,641; architectural and engineering services, 21,378; telecommunications, 21,224; and instruments manufacturing, 13,056.
Taxation
Arizona collects personal
income taxes in five brackets: 2.87%, 3.20%, 3.74%, 4.72% and 5.04%.
Arizona Transaction Privilege Tax (sales) and Use tax rates generally are 6.3%.
The state rate on transient lodging (
hotel/
motel) is 7.27%. The state of Arizona does not levy a state tax on food for home consumption or on drugs prescribed by a licensed
physician or
dentist. However, some cities in Arizona do levy a tax on food for home consumption.
All fifteen Arizona counties levy a tax.
Incorporated municipalities also levy transaction privilege taxes which, with the exception of their hotel/motel tax, are generally in the range of 1-to-3%. These added assessments could push the combined sales
tax rate to as high as 10.7%.
Transportation
Main articles: Transportation in Arizona
Highways
Main interstate routes include
I-17, and
I-19 running north-south,
I-40,
I-8, and
I-10 running east-west, and a short stretch of
I-15 running northeast/southwest through the extreme northwestern corner of the state. In addition, the various urban areas are served by complex networks of
state routes and highways.
Public transportation and intercity bus
The Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas are served by public bus transit systems. Yuma and Flagstaff also have public bus systems.
Greyhound Lines serves Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, Yuma, and several smaller communities statewide.
A light rail system called
Valley Metro Rail is currently being built in Phoenix. When completed, it will connect Central Phoenix with the nearby cities of Mesa and Tempe. The system is projected to be operational by December of 2008.
In May 2006, voters in Tucson approved a Regional Transportation Plan (a comprehensive bus transit/streetcar/roadway improvement program), and its funding via a new half-cent sales tax increment. The centerpiece of the plan is a light rail streetcar system (possibly similar to the
Portland Streetcar in Oregon) that will travel through the downtown area, connecting the main
University of Arizona campus with the Rio Nuevo master plan area on the western edge of downtown.
[17]
Aviation
Airports with regularly scheduled commercial flights include:
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (IATA: PHX, ICAO: KPHX) in Phoenix (the largest airport and the major international airport in the state);
Tucson International Airport (IATA: TUS, ICAO: KTUS) in Tucson;
Yuma International Airport (IATA: YUM, ICAO: KYUM) in Yuma;
Prescott Municipal Airport (PRC) in Prescott;
Flagstaff Pulliam Airport (IATA: FLG, ICAO: KFLG) in Flagstaff, and
Grand Canyon National Park Airport (GCP), a small, but busy, single-runway facility providing tourist flights, mostly from Las Vegas. Phoenix Sky Harbor is the 7th busiest airport in the world in terms of aircraft movements, and regularly in the top 15 for passengers.
Other significant airports without regularly scheduled commercial flights include
Williams Gateway Airport (IWA) in Mesa, and
Scottsdale Municipal Airport (IATA: SCF, ICAO: KSDL) in Scottsdale.
Law and government
''See also
Arizona Constitution,
List of Arizona Congressmen and
List of Arizona Governors''
Arizona State Capitol, Phoenix
Capital complex
The state capital of Arizona is in
Phoenix. The original Capitol building, with its distinctive copper dome, was dedicated in 1901 (construction was completed for $136,000 in 1900), when the area was still a territory. Phoenix became the official state capital with Arizona's admission to the union in 1912.
Separate legislative buildings for the
House of Representatives and
Senate were dedicated in 1960, and an Executive Office Building was dedicated in 1974 (the ninth floor of this building is where the Office of the Governor is located). The original Capitol building was converted into a museum.
The Capitol complex is fronted and highlighted by the richly landscaped
Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza, named after
Wesley Bolin, a governor who died in office in the 1970s. Numerous monuments and memorials are on the site, including the anchor and signal mast from the
USS Arizona (one of the U.S. Navy ships sunk in Pearl Harbor); a granite version of the
Ten Commandments; and the
Arizona Vietnam Veterans' Memorial.
State legislature
The
Arizona Legislature is
bicameral (like the legislature of every other state except
Nebraska) and consists of a thirty-member
Senate and a 60-member
House of Representatives. Legislators are elected for two-year terms.
Each Legislature covers a two-year period. The first session following the general election is known as the first regular session, and the session convening in the second year is known as the second regular session. Each regular session begins on the second Monday in January and adjourns ''sine die'' (terminates for the year) no later than Saturday of the week in which the 100th day from the beginning of the regular session falls. The President of the Senate and Speaker of the House, by rule, may extend the session up to seven additional days. Thereafter, the session can only be extended by a majority vote of members present of each house.
The current majority party is the
Republican Party, which has held power since 1950.
Arizona state senators and representatives are elected for two year terms and are limited to four consecutive terms in a chamber, though there is no limit on the total number of terms. When a lawmaker is term-limited from office, it is not uncommon for him or her to run for election in the other chamber.
The fiscal year 2006-07 general fund budget, approved by the Arizona Legislature in June 2006, is slightly less than $10 billion. Besides the money spent on state agencies, it also includes more than $500 million in income- and property tax cuts, pay raises for government employees, and additional funding for the K-12 education system.
State executive branch
Arizona's
executive branch is headed by a governor elected for a four-year term. The governor may serve any number of terms, though no more than two in a row. The current governor of Arizona is
Janet Napolitano, a
Democrat. She was first elected in 2002 and again in 2006 (she was officially sworn in on her second term on January 4, 2007).
Due to the state of Arizona not having a governor's mansion, the governors reside within their private places of residence during their terms in office.
Federal representation
The two U.S. Senators from Arizona are Senator
John McCain (Republican) and Senator
Jon Kyl (Republican).
Arizona's representatives in the
United States House of Representatives are
Rick Renzi (R-1),
Trent Franks (R-2),
John Shadegg (R-3),
Ed Pastor (D-4),
Harry Mitchell (D-5),
Jeff Flake (R-6),
Raul Grijalva (D-7), and
Gabrielle Giffords (D-8).
Jim Kolbe announced his retirement from Congress in 2006, creating one of the few open seats in the nation in Arizona's Congressional District 8. Arizona gained two seats in the House of Representatives due to
redistricting based on
Census 2000.
Political culture
In more recent years, the Republican Party has generally dominated Arizona politics. Arizona narrowly voted for
Bill Clinton in 1996, who was the first Democrat to take the state since
Harry Truman in 1948. In 2004,
George W. Bush won the state's ten
electoral votes by a margin of 10 percentage points with 54.87% of the vote.
The state's concentration of Democrats is strongest in the city of
Tucson (excluding Tucson's historically Republican-dominated suburbs) and the counties of
Santa Cruz and
Apache.
Maricopa County, home of
Phoenix and the fourth-most populous in the country, has voted Republican in every presidential election since at least 1952. However, the current mayor of Phoenix,
Phil Gordon, is a Democrat. The current state attorney general and governor are also both Democrats.
Arizona became the first U.S. state to vote against an anti-gay marriage amendment in the 2006 midterm elections. Although gay marriage is still illegal in Arizona, this amendment would have abolished civil unions and domestic partnerships for homosexual and heterosexual couples alike.
''See also :
United States presidential election, 2004, in Arizona
Important cities and towns
Downtown Phoenix
Tucson
, the largest city in the state, is the capital. The
Phoenix metro area includes
Mesa (the third largest city in Arizona and the most populous suburban city in the United States),
Glendale,
Peoria,
Chandler,
Sun City,
Sun City West,
Fountain Hills,
Surprise,
Gilbert,
El Mirage,
Avondale,
Tempe and
Scottsdale, with a total population of nearly 3.9 million.
Tucson is the state's second largest city, located 110 miles (180 km)
southeast of the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Tucson metropolitan area crossed the one-million-resident threshold in early 2007. It is home to the
University of Arizona, one of only three public universities in Arizona.
Yuma is center of the third largest metropolitan area in Arizona. It is located near the borders of
California and
Mexico. It is one of the hottest cities in the
United States with the average July high of 107 degrees
Fahrenheit. (The same month's average in
Death Valley is 115 degrees.) The city also features sunny days about 90% of the year. The Yuma
Metropolitan Statistical Area has a population of 160,000.
Flagstaff is the largest city in northern Arizona, and at nearly 7000ft elevation, is a stark contrast to the desert regions typically associated with Arizona. Flagstaff is home to 57,391 residents and the main campus of
Northern Arizona University.
Education
Elementary and secondary education
Public schools in Arizona are separated into about 220 local school districts which operate independently, but are governed in most cases by elected county school superintendents; these are in turn overseen by the
Arizona State Board of Education (a division of the
Arizona Department of Education) and the state Superintendent of Public Instruction (elected in partisan elections every even-numbered year when there is not a presidential election, for a four-year term). In 2005, a School District Redistricting Commission was established with the goal of combining and consolidating many of these districts.
Colleges and universities
Higher education in Arizona is governed at the university level by the
Arizona Board of Regents or the ABOR, a 12-member body. According to information published by the ABOR office and available on their Web site, eight volunteer members are appointed by the Governor to staggered eight-year terms; two students serve on the Board for two-year appointments, with the first year being a nonvoting apprentice year. The Governor and the Superintendent of Public Instruction serve as voting ex-officio members. The ABOR provides "policy guidance" and oversight to the three major degree-granting universities, as provided for by Title 15 of the
Arizona Revised Statutes.
Community colleges in Arizona were governed historically by a separate statewide Board of Directors, but a bill passed in the 2002 regular session of the Legislature (HB 2710, which later became ARS 15-1444) transferred almost all oversight authority to individual community college districts. The Maricopa County Community College District includes 11 community colleges throughout Maricopa County and is one of the largest in the nation. The community college systems in Arizona are among the best in the United States.
Professional sports teams
Due to its numerous golf courses, Arizona is home to several stops on the
PGA Tour, most notably at the
FBR Open, more commonly known as the Phoenix Open.
With three universitites and several community colleges, college sports are also prevalent in Arizona. Arizona is home to the oldelst rivalry in the
NCAA[18]. The
Territorial Cup is given to the winner of the Duel in the Desert, an annual game between intense rivals the
Arizona State Sun Devils and the
Arizona Wildcats. Arizona also hosts several
bowl games in the
Bowl Championship Series. The
Fiesta Bowl, originally held at
Sun Devil Stadium, will now be held at the
University of Phoenix Stadium in
Glendale. The University of Phoenix Stadium was also home to the
2007 BCS National Championship Game. The
Insight Bowl is also held at
Sun Devil Stadium.
Besides being home to spring training, Arizona is also home to two other baseball leagues,
Arizona Fall League and
Arizona Winter League. The Fall League was founded in 1992 and is a
minor league baseball league designed for players to refine their skills and perform in game settings in front of major and minor league baseball scouts and team executives, who are in attendance at almost every game. The league got exposure when
Michael Jordan started his time in baseball with the
Scottsdale Scorpions. The Winter League, founded in 2007, is a professional baseball league for the independent
Golden Baseball League. The games are played in
Yuma at the
Desert Sun Stadium.
★ Note: The Arizona Heat is currently suspended from the NPF, with a possible return for the 2008 season.
Spring training
A spring training game between the two Chicago teams, the Cubs and the White Sox, at
HoHoKam Park in
Mesa
Arizona is a popular location for
Major League Baseball spring training, as it is the site of the
Cactus League. The only other location for spring training is in
Florida with the
Grapefruit League. Spring training has been somewhat of a tradition in Arizona since 1947 despite the fact that the state did not have its own major league team until the state was awarded the Diamondbacks as an expansion team. The state hosts the following teams:
★
Arizona Diamondbacks in
Tucson Electric Park
★
Chicago Cubs in
HoHoKam Park
★
Chicago White Sox in
Tucson Electric Park
★
Colorado Rockies in
Hi Corbett Field
★
Kansas City Royals in
Surprise Stadium
★
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in
Tempe Diablo Stadium
★
Milwaukee Brewers in
Maryvale Baseball Park
★
Oakland Athletics in
Phoenix Municipal Stadium
★
San Diego Padres in
Peoria Sports Complex
★
San Francisco Giants in
Scottsdale Stadium
★
Seattle Mariners in
Peoria Sports Complex
★
Texas Rangers in
Surprise Stadium
Miscellaneous topics
Art and pop culture
Arizona has featured a continuous string of dancing and performing groups of many
ethnicities. The state is a recognized center of
Native American art, with a number of galleries such as the
Heard Museum showcasing historical and contemporary works.
Sedona,
Jerome, and
Tubac are known as budding artist colonies, and small arts scenes exist in the larger cities and near the state universities.
Many tourist souvenirs produced in Arizona or by its residents display characteristic images, such as sunsets, coyotes, and desert plants. Several major Hollywood films, such as ''
Billy Jack'', ''
U-Turn'', ''
Waiting to Exhale'', ''
Just One of the Guys'', ''
Can't Buy Me Love'', ''
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'', ''
The Scorpion King'', ''
The Banger Sisters'', ''
Used Cars'', and ''
Raising Arizona'' have been made there (as indeed have many
Westerns). The 1993 science fiction movie ''
Fire in the Sky'', which was actually based on a reported alien abduction in Arizona, was set and filmed in the town of
Snowflake. The climax of the 1977
Clint Eastwood film ''
The Gauntlet'' takes place in downtown Phoenix. The final segments of the 1984 film ''
Starman'' take place at
Meteor Crater outside
Winslow. The
Jeff Foxworthy comedy documentary movie '' was filmed almost entirely at the
Dodge Theatre. Arguably one of the most famous examples could be
Alfred Hitchcock's classic film ''
Psycho''. Not only was some of the film shot in Phoenix, but the main character is from there as well. Some of the television shows filmed or set in Arizona include ''
The New Dick Van Dyke Show'', ''
Alice'', ''
The First 48'', ''
Insomniac with Dave Attell'', ''
COPS'', and ''
America's Most Wanted''. The 1974 film ''
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'', for which
Ellen Burstyn won the
Academy Award for Best Actress, and also starred
Kris Kristofferson, was set in Phoenix, as was the TV sitcom ''
Alice'', which was based on the movie.
See also ''
List of films shot in Arizona''
Arizona is prominently featured in the lyrics of many
Country and Western songs.
Jamie O'Neal's hit ballad "There is No Arizona" uses Arizona's popularity as a vacation spot to illustrate high hopes that can be dashed by disillusionment.
George Strait's "Oceanfront Property" uses the offer of "ocean front property in Arizona" as a metaphor for a sucker proposition that is obviously false. The line "see you down in Arizona Bay" is used in a
Tool song in reference to a
Bill Hicks quote. The line refers to the hope that
L.A. will one day fall into the ocean due to a major earthquake.
"Arizona" was the title of a popular song recorded by
Mark Lindsay (formerly of
Paul Revere and the Raiders) that was a hit during the winter of 1969-1970.
Arizona's budding music scene is helped by emerging bands, as well as some well-known artists. The
Gin Blossoms,
Chronic Future,
Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers,
Jimmy Eat World and others began their careers in Arizona. Also, a number of
punk bands got their start in Arizona, including
JFA,
The Feederz,
Sun City Girls,
The Meat Puppets, and more recently
Authority Zero. There is also an
indie rock scene with artists such as
Scary Kids Scaring Kids,
The Bled,
Fine China,
Greeley Estates,
The Stiletto Formal,
The Format.
Arizona also has its share of singers and other musicians.
Singer,
songwriter and
guitarist Michelle Branch is from
Sedona.
Chester Bennington, the lead vocalist of
Linkin Park, and
mash-up artist
DJ Z-Trip are both from
Phoenix. One of Arizona's more infamous musicians would be
shock rocker
Alice Cooper, who helped define the genre. Other notable singers include
country singer
Marty Robbins,
folk singer
Katie Lee,
Fleetwood Mac's
Stevie Nicks,
CeCe Peniston,
Rex Allen, 2007 ''
American Idol'' winner
Jordin Sparks, and
Linda Ronstadt.
See also ''
Music of Arizona''
Notable people
Some famous Arizonans involved in politics and government are:
★ former
Supreme Court Justice
Sandra Day O'Connor
★ founder of NTV
Geoff Stirling
★ former U.S. Senator
Dennis DeConcini
★ Maricopa County Sheriff
Joe Arpaio
★ Junior Republican Senator
Jon Kyl, current chairman of the
Senate Republican Conference, and the No.3 Republican in the
Senate.
★ Presidential candidate (2000), (2008) and Senior Republican Senator
John McCain
★ Presidential candidate (1964) and former U.S. Senator
Barry Goldwater
★ former Governor, Secretary of the Interior, and Presidential candidate (1988)
Bruce Babbitt
★ Presidential candidate (1976) and former Arizona congressman
Mo Udall and his brother Secretary of the Interior
Stewart Udall
★ former U.S. Senator
Carl Hayden
★ and former
United States Solicitor General Rex E. Lee.
★ Glenn Spencer - Anti-Illegal Immigration advocate.
Arizona notables in culture and the arts include:
★ author
Zane Grey
★ architect
Frank Lloyd Wright
★ artist
Georgia O'Keeffe
★ musicians
Chester Bennington of
Linkin Park,
Alice Cooper and
Stevie Nicks of
Fleetwood Mac, of Phoenix
★
Linda Ronstadt of Tucson,
Michelle Branch of Sedona,
Authority Zero and
Jimmy Eat World of Mesa
★ poet
Jim Simmerman of Flagstaff
★ film director
Steven Spielberg grew up in Scottsdale, as did
David Spade and ''
Wonder Woman'' star
Lynda Carter.
★ labor leader and civil rights pioneer
Cesar Estrada Chavez was from San Luis, near Yuma
For a complete list, see ''
List of people from Arizona''.
See also
★
Arizona census statistical areas
★
Arizona Department of Public Safety
★
Arizona Department of Transportation
★
Arizona Game and Fish Department
★
Arizona Highways (magazine)
★
Scouting in Arizona
★
Silver mining in Arizona
References
1.
2.
3. ''Mean number of Days with Minimum Temperature Below 32F'' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Retrieved March 24, 2007
4. A sorry state of affairs when views change Thompson, Clay
5. How Arizona did NOT Get its Name Jim Turner
6. Bright, William (2004). ''Native American Place Names of the United States''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, pg. 47
7. Timothy Anna et al., Historia de México. Barcelona: Critica, 2001, p. 10.
8. Mexican-American War as accessed on March 16th, 2007 at 7:33 MST AM
9. http://members.tripod.com/~azrebel/page9.html
10. http://www.pima.gov/cmo/sdcp/Archives/reports/Cult.html
11. Christie, Les. "Growth states: Arizona overtakes Nevada." ''CNN.'' December 22, 2006. Retrieved on December 22, 2006.
12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cenpop/statecenters.txt
13. http://eire.census.gov/popest/data/states/ST-EST2002-ASRO-03.php
14. http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0218blackprofile-main.html
15. http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&state_id=4&
county_id=&mode=state_tops&zip=&place_id=&cty_id=&ll=&a=&ea=&order=r
16. The Association of Religion Data Archives ''Religious Affiliations 2000 - Arizona''.
17. Tucson: Streetcar Plan Wins With 60% of Vote
18. What is the Territorial Cup? Tom Knauer
Further reading
★ David M. Thomas (Ed.) (2003). ''Arizona Legislative Manual.'' In ''
[2]''. Phoenix, AZ, Arizona Legislative Council. Google Print. Retrieved
January 16 2006.
★ Trimble, Marshall (1998). ''Arizona, A Cavalcade of History.'' Tucson, Treasure Chest Publications. (ISBN 0-918080-43-6)
★ Bayless, Betsy, Secretary of State (1998). ''Arizona Blue Book, 1997-1998.'' Phoenix, State of Arizona.
External links
Official State Government website
★
Official Website of the State of Arizona
Other useful references
★
Arizona Regional Accounts Data
★
Arizona Demographic Data from FedStats
★
Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records
★
USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Arizona
★
Arizona State Facts
Tourism information
★
Official Arizona Office of Tourism
★
Arizona Game & Fish Department (Hunting, Boating & Fishing)
★
Arizona State Parks
★
Nogales-Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center
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