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Arizona

State nickname: "The Grand Canyon State" or "The Copper State"

Capital Phoenix

Largest City Phoenix

Governor Janet Napolitano

FIPS Code: 04

ISO 3166-2: US-AZ

The Grand Canyon State

State Bird: Cactus Wren

State Mammal: Ringtail Cat

State Tree: Palo Verde

State Flower: Saguaro Blossom

State Gem: Turquoise

State Fossil: Petrified wood

State Neckwear: Bola Tie

State Capital: Phoenix

State Motto: Ditat Deus (God Enriches)

State Nicknames: "The Grand Canyon State"

"The Copper State"

State Songs: "Arizona March Song"

"Arizona"

Arizona was the 48th state admitted to the United States and is part of the Southwest United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, south and east of the Colorado River, bordering New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, California and Mexico.

Its major cities are Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma and Flagstaff. Besides the Grand Canyon, a number of other National Forests, Parks, Monuments and Indian reservations are located in the state.

Historians disagree about the origin of the name "Arizona" and its attachment to the region. Three possible derivations are:

Spanish derivative, "arizonac", of the Pima or Papago word "al shon" or "aleh zon" meaning little or young spring.

Spanish words "árida zona" meaning arid zone

Aztec word "arizuma" meaning silver bearing

Arizonac is a small town about eight miles south of the United States-Mexican border. Its name was probably derived from the Pima or Papago name for the place. In 1736 a small silver-mining camp called "Real Arissona" by the Spanish was established near the town. Later in the mid 18th century Spanish missionaries changed Father Eusebio Francisco Kino's maps of the area; they renamed the town Arizonac as Arizona. As the maps were republished and circulated in Europe, the name Arizona became attached to the whole northern part of New Spain.

USS Arizona was named in honor of 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 Pimería 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"), Mesa, Tempe, Prescott, Snowflake, Heber and many other Arizona towns to settle there. One of the first Latter-day Saint 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

Arizona's legislature 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 was $14.3 billion, while the executive budget was $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. Arizona state senators and representatives are elected for two year terms and there are no terms limits. However, no more than four terms may be served consecutively.

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 has been governor since 2003. Napolitano was born in New York City, moving to Arizona after graduating from law school in 1983, whereupon she clerked for a U.S. Appeals Court judge before joining a Phoenix law firm. She became a partner in 1989. She was appointed United States Attorney for the District of Arizona by President Bill 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 in the eyes of many voters as a guardian of children, the elderly, women, and the environment. See:List of Arizona Governors

The two Arizona US Senators 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), J.D. Hayworth (R-5), Jeff Flake (R-6), Raul Grijalva (R-7), and Jim Kolbe (R-8). Arizona gained two seats in the House of Representatives due to redistricting based on Census 2000.

In 1998, Arizona voters elected the "fabulous five" -- five women candidates elected to the state's top posts:

Governor Jane Dee Hull (R)

State Attorney General Janet Napolitano (D)

State Treasurer Carol Springer (R)

Secretary of State Betsey Bayless (R)

Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Graham Keegan (R)

Geography

State Topography Image: Arizona

See: List of Arizona counties List of Arizona rivers List of Arizona lakes

Arizona state parks List of U.S. National Forests

Like other states of the Southwest, Arizona has an abundance of topographical Swarovski characteristics in addition to its desert climes. 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 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.

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Statistics

Largest City: Phoenix

Highest Point: Humphreys Peak - 12,633 ft. near Flagstaff

Lowest Point: Colorado River - 70 ft.

Art

Arizona has witnessed a continous string of dancing and performing groups of many ethnicities. Ballet Arizona is the most notable and only professional ballet company in the country. Irish dance of Phoenix, AZ has had a continuous history since the 1940s.

http://www.geocities.com/azirishdance/

Economy

Early in its history, Arizona's economy relied on 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, Wal-Mart is the state's largest private employer with 17,343 employees in 2003. Arizona lost much of its advantage as a high-technology industry leader between 1990 and 2001, according to a state Department of Commerce (http://www.commerce.state.az.us/) report. In 2001, 161,166 Arizonans were employed in the high-tech sector, accounting for about 8.3 percent of total private-sector employment of more than 1.9 million. High-tech payroll in 2001 was $2.2 billion, or 14.7 percent 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.

Demographics

Population Breakdown: ([U.S. Census Bureau 2000 (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/04000.html)])

White: 75.5% (Not of Hispanic Origin: 63.8)

Native: 5.0

African American: 3.1

Asian: 1.8

Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.1

Other Race: 11.6

Persons reporting two or more races: 2.9%

See the list of Arizona Natives. According to 2003 Census esimates, Arizona has the second highest number of the 2,752,158 Native Americans in the country with over 10% of the country's total at 286,680. It is preceded by California at 410,501 and followed by Oklahoma at 278,124 [1] (http://eire.census.gov/popest/data/states/ST-EST2002-ASRO-03.php).

Arizona major towns

Each city named in bold has a population greater than 100,000.

Phoenix

Mesa

Glendale

Scottsdale

Chandler

Tempe

Gilbert

Peoria

Sun City

Apache Junction

Surprise

Sun City West

Goodyear

Paradise Valley

Sun Lakes

Avondale

Tucson

Casas Adobes

Catalina Foothills

Oro Valley

Drexel Heights

Tanque Verde

Flowing Wells

Marana

Tucson Southeast

Prescott

Prescott Valley

Flagstaff

Fountain Hills

Douglas

Florence

Yuma

Sierra Vista

Sierra Vista Southeast

Lake Havasu City

Bullhead City

Mohave Valley

Kingman

New Kingman-Butler

Casa Grande

Nogales

Fortuna Foothills

New River

Eloy

Sedona

Globe

San Luis

Payson

Cottonwood

Cottonwood-Verde Village

Green Valley

Safford

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 former Solicitor General Rex E. Lee . From the rock and roll world, both Alice Cooper and Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac are from Phoenix.

Education

Colleges and universities

State universities

Arizona State University

University of Arizona

Northern Arizona University

Community colleges

Phoenix Community College

Glendale Community College

Mesa Community College

Scottsdale Community College

Pima Community College

Eastern Arizona College

Yavapai Community College

Rio Salado Community College

Prescott College

Cochise College

South Mountain Community College

Arizona Western College

Private colleges and trade schools

American Graduate School of International Management

American Indian College of the Assemblies of God

DeVry University, Phoenix

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Grand Canyon University

Prescott College

Southwestern College

University of Phoenix

Western International University

Education associations

Arizona Music Educators Association

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Professional sports teams

Arizona Diamondbacks (Major League Baseball)

Arizona Cardinals (National Football League)

Arizona Rattlers (Arena Football League)

Arizona Sting (National Lacrosse League)

Phoenix Suns (National Basketball Association)

Phoenix Mercury (Women's National Basketball Association)

Phoenix Coyotes (National Hockey League)

Spring training

Arizona is a popular location for Major League Baseball spring training. The state hosts the following major league teams (called the Cactus league) 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