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ARIZONA FACTS & LINKS
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Official Arizona State Website
Arizona
Government Links page
lots of great links for all levels of
government in Arizona
in 2010, Arizona is represented in Congress by two Senators and 8 House members. The Arizona legislature has a Senate and a House of Representatives. Each legislative district has one senator and two representatives who are elected to two year terms. No member may serve more than four consecutive terms of office, but may be elected again later as there is no maximum number of terms that may be served en total. Arizona has a governor who serves for a four year term. A two term limit is in place, but as for the legislature, a previous governor may once again run for office. The secretary of state is second in command in the state.
The original Capitol building with its copper dome, was dedicated in 1901. After new buildings were erected in 1960 for the House of Representatives and Senate and in 1974 for the Executive Office Building, the old Capitol was converted to a museum.
Arizona has 15 counties (in 2010)
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1970 - 1,775,399
1980
- 2,716,546
1990 - 3,665,228
1994 - 4,071,650
1995 -
4,228,900
1998 - 4,764,025
2000 - 5,130,632
2006 -
6,166,318
2009 - 6,595,778
In 2000, Arizona was the 20th state in population rank. There were 45 persons per square mile in 2000, making Arizona the 35th state in population density.
Population Density:
2000
- 45 persons per square mile (35th state in density)
2009 - 55.8
persons per square mile (33rd state in density)
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Arizona is bordered by Mexico on the south, New Mexico on the east, Utah to the north and California and Nevada to the west. Arizona is one of the four corners state with the corners of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado all touching.
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Though known as a desert state, there is actually a great deal of forested land and high mountains, especially in the north.
Arizona has a varied weather pattern due to extreme differences in elevation and relief. The Colorado Plateau, of which Flagstaff is a part, has cold winters and warm summers. In Flagstaff, the average winter temperature is about 28 degrees F., while the average summer temperature is around 66 degrees F. The Basin and Range Region, of which Phoenix is a part, has mild winters and hot summers. In Phoenix, the average winter temperature is about 52 degrees F. while the summer average runs about 91 degrees F. Most of the Phoenix area has sunshine year-round. In general, most of northern Arizona is cooler than mid to southern Arizona. The average precipitation for the entire state is about 13 inches per year. The north will have more snow and more moisture with the south receiving only about 2-5 inches of precipitation each year.
Highest average monthly
high temperature: 105
Lowest average monthly low temperature:
38.1
Record high temperature: 128 degrees on 29 June 1994 at Lake
Havasu
Record low temperature: -40 degrees on 7 January 1971 at
Hawley Lake
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All of Arizona is on the Mountain Standard Time - year round. When other parts of the country go on daylight savings time, Arizona remains on standard time.
Arizona has had numerous nicknames. The most well-known is the Grand Canyon State after the beautiful natural wonder of the world in northern Arizona. Because Arizona produces more copper than any other state, it is also often referred to as the Copper State. An early nickname, the Apache State came from the large numbers of Apache Indians who lived in the area. Also from history, Arizona has been known as the Aztec State due to some of the ruins found here.
Known as the Baby State for many years, Arizona was the last of the 48 states in the union, having been admitted in 1912. It was 47 years later that Alaska and Hawaii were admitted. Among other nicknames are the Sunset State for the incomparable sunsets around the state, the Sand Hill State for the many deserts, and the Valentine State because it was admitted on the 14th of February, Valentine's Day!
Did You Know?
Most of Arizona is
forests, not deserts.
Over half of the people visiting Phoenix,
Arizona are on vacation.
Phoenix has more suburbs than any other
city in the USA.
The sun shines 300 days out of the year in
Arizona.
Phoenix has more top-rated resorts than any city in the
USA.
Phoenix is one of the top tourist locals in the USA.
Arizona
has one of the largest ranges of different kinds of birds in the
USA.
Arizona has a very large range of animals. From coyotes, to
elk, to jaguars.
Area Codes - list of the area codes for Arizona, current as of 2006
Number of Housing
Units:
2005 - 2,544,806
2008 - 2,722,725
Median Household
Income:
2000 - $41,456
2008 - $51,009
Per capita Income:
1999
- $20,275
2001 - $25,878
2007 - $34,365
2008 - $46,496
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Jefferson Davis, while he was the Secretary of War, proposed that camels could be used in the southwest as pack animals and for military use. An explorer named Beale implemented his idea in order to create the first highway in the southwest.
The name of Arizona is from the Pima Indian village of Arizonac that was near what is Nogales, Mexico today. The Spaniards discovered silver there in 1736. The name means "place of the small spring." Other names suggested for the state at the time were Pimeria and Gadsonia but Arizona was chosen mostly because it sounded the best.
The first inhabitants of Arizona were Indians who lived here between 10,000 and 25,000 years ago! The Hohokam Culture, one of the most advanced lived in the Salt River Valley area around 700 A.D. The Anasazi, also an advanced culture, lived on the Colorado Plateau of northern Arizona. They were the group which built the cliff dwellings, of which some remain today. By the 1500's and 1600's, the Hohokam had most abandoned the area and the Apache and Navajo had begun to move in.
Spanish Explorer, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, came to the area in 1536, one of the first non-indians to come. A few years later, Marcos de Niza, a Franciscan Friar and a black slave, Estavan, came searching for the Seven Cities of Cibola. Coronado and his party came in 1540-42, also hunting the Seven Cities. Others came over the years, including missionaries who set up villages. The Hopi ousted the missionaries in the Indian revolt in 1680. The first white Settlement was a presidio at Tubac in 1752, set up by Spanish soldiers. During the 1700's, many conflicts occurred between the whites and Indians. By 1776, the presidio was moved to Tucson. Warfare continued on into the 1800's. Some periods of peace occurred, but war was more prevalent. Arizona, north of the Gila River, was annexed to the United States as a result of the Mexican War (1846-48). It was made part of the New Mexico Territory. The Gadsden Purchase of 1853 completed the rest of the addition of land which would become Arizona.
The Union territory of Arizona was created on 24 February 1863. Many of the now major cities were formed during this time period. Silver was discovered as well as rich stores of other minerals. During the 1870's, Mormon pioneers, sent by then President Brigham Young settled mainly in the Colorado Plateau and in the Salt and upper Gila River Valleys. Many copper mines were established in the late 1800's. The Theodore Roosevelt Dam on the Salt River was completed in 1911 and aided growth in the area due to increased irrigation. Arizona finally achieved statehood as the 48th state on 14 February 1912. The first governor was George W. P. Hunt. He held office for seven - two year terms. More and more agriculture came to Arizona as irrigation methods improved. Copper mining also great expanded during the 1920's and 30's. During the 1960's, the courts ordered Arizona's use of Colorado River Water. The first water was finally reached Phoenix in 1985. The desert has blossomed with growth in all areas since that time.
Here is a history page for Arizona
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Longitude: 109° 3' W
to 114° 50' W
Latitude: 31° 20' N to 37° N
The
geographic center of the state is about 55 miles ESE of Prescott
Arizona is about 400
miles long and about 310 miles wide.
Total land area: 113,508
square miles
Total water area: 492 square miles
Total area:
114,000 square miles
Highest Point: 12,637
feet above sea level at Humphreys Peak near Flagstaff
Lowest
Point: 70 feet above sea level at the Colorado River
Average
elevation: 4,100 feet above sea level
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Arizona
Genealogy
Arizona GenWeb
Project Page
Access
Genealogy page for Arizona
Kindred
Trails page for Arizona
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Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records
Arizona Public Libraries - list of all public libraries in the state with links
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Arizona Department of Education
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The largest employer in the state is the state government.
At one time, the state was the largest producer of cotton in the United States. In 2010, other sectors include copper, cattle, citrus and tourism.
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Arizona
State Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Arizona
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Greater
Phoenix Chamber of Commerce
Greater
Phoenix Convention and Visitor's Bureau
Metropolitan
Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau
Flagstaff
Convention and Visitors Bureau
Yuma
Convention and Visitors Bureau
Lake
Havasu City Convention and Visitors Bureau
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Attractions & Other Information
See photographs of
Arizona's Virgin River Gorge
in the northwest portion of the state
See photos
of places around the state of Arizona
Professional Sports
Teams in Arizona in 2010 are the Arizona Cardinals (Football),
Arizona Diamondbacks (Baseball), Phoenix Suns (Basketball), Phoenix
Mercury (WNBA)
Arizona is host to many teams for the Major League
Baseball Spring training.
Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona. Visit the Skywalk for a real thrill
Petrified
Forest National Park near I-40 in northern Arizona
Saguaro
National Park near Tucson
Meteor
Crater near I-40 in northern Arizona.
Many popular recreational spots are found all around the state. Among them are: Lake Mead (National Recreation Area in both Nevada and Arizona), Lake Powell - in the Glen Canyon National Recreational Area, Lake Mohave - part of the Lake Mead national Recreation Area, Lake Havasu - reservoir behind Parker Dam on the Colorado River, the Colorado River, Salt River lakes and 22 national parks and monuments.
London Bridge in Lake Havasu City
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument near Ajo
Casa
Grande Ruins National Monument
Havasupai Indian
Reservation
Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson
Biosphere
2 near Oracle
Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin
West in Scottsdale
Tombstone
- the town too tough to die
Things to do in Arizona
This page was created 30 December 1998
This page was last updated 11 August 2010 at 3:15 pm
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