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| State of Arizona |
|
|
| Official language(s) |
English |
| Spoken language(s) |
English 74.1%,
Spanish 19.5%,
Navajo 1.9% |
| Demonym |
Arizonan |
| Capital |
Phoenix |
| Largest city |
Phoenix |
| Largest metro area |
Phoenix Metropolitan Area |
| Area |
Ranked 6th in the US |
| - Total |
113,998 sq mi
(295,254 km²) |
| - Width |
310 miles (500 km) |
| - Length |
400 miles (645 km) |
| - % water |
0.32 |
| - Latitude |
31° 20′ N to 37° N |
| - Longitude |
109° 3′ W to 114° 49′ W |
| Population |
Ranked 16th in the US |
| - Total |
6,338,666 |
| - Density |
45.2/sq mi
17.43/km² (36th in the US) |
| Elevation |
|
| - Highest point |
Humphreys Peak[1]
12,633 ft (3,851 m) |
| - Mean |
4,100 ft (1,250 m) |
| - Lowest point |
Colorado River[1]
70 ft (22 m) |
| Admission to Union |
February 14, 1912 (48th) |
| Governor |
Janet Napolitano (D) |
| Lieutenant Governor |
None[2] |
| U.S. Senators |
John McCain (R)
Jon Kyl (R) |
| Congressional Delegation |
4 Rep. and 4 Dem. (list) |
| Time zones |
|
| - Most of State |
Mountain: UTC-7 |
| - Navajo Nation |
Mountain: UTC-7/-6 |
| Abbreviations |
AZ Ariz. US-AZ |
| Website |
www.az.gov |
The State of Arizona (IPA: /ˌærɪˈzoʊnə, ˌerɪ-/) is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix. The five next largest cities are Tucson, Mesa, Chandler, Glendale, and Scottsdale.[3] Arizona was the 48th and last of the contiguous states admitted to the Union on February 14, 1912.[4] Arizona is noted for its desert
climate, exceptionally hot summers, and mild winters, but the high
country in the north features pine forests and mountain ranges with
cooler weather than the lower deserts. New population figures for the
year ending July 1, 2006 indicate that Arizona was at that time the
fastest growing state in the United States, exceeding the growth of the
previous leader, Nevada.
Arizona is one of the Four Corners states. It borders New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, California, touches Colorado, and has a 389-mile (626 km) international border with the states of Sonora and Baja California in Mexico. In addition to the Grand Canyon, many other national forests, parks, monuments, and Indian reservations are located in the state.
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 (306,000 km²), approximately 15% is
privately owned. The remaining area is public 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 desert 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 world.[5] The Mogollon Rim, a 2,000-foot (610 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 have 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 (40 km) west of Winslow.
A rim of smashed and jumbled boulders, some of them the size of small
houses, rises 150 feet (46 m) above the level of the surrounding plain.
The crater itself is nearly a mile wide, and 570 feet (174 m) deep.
Arizona does not observe Daylight Saving Time, except in the Navajo Nation, located in the northeastern region of the state.
Climate
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 July 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 in less developed areas of the desert. The
swings can be as large as 50 °F (28 °C) in the summer months. In the state's urban centers, the effects of local warming result in much higher measured nighttime lows than in the recent past.
Arizona has an average annual rainfall of 12.7 inches (323 mm),[6] which comes during two rainy seasons, with cold fronts coming from the Pacific Ocean during the winter and a monsoon in the summer.[7] The monsoon season occurs towards the end of summer. In July or August, the dewpoint rises dramatically for a brief period. During this time, the air contains large amounts of water vapor. Dewpoints as high as 81°F (27 °C)[8] have been recorded during the Phoenix monsoon season. This hot moisture 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.
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.
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).[9]
Classical
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