Difference between revisions of "Arizona" - New World Encyclopedia
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Arizona is famous for its [[cactus|cacti]] and Ponderosa [[pine]]s. Saguaro National Park and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument preserve these. Other plants that grow in the desert are mesquite, ironwood, and paloverde trees. Forests cover one-fifth of the state, and Arizona has more Ponderosa pines than any other state. | Arizona is famous for its [[cactus|cacti]] and Ponderosa [[pine]]s. Saguaro National Park and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument preserve these. Other plants that grow in the desert are mesquite, ironwood, and paloverde trees. Forests cover one-fifth of the state, and Arizona has more Ponderosa pines than any other state. | ||
− | Gila monsters (the only poisonous [[lizard]]s in the United States) live in the Southern Desert, as do [[scorpion]]s. White-tailed [[deer}] and pronghorns are | + | Gila monsters (the only poisonous [[lizard]]s in the United States) live in the Southern Desert, as do [[scorpion]]s, as do [[scorpion]]s, [[gecko]]s, and [[rattlesnake]]s. White-tailed and mule [[deer}], [[elk]], [[bighorn sheep]], [[bobcat]]s, [[coyote]]s, [[porcupine]]s, black-footed [[ferret]]s, and pronghorns are among the [[mammal]]s. The nearly 300 species of birds include sandhill [[crane]]s, [[eagle]]s, [[hummingbird]]s, and [[quail]]. |
==History== | ==History== |
Revision as of 14:23, 17 November 2008
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The State of Arizona is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix. 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. New population figures for the year ending July 1, 2006, indicated that Arizona is the fastest growing state in the United States, exceeding the growth of the previous leader, Nevada.
Aside from the Grand Canyon, many other National Forests, Parks, Monuments, and Native American reservations are located in the state.
Arizona is a crossroad of culture and heritage where many different traditions have met and combined. The southern and central parts of the state are heavily Mexican American. The north-central and northwestern counties are largely inhabited by residents of English ancestry. The northeastern part of Arizona has many Native Americans. 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.
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.
Geography
Arizona is located in the Western United States as 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. 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 percent 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 southern portions of the state.
Like other states of the Southwest, Arizona has an abundance of topographical characteristics. 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 2,000-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 in 2002. Arizona belongs firmly within the Basin and Range region of North America. This region was shaped by prehistoric volcanic eruptions, followed by a cooling off and related subsidence. The entire region is slowly sinking.
The Grand Canyon is a colorful, steep-sided gorge in northern Arizona. The canyon is largely contained in the Grand Canyon National Park—one of the first national parks in the United States. It was created by the Colorado River cutting a channel over millions of years. It 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 two billion years of Earth's history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut through layer after layer of sediment and the Colorado Plateaus was uplifted.
Arizona is home to one of the largest and most well-preserved meteorite impact sites in the world. The Barringer Meteorite 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.
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. 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). 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.
The northern third of Arizona is a plateau at significantly higher altitudes 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.
Flora and fauna
Arizona is famous for its cacti and Ponderosa pines. Saguaro National Park and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument preserve these. Other plants that grow in the desert are mesquite, ironwood, and paloverde trees. Forests cover one-fifth of the state, and Arizona has more Ponderosa pines than any other state.
Gila monsters (the only poisonous lizards in the United States) live in the Southern Desert, as do scorpions, as do scorpions, geckos, and rattlesnakes. White-tailed and mule [[deer}], elk, bighorn sheep, bobcats, coyotes, porcupines, black-footed ferrets, and pronghorns are among the mammals. The nearly 300 species of birds include sandhill cranes, eagles, hummingbirds, and quail.
History
Disagreement exists over the etymology of the name "Arizona." The two most likely explanations are that it derives from a Basque phrase aritz onak, "good oaks,"[3][4] or that it comes from an O'odham phrase alĭ ṣonak, "small spring".[5] The name Arizonac was initially applied to the silver mining camp and later (shortened to Arizona) to the entire territory.
Prehistory
Paleo-Indians arrived in Arizona about 12,000 years ago but eventually disappeared. The Anasazi settled in the northwestern section of the state about 2,000 years ago and built homes among the cliffs. The Hohokam arrived from Mexico around 300 C.E. Both groups had moved on due to a prolonged drought at the time of European contact.
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 Cíbola. Father Kino developed a chain of missions and taught the Indians Christianity in Pimería 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.
Won from Mexico
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.[6] In the Mexican–American War (1847), the United States occupied Mexico City and forced the newly founded Mexican Republic to give up its northern territories, including Arizona. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) specified that the United States pay Mexico $15 million in compensation. 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[7] from the Union as the Confederate Territory of Arizona on March 16, 1861. Arizona was recognized as a Confederate Territory by presidential proclamation by Jefferson Davis on February 12, 1862. 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. Arizona became a U.S. state on February 14, 1912, becoming the last of the contiguous states to join the Union.
Cotton farming and copper mining, two of Arizona's most important statewide industries, suffered heavily during the Great Depression, but during the 1920s and 1930s tourism began to develop into the important Arizona industry it is today. Dude ranches gave tourists the chance to experience the flavor and life of the "old West."
Arizona was the site of German and Italian POW camps and Japanese-American internment camps during World War II.
Arizona's population grew tremendously after World War II, in part because of the development of air conditioning, which made the intense summer heat more comfortable. The state's population in 1910 was 294,353. By 1970, it was 1,752,122. The percentage growth each decade averaged about 20 percent in the earlier decades and about 60 percent each decade thereafter.
The 1960s saw the establishment of retirement communities], special age-restricted subdivisions catering exclusively to the needs of senior citizens who want to escape the harsh winters of the Midwest and the Northeast. Sun City was one of the first such communities. (Many of these senior citizens stay only during the winter months and are referred to as snowbirds.)
Economy
The 2004 total gross state product was $187 billion. Arizona currently has the 21st largest economy among states in the United States.
The state's per capita income is $27,232, 39th in the United States. Early in its history, Arizona's economy relied on the "Five C's": copper, 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. The state government is Arizona's largest employer, while Wal-Mart is the state's largest private employer.
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.
Law and government
State legislature
The Arizona legislature is bicameral and consists of a 30-member Senate and a 60-member House of Representatives. Each of the thirty legislative districts has one senator and two representatives. Legislators are elected for two-year terms. Each legislature covers a two-year period. The current majority party is the Republican Party, which has held power in both houses since 1993.
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.
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.
Federal politics
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). Arizona gained two seats in the House of Representatives due to redistricting based on the 2000 census.
Politics
Year | Republican | Democratic |
---|---|---|
2004 | 54.87% 1,104,294 | 44.40% 893,524 |
2000 | 50.95% 781,652 | 44.67% 685,341 |
1996 | 44.29% 622,073 | 46.52% 653,288 |
1992 | 38.47% 572,086 | 36.52% 543,050 |
1988 | 59.95% 702,541 | 38.74% 454,029 |
1984 | 66.42% 681,416 | 32.54% 333,854 |
1980 | 60.61% 529,688 | 28.24% 246,843 |
1976 | 56.37% 418,642 | 39.80% 295,602 |
1972 | 61.64% 402,812 | 30.38% 198,540 |
1968 | 54.78% 266,721 | 35.02% 170,514 |
1964 | 50.45% 242,535 | 49.45% 237,753 |
1960 | 55.52% 221,241 | 44.36% 176,781 |
In more recent years, the Republican Party has generally dominated Arizona politics, with the Republican presidential candidate carrying the state every time with the sole exception of Bill Clinton in United States presidential election, 1996. In recent years, the Republican Party has also dominated Arizona politics in general. The fast-growing Phoenix and Tucson suburbs became increasingly friendly to Republicans from the 1950s onward. However, the current governor, Janet Napolitano, is a Democrat.
On March 4, 2008, John McCain effectively clinched the Republican nomination, becoming the first presidential nominee from the state since Barry Goldwater in 1964.
Maricopa County, the fourth-largest county in the country and home of Phoenix, dominates Arizona politics. It is home to almost 60 percent of the state's population, and most of the state's elected officials live there. It has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1948.
In contrast, Pima County, which includes Tucson, and most of southern Arizona has historically been more Democratic. While Tucson's suburbs lean Republican, they tend to be more moderate than Republicans in the Phoenix area. Between them, Maricopa and Pima counties cast almost three-fourths of Arizona's total vote, and account for a substantial majority in the state legislature.
Arizona rejected an anti-gay amendment in the 2006 midterm elections, the first state in the nation to do so. Gay marriage was already illegal in Arizona, but this amendment would have denied any legal or financial benefits to unmarried homosexual or heterosexual couples.[8]
In 2008, Arizona passed an amendment to the state constitution to define marriage as a union of one man and one woman, ensuring the definition of marriage can never be changed by a judge or the Legislature.[9]
Demographics
As of 2006, Arizona had an estimated population of 6,166,318,[10] which is an increase of 213,311, or 3.6 percent, from the prior year and an increase of 1,035,686, or 20.2 percent, since the year 2000. 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 percent population growth since 2005, exceeding the growth of the previous leader, Nevada.[11]
Important cities and towns
Phoenix, the largest city in the state, is the capital. 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.
Yuma, center of the third largest metropolitan area in Arizona, 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 city also features sunny days about 90 percent of the year and attracts many winter visitors from all over the United States.
Flagstaff is the largest city in northern Arizona, and at nearly 7000 ft 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.
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, representing more than 10 percent of the country's total Native American population. Only California and Oklahoma[12] 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.[13]
As of 2000, 74.16 percent of Arizona residents age 5 and older speak only English at home and 19.52 percent speak Spanish. Navajo is the third most spoken language at 1.89 percent.[14]
Religion
A 2000 survey found that 45.3 percent of Arizonans were active adherents to a particular religion. Those adherents break down as follows:[15]
- 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%
Education
Elementary and secondary
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. 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. Public schools are Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, and University of Arizona. The community college systems in Arizona are among the best in the United States.
Looking to the future
Water has always been and will continue to be a significant factor affecting Arizona's growth and prosperity. Strict conservation laws help manage water use.
Notes
- ↑ The Climate of the Southwest - Retrieved December 12, 2007.
- ↑ Hydrologic Conditions in Arizona During 1999–2004: A Historical Perspective - Retrieved December 12, 2007.
- ↑ A sorry state of affairs when views change - Retrieved December 12, 2007.
- ↑ How Arizona did NOT Get its Name - Retrieved December 12, 2007.
- ↑ Bright, William (2004). Native American Place Names of the United States. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, P. 47
- ↑ Timothy Anna et al., Historia de México. Barcelona: Critica, 2001, p. 10.
- ↑ ARIZONA ORDINANCE OF SECESSION - Retrieved December 12, 2007.
- ↑ Arizona stands alone against marriage ban - Queer Lesbian Gay News - Gay.com
- ↑ Ban on gay unions solidly supported in most of Arizona
- ↑ 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 - Retrieved December 12, 2007.
- ↑ Growth states: Arizona overtakes Nevada - Retrieved December 12, 2007.
- ↑ [1] - Retrieved December 12, 2007.
- ↑ Being Black in the Valley - Retrieved December 12, 2007.
- ↑ Most spoken languages in Arizona - Retrieved December 12, 2007.
- ↑ The Association of Religion Data Archives Religious Affiliations 2000 - Arizona. - Retrieved December 12, 2007.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- David M. Thomas (Ed.). (2003). Arizona Legislative Manual - Retrieved December 12, 2007.
- 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.
- Filbin, Dan. 2002. Arizona. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications. ISBN 0822540630
- Standard, Carole K. 2002. Arizona. New York: Children's Press. ISBN 0516223151
External links
All links retrieved December 12, 2007.
Official State Government website
Other references
- 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
Template:Arizona
Political divisions of the United States | ![]() | ||||||
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Preceded by: New Mexico |
List of U.S. states by date of statehood Admitted on February 14, 1912 (48th) |
Succeeded by: Alaska |
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