Arizona
Arizona is
located in the Southwestern United
States and is known for it desert
landscape, the Grand Canyon and its role
in the history of the American West.
Arizona has a varied landscape with
deserts in the south and west portions
of the state and extensive forests in
the north and central parts of Arizona.
Known as the Grand Canyon State Arizona
attracts millions of visitors to places
such as Lake
Havasu, Sedona
as well as its many parks and national
monuments. Arizona is surrounded by Utah
on the north, New
Mexico on the east, California
and Nevada
to the west and has a 389 mile border
with Mexico.
Arizona was the 48th state admitted to
the union February 14, 1912. It is the
6th largest state in land size with a
total area of 113, 998 square miles and
is currently ranked 17th in population
with over 6.17 million people (2006).
Among Arizona's unique attractions is
the Barringer Meteorite Crater, one of
the best preserved impact craters in the
world located about 25 miles west of
Winslow Arizona.
The origin of Arizona's name is
uncertain in that it may be an Aztec
word, 'arizuma' which means 'it has
silver' or an O'Odham word 'ali san'
which means 'small spring'.
The first Euro-Americans to explore the
region were a Franciscan explorer Father
Marcos de Niza in 1539 and Coronado's expedition
in 1540. Arizona became part of the
United States after the Mexican-American
war in 1848. In 1853 the Gadsden
Purchase added the land below the Gila
River. Arizona was part of the New
Mexico Territory until the southern part
of New Mexico succeeded from the Union
in 1861 to join the Confederate States.
On February 23, 1863 the state of
Arizona was made a territory and
consisted of the western half of the New
Mexico Territory. In the 19th century
Mormons settled in Arizona forming towns
such as Mesa,
Safford,
Tempe,
Prescott
and Phoenix.
Arizona is a major tourist destination
with attractions such as the Grand
Canyon, The Painted Desert and many
other national and state parks. Arizona
provides for its tourism economy with
thousands of hotel and motel rooms that
range from the very expensive to the
reasonably priced.
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