Arizona: The Grand Canyon State

ENCYCLOPÆDIA

Britannica

DISCOVER

AMERICA Arizona

The Grand Canyon State

CHICAGO LONDON NEW DELHI PARIS

SEOUL SYDNEY TAIPEI TOKYO

EB STAFF ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This edition published 2008 by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Editors Anthony L. Green William L. Hosch Michael I. Levy Robert M. Lewis Amy Tikkanen Jeffrey Wallenfeldt

International Standard Book Number: 978-1-59339-745-6 (Set) International Standard Book Number: 978-1-59339-749-4 (Volume)

Copy Editors Michael Anderson Andrea R. Field Lorraine Murray Cover Design and Art Kurt Heintz Steve Kapusta

WEIGL STAFF ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Project Coordinator Jennifer Nault Substantive Editor Leslie Strudwick

© 2008, 2002 by Weigl Publishers Inc. Additional material © 2008, 2005 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. ENCYCLOPÆDIA Britannica: DISCOVER AMERICA Volume 3: Arizona 2008, 2005 Britannica.com may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.britannica.com. Encyclopædia Britannica, Britannica, and the Thistle logo are registered trademarks of Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Copy Editor Heather Kissock Designers Warren Clark Terry Paulhus Photo Researcher Angela Lowen

Photograph Credits Every reasonable effort has been made to trace ownership and to obtain permission to reprint copyright material. The publishers would be pleased to have any errors or omissions brought to their attention so that they may be corrected in subsequent printings. Cover: The Colorado River in the Marble Canyon portion of the Grand Canyon, northwestern Arizona, © Gary Ladd; Archive Photos: 21T, 25T; Arizona Diamondbacks: 27BL; Arizona Historical Foundation: 18T, 18BL; Arizona Office of Tourism / Chris Coe: 3B, 4T, 6BR, 7BR, 9BR, 12B, 15T, 16T, 16B, 18BR, 19B, 20T, 20BR, 24B, 29R; Bob and Suzanne Clemenz: 3M, 5T, 7T, 8T, 12T, 22T, 22BR, 22BL, 23T, 23B, 25BR, 26T; Corbis Corporation: 14T, 14BR; Corel Corporation: 3T, 8BL, 10T, 10BL, 10BR, 11ML, 13M, 16MR, 26ML, 29L; M. Corrado / Bruce Bennett Studios: 27MR; EyeWire Corporation: 14BL; Jessen Associates Inc.: 21B; Jessen Associates Inc. / R. Silberblatt: 4BR, 6BL, 7BL, 8BR, 9T, 9BL, 26BR, 28R; Library of Congress: page 17B; Drew Milsom: 5BL; Nevada Commission on Tourism: 4ML; PhotoDisc Corporation: 15B,; Monique de St. Croix: 6T, 11T, 11B, 13T, 13B, 24T, 28L; The UT Institute of Texan Cultures at San Antonio: 17T; Visuals Unlimited: 19T.

CONTENTS Introduction .......................................... 4 Land and Climate ................................. 8 Natural Resources................................ 9 Plants and Animals ........................... 10 Tourism ............................................... 12 Industry ............................................... 13 Goods and Services ........................... 14 Native Americans ............................... 16 Explorers ............................................. 17 Missionaries ....................................... 18 Early Settlers ...................................... 19 Population .......................................... 20 Politics and Government ................. 21 Cultural Groups .................................. 22 Arts and Entertainment .................... 24 Sports .................................................. 26 Brain Teasers...................................... 28 Facts and Resources .......................... 30 Glossary .............................................. 31 Index.................................................... 32

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INTRODUCTION The Grand Canyon State was once considered to be little more than a barren desert, but vast irrigation systems have transformed the dry desert soil into successful farmland. The mild winters and dry summers have attracted so many people that Arizona is one of the country’s fastest-growing states. Between 1950 and 2000 the population increased nearly sevenfold.

Hikers of all ages explore the Grand Canyon.

While most of the people live in the southern part of the state, the northern half contains some of the most breathtaking scenery in the country. The Grand Canyon is one of the natural wonders of the world, and there are many other parks, monuments, and wildlife preserves to visit across this spectacular state.

The state gemstone is turquoise. This stunning gemstone has been used to make jewelry in the state for centuries.

Arizona’s state motto is Ditat Deus, which is Latin for “God Enriches.”

With an area of 114,006 square miles, Arizona is slightly smaller than the neighboring state of New Mexico.

The government owns more than half of the state’s land.

Phoenix is the manufacturing, financial, and retirement center of Arizona. It is the largest urban area in the state, with about 3.5 million people.

INTRODUCTION Arizona is a large state located in the southwestern United States. The Colorado River defines most of the western border, but otherwise the boundary lines are straight. Utah lies to the north, New Mexico to the east, and Nevada and California to the west. Across an international boundary to the south is the Mexican state of Sonora. Four Corners, at the northeast tip of Arizona, is the only place where four states come together at a point. Along with Arizona, the others are Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.

Monument Valley lies entirely within the Navajo reservation on the UtahArizona border.

Railroads haul passengers and cargo in Arizona. The first railroad line came into the state from the west in about 1878.

Arizona has two state songs: “Arizona March

Arizona has more than 55,000 miles of roads and highways. There are six interstate highways within the state. However, parts of the north, especially in the Grand Canyon region, are somewhat more isolated than the south.

Most travelers who arrive in Arizona by air fly into either Phoenix or Tucson. Phoenix’s airport, Sky Harbor International, carries more passengers than any other airport in the state and is one of the world’s busiest in numbers of takeoffs and landings. It serves as a hub for flights to a number of other cities within Arizona.

Arizona Location Map

Song,” written by Margaret Rowe Clifford and Maurice Blumenthal, and “Arizona,” written by Rex Allen, Jr.

Capital: Phoenix

Tucson has been called the Astronomy Capital of the World because of the observatories in the area.

Interstate highways 0

50

100 Mi.

0

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161 Km.

Scale

Population: 5,130,632

Size: 114,006 square miles

Highest peak: Humphreys Peak, 12,633 feet

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ARIZONA Temperatures in Phoenix can easily reach 110° F in the summer, but humidity is low and almost every building and vehicle is airconditioned. In the winter, while much of the nation is shivering with cold, Arizonans bask in warmth. This makes the state an ideal winter getaway. A large number of retired senior citizens, called “snowbirds,” drive south and spend their winters in Arizona. For instance, the summer population in the town of Quartzsite is about 2,000, but 1 million visitors pass through each year, mostly in winter.

More than 300,000 people spend their winters in Arizona’s RV parks.

The state has many permanent senior citizen residents as well. The number of Arizonans 65 years old or older more than quadrupled from 1970 to 2000. Young people have also flocked to the state for the favorable climate and career opportunities.

The state’s name may have come from a Native American word, arizonac, which means “small spring.”

Phoenix has been the capital since 1889, when Arizona was still a territory.

Arizona is the only state in the country that does not participate in daylight saving time.

Resorts in Arizona are well known for their year-round golf.

INTRODUCTION

Cathedral Rock is one of the most photographed landforms in the state.

The state fossil is petrified wood.

Arizona is the sixth largest state in the nation. Arizona’s state seal depicts its important economic activities, including mining and agriculture.

The state flag has 13 red and yellow rays that represent the original 13 American colonies. A copper-colored star represents the state’s major mineral resource.

It took the Colorado River about 6 million years to carve out one of the world’s most spectacular landforms—the Grand Canyon. This immense gorge is 18 miles across at its widest point, more than 1 mile below the Earth’s surface at its deepest, and 277 miles long. Within the canyon are impressive mesas and buttes formed by the action of water on the rocks. The layers of rock in the canyon reveal the history of Arizona. Different kinds of limestone, sandstone, and shale are stacked like pancakes in the Earth. Some of the fossils and deposits found in this area are hundreds of millions of years old.

The canyon, and part of the plateau surrounding it, is preserved as the Grand Canyon National Park. In the summer about 6,000 cars arrive at the Grand Canyon’s south rim every day. People can explore this World Heritage Site by peering over the edge or taking a bus tour along the rim. Others rent mules and ride down into the canyon or hike down on their own. Visitors can also fly over the canyon in helicopters and airplanes. River rafters brave the Colorado River to observe the Grand Canyon from within. The Grand Canyon is noted for its fantastic shapes and colors. Sunrise and sunset offer the most spectacular views of the canyon.

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LAND AND CLIMATE Although most of Arizona’s people live in desert areas, more than half of the state is mountain and plateau. The main land regions are the Colorado Plateau and the Basin and Range Province, with a transition zone between them. The Colorado Plateau is a dry, flat region that covers northern Arizona. It Not all of Arizona is dry. Oak Creek Canyon has ends with the steep rock wall of the Mogollon natural swimming holes. Rim. The transition zone is a strip of land south of the Colorado Plateau that includes several mountain ranges. The Basin and Range Province, which covers most of the south and some of the west of Phoenix endures about 91 Arizona, is very dry. It includes the Sonoran Desert, which days a year when the mercury extends into Mexico. soars above 100° F. Arizona is well supplied While minimum temperatures in the desert may not dip with deserts. The Mojave Desert, the driest in the state, is in the northwest. In the northeast is the Great Basin Desert, and in the southeastern corner lies the Chihuahuan Desert. The cactus-filled Sonoran Desert covers the southern third of Arizona.

The highest temperature recorded in Arizona was 128° F, most recently recorded in 1994. The coldest temperature was –40° F in 1971.

below freezing in a typical year, winter temperatures in the mountains can fall to 0° F. Vast desert regions receive less than 10 inches of rain per year, but the state’s northern and eastern mountain ranges get more than 25 inches. Snow is common in the mountains. Arizona’s deserts experience large daily temperature changes. Deserts that are hot during the day often turn cold at night.

GEOGRAPHY

NATURAL RESOURCES

Many rivers in Arizona do not flow year-round.

Molybdenum mined in Arizona is used to harden steel.

In the Superstition Mountains east of

Arizona’s first European settlers were lured to the state by its wealth of minerals. Today natural resources remain important to the state’s economy. Arizona is rich in copper, supplying about two thirds of the nation’s total production. There are open-pit and underground copper mines in many parts of the state. Sand and gravel are mined in Arizona and are used in construction. Other key minerals in the state include gold, molybdenum, silver, gypsum, and gemstones. Water is a precious resource in Arizona. The first system of irrigation canals was dug by the prehistoric Hohokam people. Some of these canals are still used to bring water to crops. Water-management projects on a larger scale have been built in recent times. Many dams, such as the giant Hoover Dam on the Nevada border, have been built to create reservoirs for water storage and to produce hydroelectricity.

Phoenix, prospectors still search for the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine. It is said that a miner named Jacob Waltz took the secret of its location to his grave in 1891.

Arizona’s irrigated cropland is some of the most valuable farmland in the United States.

Visitors to Arizona can take tours of old copper mines.

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PLANTS AND ANIMALS

The cactus called the teddy bear cholla looks soft and fuzzy from a distance, but its spines are barbed and sharp.

The palo verde is the state’s official tree. The name is Spanish for “green stick” and refers to the color of the bark.

The mesquite tree is one of the state’s most common desert trees.

Many types of cacti grow in Arizona. The largest is the majestic saguaro, which can grow to a height of 50 feet and live up to 200 years. The white blossom of this cactus is the state flower. Prickly pear, barrel, and organ-pipe cacti also grow in Arizona. Cacti survive in the desert climate because they are able to store water in their stems and roots. Other desert plants, including creosote and sagebrush, also store moisture well. Not all of Arizona is desert. Almost one fourth of the state is forestland. The trees grow mostly at higher elevations. One of the most common trees in Arizona is the ponderosa pine. Aspen, cottonwood, blue spruce, and walnut trees are also found in the state.

More than 400 edible plants grow in the Sonoran Desert.

The largest member of the yucca family is the Joshua tree. It is dominant in the western deserts.

Poppies and yucca flowers are common wildflowers in southern Arizona.

GEOGRAPHY

There are at least 11 different rattlesnake species in Arizona.

The Apache trout is the state fish. The ringtail is the state mammal, the ridgenosed rattlesnake is the state reptile, and the Arizona tree frog is the state amphibian.

The Kaibab Plateau in Arizona is the only place in the country where the Kaibab squirrel may be found.

Arizona’s collared lizards run on their hind legs when they are alarmed.

It takes hardy animals to live in some of the harsh areas of Arizona. Forty different kinds of lizards, including the poisonous Gila monster, roam the state. Scorpions and tarantulas inhabit the hotter areas. Rattlesnakes and coral snakes may be found slithering along the desert floor. The desert tortoise adds to the fascinating wildlife. It has forelimbs that are adapted for digging through desert sand to find shelter from heat and predators. Desert mule deer graze on cactus fruit in the winter and look for higher scrub forests for food in the summer. In Arizona’s grasslands, herds of pronghorn antelope share pastures with domestic cattle and sheep. White-tailed deer, elks, and mountain lions are found in the forests. Foxes, badgers, and wild piglike animals called javelinas all live on Arizona’s varied land. In the sky, eagles soar near the mountains and vultures circle the desert floor. Roadrunners and wild turkeys are also found in the state.

The javelina eats grasses, fruits, and seeds, but its favorite food is prickly pear cactus.

Mountain lions are the largest wild cat in the United States. They are rarely seen in the wild.

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TOURISM The Grand Canyon is one of Arizona’s top tourist destinations. People can also visit the spectacular formations of Monument Valley and the Meteor Crater, a pit 4,000 feet across and 600 feet deep where a meteorite struck the Earth about 50,000 years ago. In the Petrified Forest visitors can view giant tree trunks that turned to stone over a period of 160 million years.

Iron oxide—rust—gives Cathedral Rock near Sedona its reddish coloration.

Lake Havasu City’s London Bridge spanned the Thames River in England for more than 140 years before being sold to American land developers in 1968. It was then dismantled, shipped to Arizona, and reassembled in the Mojave Desert.

Painted Desert, named for its colorful rock formations, runs for about 200 miles along the Little Colorado River.

Arizona has two of the largest Indian reservations in the country. Visitors go to the reservations to see traditional Navajo and Tohono O’odham ceremonies and to buy Native American arts and crafts. Arizona’s Wild West heritage is preserved in Tombstone, where the fabled gunfight at the O.K. Corral was fought. Restored saloons and reenactments give visitors a sense of the rough-and-ready lifestyles of the pioneers. Boot Hill also gives visitors a chilling reminder of what a dangerous place the West really was. Rows of tombstones mark the graves of those who “died with their boots on” during this rough period. The mining town of Tombstone survived the decline in the silver-mining industry and earned the nickname Town Too Tough To Die.

ECONOMY

INDUSTRY Arizona has more than 25 million acres of farmland, but very little of this land is used to grow crops. Most of the land is used to raise livestock, and cattle sales make up the largest source of income for farmers and ranchers annually. Arizona has more than 800,000 cattle and more than 125,000 breeding sheep. Farming in Arizona is highly commercialized and industrialized. This is evident in the state’s cotton A network of canals, tunnels, and fields. Arizona ranks about 10th in the country for water pipelines covers the state. cotton production. The warm, sunny climate also makes Arizona an important fruit and vegetable producer, especially during the winter, when farms in northern states are shut down. Miles of lemon, orange, and grapefruit Arizona farmers grow durum wheat, hay, melons, groves line the desert. grapes, and barley.

Forestry is a small industry on the Arizona plateaus. Ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, and many kinds of oaks are the trees most often felled for timber.

More than 60 percent of Arizona’s electric power is produced by the burning of petroleum or coal. Another 20 percent is produced by nuclear plants west of Phoenix at Palo Verde. Natural gas is also an important power source. Dams on the Colorado River store water for use in generating electric power. Hydroelectric plants produce about 6 percent of the state’s electric power.

Arizona produces about 1.5 quadrillion British thermal units of electricity in a year.

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GOODS AND SERVICES Arizona is a leading computer chip manufacturer.

The electronics industry is a growing sector in Arizona’s economy.

The largest Arizona-based corporation is Avnet, a manufacturer of electronic components with headquarters in Phoenix.

About 15 percent of Arizona’s economy is based on manufacturing. Most manufacturing plants are located in Phoenix and Tucson. Electronic goods are very important to this sector of the economy. Some manufacturers produce space vehicles and guided missiles for the government. Others produce aeronautical products and parts. With the growth of the computer industry, Arizona manufacturers are making a variety of semiconductors and other electronic components. Metal processing is also an important industry. The Arizona Republic, printed in Phoenix, has more readers than any other newspaper in Arizona. Other popular papers include The Tucson Citizen and The Arizona Daily Star, which is also printed in Tucson. Arizonans trumpet the attractions of their state in a magazine called Arizona Highways, which since 1925 has circulated widely throughout the United States.

Arizona’s first commercial radio station was KFAD. It went on the air on June 21, 1922.

Arizona has more than 30 broadcast television stations keeping the people of the state entertained and informed.

Arizona is known for its high-quality golf clubs.

Some large aviation manufacturing companies operate in Arizona.

ECONOMY

Real estate is an important part of the service sector. The state’s expanding population has created a constant demand for more houses and office buildings.

Among Arizona’s military bases are Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Luke Air Force Base, the army’s Fort Huachuca, and MCAS (Marine Corps Air Station) Yuma.

Arizona-born Cesar Chavez dedicated his life to helping farmworkers by establishing a union to protect workers’ rights.

More than 700,000 Arizonans are employed in managerial and professional specialties. Technical, sales, and administrative support provide employment for about 700,000 more. More than 300,000 other Arizonans work in service occupations. These are workers who do something for someone else. Many service providers support the state’s strong tourism industry. Attractions such as the Grand Canyon and the state’s many dude ranches contribute to the success of the tourism industry. The largest private employer in Arizona is Wal-Mart Stores, a national retail chain. Other major employers in the state include Honeywell International, an aerospace manufacturer, and Banner Health, which operates hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

More than 600,000 people have taken mule tours into the Grand Canyon.

Arizona’s three state universities together employ more than 10,000 people.

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NATIVE AMERICANS The Native American hoop dance represents the cycles of life.

In southern Arizona the Apache fought against the United States for 11 years. They were never defeated, but the Apache leader Cochise decided to stop fighting and agreed to settle on a reservation in 1872.

The Hopi of today are believed to be related to the Anasazi. The Pima and the Tohono O’odham are thought to have descended from the Hohokam.

The presence of Native American culture is felt more strongly in Arizona than in almost any other state. There is evidence that Native Americans have lived in the area for more than 25,000 years. The Anasazi people lived in the northwest from about AD 1050, growing corn, beans, squash, and cotton. Some of the dwellings they built into the sides of cliffs can still be seen today. In the Gila and Salt River valleys, the Hohokam dug irrigation ditches to water the crops they planted in the desert fields. The Mogollon lived in the east, where they made the region’s first pottery. In about the 1400s the Navajo and the Apache arrived from the north. The Navajo grew crops and raised sheep in the northeast. The Apache hunted game in the southern mountains. As American settlers moved into Arizona, many Native Americans were forced from their land. In 1863 the U.S. Army chased the Navajo out of their canyon homes and burned their crops. About 8,000 Navajo were captured and forced to make their way to eastern New Mexico on foot. This 300-mile trek is known in Navajo history as the Long Walk. Finally, a new treaty was signed in 1868, and the surviving Navajo were allowed to go back to a reservation in their former territory.

The Hopi, the Pima, and the Tohono O’odham are known for their excellent basket-weaving skills.

THE PAST

EXPLORERS

While setting up the colony of New Mexico, Juan de Oñate and his men explored the surrounding territory and found silver deposits in Arizona.

Early European explorers

By the 1520s the Spanish had conquered Mexico. Soon afterward they heard rumors of fabulous riches to the north. In 1539 Marcos de Niza led an expedition into Arizona in search of the legendary Seven Cities of Cíbola, which were said to have streets of gold. The following year Francisco Vázquez de Coronado traveled through Arizona, also in search of treasure. But the bricks he found in the Native American villages were adobe, not gold. Coronado’s men were the first Europeans to behold the Grand Canyon. They turned back after trying for three days to find a way to descend to the river. Coronado himself went eastward, all the way to Kansas, in his misguided quest.

Juan de Oñate was the first Spanish governor of New Mexico, a province that included Arizona as well. In 1604 he set out on an expedition in search of gold that followed the Colorado River through Arizona to its mouth at the Gulf of California. Like Coronado, he found no gold.

of Arizona were hoping to find golden cities there. Tales of fabulous treasures had been told by Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, a Spanish shipwreck survivor who may have reached Arizona while wandering through the Southwest between 1528 and 1536. After an epic journey that took him into Arizona, he and a few companions finally reached Mexico City eight years later.

In 1582 Antonio de Espejo went to Arizona and found silver deposits near the site of present-day Jerome. The samples he took home increased interest in the area.

Francisco Vázquez de Coronado was accompanied by about 300 soldiers when he explored Arizona.

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MISSIONARIES In 1629 Spanish missionaries arrived in Arizona at the Hopi mesas. They hoped to convert the Native Americans to Christianity. The Indians were forbidden to practice their own religion. In 1680 the Pueblo Indians in New Mexico rebelled against the Spanish and drove them out of the area. The Hopi in Arizona followed suit. Not until 200 years later was Christianity widespread in their land.

Along with his missionary work, Eusebio Kino made several maps of Arizona. These maps were used for many years after his death.

Missionaries had better luck in southern Arizona. A Spanish priest named Eusebio Kino taught Native Americans new ways to farm and raise cattle and sheep. He respected the Indians. Kino set up 24 missions in southern Arizona and northern Mexico. After Kino died in 1711, he was replaced by less distinguished missionaries. They faced revolts by the native peoples.

The Mission of San Xavier Del Bac is one of the bestpreserved Spanish missions in the United States. It was completed in 1797 near Tucson.

In 1768 Francisco Tomás Garcés began missionary work in Arizona. He traveled widely in the area before being killed by the Yuma people.

The first mission that Eusebio Kino established in Arizona was the Tumacacori Mission.

THE PAST

EARLY SETTLERS

Shortly after he arrived in Tombstone in 1878, Wyatt Earp became a United States Marshal for the Arizona Territory.

Arizona’s gold and silver rush during the mid- to late-1800s attracted lawless fortune hunters to the area. Residents, including Wyatt and Virgil Earp, Doc Holliday, and the Clanton gang, became legendary gunfighters and lawmakers in Tombstone.

In 1751 Native Americans clashed with Spanish settlers. In response, the Spanish built a military post at Tubac, which became Arizona’s first non–Native American settlement. More military forts, including one at Tucson in 1776, were built to protect Spanish interests in the area. However, it was not long before the Spanish lost control of Arizona to Mexico.

While Arizona was under Spanish and Mexican control, only a few American explorers, soldiers, trappers, and sheep drivers visited the area. In 1848, after a war with Mexico, the United States took over an immense tract of land in the southwest, including most of Arizona. The United States bought the rest of the land that became Arizona from Mexico in the Gadsden Purchase of 1853. Mining and farming prospects brought more settlers to Arizona. Phoenix emerged around the rebuilt Hohokam irrigation canals in 1867. People from all over the country flocked to Arizona to work in the mines and to farm.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed in 1848, ended the Mexican War. It gave New Mexico, including Arizona, to the United States. This treaty prompted the westward movement of settlers.

The United States paid about $15 million to compensate Mexico for the territory it had to give up after losing the Mexican War.

Early mining towns included Wickenburg, Tombstone, and Globe.

Trading posts were not only places of business, but social centers as well. Along with goods, people would trade local news and gossip.

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POPULATION More than 280,000 Native Americans live in Arizona. Only Oklahoma and California have larger Native American populations. There are 22 recognized tribes or nations in Arizona, and 22 reservations are located at least partly within the state. While the majority of Arizonans are of European ancestry, about 27 percent claim Hispanic roots. The vast majority of these are Mexican Americans. African Americans make up about 3 percent of Arizona’s total population, and Asians and Pacific Islanders make up about 2 percent. The number of Arizonans who live in cities and towns has risen steadily. Today nearly 90 percent of Arizonans live in urban areas. More than half of Arizona’s people live in the Phoenix-Mesa area. Another one sixth live in the resort region of Tucson.

The Hopi town of Oraibi, which dates back to about 1150, may be the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the United States.

The population of Mesa jumped from 152,000 to 396,000 between 1980 and 2000.

When Arizona became a state, it had about 200,000 people. By 1920 the population had surpassed 300,000. In 1940 it sat at 500,000, and by 1960 it broke the million mark with 1.3 million residents. Today the population is more than 5 million.

About 1.5 million people in Arizona are less than 18 years of age.

CULTURE

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT Arizona holds many firsts in politics and government. In 1981 Sandra Day O’Connor became the first female judge appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1998 the state became the first in history to elect women to the top five executive offices. The Arizona government is structured much like the federal government––it has executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The executive branch is led by the governor, who is elected to a four-year term. The governor appoints officials, sets the budget, and decides which state issues are most important. New laws need to be approved in the executive before they are enacted. The legislature is composed of a Senate of 30 members and House of Representatives of 60 members. Here, new laws are introduced and old ones are changed. The judicial branch consists of the courts. The highest court is the Arizona Supreme Court, whose five judges are appointed to six-year terms.

Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor grew up on a ranch in Arizona.

Arizona was the newest addition to the Union between Feb. 14, 1912, when it was admitted as the 48th state, and Jan. 3, 1959, when Alaska became the 49th state.

Rose Mofford became the state’s first female governor in 1988.

Native Americans in Arizona did not have the vote until 1948.

The Arizona Capitol dome was restored with 15 tons of copper donated by the state’s copper companies.

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CULTURAL GROUPS More than one fourth of all Arizonans consider themselves to be Hispanic Americans. Their Spanish roots were firmly planted long before Arizona became a state. Many people in southern Arizona are bilingual, capable of speaking both Spanish and English. On September 16, festivals celebrate Mexican Independence Day. Throughout the state parties featuring mariachi bands and fireworks celebrate Mexico’s successful fight for independence from Spain. As a Southwestern state, Arizona embraces cowboy culture. Many of the first cowboys were Mexican, and some of the cowboy terms used today have Mexican origins. Vaquero became “buckaroo” in English, la reata became “lariat,” and chaparreras were leather leggings worn by cowboys––they are now known as “chaps.” Tucson celebrates its Mexican cowboy culture during La Fiesta de los Vaqueros.

Traditional dances are performed in Arizona on Mexican Independence Day.

Spanish and Mexican influences in Arizona can be seen in the style of buildings and in place names.

Arizona’s Western culture shows in its choice of official state neckwear––the bola tie. Invented in Arizona, this tie is a favorite among cowboys.

In Sedona, Mexican Independence Day is celebrated with Mexican arts and crafts, food, music, and dancing at the Fiesta del Tlaquepaque.

CULTURE During the 1800s many people from Ireland, Germany, Italy, and Serbia arrived in Arizona to work in copper mines. Some African Americans moved to Arizona to work on ranches. During the state’s early days, many Chinese moved there to build railroads and work in mines. Other people of Asian background, including Japanese, Koreans, Vietnamese, and Laotians, have since moved to Arizona, enriching the state with their culture and traditions. Japanese culture is celebrated every year in Phoenix with the Matsuri festival. During this celebration, people can watch demonstrations of Japanese dancing and martial arts. Every September the Navajo celebrate their traditions at the Navajo Nation Fair in Window All Hopi children become members of the Rock, the capital of the community through their mother’s clan. Navajo Reservation. It is said to be the biggest Native American fair in the world. Many people go to By far the largest Native American nation in Arizona view rodeos, parades, and is the Navajo. exhibits of jewelry, blankets, The Navajo Reservation, and other crafts. which is located in northeastern Arizona and parts of Utah and New Mexico, is about the size of West Virginia.

Of all the states, Arizona has the most land set aside for Native American reservations.

Many Chinese people settled in Arizona towns and established a variety of independent businesses.

Tucson’s Irish community celebrates St. Patrick’s Day with festivals and parades.

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ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT Arizona’s picturesque landscape has served as inspiration to talented artists. The landscape painter Thomas Moran gave the world one of the first views of the Grand Canyon. His work is displayed in the nation’s Capitol in Washington, D.C. Other artists, including Maynard Dixon and Frederic Remington, painted colorful scenes of Arizona during the early 1900s. Arizona’s Native Americans are known for their pottery, woven baskets, and blankets. Navajo blankets and rugs of every imaginable color are prized throughout the world. Native American silversmiths have also gained recognition as creators of ornate jewelry.

A bronze statue of Buckey O’Neill stands proudly in Prescott. In the Spanish-American War, O’Neill was one of the Rough Riders, who were U.S. Cavalry volunteers recruited by President Theodore Roosevelt.

One of the most celebrated Western novelists captured the history and beauty of Arizona in his writing. Although born in Ohio, Zane Grey told many tales of Western adventure set in Arizona. His novels continue to thrill readers. Another writer, Oliver La Farge, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1930 for Laughing Boy, a novel about Navajo characters.

Scottsdale has more than 100 art galleries.

Navajo artist R.C. Gorman grew up on a reservation in Arizona. His paintings of Native Americans are brightly colored.

The Heard Museum in Phoenix is devoted to Native American art and culture. About 250,000 people visit it each year.

African American novelist Terry McMillan was a professor at the University of Arizona.

Traditional Navajo pottery features intricate designs.

CULTURE Music lovers attend the concerts of the Phoenix Symphony. The Arizona Opera divides its performance dates between Tucson and Phoenix. Jazz is supported in Scottsdale by an organization called Jazz in Arizona, in Sedona by Jazz on the Rocks, and in Tucson by the Tucson Jazz Society. Arizonans have made their mark in country and pop music as well. Marty Robbins, born in Glendale, was one of the most successful country musicians in the nation. Robbins had 94 country chart hits and was also a movie actor. Linda Ronstadt, a native of Tucson, also has had many of her songs soar on the charts. She has won Grammy awards for Spanish-language as well as English-language recordings. Director Steven Spielberg made his first movies while growing up in the Phoenix area. He went on to direct some of the most popular films in Hollywood history, such as E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Jurassic Park.

Steven Spielberg made his first full-length movie at the age of 16. A local theater played it for one evening.

Lynda Carter, star of the 1970s television show Wonder Woman, was born in Phoenix.

Frank Lloyd Wright, considered the most influential architect of his time, worked in Scottsdale at a studio called Taliesin West.

Tucson’s La Fiesta de los Chiles delivers on its promise of a hot time. The food features chili peppers and is very spicy. More than 7,500 people attend the Sedona Jazz on the Rocks festival each year.

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ARIZONA

SPORTS

Fishers in Arizona have dozens of lakes from which to choose.

Colorful balloons soar skyward at the annual Hot Air Balloon Rally at Fountain Hills.

Arizona is a wonderland of outdoor activity. People can water-ski in the warm sun and then bundle up for snow skiing on Mount Lemmon or the Fairfield Snowbowl. Rivers and lakes provide great fishing and boating opportunities for Arizonans. Because of the warm climate, Arizonans can bicycle, rock climb, swim, and jog throughout the year. Tennis, baseball, and hiking are other ways to spend time outdoors in Arizona.

Golf is a favorite year-round activity in Arizona. In Phoenix about 11 million rounds of golf are played every year on the city’s 190 courses. Amateur golfers are not the only athletes to enjoy the stunning Arizona courses. The Professional Golf Association and the Ladies Professional Golf Association often visit Arizona courses during their tours.

A rodeo billed as the world’s oldest takes place in Prescott every year as part of the Frontier Days celebration. The first Prescott rodeo, called a Cowboy Tournament, was staged in 1888.

Olympic gold medal gymnast Kerri Strug is from Tucson. She captured hearts when she competed at the 1996 Olympics with a badly sprained ankle and torn ligaments.

Arizona’s mild climate makes the state a mountain biker’s paradise.

CULTURE There is no shortage of professional sports teams to cheer for in Arizona. In 1988 the state acquired its own professional football team––the Arizona Cardinals. The team trains in Flagstaff during the summer and heads to Tempe’s Sun Devil Stadium to tackle opponents during its home games.

Large groups of fans come in from the mild Phoenix winter to cheer on the Coyotes.

The Cardinals played in St. Louis before moving to Phoenix and in Chicago before that. The franchise dates back to 1920, the first year of the National Football League.

Helen Hull Jacobs was born in Globe. She was ranked as one of the top-ten tennis players in the world every year from 1928 until 1940.

Arizona’s warm climate lures 12 major league baseball teams to Arizona for spring training in the Cactus League. Among the teams training in the state are the Milwaukee Brewers, the Seattle Mariners, and the Chicago Cubs. When the regular season starts, the Arizona Diamondbacks play their home games in Phoenix. Professional basketball fans turn their eyes toward the sun— the Phoenix Suns, that is. Since 1968 the Suns have wowed their fans. Suns stars including Charles Barkley and Penny Hardaway have led the squad to many victories. When the Suns are playing away from home, Phoenix sports fans can support the Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey League.

Randy Johnson, who has played for the Arizona Diamondbacks and other teams, was the first pitcher in major league baseball history to strike out 300 or more batters five years in a row.

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Answer: They are all mountain ranges in the Basin and Range Province of Arizona. Answer: Barry Goldwater. He lost to Lyndon B. Johnson.

What Arizona senator was the Republican candidate for president in 1964? ence of . There is evid Answer: True ns at Chiricahua tio volcanic erup ent and num National Mo r Volcano Sunset Crate nument. National Mo reek Caldera The Turkey C icahua hir eruption in C mes more was 1,000 ti n the 1980 powerful tha nt St. ou eruption of M gton. shin Helens in Wa

3

1

LSE? TRUE OR FA to be There used rizona. A volcanoes in

4

What are Gila, Pinaleno, Huachuca, Santa Catalina, and Superstition?

Answer: The Apache were trained in warfare and were skilled horsemen. They operated from a range of difficult-toreach hills in the southeastern part of what became Arizona. Cochise and Geronimo were Apache leaders well known for evading settlers and soldiers.

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2

What made the Apache such great warriors?

ARIZONA

Answer: False. The bridge connects the Arizona shoreline of Lake Havasu with a small island in the lake, which is actually a dammedup section of the Colorado River.

Answer: Mo st e Wright to be xperts consider Frank Llo yd the m o s t c re a ti architect of ve American the low-slung ho 20th century. He designe use d s in th e P ra irie style as well as to w e ri n g o ff ice buildings Guggenh . His e im M u s e u m in New Yo features rk C a n a rt g a ll e ry shaped lik ity spiral ramp. ea

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8

London Bridge now carries Interstate 40 over Lake Havasu to California. TRUE OR FALSE? Answer: Pima cotton. The Pima people have grown cotton on their land for hundreds of years.

Frank Lloyd Wrigh t spent his w int in Scottsda ers le and died in Pho enix in 1959. What did he do that mad him famous e ?

Answer: False. An agave is a desert plant. The best-known type of agave is the American aloe. It flowers only once when it is between 10 and 25 years old. Agaves have fleshy leaves that look like flattened bunches of green bananas.

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Agave is a Native American group in Arizona. TRUE OR FALSE?

What kind of fine cotton is named for one of Arizona’s Native American peoples?

ACTIVITIES

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ARIZONA

FACTS AND RESOURCES About Arizona Flag

Nickname

Seal

The Grand Canyon State

Motto

Ditat Deus (God Enriches)

Song

“Arizona March Song,” words by Margaret Rowe Clifford and music by Maurice Blumenthal

Entered the Union

Capital Bird

Blossom of the Saguaro Cactus

Tree

Palo Verde

Flower

Cactus Wren

Feb. 14, 1912, as the 48th state

Phoenix

Population (2000 census). 5,130,632—rank, 20th state

Books

Web Sites

Fradin, Dennis B. From Sea to Shining Sea: Arizona. Chicago: Childrens Press, 1995.

You can also go online and have a look at the following Web sites:

Heinrichs, Ann. This Land Is Your Land: Arizona. Minneapolis, Minn.: Compass Point Press, 2004.

Arizona State Homepage http://www.state.az.us

McDaniel, Melissa. Celebrate the States: Arizona. Tarrytown, N.Y: Benchmark Books, 2000.

Tourism Arizona http://www.arizonaguide.com Lost in the Grand Canyon: The American Experience http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/canyon Some Web sites stay current longer than others. To find more Arizona Web sites, enter search terms such as “Arizona,” “Grand Canyon,” “desert,” “Diamondbacks,” or any other topic you want to research.

GLOSSARY

GLOSSARY adobe: sun-dried brick

hydroelectricity: water-generated power

ancestry: distant relatives

irrigation: supplying land with water by using streams, canals, dams, and other methods

aviation: the design, development, and production of aircraft bilingual: a person who is able to use two languages, especially with equal ability buttes: tall columns of rock cargo: goods carried on a ship or plane clan: a group of people of common descent dude ranches: resorts that offer activities typical of a ranch enacted: made into law expedition: a journey of exploration gorge: narrow, steep-sided valley

isolated: set apart or away from human contact lariat: a rope used to tether a horse ligaments: tough tissue that holds bones together or organs in place mariachi: Mexican band mesas: flat-topped hills with clifflike sides petrified: stonelike urban: relating to city life

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ARIZONA

INDEX Arizona Cardinals 27 Arizona Diamondbacks 27

limestone 7 London Bridge 12, 29

rattlesnakes 11 rodeo 23, 26

Chavez, Cesar 15 Cochise 16, 28 Colorado River 5, 7, 13 computers 14 copper 7, 9, 23 cotton 13, 16, 29

Matsuri festival 23

scorpions 11 Sky Harbor International Airport 5 Spielberg, Steven 25

Earp, Wyatt 19

O’Connor, Sandra Day 21 Oñate, Juan de 17

Geronimo 28 golf 6, 26 Grand Canyon 4, 5, 7, 12, 15, 17, 24 Grey, Zane 24 irrigation 4, 16, 19 Kino, Eusebio 18

Native Americans 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 28, 29 Niza, Marcos de 17

Painted Desert 12 petrified wood 7 Phoenix 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, 14, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 29 Phoenix Coyotes 27 Phoenix Suns 27

Tombstone 12, 19 Tucson 5, 14, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26 turquoise 4 Wright, Frank Lloyd 25, 29