Arizona

Spanish derivative, "arizonac", of the Pima or Papago word "al shon" or "aleh zon" meaning little or young spring.
Spanish words "�rida zona" meaning arid zone
Aztec word "arizuma" meaning silver bearing

Arizonac is a small town about eight miles south of the United States-Mexican border. Its name was probably derived from the Pima or Papago name for the place. In 1736 a small silver-mining camp called "Real Arissona" by the Spanish was established near the town. Later in the mid 18th century Spanish missionaries changed Father Eusebio Francisco Kino's maps of the area; they renamed the town Arizonac as Arizona. As the maps were republished and circulated in Europe, the name Arizona became attached to the whole northern part of New Spain.

USS Arizona was named in honor of this state.

History

Beyond its original native inhabitants, Marcos de Niza, a Franciscan, explored the area in 1539. Coronado's expedition entered the area in 1540-42 during its search for Cibola. Father Kino developed a chain of missions and taught the Indians Christianity in Pimer�a Alta (now southern Arizona and northern Sonora) in the 1690's and early 1700's. Spain founded fortified towns (presidios) at Tubac in 1752 and Tucson in 1775. All of what is now Arizona became part of Mexico's northwest frontier upon the Mexican assertion of independence from Spain in 1821. The United States took possession of most of Arizona at the end of the Mexican War in 1848. 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 it was organized into a separate territory on February 24, 1863.

At the direction of Brigham Young, Mormons came from Utah in the mid to late 1800s to the Phoenix Valley (or "Valley of the Sun"), Mesa, Tempe, Prescott, Snowflake, Heber and many other Arizona towns to settle there. One of the first Latter-day Saint temples built in the Southwest was the Mesa temple, finished in 1927.

Arizona was admitted into the Union on February 14, 1912.

Law and government

See: List of Congressmen

Arizona's legislature consists of a thirty-member Senate and a 60-member House of Representatives. The majority party is the Republican party, which has held power since 1950. The 2002 budget of the Arizona state legislature was $14.3 billion, while the executive budget was $13.8 billion. Besides the money spent on state agencies, money has also been allocated for tax cuts, pay raises for government employees, and health insurance for government employees. The executive budget has allocated money to previously passed legislation. Arizona state senators and representatives are elected for two year terms and there are no terms limits. However, no more than four terms may be served consecutively.

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 has been governor since 2003. See:List of Arizona Governors

The two Arizona US Senators 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), J.D. Hayworth (R-5), Jeff Flake (R-6), Raul Grijalva (R-7), and Jim Kolbe (R-8). Arizona gained two seats in the House of Representatives due to redistricting based on Census 2000.

In 1998, Arizona voters elected the "fabulous five" -- five women candidates elected to the state's top posts:

Governor Jane Dee Hull (R)
State Attorney General Janet Napolitano (D)
State Treasurer Carol Springer (R)
Secretary of State Betsey Bayless (R)
Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Graham Keegan (R)

Geography

State Topography Image: Arizona

See:	List of Arizona counties	List of Arizona rivers	List of Arizona lakes
	Arizona state parks	List of U.S. National Forests

Like other states of the Southwest, Arizona has an abundance of topographical characteristics in addition to its desert climes. 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 2000-foot 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.

Statistics

Largest City: Phoenix
Highest Point: Humphreys Peak - 12,633 ft. near Flagstaff
Lowest Point: Colorado River - 70 ft.

Art

Arizona has witnessed a continous string of dancing and performing groups of many ethnicities. Ballet Arizona is the most notable and only professional ballet company in the country. Irish dance of Phoenix, AZ has had a continuous history since the 1940s.

http://www.geocities.com/azirishdance/

Economy

Early in its history, Arizona's economy relied on the "five C's": copper, cotton, cattle, citrus and climate (i.e., tourism). At one point Arizona was the largest producer of cotton in the country. Copper is still found in abundance from many of its small mining towns. (See, for instance, Bisbee, Ajo or Globe.) While the state government itself is the state's largest employer, Wal-Mart is the state's largest private employer with 17,343 employees in 2003. Arizona lost much of its advantage as a high-technology industry leader between 1990 and 2001, according to a state Department of Commerce (http://www.commerce.state.az.us/) report. 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.

Demographics

Population Breakdown: ([U.S. Census Bureau 2000 (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/04000.html)])

White: 75.5% (Not of Hispanic Origin: 63.8)
Native: 5.0
African American: 3.1
Asian: 1.8
Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.1
Other Race: 11.6
Persons reporting two or more races: 2.9%

See the list of Arizona Natives. According to 2003 Census esimates, Arizona has the second highest number of the 2,752,158 Native Americans in the country with over 10% of the country's total at 286,680. It is preceded by California at 410,501 and followed by Oklahoma at 278,124 [1] (http://eire.census.gov/popest/data/states/ST-EST2002-ASRO-03.php).

Important cities and towns

Missing image
National-atlas-arizona.png

Arizona major towns

See: List of cities in Arizona, List of cities in Arizona (by population), List of Arizona counties

Each city named in bold has a population greater than 100,000.

Phoenix

Tucson
- Casas Adobes
- Catalina Foothills
- Oro Valley
- Drexel Heights
- Tanque Verde
- Flowing Wells
- Marana
- Tucson Southeast
Prescott
- Prescott Valley
Flagstaff
Fountain Hills
Douglas
Florence
Yuma

Notable people

Famous Arizonans also include Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, author Zane Grey, former Governor and Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, architect Frank Lloyd Wright, Presidential candidate and former Senator Barry Goldwater, former senator Carl Hayden and former Solicitor General Rex E. Lee . From the rock and roll world, both Alice Cooper and Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac are from Phoenix.

Education

Colleges and universities

State universities

Community colleges

Phoenix Community College
Glendale Community College
Mesa Community College
Scottsdale Community College
Pima Community College
Eastern Arizona College
Yavapai Community College
Rio Salado Community College
Prescott College
Cochise College
Mohave Community College
South Mountain Community College
Arizona Western College

Private colleges and trade schools

American Graduate School of International Management
American Indian College of the Assemblies of God
DeVry University, Phoenix
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Grand Canyon University
Prescott College
Southwestern College
University of Phoenix
Western International University

Education associations

Arizona Music Educators Association

Professional sports teams

Spring training

Arizona is a popular location for Major League Baseball spring training. The state hosts the following major league teams (called the Cactus league) for spring training:

Anaheim Angels in Tempe
Arizona Diamondbacks in Tucson
Chicago Cubs in Mesa
Chicago White Sox in Tucson
Colorado Rockies in Tucson
Kansas City Royals in Surprise
Milwaukee Brewers in Phoenix
Oakland Athletics in Phoenix
San Diego Padres in Peoria
San Francisco Giants in Scottsdale
Seattle Mariners in Peoria
Texas Rangers in Surprise

External links

Arizona @ Your Service (http://www.az.gov/webapp/portal/)
Arizona Regional Accounts Data (http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/regional/map/map.asp?po=AZ)
Arizona Demographic Data from FedStats (http://www.fedstats.gov/qf/states/04000.html)
Census 2000 Data for Arizona (http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/tables/redist_az.html)
Official Arizona Office of Tourism (http://www.arizonaguide.com/home.asp)
Arizona State Parks (http://www.pr.state.az.us/Parks/parksites.html)
Arizona News (http://www.HavenWorks.com/arizona)
Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records (http://www.lib.az.us/)
Arizona State Reprsentative, District 7 (http://www.raybarnesreelectdistrict7.com)
Arizona Paths - All-About-Arizona (http://www.azpaths.com)
Photographic virtual tour of Arizona. (http://www.Untraveledroad.com/USA/Arizona.htm)
An Oral History of Irish Dance in Arizona. (http://www.geocities.com/azirishdance/)
Photos of Arizona - Terra Galleria (http://www.terragalleria.com/america/arizona/)

Regions of Arizona
North Central Arizona \| Northern Arizona \| Phoenix metropolitan area \| Southern Arizona
Largest Cities
Apache Junction \| Avondale \| Bullhead City \| Casas Adobes \| Catalina Foothills \| Chandler \| Flagstaff \| Gilbert \| Glendale \| Lake Havasu City \| Mesa \| Nogales \| Payson \| Peoria \| Phoenix \| Prescott \| Scottsdale \| Sierra Vista \| Sun City \| Surprise \| Tempe \| Tombstone \| Tucson \| Yuma
Counties
Apache \| Cochise \| Coconino \| Gila \| Graham \| Greenlee \| La Paz \| Maricopa \| Mohave \| Navajo \| Pima \| Pinal \| Santa Cruz \| Yavapai \| Yuma

Political divisions of the United States

States	Alabama \| Alaska \| Arizona \| Arkansas \| California \| Colorado \| Connecticut \| Delaware \| Florida \| Georgia \| Hawaii \| Idaho \| Illinois \| Indiana \| Iowa \| Kansas \| Kentucky \| Louisiana \| Maine \| Maryland \| Massachusetts \| Michigan \| Minnesota \| Mississippi \| Missouri \| Montana \| Nebraska \| Nevada \| New Hampshire \| New Jersey \| New Mexico \| New York \| North Carolina \| North Dakota \| Ohio \| Oklahoma \| Oregon \| Pennsylvania \| Rhode Island \| South Carolina \| South Dakota \| Tennessee \| Texas \| Utah \| Vermont \| Virginia \| Washington \| West Virginia \| Wisconsin \| Wyoming
Federal district	District of Columbia
Insular areas	American Samoa \| Baker Island \| Guam \| Howland Island \| Jarvis Island \| Johnston Atoll \| Kingman Reef \| Midway Atoll \| Navassa Island \| Northern Mariana Islands \| Palmyra Atoll \| Puerto Rico \| Virgin Islands \| Wake Island Edit (http://www.centipedia.com/index.php?title=Template:United_States&action=edit)

bg:Аризона da:Arizona de:Arizona et:Arizona es:Arizona eo:Arizono fr:Arizona id:Arizona he:אריזונה la:Arizona nl:Arizona ja:アリゾナ州 no:Arizona pl:Arizona (stan w USA) sr:Аризона fi:Arizona sv:Arizona uk:Арізона zh:亞利桑那州

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