Wikijunior:North America/United States/Arizona

Arizona

Arizona is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix. Other big cities in Arizona include Tucson, Mesa, and Chandler. Arizona was the 48th state admitted to the union on February 14, 1912. Arizona borders New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, California and touches Colorado at one of its corners. It is also bordered by parts of Mexico. Residents are known as Arizonans.

History

Humans have lived in Arizona for at least 20,000 years. Native American tribes that inhabited Arizona included the Hopi, Zuni, Navajo, and Apache.

Arizona became a state on February 14, 1912 and the 48th state admitted into the union. Marcos de Niza, a Spanish Franciscan, explored the area in 1539 and met its original native inhabitants. Spain founded towns at Tubac in 1752 and Tucson in 1775.

When Mexico achieved its independence from Spain in 1821, what is now Arizona became part of the Mexican Territory Nueva California. During the Mexican–American War in 1847, the U.S. occupied Mexico City and forced the newly founded Mexican Republic to give up its northern territories, including what later became Arizona.

Geography

Arizona is located in the western United States as one of the Four Corners states. Of the state's 113,998 square miles (295,000 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 cactus plants. It is also known for its climate, which presents exceptionally hot summers and mild winters. Mountains and plateaus are found in more than half of the state.

Arizona is also home to the Grand Canyon which is considered to be one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. The Grand Canyon is a colorful, steep-sided gorge, carved by the Colorado River, in northern Arizona. 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 has a depth of more than 1 mile (1.6 km).

People

In 2019, the United States Census Bureau estimated Arizona's population was 7,278,717. English is the most-spoken language (72.9%), followed by Spanish (20.8%), Navajo (1.5%), German and Chinese (including Mandarin (0.4%)), Tagalog, Vietnamese, Other North American indigenous languages (especially indigenous languages of Arizona), and French (0.3%), and finally, Arabic, Apache, and Korean (0.2%).

In 2010, 73.0% of people in Arizona were White/Caucasian, 4.6% were Native American, 4.1% were black, 2.8% were Asian, and 0.2% were Native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander.

Famous Arizonans

Cesar Chavez - Civil rights leader
David Henrie - Actor on the television series Wizards of Waverly Palace
Danica Patrick - NASCAR driver
Linda Ronstadt - Pop singer
Barry Goldwater - Former senator and presidential nominee

State Symbols

The state nicknames are: The Grand Canyon State (official), The Copper State (unofficial), The Valentine State (unofficial), and The Apache State (unofficial).
The state motto is "Ditat Deus", which is Latin for "God Enriches".
The state slogan is "The Grand Canyon State"
The state amphibian is the Arizona tree frog.
The state bird is the Cactus Wren.
The state butterfly is the two-tailed swallowtail.
The state colors are Federal Blue & old gold
The state flower is the Saguaro cactus blossom.
The state fish is the Apache trout.
The state gem is turquoise.
The state mammal is the ring-tailed cat.
The state mineral is Wulfenite.
The state neckwear is the bolo tie.
The state reptile is the Arizona ridge-nosed rattlesnake.
The state ship is the USS Arizona.
The state soil is Casa Grande.
The state tree is the Palo Verde.
Both the state fossil and the state rock is petrified wood.