Portal:Arizona

Arizona
Arizona
State
	State of Arizona
	Flag Seal
	Location of Arizona in the United States
Website	az.gov

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Arizona is a landlocked state in the Southwestern United States, sharing the Four Corners region with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the northwest and California to the west, and shares an international border with the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California to the south and southwest. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix, which is the most populous state capital and fifth-most populous city in the United States. Arizona is divided into 15 counties.

Arizona is the sixth-largest state by area and the 14th-most-populous of the 50 states. It is the 48th state and last of the contiguous states to be admitted to the Union, achieving statehood on February 14, 1912. Historically part of the territory of Alta California and Nuevo México in New Spain (Spanish Empire), it became part of independent Mexico in 1821. After being defeated in the Mexican–American War, Mexico ceded much of this territory to the United States in 1848, where the area became part of the New Mexico Territory. The southernmost portion of the state was acquired in 1853 through the Gadsden Purchase.

Southern Arizona is known for its desert climate, with extremely hot summers and mild winters. Northern Arizona features forests of pine, Douglas fir, and spruce trees; the Colorado Plateau; mountain ranges (such as the San Francisco Mountains); as well as large, deep canyons, with much more moderate summer temperatures and significant winter snowfalls. There are ski resorts in the areas of Flagstaff, Sunrise, and Tucson. In addition to the internationally known Grand Canyon National Park, which is one of the world's seven natural wonders, there are several national forests, national parks, and national monuments.

Arizona is home to a diverse population. About one-quarter of the state is made up of Indian reservations that serve as the home of 27 federally recognized Native American tribes, including the Navajo Nation, the largest in the state and the country, with more than 300,000 citizens. Since the 1980s, the proportion of Hispanics has grown significantly owing to migration from Mexico and Central America. A substantial portion of the population are followers of the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Arizona's population and economy have grown dramatically since the 1950s because of inward migration, and the state is now a major hub of the Sun Belt. Many large companies, such as PetSmart and Circle K, have headquarters in the state, and Arizona is home to major universities, including the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and Northern Arizona University. (Full article...)

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The New Waddell Dam is an embankment dam on the Agua Fria River in Maricopa County, Arizona, 35 miles (56 km) northwest of Phoenix. It serves as part of the Central Arizona Project (CAP) while also providing water for the Maricopa Water District. The dam creates Lake Pleasant with water from the Agua Fria and also the CAP aqueduct. In addition, it affords flood protection, hydroelectric power production and recreational opportunities. Construction on the dam began in 1985 and ended in 1994. Its reservoir submerged the Old Waddell Dam which was completed in 1927 after decades of planning. (Full article...)

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... that Arizona voters rejected a 2010 ballot measure by just 194 votes out of more than 1.5 million cast?
... that an Arizona TV station running a marathon of Star Trek caused a buying frenzy of blank videotapes in the local area?
... that Arizona State athletic director Graham Rossini got his start as a student assistant, with duties including washing baseball uniforms?
... that the Green Bay Packers and the Arizona Cardinals set multiple NFL playoff records during their 2009 NFC Wild Card playoff game?
... that Abraham Hamadeh lost one of the closest elections in Arizona history by 280 votes, and has filed multiple lawsuits challenging the results?
... that the first art exhibition in the Trade Fair Palace after it was rebuilt from a fire was named Like a Phoenix?
... that the musical duo Braxe + Falcon formed a supergroup with the band Phoenix to make music about UFOs?
... that some viewers of an Arizona TV station saw hardcore pornography instead of the Super Bowl?

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Credit: Huebi

Monument Valley is located on the southern border of Utah with northern Arizona. The valley lies within the range of the Navajo Nation Reservation, and is accessible from U.S. Highway 163. The Navajo name for the valley is Tsé Bii' Ndzisgaii (Valley of the Rocks).The area is part of the Colorado Plateau. The floor is largely Cutler Red siltstone or its sand deposited by the meandering rivers that carved the valley. The valley's vivid red color comes from iron oxide exposed in the weathered siltstone. The darker, blue-gray rocks in the valley get their color from manganese oxide.

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...that the American football team the Cardinals has had 36 head coaches?

...that after their success with the Detroit Copper Mining Company of Arizona, William E. Dodge, Jr. and his partners founded the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad?

...that the location of the Silver King Mine was first discovered by a soldier building a road during the Apache Wars, who found black rocks that flattened when struck?

...that the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge in the southwestern United States was established in 1939 to protect Desert Bighorn Sheep and the name Kofa is a contraction of King of Arizona?

... that Arizona Territorial Governor Richard Elihu Sloan had the legal authority to make appropriations and levy taxes without legislative approval?

... that Charles Silent tried to resign from the Arizona Supreme Court almost immediately upon taking up the office?

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You are invited to participate in WikiProject Arizona, a WikiProject dedicated to developing and improving articles about Arizona.

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Official portrait, 2009

John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and naval officer who represented Arizona in the United States Congress for over 35 years, first as a U.S. representative from 1983 to 1987, then as a U.S. senator from 1987 until his death in 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he was the party's nominee in the 2008 presidential election.

Born into the prominent McCain family in the Panama Canal Zone, McCain graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958 and received a commission in the U.S. Navy. He became a naval aviator and flew ground-attack aircraft from aircraft carriers. During the Vietnam War, he almost died in the 1967 USS Forrestal fire. While on a bombing mission during Operation Rolling Thunder over Hanoi in October 1967, McCain was shot down, seriously injured, and captured by the North Vietnamese. He was a prisoner of war until 1973. McCain experienced episodes of torture and refused an out-of-sequence early release. He sustained wounds that left him with lifelong physical disabilities. McCain retired from the Navy as a captain in 1981 and moved to Arizona. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various Arizona-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Big Lake (Arizona) (from Geography of Arizona)
Image 2The Great House at the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument (from History of Arizona)
Image 3Verde River (from Geography of Arizona)
Image 4The Sonoran Desert 35 miles (56 km) west of Maricopa, Arizona (from Geography of Arizona)
Image 5Water delivered by the Central Arizona Project's canal. (from History of Arizona)
Image 6Inspiration Copper Company smelter at Miami, Arizona, c. 1915 (from History of Arizona)
Image 7Petrified Forest National Park (from Geography of Arizona)
Image 8Pinyon-juniper woodland near Heber-Overgaard, Arizona. (from Geography of Arizona)
Image 9Major airfields in Arizona during World War II. (from History of Arizona)
Image 10This ornate grain basket by Akimel O'odham dates from the early 20th century, showing the Native American dimension to the state's culture (from History of Arizona)
Image 11Sinagua cliff dwelling (Montezuma Castle), Arizona, built in around 1100 CE (from History of Arizona)
Image 12The location of Arizona in the United States (from Geography of Arizona)
Image 13Humphreys Peak seen on its western side from U.S. Route 180, with Agassiz Peak in the background (from Geography of Arizona)
Image 14The Gadsden Purchase (shown with present-day state boundaries and cities) (from History of Arizona)
Image 15Connor Hotel in Jerome (from History of Arizona)
Image 16Hohokam pottery from Casa Grande (from History of Arizona)
Image 17Riparian forest along upper Oak Creek Canyon (from Geography of Arizona)
Image 18Hourly re-enactment for tourists of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (from History of Arizona)
Image 19Keet Seel cliff dwellings (from History of Arizona)
Image 20White Mountains (Arizona) (from Geography of Arizona)
Image 21Signing of Arizona statehood bill in 1912 (from History of Arizona)
Image 22Köppen climate types of Arizona, using 1991–2020 climate normals. (from Geography of Arizona)
Image 23Grand Canyon South Rim at Sunset. (from Geography of Arizona)
Image 241903 editorial cartoon by Bob Satterfield, depicting Arizona and New Mexico as crazed gunfighters intent on gaining access to the "E pluribus unum tavern". (from History of Arizona)
Image 25Chiricahua National Monument (from Geography of Arizona)
Image 26Mormon Lake (from Geography of Arizona)
Image 27San Rafael Valley (from Geography of Arizona)
Image 28San Francisco Peaks (from Geography of Arizona)
Image 291898 map of the Arizona Territory (from History of Arizona)
Image 30Upper Salt River (Arizona) with the Sierra Ancha in the background. (from Geography of Arizona)
Image 31Arizona municipalities (from Geography of Arizona)
Image 32The luxury Harvey House hotel opened in 1905 overlooking the South Rim of the Grand Canyon; it remains in operation as the El Tovar Hotel. (from History of Arizona)
Image 33Arizona's average rainfall (from Geography of Arizona)
Image 34A map showing the extent of the Ancestral Puebloan, Hohokam, and Mogollon cultures within the American Southwest and Northern Mexico, all three of which were based in what is now Arizona and/or New Mexico in around 1350 CE (from History of Arizona)
Image 35Arizona Territory in 1866 (from History of Arizona)
Image 36Horseshoe Bend (Arizona) (from Geography of Arizona)
Image 37Panorama of Kinishba Ruins, an ancient Mogollon great house. The Kinishba Ruins are one building that has over 600 rooms. (from History of Arizona)
Image 38Fort Defiance, painted 1873 by Seth Eastman (from History of Arizona)

Arizona news

June 4, 2026 – Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election: The office of Arizona attorney general Kris Mayes says that it will seek new indictments against fake electors involved in attempting to overturn the 2020 U.S. presidential election in the state following a denial of an appeal by Mayes that would require prosecutors to send the case back to the grand jury. (AP via The Guardian) (The Hill)
June 3, 2026 –: The U.S. state of Arizona reports its first death of the Sin Nombre strain of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. (Forbes)

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State facts

Nickname: The Grand Canyon State
Capital and largest city: Phoenix
Governor: Katie Hobbs (D)
Total area: 295,254 km² (113,998 sq mi)
Population (2020): 7,151,502
Date admitted to the Union: February 14, 1912
Senators: Kyrsten Sinema (I), Mark Kelly (D)
Representatives: Tom O'Halleran (D), Ann Kirkpatrick (D), Raúl Grijalva (D), Paul Gosar (R), Andy Biggs (R), David Schweikert (R), Ruben Gallego (D), Debbie Lesko (R), Greg Stanton (D)

State symbols:

Animal: Ring-tailed Cat
Bird: Cactus wren
Butterfly: Two-tailed Swallowtail
Colors: Federal Blue and old gold
Firearm: The Colt Single-Action Army Revolver
Fish: Apache trout
Flower: Saguaro blossom
Fossil: Araucarioxylon arizonicum
Gem: Turquoise
Neckwear: Bolo tie
Reptile: Arizona ridge-nosed rattlesnake
Songs: "Arizona March Song", "Arizona"
Tree: Blue Palo Verde

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Recognized content

This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged or categorized (e.g. Category:WikiProject Arizona articles) correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.