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Size:
113,909 Square Miles
Population:
2000 - 5,130,632
Capital City:
Phoenix
Highest Point:
Humphery's Peak 12,633 feet
Lowest Point:
Colorado River 70 feet
Origin of Name:
Arizona is derived from “Aleh-zon“, two Indian words meaning “Little Spring“
It was called Arizona by the Spaniards at least as early as 1736.
Territory of
Arizona - President Abraham Lincoln signed an act of
Congress granting separate territorial status to Arizona on February 24,
1863.
State of
Arizona: On February 14, 1912, when President William Howard
Taft signed an act passed in 1911, Arizona became the nations's 48th state.
State Flag: The state Legislature, in 1917, sdopted the
state flag, which represents the setting sun, consisting of 13 rays,
alternate red and yellow in the upper half. The lower half is a plain blue
field. superimposed in the face of the setting sun is a coper colored star.
the flag thus carries the old Spanish colors in memory of Arizona's
historical background and the copper colors, in recogition of one of the
state's major industries.
State Tree: The Palo Verde is one of the beautiful tress of
the desert and desert foothills regions. When it blooms, it is a blaze of
shimmering yellow gold.
State Bird: The Cactus Wren, a woody brown bird with
speckled breast, is the largest wren, growing up to seven inches long
compared to most wrens, who do not grow ovr five nches. They have probing
type beaks in order to pluck insects from cracks and crevices in tree bark.
Arizona's Cactus Wren likes to build her nest in the protection of thorny
desert plants, often the arms of the giant saguaro cactus. she builds
several nests, using only one as a home and the others as decoys from her
enmies. Nesting time begins as early as March and extends into June.
State Gemstone: Turquoise. The official state gemstone is
found primarily in the popular Indian Jewelry produced in Arizona and
the Southwest.
Official Neckwear: The Bola Tie
State Flower: Saguaro Blossom - The state flower is the
blossom of the saguaro cactus, the largest cactus found in the United
States. The Saguaro or Giant Cactus is found in Arizona and northern Mexico
with a very few scattered along the Colorado River in California. This
cactus grows to a height of forty to fifty feet, lives to an age of 150 to
200 years. Its pure white waxy flowers appear in garland on the tips of the
long arms of the plant in May and June.
State Motto:
“Ditat Deus” means God Enriches.
State Seal: In the background of the seal is a range of
mountains with the sun rising behind the peaks. At the right side of the
range of mountains there is a storage resevoir and a dam, below which in the
middle distance are irrigated fields and orchards reaching into the
foreground, at the right of which are cattle grazing. To the left, in the
middle distance on a mountainside is a quartz mill in front of which, in the
forground, is a miner with pick and shovel. Above this it the mottoe “Ditat
Deus”, meaning “God Enriches”. In a circular band surrounding the whole seal
is inscribed: “Great Seal of the State of Arizona” and the year of admission
into statehood 1912.
Arizona
Counties: Mohave, Maricopa, Coconino, Navajo, Apache,
Yavapai, La Paz, Yuma, Pinal, Pima, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, Cochise and
Santa Cruz.
Other Resources for Arizona:
50 States.com:
http://www.50states.com/arizona.htm
Arizona State Parks:
http://www.pr.state.az.us/
Arizona Constitution:
http://www.azleg.state.az.us/const/const.htm
Governor's Page:
http://www.governor.state.az.us/
Arizona Guide:
http://www.arizonaguide.com/
Arizona Department of Enviromental Quality:
http://www.adeq.state.az.us/
Arizona Department of Education:
http://www.ade.state.az.us/
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