| Arizona is a U.S. state located in the | | | | National Park -- one of the first national |
| Southwestern United States. It is best known | | | | parks in the United States. President |
| for its desert landscape, which includes | | | | Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of |
| cacti. Arizona is also known for its | | | | designating the Grand Canyon area, visiting |
| exceptionally hot summers and mild winters. | | | | on numerous occasions to hunt mountain lion |
| Less well known is the pine-covered high | | | | and enjoy the scenery. |
| country in the north-central portion of the | | | | |
| state, which contrasts with the lower deserts | | | | The Canyon was created by the Colorado River |
| of the state. | | | | cutting a channel over millions of years, and |
| | | | is about 277 miles (446 km) long, ranges in |
| Arizona is one of the Four Corners states. It | | | | width from 4 to 18 miles (6 to 29 kilometers) |
| borders New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, California, | | | | and attains a depth of more than 1 mile (1.6 |
| touches Colorado, and has a 389-mile (626 km) | | | | km). Nearly 2 billion years of the Earth's |
| international border with the states of | | | | history has been exposed as the Colorado |
| Sonora and Baja California in Mexico. Aside | | | | River and its tributaries cut through layer |
| from the Grand Canyon, many other National | | | | after layer of sediment as the Colorado |
| Forests, Parks, Monuments, and Indian | | | | Plateaus have uplifted. |
| reservations are located in the state. | | | | |
| Arizona was the 48th state admitted into the | | | | Arizona does not observe Daylight Saving |
| U.S. (1912), and the last of the contiguous | | | | Time, except in the Navajo Nation located in |
| states admitted. | | | | the northeastern region of the state. |
| | | | |
| Arizona is located in the Western United | | | | Due to its large area and variations in |
| States as one of the Four Corners states. | | | | elevation, the state has a wide variety of |
| Arizona is the sixth largest state in area, | | | | localized climate conditions. In the lower |
| after New Mexico and before Nevada. Of the | | | | elevations, the climate is primarily desert, |
| state's 118,000 square miles, approximately | | | | with mild winters and hot summers. Typically, |
| 15% is privately owned. The remaining area is | | | | from late fall to early spring, the weather |
| government forest and park land, recreation | | | | is mild, averaging a minimum of 60 degrees |
| areas and Native American reservations. | | | | Fahrenheit (15°C). November through |
| | | | February are the coldest months with |
| Arizona is best known for its desert | | | | temperatures typically ranging from 40-75 |
| landscape, which is rich in xerophyte plants | | | | °F (4-24 °C), although occasional |
| such as cactus. It is also known for its | | | | frosts are not uncommon. About midway through |
| climate, which presents exceptionally hot | | | | February, the temperatures start to rise |
| summers and mild winters. Less well known is | | | | again with warm days, and cool breezy nights. |
| the pine-covered high country of the Colorado | | | | The summer months of May through August bring |
| Plateau in the north-central portion of the | | | | a dry heat ranging from 90-120 °F (32-48 |
| state, which contrasts with the desertic | | | | °C), with occasional high temperatures |
| Basin and Range region in the southern | | | | exceeding 125 °F (52 °C) having been |
| portions of the state. | | | | observed in the desert area. Due to the |
| | | | primarily dry climate, large temperature |
| Like other states of the Southwest, Arizona | | | | swings often occur between day and night, |
| has an abundance of topographical | | | | with some as large as 50 °F (28 °C) in |
| characteristics in addition to its desert | | | | the summer months. |
| climate. More than half of the state features | | | | |
| mountains and plateaus and contains the | | | | However, the northern third of Arizona is a |
| largest stand of Ponderosa pine in the United | | | | plateau at significantly higher altitudes |
| States. The Mogollon Rim, a 2000-foot (600 m) | | | | than the lower desert, and has an appreciably |
| escarpment, cuts across the central section | | | | cooler climate, with cold winters and mild |
| of the state and marks the southwestern edge | | | | summers. Extreme cold temperatures are not |
| of the Colorado Plateau, where the state | | | | unknown; cold air systems from the northern |
| experienced its worst forest fire ever in | | | | states and Canada occasionally push into the |
| 2002. Arizona belongs firmly within the Basin | | | | state, bringing temperatures below 0 °F |
| and Range region of North America. The region | | | | (-18 °C) to the higher parts of the state. |
| was shaped by prehistoric volcanism, followed | | | | |
| by a cooling-off and related subsidence. The | | | | Arizona has an average annual rainfall of |
| entire region is slowly sinking. | | | | 12.7 inches (322 mm),[2] which comes during |
| | | | two rainy seasons, with cold fronts coming |
| Arizona is home to one of the largest and | | | | from the Pacific Ocean during the winter and |
| most well-preserved meteorite impact sites in | | | | a monsoon in the summer.[3] The monsoon |
| the world. The Barringer Meteorite Crater | | | | season occurs from the middle of July through |
| (better known simply as "Meteor Crater") is a | | | | August and brings lightning, thunderstorms, |
| gigantic hole in the middle of the high | | | | wind, and torrential, if usually brief, |
| plains of the Colorado Plateau, about 25 | | | | downpours. It is rare for tornadoes and |
| miles west of Winslow. A rim of smashed and | | | | hurricanes to occur in Arizona, but there are |
| jumbled boulders, some of them the size of | | | | records of both occurring. |
| small houses, rises 150 feet above the level | | | | |
| of the surrounding plain. The crater itself | | | | Indicative of the variation in climate, |
| is nearly a mile wide, and 570 feet deep. | | | | Arizona is the state which has both the |
| | | | metropolitan area with the most days over 100 |
| The Grand Canyon is a colorful, steep-sided | | | | °F (37.8 °C) (Phoenix), and the |
| gorge, carved by the Colorado River, in | | | | metropolitan area in the lower 48 states with |
| northern Arizona. The canyon is one of the | | | | the most days with a low temperature below |
| seven natural wonders of the world and is | | | | freezing |
| largely contained in the Grand Canyon | | | | |