#ACI2024
  • Get Out. Get Lost.
  • ACI UPDATES
  • ACI - Acadia Cross Island
  • The Acadia Round
  • Past Races, Hikes & Adventures
    • Barnhardt Loop Trail 2008
    • Cascade Crest Classic 100 Mile Endurance Race
    • Copper Basin 50K 2010
    • Crow Pass Crossing 2010
    • Elephant Mountain 35K 2013
    • Flagstaff 50K 2010
    • Kahtoola Race Series 2010
    • Mazatzal Wilderness 18M 2010
    • Mesquite Canyon 50K 2010
    • Mesquite Canyon 50k 2011
    • Mesquite Canyon 50K - 2013
    • Mountain Mist 50K 2010
    • Mt. Lemmon 50M 2011
    • Pass Mountain 50k
    • Phoenix Summit Challenge 2009
    • Ragnar Relay del Sol 2010
    • R2R2R 2009
    • R2R2R October 2010
    • R2R2R June 2011 - Another Notch on the belt of Humility
    • San Tan Scramble 50K 2011
    • Superstition Wilderness 50 Mile Adventure Spring 2011
    • Tucson Marathon 2009
    • Tucson Marathon 2013
    • Zane Grey 50M 2010
    • Zane Grey 50M 2011
  • Bucket List
  • Contact Me
    • Contact Me

Get Out. Get Lost.

Interesting Facts about Arizona!!

7/4/2011

0 Comments

 
Fun Facts

100 Fun & Fascinating Facts about Arizona

1. Arizona has 3,928 mountain peaks and summits—more mountains than any one of the other Mountain States (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming).

2. All New England, plus the state of Pennsylvania would fit inside Arizona.

3. Arizona became the 48th state and last of the contiguous states on February 14, 1912.

4. Arizona’s disparate climate can yield both the highest temperature across the nation and the lowest temperature across the nation in the same day.

5. There are more wilderness areas in Arizona than in the entire Midwest. Arizona alone has 90 wilderness areas, while the Midwest has 50.

6. Arizona has 26 peaks that are more than 10,000 feet in elevation.

7. Arizona has the largest contiguous stand of ponderosa pines in the world stretching from near Flagstaff along the Mogollon Rim to the White Mountains region.

8. Yuma, Arizona is the country’s highest producer of winter vegetables, especially lettuce.

9. Arizona is the 6th largest state in the nation, covering 113,909 square miles.

10. Out of all the states in the U.S., Arizona has the largest percentage of its land designated as Indian lands.

11. The “Five C’s” of Arizona’s economy are: Cattle, Copper, Citrus, Cotton, and Climate.

12. More copper is mined in Arizona than all the other states combined, and the Morenci Mine is the largest copper producer in all of North America.

13. Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, two of the most prominent movie stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, were married on March 18, 1939, in Kingman, Arizona.

14. Covering 18,608 sq. miles, Coconino County is the second largest county by land area in the 48 contiguous United States.

15. The world’s largest solar telescope is located at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Sells, Arizona.

16. Bisbee, Arizona is known as the Queen of the Copper Mines because during its mining heyday it produced nearly 25 percent of the world’s copper and was the largest city in the Southwest between Saint Louis and San Francisco.

17. Billy the Kid killed his first man, Windy Cahill, in Bonita, Arizona.

18. Pioneer filmmaker, Cecil B. DeMille originally traveled to Flagstaff to make his first film but he arrived there in the middle of a storm and decided to move operations further west, to Hollywood. His film, The Squaw Man (1914), went on to be wildly successful, launching the fledgling movie industry and establishing Hollywood as the movie capital of the world.

19. Arizona grows enough cotton each year to make more than one pair of jeans for every person in the United States.

20. Famous labor leader and activist Cesar Chavez was born in Yuma.

21. In 1912, President William Howard Taft was ready to make Arizona a state on February 12, but it was Lincoln’s birthday. The next day, the 13th, was considered bad luck so they waited until the following day. That’s how Arizona became known as the “Valentine State.”

22. When England’s famous London Bridge was replaced in the 1960s, the original was purchased, dismantled, shipped stone by stone and reconstructed in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, where it still stands today.

23. Mount Lemmon, in the Santa Catalina Mountains, is the southernmost ski resort in the United States.

24. Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch in Picacho, Arizona is the largest privately-owned ostrich ranch in the world outside South Africa.

25. If you cut down a protected species of cactus in Arizona, you could spend more than a year in prison.

26. The world’s largest to-scale collection of miniature airplane models is housed at the library at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona.

27. The only place in the country where mail is delivered by mule is the village of Supai, located at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

28. Located on Arizona’s western border, Parker Dam is the deepest dam in the world at 320 feet.

29. South Mountain Park/Preserve in Phoenix is the largest municipal park in the country.

30. Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, located about 55 miles west of Phoenix, generates more electricity than any other U.S. power plant.

31. Montezuma never visited Montezuma National Monument—he was born 100 years after the prehistoric dwelling was abandoned. The monument was misnamed for the Aztec emperor when it was rediscovered in the 1860’s.

32. Oraibi, a Hopi village located in Navajo County, Arizona, dates back to before A.D. 1200 and is reputed to be the oldest continuously inhabited community in America.

33. Built in by Del Webb in 1960, Sun City, Arizona was the first 55-plus active adult retirement community in the country.

34. Petrified wood is the official state fossil. The Petrified Forest in northeastern Arizona contains America’s largest deposits of petrified wood.

35. Many of the founders of San Francisco in 1776 were Spanish colonists from Tubac, Arizona.

36. Phoenix originated in 1866 as a hay camp to supply military post Camp McDowell.

37. Chino Valley’s Fort Whipple was a U.S. Army post that served as Arizona Territory’s first capital prior to the founding of Prescott. The post was founded in January 1864, but was moved in May 1864 to Granite Creek near present-day Prescott.

38. Prior to President Abraham Lincoln signing the Arizona Organic Act on February 24, 1863 to create Arizona Territory, Arizona was part of the territory of New Mexico.

39. Rainfall averages for Arizona range from less than three inches in the deserts to more than 30 inches per year in the mountains.

40. Rising to a height of 12,643 feet, Mount Humphreys north of Flagstaff is the state’s highest mountain.

41. Roadrunners are not just in cartoons! In Arizona, you’ll see them running up to 17-mph away from their enemies.

42. The Saguaro cactus is the largest cactus found in the U.S. It can grow as high as a five-story building and is native to the Sonoran Desert, which stretches across southern Arizona.

43. Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, grew up on a large family ranch near Duncan, Arizona.

44. The city of Phoenix was named for the mythical Egyptian phoenix bird—which burst into flame and was reborn from its ashes—because the town sprouted from the ruins of a former civilization.

45. Santa Cruz County (1,237 sq. miles) is the smallest of Arizona’s 15 counties, but is larger than more than 72 countries.

46. Spanish Franciscan friar Marcos de Niza was the first European to explore Arizona. He entered the area in 1539 in search of the mythical Seven Cities of Gold.

47. The best-preserved meteor crater in the world is located near Winslow, Arizona.

48. Camels were imported in the 1850s to survey the future Route 66 across northern Arizona.

49. The Arizona Cardinals are the oldest continuous franchise in the National Football League, dating back to 1898.

50. The worst range war and family feud in the West, which claimed the lives of dozens of ranchers, ironically occurred in a place called Pleasant Valley, Arizona.

51. The average state elevation is 4,000 feet.

52. The cactus wren is the official state bird. It gets its name from the fact that it likes to build nests in the protection of thorny desert plants, like the saguaro cactus.

53. The Navajo Nation spans 27,000 square miles across the states of Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, but its capital is seated in Window Rock, Arizona.

54. The amount of copper utilized to make the copper dome atop Arizona’s Capitol building is equivalent to the amount used in 4.8 million pennies.

55. Between the years 1692 and 1711 Spanish missionary Father Eusebio Kino did more than just found missions in Arizona; he also taught many tribes the basics of agriculture and supplied them with cattle and seed grain.

56. The Castilian and Burgundian flags of Spain, the Mexican flag, the Confederate flag, and the flag of the United States have all flown over the land we now know as Arizona.

57. Near Yuma, the Colorado River’s elevation dips to 70 feet above sea level, making it the lowest point in the state.

58. The geographic center of Arizona is 55 miles southeast of Prescott near the community of Mayer.

59. You could pile four 1,300-foot skyscrapers on top of each other and they still would not reach the rim of the Grand Canyon.

60. Nearly 5 million people visit Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park each year.


61. The hottest temperature recorded in Arizona was 128 degrees at Lake Havasu City on June 29, 1994.

62. The coldest temperature recorded in Arizona was 40 degrees below zero at Hawley Lake on January 7, 1971.

63. The Lost Dutchman, Jacob Waltz—who is alleged to be the owner of the yet-undiscovered Lost Dutchman Gold Mine in Arizona’s Superstition Mountains—was actually a German.

64. Arizona’s official state colors are blue and gold.

65. The Palo Verde is the official state tree. Its name means “green stick” and it blooms a brilliant yellow-gold in April or May.

66. The saguaro cactus blossom is the official state flower. The white flower blooms in May and June, opening in the middle of the night and closing the next day—surviving only about 18 hours for pollination.

67. A saguaro cactus can store up to nine tons of water.

68. The Arizona towns of Adair and Alamo Crossing are now underwater, having been swallowed up by the formation of dams that created Fool Hollow Lake and Alamo Lake (respectively).

69. The State Motto is Ditat Deus, which means “God Enriches” in Latin.

70. From 1973 to 2007, Arizona was the only state with official state neckwear, the bola tie. In 2007, New Mexico also adopted the bola tie as the official State Tie.

71. The state of Massachusetts could fit inside Maricopa County (9,922 sq. miles).

72. The westernmost battle of the Civil War was fought at Picacho Pass on April 15, 1862 near Picacho Peak in Pinal County.

73. There are 11.2 million acres of National Forest in Arizona, and one-fourth of the state forested.

74. Tubac was the first European Settlement in Arizona (1752).

75. Turquoise is the official state gemstone. The blue-green stone has a somewhat waxy surface and can be found throughout the state.

76. World War II brought many military personnel to train at Luke and Thunderbird airbases in Glendale.

77. Jerome, Arizona was named for Eugene Jerome of New York City, who never visited the town.

78. Two Arizonans have won their party’s nomination for President: Barry Goldwater and John McCain.

79. Wyatt Earp was neither the town marshal nor the sheriff in Tombstone at the time of the shoot-out at the O.K. Corral. His brother Virgil was the town marshal.

80. The Navajo Nation Zoological and Botanical Park is the only tribally-owned zoo in the U.S.

81. The ringtail is the official state mammal. It is a fox-like, nocturnal animal that measures about two-and-a-half feet long.

82. The Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona holds more archives and individual works by 20th-century North American photographers than any other museum in the nation. Its archives contain an estimated 3.8 million items.

83. On June 6, 1936, the first barrel of tequila produced in the United States rolled off the production line in Nogales, Arizona.

84. The world’s tallest Kachina doll, measuring 39 feet tall and fashioned of concrete, is located in Carefree, Arizona.

85. Once a rowdy copper mining town, Jerome’s population dwindled to as few as 50 people after the mines closed in 1953.

86. The Sonoran Desert is the most biologically diverse desert in North America.

87. The Arizona tree frog is the state’s official amphibian.

88. Bisbee is the Nation’s southernmost mile-high city.

89. The two largest manmade lakes in the U.S. are Lake Mead and Lake Powell—both located in Arizona.

90. Arizona is the only state in the nation that elects a Mine Inspector.

91. The longest remaining intact section of Route 66 can be found in Arizona and runs from Seligman to Topock, a total of 157 unbroken miles.

92. The 13 stripes on the Arizona flag represent the 13 original colonies of the United States.

93. Thirteen species of rattlesnakes live in Arizona, more species than in any other state.

94. The University of Phoenix Stadium, home to the NFL Cardinals, retractable roof and rollout field combination is a first in North America.

95. The negotiations for Geronimo’s final surrender took place in Skeleton Canyon, near present day Douglas, Arizona, in 1886.

96. Prescott, Arizona is home to the world’s oldest rodeo, and Payson, Arizona is home to the world’s oldest continuous rodeo—both of which date back to the 1880s.

97. Downtown Yuma, Arizona is one of only two designated National Heritage Areas west of the Mississippi.

98. Kartchner Caverns, near Benson, Arizona, is a massive limestone cave with 13,000 feet of passages, two rooms as long as football fields, and one of the world’s longest soda straw stalactites: measuring 21 feet 3 inches.


99. The Litchfield Naval Air Facility (now called the Phoenix-Goodyear Airport) was the training base for the Navy Blue Angels aerial demonstration team until 1968.

100. At 221 miles long, Apache County is the longest county in the U.S., stretching from the Utah border to just south of Alpine, Arizona.

This list was compiled and researched by the Arizona Office of Tourism and the Arizona Centennial Commission staff with the assistance of Marshall Trimble, Arizona’s Official State Historian

0 Comments
    Picture

    Archives

    September 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    September 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    May 2017
    May 2016
    February 2016
    February 2014
    December 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    May 2010
    February 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009

    Categories

    All
    100 Mile Training Schedule
    #AcadiainWinter
    #acadianationalpark
    Acadia National Park
    Across The Years
    Adam Campbell
    Alaska Wilderness Challenge
    Andrew Heard
    Andrew Skurka
    Antelope
    Anthony Culpepper
    Apache County
    Aravaipa Running
    Aravaiparunning.com
    Arizona
    Arizona Road Racers
    Arizona Trail Running
    Arizona Ultrarunning
    Arizona Wilderness Trail Series
    Arr
    Art Bourque
    Asu Study
    Az 100
    Banff National Park
    Bar Harbor
    Barharbor365.com
    Bar Harbor Inn
    Bataan
    Bear Canyon
    Born To Run
    Boulder
    Cabin Loop
    Cadillac Mountain
    Calvary
    Camelback Mountain
    Camelback X-T-R-E-M-E
    Canyon De Chelly
    Cascade Crest
    Cascade Crest 100
    Castle Hot Springs
    Cave Creek Thriller
    Ccc100
    Chiricahua National Monument
    Chiricahua Wilderness
    Chirunning
    Christian Bale
    Christian Griffith
    Christian Griffiths
    Chugiak
    Coachwhip
    Colorado
    Copper Canyon
    Cougar
    Crow Pass Crossing
    Dallas Stevens
    Dave James
    Dave Matthews Band
    Death March
    Debbie Leftwich
    Diana Nyan
    Dominic Allen
    Double Crossing
    Dutchman
    Eagle River
    East End
    Eiger
    Escalante Trail
    Evan Honeyfield
    Fat Ox
    Fat Ox 50
    Florida
    Fred Willet
    Freedom
    Friends Of Acadia
    Fstpkr
    Gary Allen
    Geoff Roes
    #getoutgetlost
    Getoutgetlost.com
    #getoutside
    Gmr
    Gopro Hd Hero 2
    Grand Canyon
    Grandpa Jim 50k
    Grandpa Jim's 50K
    Great Enchantment Trail
    Green Mountain Relay
    Hal Koerner
    Harvard
    Highline Trail
    Honey Albrecht
    Hotel Explora
    I2p
    Imperial Dunes
    Impossible 2 Possible
    Injured
    Injury
    Inov-8
    Inov-8 Roclite290
    Iron90.com
    Jaguar In Arizona
    Jared Campbell
    Javalina Jundred
    Jay Danek
    Jeff Jones
    Jeffrey Bryant
    Jennifer Pharr Davis
    Jeremy Dougherty
    Jerry Armstrong
    Jf
    Jj10
    Jj100
    Jody Chase
    John Pearce
    Jon Roig
    Josh Meals
    Kahtoola
    Kalahari
    Karl Meltzer
    Karsten Solheim
    Keys 100
    Kilian
    Kilian Journet
    Kilian's Quest
    Kilian\'s Quest
    Kilians Quest
    Killian
    Killian Journet
    Killian\'s Quest
    Kofa Wilderness
    Kyle Maynard
    La Sportiva
    Leki Poles
    Liza Howard
    Liz Everly
    Macho B
    Maine
    Maine Life
    Maine Trail Running
    Maricopa County
    Maroon Bells
    Matanuska Peak Challenge
    Matt Hart
    Matthew Mcconaughey
    Matt Schmidt
    Matt Schmitt
    Mazatzal Wilderness
    Mcdowell Mountain
    Mcdowellmountainman
    Mcdowell Mountain Man
    Mcdowell Mountain Man 50k
    Mcdowell Mountain Park
    Mcdowell Mountains
    MDI
    MDI Marathon
    Mesquite Canyon 50k
    Michael Carson
    Michael Duer
    Michael Miller
    Mike Duer
    Millinocket Marathon
    Mission Kilimanjaro
    Mmm
    Mogollon Monster 100
    Mogollon Rim
    Monument Valley
    Motorcycle Diaries
    Mountain Lion
    Mount Desert Island
    Mount Desert Island Marathon
    Mount Olympus
    Mt. Lemmon
    Nadir Manor
    National Geographic
    Navajo Nation
    New Mexico
    Noah Dougherty
    North Mountain
    North Rim
    Norway
    Painted Desert
    Paria Canyon
    Pass Mountain 50k
    Patagonia
    Paulette Zillmer
    Paul Rondeau
    Pemberton
    Peralta
    Peter
    Petrified National Park
    Phantom Injury
    Phoenix Mountain Preserve
    Pvcc
    R2r2r
    Ragnar Relay
    Ray Zahab
    Reign Of Fire
    Renee Stevens
    Rim To Rim To Rim
    Run100miles
    RunMDI
    Running
    Running On The Moon 50k
    Run Toms Thumb
    Sabino Canyon
    Salomon Running
    Sand Beach
    San Tan 50k
    San Tan Scramble 50k
    Sarah Dasher
    Sean Cunnif
    Shaw Butte
    Shirts
    Siphon Draw Trail
    South Mountain
    South Mountain 20k
    South Rim
    Squaw Peak
    Steve Prefontaine
    Superstition Wilderness
    Superstition Wilderness 25k
    Superstition Wilderness 50k
    Superstition Wilderness 50m
    Sweden
    Tanner Trail
    Team Red White & Blue
    Team RWB
    The Arctic Light
    Thehikeguy.com
    Thompson Peak
    Timelapse
    Time Lapse Photography
    Tombstone
    Tom Gormley
    Tom St. Germain
    Toms Thumb
    Torres Del Paine
    Track
    Trail Running
    Trails
    Training
    Travel Alberta
    Tucson
    Tucson Marathon
    Tucson Trail Runners
    Two Men
    Ueli Steck
    Ultraladies Running Club
    Ultrarunning
    Usery Park
    Utmb
    Vermilion Cliffs
    Vermont
    Video
    Vimeo
    Visit Bar Harbor
    Visit Maine
    Warren Haynes
    Wednesday Morning Running Club
    West Slabs Of Olympus
    White Sands
    Wmrc
    Wyatt Earp
    Yasso 800\'s
    Yosemite
    Zane Grey
    Zane Grey 50
    Zane Grey 50 Mile Endurance Run
    ZG50

You're only tired because you think you're tired. Keep going.
  • Get Out. Get Lost.
  • ACI UPDATES
  • ACI - Acadia Cross Island
  • The Acadia Round
  • Past Races, Hikes & Adventures
    • Barnhardt Loop Trail 2008
    • Cascade Crest Classic 100 Mile Endurance Race
    • Copper Basin 50K 2010
    • Crow Pass Crossing 2010
    • Elephant Mountain 35K 2013
    • Flagstaff 50K 2010
    • Kahtoola Race Series 2010
    • Mazatzal Wilderness 18M 2010
    • Mesquite Canyon 50K 2010
    • Mesquite Canyon 50k 2011
    • Mesquite Canyon 50K - 2013
    • Mountain Mist 50K 2010
    • Mt. Lemmon 50M 2011
    • Pass Mountain 50k
    • Phoenix Summit Challenge 2009
    • Ragnar Relay del Sol 2010
    • R2R2R 2009
    • R2R2R October 2010
    • R2R2R June 2011 - Another Notch on the belt of Humility
    • San Tan Scramble 50K 2011
    • Superstition Wilderness 50 Mile Adventure Spring 2011
    • Tucson Marathon 2009
    • Tucson Marathon 2013
    • Zane Grey 50M 2010
    • Zane Grey 50M 2011
  • Bucket List
  • Contact Me
    • Contact Me