Arizona

Overview

Arizona lies in the southwest of the USA, with the Mexican border to the south and New Mexico to the east. The western boundary, with both Nevada and California, follows the Colorado River down from the amazing canyons of northern Arizona.

The Grand Canyon is one of the western world?s most well known tourist attractions, but by no means the only attraction for a visitor to the state. The canyon offers some of the most spectacular erosional scenery in the United States, where the Colorado River has eaten through over 1800 metres of layers of different colours of sedimentary rock, Grand Canyon Village on the south rim offers most tourist potential, with many different types of accommodation. A shuttle bus operates to take visitors to all the main viewpoints, where one can marvel at the scenery and look down to the river 1500 metres below. The north rim is higher and is closed by snow in winter. It has limited places to stay, but if combined with Bryce and Zion National Parks of southern Utah, it makes a wonderful trip. For those who are tempted to walk into the canyon, take into account the elevation differences. It also gets a lot warmer as one descends into the canyon and remember that one has to climb out again!

The Colorado River offers many boating opportunities, from the exciting float trips through the Grand Canyon, to more sedate houseboat adventures on Lake Mead or the waters of Lake Powell.

Natural wonders of another kind are...more

History

For thousands of years Arizona has been populated by native Indian tribes and even now one quarter of the land area remains in Indian hands. The main visible remains of earlier Anasazi Indians are fascinating cliff dwellings, thought to be abandoned by 1450 as nomadic tribes and drought drove the Anasazi from their homes.

In 1539 Franciscan Friar Marcos de Niza was the first European in the area, followed by Spanish explorers unsuccessfully looking for gold. Some of the Indians were converted to Christianity, but the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 curtailed missionary work. Conflict between native tribes and missionaries continued even after the Mexican war in 1848, when the area was ceded to the United States, It was not until 1863 that the U S army became involved, defeating the Navajo and driving them from their homes.

The same year gold was discovered and more prospectors arrived to create further problems with the Apache Indians. There were cattle raids and warfare typical of that represented in many western films.

The railroad arrived in 1883, bringing even greater numbers of settlers, but eventually law and order prevailed. The Roosevelt dam on the Salt River gave much needed water supplies, for the rapidly expanding population, although Arizona remains one of the 10 least populated states.

It became the 48th state in 1912, but much Spanish influence remains today.

The economy of the state is chiefly reliant on manufacturing and tourism. High tech products such as electronics and aircraft are important as well as copper production and other...more

When to Go

Essentials