Arizona is one of the fifty states that make up the United States of America.

Its capital and most populated

city is Phoenix. It is located in the western region of the country, Rocky Mountains division. It limits to the
north with Utah, to the northeast with Colorado, to the east with New Mexico, to the south with Mexico, and
to the west with the Colorado River that separates it from California and Nevada. With 295,000 km² it is the
sixth largest state, behind Alaska, Texas, California, Montana and New Mexico. It was the third longest to be
admitted to the Union, on February 14, 1912, as the 48th state, ahead of Alaska and Hawaii, the latest.

It is located in Aridoamérica and on the Sierra Madre Occidental, and through its territory runs the Colorado
River that forms the famous Grand Canyon of the Colorado, north of the state. Its desert landscape and cactus
are also famous.

Much of Arizona has an arid or semi-arid climate. These regions receive less than 40 centimeters of rain per
year, being very hot in summer and mild in winter. However, the mountainous regions of higher altitude have
a more humid and cold climate. The majority of the state is sparsely populated: most of Arizona's population
is concentrated in two urban centers: Phoenix, the fastest growing city in the United States, the largest city
and capital of the state, and Tucson.

Arizona's nickname is "the Grand Canyon State," because the north of the state is home to one of the best-
known natural tourist attractions in the United States and the world, the Grand Canyon. Another nickname of
Arizona is "the state of Cobre", which is because it has large copper deposits, and was already the largest
national producer of this mineral. To this day, copper mining is an important source of income for Arizona.2

Thousands of years before the arrival of the first Europeans, indigenous peoples lived in the region where
Arizona is currently located. Today there is still an important population: it is estimated that about 280,000
indigenous people live in Arizona, 3 spread over the numerous Indian reservations of the state.

Historia

In Arizona there are archaeological sites of human remains that date back 12,000 years. A millennium ago,
the main groups that inhabited this territory were the Anasazi Indians (ancestors of the Pueblo Indians), the
Hohokam (ancestors of the Tohono O'odham and Pima Indians), the Mogollón and the Pataya. The Apaches
and the Navajos, with whom the Spaniards fought since the sixteenth century, arrived in these lands shortly
before the arrival of the first Europeans in Arizona.

The first European to venture into the territory, which is now administered by the state of Arizona, was the
Franciscan monk Marcos de Niza in 1539. This monk was looking for The Seven Cities of Cíbola, a place of
immense wealth according to a legend that had been extended by New Spain. Francisco Vázquez de
Coronado explored Arizona in search, like Marcos de Niza and with the same success, of the legendary cities.
A century and a half later, in 1692, Father Eusebio Kino founded twenty-four missions in Arizona.
Missionary fervor was followed by mining, since in 1736 the discovery of silver near the city of Nogales
attracted a new population. As a result of these discoveries, the Spaniards established forts in Tubac and
Tucson to defend themselves against the hostile Indians, who were threatened by the arrival of new settlers.
The importance that was acquiring this territory and the new political orientation of the Spanish Crown
towards the peripheral territories of its empire, caused that they were reorganized: administratively it was part
of the province of Sonora, and in 1776 it was integrated in the Internal Provinces of the West, which in turn
depended formally on the Viceroyalty of New Spain, an administrative entity with capital in Mexico City.

Geografia

The state of Arizona is, from the geomorphological point of view, a section of the Great Basin and the Great
Mountain Range of the southwestern United States. Its great natural regions are the Tierra Mexicana, the
Sonoran Desert and the Colorado Plateau. To these regions, some authors add a transitional section, the so-
called Transitional Zone of Arizona, which is located north of Sonora and in Tierra Alta Mexicana, as well as
south of the Colorado Plateau. Its territory occupies an area of 295,253 km², whose extension can be
compared with that of Italy.

Tierra Alta Mexicana is a mountain range that runs diagonally from southeast to northwest; next to this chain,
in the southwest, is the Sonoran desert. This area is characterized by a succession of mountain ranges (Montes
Pinaleño, Santa Catalina and Huachuca, among others) and steep valleys. Most of the peaks do not exceed
2,400 m, however, some of them are higher such as Mount Graham, Lemmon or Miller Peak. The extension
of the width of the valleys between these mountain ranges varies between 241 km and 97 km.

The Colorado Plateau covers a large section of the northeast of the state. This plateau extends through the
states of Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. In reality, this region is not a uniform plateau but a succession of
plains (with heights that range between 1524 and 2743 m) and valleys. In this area there are canyons (such as
the spectacular and famous Grand Canyon of Colorado, and the Canyon de Chelly) and mountains of volcanic
origin (among which are the Humphreys Peak, 3862 m, the highest point in Arizona). On the southern margin
of the plateau is a cliff area.

The most important rivers that cross Arizona are the Colorado and its tributaries. The Colorado enters the
state from Utah. This runs for approximately 350 km through the Canyon area and forms the natural border
between Nevada and Arizona, and Arizona and California. Its most important tributaries in Arizona are the
Gila River, the Little Colorado River, and the Bil Williams. Arizona does not have just natural lakes, but
some dams have created artificial lakes among which Lake Powell, Mead, Mojave, Havasu, San Carlos,
Theodore Roosevelt and Apache stand out.

Principals ciudades

The capital of Arizona is Phoenix, which is also the largest city in the state. The Phoenix Metropolitan Area
comprises the satellite cities of Glendale, Peoria, Chandler, Sun City, Sun City West, Fountain Hills, Surprise,
Gilbert, El Mirage, Avondale, Tempe and Scottsdale, with a total population of more than 4.8 million. of
inhabitants.23

Tucson is the second largest city in the state, located 180 km southeast of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. The
Tucson Metropolitan Area surpassed the threshold of one million inhabitants at the beginning of 2007.24 It
houses the University of Arizona, one of the only three public universities in the state.

Yuma is the third largest metropolitan area in Arizona. It is located near the border with California and
Mexico. It is one of the warmest cities in the United States, with an average of 42 degrees Celsius in July (the
average in the Valley of Death, in that same month, is 46) The city also has sunny days, approximately 90%
of the year. The metropolitan area of Yuma has a population of 160,000 inhabitants.

Flagstaff is the largest city in northern Arizona. At an altitude of 2100 m, it constitutes a stark contrast to the
desert regions to which Arizona is often associated. Flagstaff is home to 57,391 residents, in addition to the
main campus of the University of Northern Arizona.

The micropolitan area of Sierra Vista-Douglas is located in the county of Cochise and practically includes all
the populations of that county. Some of the cities that comprise the micropolitan area of Sierra Vista-Douglas
are: Sierra Vista, Benson, Tombstone, Bisbee, Naco and Douglas. In the year 2000, the micropolitan area had
a population of 177,755 and in 2007, a population of 127,866 was estimated.

The 10 most populated cities of Arizona

Economia

The most important economic activities in Arizona are industry, mining, agriculture and those related to
tourism activities. The sectors that employ more people are, in this order, the services (given the importance
of their tourism sector), commerce, industry and construction. During 1999, mining experienced an
appreciable decrease as a labor demand. In terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), this state experiences an
annual growth of 5.1% (1995-96). The largest increase in GDP was in the services sector (9.7%), while the
least dynamic sector was construction (3.5%).

It is estimated that the land dedicated to agricultural activities is 50% of the surface of the state. The plots are
the largest in the United States, since they have an average of 2038 ha and 47% are dedicated to farming and
the rest to livestock. The state maintains and controls the irrigation system. The main crops are cotton
(Arizona is the fourth state with the highest production), vegetables (especially lettuce) and hay. Livestock is
based on cattle, which is the basis of a powerful dairy industry.

Arizona has a large forest area, equivalent to 25% of its territory. Two thirds of these forests are protected by
the government (which classifies them as national parks) and therefore their timber industry is scarce (one
fifth of the forest area).

Mineral resources, although they have experienced a setback in recent years, continue to be fundamental in
the economy not only of Arizona, but of the United States. In fact, Arizona is the fourth state in the country
with the largest mining extraction: 69% of the copper in the United States and 31% of molybdenum are
obtained in its mines. It is also rich in gold, silver and coal, as well as in construction materials such as gravel,
cement and stone.

The industry of Arizona has benefited from the advantageous price of land, the abundant
and therefore cheap electric power, the low level of wages compared to other states and
the fiscal policy of the government that has tried to provide incentives to new industries .
For example, the government has facilitated the creation of industrial development hubs in
Tucson and Phoenix with excellent results. As a result of this policy and the advantageous
conditions outlined above, Arizona hosts many new industries in the electrical and
electronic sector, and heavy equipment. The second most buoyant industry in Arizona is
related to tourism, and although most of its visitors are American and some Mexicans, it is
increasingly attracting more visitors from other places, especially from European countries.
With a workforce of 4.43 million people, their level of unemployment is low since Arizona
has an unemployment rate of 4.1% (1999). The average annual per capita income is $
20,461 (1998), and per family unit of $ 37,090 ($ 1,800 below the national average). The
population index, which lives below the poverty rate, is 16.6%, which makes it the sixth
least favored state in this aspect; in this sense it has worsened since in 1990 it occupied
the nineteenth place with an index similar to the national average.

Turismo

The impact of tourism on the Arizona economy is great. In 2000, 29.49 million people visited the state,
generating 1,376,000 million dollars in direct sales. That same year, more than 380,000 people were directly
or indirectly employed in jobs related to the tourism sector.30
 Las 5 mejores industrias que exportan de Arizona son las de equipos eléctricos,
maquinaria, minerales, equipo de transporte, y compañías de computadoras/
productos electrónicos.
 Desde el año 2004 ha habido un crecimiento de 84% en las exportaciones de Arizona
hacia paises con las que comparte tratados de libre comercio. México es el país al que
Arizona más exporta bienes, seguido por Canadá, lo que refuerza la importancia del
TLCAN. Los top cinco países que reciben exportaciones de Arizona son México,
Canadá, Reino Unido, China y Alemania.
 Las exportaciones de agricultura y mercancía también son importantes para la
economía de Arizona. La economía en este sector consiste de un total de más de $1.5
mil millones de dólares en la agricultura y $21.1 mil millones de dólares en las
exportaciónes de mercancías (México cuenta con el 40,6% del mercado) en 2014.