Arizona Almanac

Nickname: The Grand Canyon State

Motto: Ditat Deus (God Enriches)

Admission to Union as the 48th state: Feb. 14, 1912

Number of Counties: 15

The Meaning of Arizona

The Arizona State Flag

Governor's Kids Page

AZ Office of Tourism

2020 Census: 7,151,502

Race and Origin (2020):

• White: 82%
• Hispanic or Latino: 32.3%
• Black or African American: 5.4%
• American Indian or Alaska Native: 5.3%
• Asian: 3.8%

Federally Recognized Indian Tribes: 22

U.S. Census Quick Facts

Indigenous peoples of Arizona

Map of Tribal Lands

Official language: English

About 70% of people in Arizona speak English at home. The next most common language is Spanish.

American Indian languages include Navajo, Apache, Hopi, and O'odham.

U.S. Census Language Use

Current: Phoenix (as of 1889)

Territorial Capitals: Prescott, Tucson

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• Governor: Katie Hobbs
• U.S. Senators: Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly
• Secretary of State: Adrian Fontes
• Attorney General: Kris Mayes
• Treasurer: Kimberly Yee
• Superintendent of Public Instruction: Tom Horne
• State Mine Inspector: Paul Marsh

• eDemocracy list of elected Arizona officials
• Arizona's Governors
• Arizona's Congressional Delegation
• Gifts to the Governor
• Territorial Governor Portraits by William Besser
• Arizona Legislators: Then & Now

Mountain Standard Time

Most of Arizona does not observe Daylight Saving Time. However, the Navajo Nation, in the northeastern part of the state, does change time.

Daylight Saving Time

State Statute

Arizona's many state symbols include

• Flag: A copper star rises from a blue field in front of red and yellow rays which stand for the sun.
• Flower: Saguaro Blossom
• Tree: Palo Verde
• Bird: Cactus Wren
• Official Neckwear: Bola Tie
• Dinosaur: Sonorasaurus

• State of Arizona Flag
• State Symbols

Cattle

Cotton

Citrus

Climate

Copper

Five Cs

• Going Back to Bisbee, By Richard Shelton
• These Is My Words, By Nancy Turner
• Capirotada: A Nogales Memoir, By Alberto Rios
• The Trunk Murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd, By Jana Bommersbach
• Hopi Summer: Letters from Ethel to Maud, By Carolyn O'Bagy Davis
• Arizona: 100 Years Grand, By Lisa Schnebly Heidinger

Reading Arizona

Southwest Books of the Year

Tucson Festival of Books

• Visit Arizona 
• Canyon de Chelly
• Chiricahua National Monument
• Desert Sonoran Museum
• Glen Canyon National Recreational Area
• Grand Canyon
• Karchner Caverns
• London Bridge
• Red Rocks of Sedona
• South Mountain Park
• Tombstone Courthouse

• Arizona State Parks
• National Park Service in Arizona
• Saguaro National Park 
• Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument -
• Museums and Galleries in Arizona 
• Culture Pass 

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• Geronimo (1829-1909)
• Sharlot Hall (1870-1943)
• Ernest McFarland (1894-1984)
• Barry Goldwater (1909-1998)
• Morris Udall (1922-1998)
• Cesar Chavez (1927-1993)
• Sandra Day O'Connor (1930-)
• Linda Ronstadt (1946-)
• Steven Spielberg (1946- ) 
• Stevie Nicks (1948- ) 
• Gabrielle Giffords (1970-)
• Phil Mickelson (1970- ) 
• Larry Fitzgerald (1983-)
• Emma Stone (1988-)
• John McCain (1912-2020) 

Arizona Women's Hall of Fame

Arizona Latinos in Public Service

• Land area in square miles: 113,594
• Largest cities: Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa
• Highest peak: Humphreys Peak (12,637 feet)
• Longest river: Colorado River
• Coldest recorded temperature: -40 degrees at Hawley Lake on January 7, 1971.
• Hottest recorded temperature: 128 degrees in Lake Havasu City on June 29, 1994.
• Phoenix high: 122 degrees on June 26, 1990.

Historic Arizona County Maps

Arizona's Notable Storms

Geological Map of Arizona

The U.S. acquired the northern part of Arizona in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The area south of the Gila River was added in 1853 with the 1853 Gadsden Purchase. At first, Arizona was a part of the Territory of
New Mexico. Arizona became a separate territory in 1863. The U.S. made Arizona the 48th state in 1912.

This Day in Arizona History

America's Story from America's Library: Arizona

• Civilian Labor Force: 3,607,223 (Sept. 2022)
• Average hourly wage: $30.57  
• Largest employer: Banner Health
• Unemployment rate: 3.7% (Sept. 2022)

Arizona's Economy

Arizona Republic 100 Largest Employers

Bureau of Labor Statistics for Arizona

• Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (d. 1554)
• John Wesley Powell (1834-1902)
• Buckey O'Neill (1860-1898)
• Nellie Bush (1888-1963)
• Frank Luke (1897-1918)
• Navajo Code Talkers (circa 1900s)
• Granite Mountain Hotshots (d. 2013)

Powell Museum

Arizona Military Museum Collection

Three branches of government:

The Governor is the chief executive. The Secretary of State is next in line.

The legislature has two houses, with 30 districts. Each district elects one senator and two representatives.

The highest court is the Arizona Supreme Court. The court has seven justices.

Arizona Chronology

Documents Leading to Statehood

Arizona Constitution

State Universities:

Arizona State University

Northern Arizona University

University of Arizona

Arizona Department of Education

• Arizona Cardinals (NFL)
• Arizona Coyotes (NHL)
• Arizona Diamondbacks (MLB)
• Arizona Rattlers (AFL)
• Phoenix Mercury (WNBA)
• Phoenix Suns (NBA)

National Championships: Arizona Diamondbacks won the 2001 World Series. The Phoenix Mercury won the WNBA championship in 2007, 2009 and 2014. The Arizona Rattlers won championships in 1994, 1997, 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation/Taliesin West  - Frank Lloyd Wright began building Taliesin West in 1937. It is north of Scottsdale.

Frank Lloyd Wright in Arizona 1929-1959

Mission San Xavier del Bac - San Xavier del Bac is the oldest European structure in the state. It was built in the late 1700s near Tucson.

The Heard Museum -The Heard Museum tells the story of American Indian arts and cultures. It is in Phoenix.

Route 66 - Route 66 is a road that ran across northern Arizona. It passed through Winslow. The town is home to the street corner made famous by the Eagle's "Take it Easy." The town also has La Posada, a railroad hotel designed by Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter.

Center for Creative Photography - The Center for Creative Photography is on the University of Arizona campus. It is the largest history center in the world for modern North American photography.

Images from the Edward Curtis Collection at the Arizona State Capitol Museum

University of Arizona Poetry Center

Arcosanti - Arcosanti, located in central Arizona along I-17, is an experimental town that aims to explore the possibilities arcology, the meeting point between architecture and ecology.