Fun Facts about Arizona
Fun facts about Arizona that you may or may not know include how much of the state is mountainous, how much is covered in forest, and how many people own boats!
Most people have an image of Arizona as being all parched desert, plus the Grand Canyon. The truth is that it is a very diverse state, much of it mountainous (no deserts up there) and much of it forested (no desert there either). Here are some fun facts about Arizona, and we guarantee some of them will surprise you.
Fun Facts about Arizona
- It was the last territory in the continental United States to become a state on 14 February 1912. New Mexico had been made a state on 6 January 1912.
- Arizona is the 6th largest state in the USA, at about 114,000 square miles (295,259 sq kms), most of which is owned by the federal government. This makes it almost as big as Italy, and larger than both New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
- At 19,280 square miles (49,935 sq kms), Arizona has more mountainous areas than Switzerland. It has 26 peaks that are over 10,000 feet high (3,048 metres).
- Arizona contains 20.6 million acres (just over 8.34 million hectares) of forest, covering roughly 25% of the state.
- Arizona has not one but four distinct desert regions: the Chihuahuan, the Mojave, The Great Basin and the massive Sonoran Desert. This last desert covers 120,000 square miles (310,800 sq kms) and spreads over Arizona, south-eastern California, and northern Mexico. It is the only place in the world where the saguaro cactus grows, and this is the largest cactus in the USA.
Photo by James Randklev – Courtesy of Tucson CVB
- Arizona is part of the only place in the United States where four states meet. The Four Corners is where Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah, all meet up.
- During the American Civil War, Arizona sided with the South.
- Parts of the Grand Canyon are over two billion years old. It is the only one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World to be located in the USA.
- Arizona is home to the oldest continually inhabited settlement in the United States, the Hopi village of Oraibi, which is a two-hour drive northeast of Flagstaff. Arizona has more Native American land than any other state in the USA. Navajo is Arizona’s third most widely-spoken language after English and Spanish.
- Arizona residents own more boats per capita than anywhere else in the United States. The state has 128 natural lakes and five major rivers, including the Colorado River. Arizona’s Grand Falls is taller than Niagara Falls.
- Arizona produces more cotton per acre than any other state. It is also the USA’s leading producer of copper.
- Arizona is home to the Gila Monster, the USA’s only venomous lizard.
- Sandra Day O’Connor, who grew up on a farm in Arizona, was the first woman appointed to the US Supreme Court. The courthouse in Phoenix is named after her. Lorna Lockwood, also from Arizona, was the first woman chief justice of a state supreme court.
- Arizona has over 100 wineries.
- The chimichanga, seen on Mexican restaurant menus everywhere, was invented not in Mexico but in Arizona.
- In 1975 the USA’s first drive-through McDonalds opened in Sierra Vista, Arizona. It was built for the benefit of military members as they were not allowed to get out of their vehicles while wearing army fatigues.
- The Kitt Peak National Observatory in southern Arizona has more observatories within it than anywhere else on earth.
- The Gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone only lasted thirty seconds, yet it has inspired several movies and dozens of books. Arizona also has the world’s oldest rodeos.
- The movie Oklahoma was mostly filmed in Arizona. You can see the original surrey with the fringe on top on display at Jerome State Historic Park.
- Arizona stays on Mountain Standard Time all year round, without adjusting its clocks, except for the Navajo Nation, which does observe Daylight Saving Time.
Frommer’s Arizona and the Grand Canyon
This is our recommended guide for Arizona and the Grand Canyon, if you’re thinking of planning a visit. The two authors both live full-time in Arizona and the book is therefore based on lifetime experiences of the state. It has 86% 5- and 4-star ratings on Amazon.
RECENT POSTS
