While the flavor of the old West is certainly evident with some towns set more in the past than in the present, the trappings of the 21^st century are everywhere in Arizona.   And just as the towns are diverse and colorful, the terrain of the state is too.  Most people associate Arizona with a desert.  However, the truth is that more than half the state features mountains and plateaus and the state contains the largest stand of Ponderosa pine in the world.  Of the state’s 118,000 square miles, only 15% is privately owned.  There are 4 deserts. The rest is public forests and park land, recreation areas and Native American reservations.  Arizona is on of the Four Corners states along with New Mexico, Utah and Colorado.  It also touches California and Nevada.  It has 389 miles of international border.

The lower 2/3 of the state is considered to have a desert climate.  That part has mild winters and hot summers.  In summer the average temperature is between 90 and 100, with highs sometimes getting to 120 degrees.  Due to its dry climate, it is not uncommon to have up to 50 degree temperature swings between day and night.   In the winter, the average is a very mild 50 degrees.  In the northern part of the state, the winter temps average in the 20 – 30’s and the summers average in the mid-70’s.  The annual rainfall is 12.7 inches with most of it in the monsoon season from mid-July through August.  It can occur in torrential downpours.  Fortunately, it is rare for the state to experience a tornado or hurricane. 

At one time nearly 25,000 Indians were the exclusive residents of Arizona.  The earliest were the Hohokam who were followed by the Anasazi and then the Mogollons.  The region was shaped by prehistoric volcanism.  The entire region is slowly sinking.  In fact, geologically, the land can be envisioned as tilting downward to the south.   It became the 48^th state on Feb. 14^th, 1912 and was the last of the contiguous states admitted to the Union.  There is some disagreement over what Arizona means.  The most likely explanations come from the Basque phrase “aritz onak”, meaning good oaks, or from the O’odham phrase “ali sonak, meaning small spring.

The early economy was based on cotton farming and copper mining.  It didn’t boom in the early years due to a lack of water.  That changed in 1911 when the Theodore Roosevelt Dam was completed on the Salt River.  It curbed the occasional flooding and provided irrigation water for Phoenix.  In 1936, Hoover Dam was completed forming Lake Mead – the largest artificial lake in North America.  Once the water became plentiful, large scale industry and agriculture followed.  But by then the Great Depression was in full swing and many of the copper towns went under.  Many of these failed towns then became artist communities and are still so today.  It wasn’t until the 20’s and 30’s that tourism became an economic factor with the introduction of dude ranches, upscale hotels and resorts.  The population grew considerably after WWII in part due to the development due to the development of air conditioning.  The population in 1910 was 294,353, in 1970 it was 1,752,122 and in 2006 it was 6,166,318.   Retirement communities became an economic factor beginning in the 1960’s with Sun City by Del Webb being one of the first to open in 1960.   Today the median age is 34.2 with the age category of 25-59 making up nearly half the population and 60-84 making up nearly 1/6 of the population.

Today, if Arizona were a country it would have the 61^st biggest economy – bigger than Ireland, Finland and New Zealand.  Their modern economy is based on copper and cotton but also on cattle, citrus and tourism.  (Tourism is sometimes referred to as climate, so that the economy is based on the 5 C’s).  Their copper output comprises 2/3 of our nation’s output.  The largest employer is the state while the largest private employer is Wal-Mart.  Nearly 8% of the economy is based on high tech industries including software, computers, electronics, and aerospace manufacturing.  The current trend is away from mining and agriculture and towards high tech and service.

The Arizona legislature is bicameral.  Each of the 30 districts has one senator and 2 representatives. They are elected to two year terms with no more than 4 terms consecutively allowed in a chamber but with no limit on the actual number of terms.  When a lawmaker is term limited in one chamber, it is not uncommon for him/her to run for the other chamber.  There is one session per year beginning on the second Monday in January and ending no later than 100 days after the start.  The current governor is a Democrat.  She lives in her own private residence as there is no governor’s mansion.  From the territorial days until the late 1940’s, Arizona was dominated by Democrats.  However, the newcomers brought with them their Republican votes.  Today, Tucson is still largely made up of Democrats and Phoenix is largely Republican.  In fact, Phoenix is considered one of the most conservative urban areas in the nation. 

There are five income tax brackets ranging from 2.87 on up to 5.04 percent.  The latter bracket starts at $150,001.  There is no state sales tax on food for home consumption nor on prescription drugs.  However, some cities do tax food for home consumption. 

About ¼ of Arizona is reservations.  Navajoland north of Flagstaff and on into Utah, is the largest reservation in North America.  In the center of it is the Hopi Indian Reservation.  They have lived on the same site without interruption for more than 1000 years and they have retained more of their ancient traditions and cultures than any other indigenous group.

Culturally, Arizona is a center for Native American art.  It is also a Hollywood film hot spot with several major movies being shot there.  Perhaps the most famous one was the film, “Psycho”.  It is also home to numerous television shows and has a budding music scene.  There are 12 professional sports teams and the state hosts numerous bowl games and PGA tour stops.  It is also home to spring training for many professional baseball teams.  Recreactionally, outdoor recreation abounds with horse riding, mountain biking on old logging roads, skiing, golf and, of course, hiking.  The Grand Canyon offers some of the best hiking in the world.  In fact, it is one of the seven natural wonders of the world.  The state is also home to the Barringer Meteorite Crater, one of the largest and most well preserved meteorite impact sites in the world near Winslow.  One can also visit the Petrified National Forest and the Painted Desert.

Be sure to check out our website at www.activeadultliving.com for a listing of all the active adult communities in Arizona.  I’m sure if you are in the area representatives would be glad to show you around.  Look next month for a look into the state of Maryland.  As usual, be sure to contact me with any questions, comments or requests at Dee@ActiveAdultLiving.com.

 Dee Chandler, Editor

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