Arizona is one of the fifty American states. It was the third last territories to be elevated to this country, only after Hawaii and Alaska. Like many states in the southern United States, Arizona was initially colonized by Spain, passing to Mexican control in 1821. In 1848, the region became a member of the United States after the Mexican-American War.
Arizona is located in the southwestern United States, bordering on the west with the states of California and Nevada, on the north with Utah, on the east with New Mexico, and on the south with Mexico.
One of its main characteristics is the desert climate present in a large part of its territory. Winters are mild, with average temperatures of 2ºC, while summers are quite hot, with temperatures ranging between 25ºC and 39ºC. Eventually, cold fronts from Canada and the northern United States can cause abnormal temperature drops in the state.
Arizona has one of the highest population growth rates in the United States, as a result of strong Mexican immigration to the region, which is illegal in most of the time. It also has one of the largest numbers of Native Americans in the United States.
The state’s economy is based mainly on the provision of services, especially in the financial and real estate sectors. Another sector of significant importance is tourism. The Grand Canyon is located in the state, a geographical accident that is one of the largest and most famous American tourist destinations.
Chiricahua National Monument
The Chiricahua National Monument is located where Arizona borders Mexico and New Mexico. This unique landscape with incredible rock formations was created by volcanic eruptions many millions of years ago. These were eruptions that were about a thousand times more powerful than the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980.
The area was inhabited in the past by the Chiricahua Indians, who also called it the “land of rising rocks.” The landscape is dotted with strange rock formations weighing several tens of tons, which are constantly shaped by wind, water and ice. The local Indians were also skilled warriors, as they were led by the famous Chief Geronimo, who fought numerous battles against the white settlers. The intensity of the Indian attacks gradually waned, and in 1886 Geronimo’s group surrendered and was evicted to a remote reservation.
The first white inhabitants of the area were immigrants from Sweden who built a ranch in the Bonita Valley. Their descendants then built the first tourist camp serving visitors. They also contributed to the construction of individual trails through the canyon and made available to tourists all the fantastic rock formations. The Swedish Erikson family had a great deal of contribution to the development of the region and also to the fact that Chiricahua was declared a national monument in 1924.
The area has a relatively cool and humid environment, in which many plants and animals in the southwestern United States thrive. There are also many plants and animals that otherwise occur more in Mexico. Many trees and flowers have their origins in the south, but over time they have come here and are an attraction mainly for botanists and biologists.
Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail
Juan Bautista de Anza is a historic 1,200-mile trail in southwestern Arizona and southern California that ends on the central California coast in San Francisco Bay. In 1775, the captain of the Spanish army, Juan Bautista de Anza, led a Spanish colonial expedition with about 300 settlers to the California coast.
If you would also like to follow this historic trail, you will gradually come across several interesting tourist sites. These include the Tumacácori National Historical Park, the ruins of Casa Grande and the Saguaro National Park. You will walk through a variety of environments and landscapes, the road leads through deserts, grassy plains, rivers and in California through cold mountain passes.
Map of Area Codes in Arizona
Arizona consists of the following area codes. Click on the area code to show the cities in that area code.
Arizona Area Codes by County
The area code of 480 is used in the following 2 counties:
- Maricopa, AZ
- Pinal, AZ
The area code of 520 is used in the following 9 counties:
- Cochise, AZ
- Coconino, AZ
- Gila, AZ
- Maricopa, AZ
- Pima, AZ
- Pinal, AZ
- Santa Cruz, AZ
- Yavapai, AZ
- Yuma, AZ
The area code of 602 is used in the following 1 counties:
- Maricopa, AZ
The area code of 623 is used in the following 2 counties:
- Maricopa, AZ
- Yavapai, AZ
The area code of 928 is used in the following 13 counties:
- Apache, AZ
- Coconino, AZ
- Gila, AZ
- Graham, AZ
- Greenlee, AZ
- La Paz, AZ
- Maricopa, AZ
- Mohave, AZ
- Navajo, AZ
- Pima, AZ
- Pinal, AZ
- Yavapai, AZ
- Yuma, AZ