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Saturday 10 September 2011

Arizona

The United States Army established Fort Buchanan on the Sonoita River in present-day southern Arizona on November 17, 1856. This was in order to help control new land acquired in the Gadsden Purchase, a 29,640-square-mile (76,800 km2) region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that was purchased by the US in a 1853 treaty. After the Apaches attacked and forced the small garrison to retreat in 1865 it was abandoned and Fort Crittenden was established half a mile east on the flats two years later.

The ruins of Fort Buchanan in 1914

Arizona became the 48th US state on February 14, 1912. It was the last of the contiguous states to be admitted. Arizona was previously part of the territory of Alta California in New Spain before being passed down to independent Mexico and later ceded to the United States after the Mexican–American War.

The Castilian and Burgundian flags of Spain, the Mexican flag, the Confederate flag, and the flag of the United States have all flown over the land area that has become Arizona.


Arizona's capital Phoenix originated in 1866 as a hay camp to supply Camp McDowell. By 1881 it had a population of about 2,500 people.

The saguaro cactus blossom is the official state flower. The white flower blooms on the tips of the saguaro cactus during May and June. The saguaro is the largest American cactus.


Arizona's most abundant mineral is copper. Arizona leads the nation in copper production.

Bisbee, located in Tombstone Canyon, is known as the Queen of the Copper Mines. During its mining history the town was the largest city between Saint Louis and San Francisco.

The amount of copper on the roof of the Capitol building is equivalent to 4,800,000 pennies.

The Palo verde is the official state tree. Its name means green stick and it blooms a brilliant yellow-gold in April or May.

The ringtail is the official state mammal. The ringtail is a small fox-like animal about two and one-half feet long and is a shy, nocturnal creature.

The battleship USS Arizona was named in honor of the state. It was commissioned in 1913 and launched in 1915 from the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

The geographic center of Arizona is 55 miles (89 kilometers) southeast of Prescott.


The original London Bridge was built in 1831 and spanned the River Thames in London, England. In 1968 The City of London decided to replace the bridge, and in 1968, it sold the old bridge to Robert P. McCulloch, an American businessman and developer. McCulloch had a vision of creating a tourist destination in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and he believed that the London Bridge would be the perfect centerpiece.

McCulloch paid $2.4 million for the bridge, and he had it dismantled and shipped to Lake Havasu City. The bridge was rebuilt over a man-made channel that was dug to separate the mainland from Pittsburgh Point, a peninsula in Lake Havasu.

The London Bridge was reopened to the public on October 10, 1971, and it has been a popular tourist attraction ever since. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Arizona, and it attracts visitors from all over the world.

Located in Fountain Hills is a fountain believed to be the tallest in the world.

The city of Surprise in Arizona was named by its founder who stated she "would be surprised if the town ever amounted to much."

The city of Snowflake in Arizona is not named after actual snowflakes but for its founders Erastus Snow and William Flake.

Four Corners is noted as the spot in the United States where a person can stand in four states at the same time.

Supai Village, Arizona is only accessible by helicopter or eight mile hike—it's one of the only spots in the U.S. where mail comes via mule.


Arizona, among all the states, has the largest percentage of its land set aside and designated as Native American lands.

Oraibi is the oldest Native American settlement in the United States. The Hopis Indians founded it.

In 2010, people boycotted AriZona Iced Tea to protest Arizona state immigration laws. Although the company is based in Long Island, New York.

Despite its "Sunshine State" nickname, Florida is not the sunniest US state—Arizona is, closely followed by California.

Yuma is the sunniest city in the United States, with the sun shining an average of 90 percent of the time. Yuma, Arizona is known as the sunniest city on earth. They have more than 4,000 sunlight hours a year. This Arizona desert city also has the distinction of being the least humid and having fewer days of precipitation than any other US city.


Yuma County, Arizona, provides America with 90% of its lettuces from November through March.

Arizona contains at least 170 miles of earth fissures, created by the voids left behind by used-up groundwater.

Despite being commonly thought as being nothing but a desert, Arizona has the largest contiguous pine tree forest in the world.

Source Arizona Fast Facts and Trivia, Hungry For Heaven 

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