! #$ {bml azp.shg}

! #$ {bml az3infop.shg}

{bmc 3nick_ap.shg} Nickname
{bmc 3pop_azp.shg} Population
{bmc 3bird_ap.shg} State Bird
{bmc 3flow_ap.shg} State Flower
{bmc 3tree_ap.shg} State Tree

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Population
Pop. (1986 est.) 3,317,000, a 22.1% increase over 1980 pop.

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State Capital
Phoenix. City (1986 est. pop. 894,070; met. area 1,900,200), state capital and seat of Maricopa co., S Ariz, on the Salt River; inc. 1881. The largest city in Arizona and one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S., it produces electronic, computer, and aerospace equipment, as well as citrus and other food products.

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Highest Point
Humphreys Peak, 12,633 ft (3,853 m).

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Lowest Point
Colorado River, 70 ft (21 m).

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Nickname
{ewl MVDIB12, MVDIB12, !AZ_NICKP.DIB}Grand Canyon State

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State Bird
{ewl MVDIB12, MVDIB12, !AZ_BIRDP.DIB}Cactus Wren

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State Flower
{ewl MVDIB12, MVDIB12, !AZ_FLOWP.BMP}Saguaro Cactus Blossom

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State Tree
{ewl MVDIB12, MVDIB12, !AZ_TREEP.DIB}Paloverde

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{ewr MVDIB12, MVDIB12, !AZ_HISTP.BMP}Early Spanish explorers included Cabeza de Vaca (1536), Marcos de Niza (1539), and Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (1540), and several Spanish missions were founded in the late 17th century The region came under Mexican control after 1821, and lands north of the Gila River passed to the U.S. territory of New Mexico at the end of the Mexican War (1846-48). Lands between the Gila River and today's southern boundary were added through the Gadsden Purchase (1853). {bml ussond1p.shg} Arizona became a separate territory in 1863, and settlement accelerated after the surrender (1866) of Geronimo ended 25 years of Apache Indian wars. Rapid development of irrigated agriculture, spurred by construction of the Roosevelt Dam (1911), and industrial and urban expansion beginning during World War II strained limited water resources. A 1963 U.S. Supreme Court decision to increase Arizona's allocation of water from the Colorado River was followed in 1968 by congressional authorization of the huge Central Arizona project, to divert water from the Colorado at Parker Dam and carry it across Arizona for use in the Phoenix-Tucson area.

! #$K K + {bml az3landp.shg}

Arizona, state in the SW U.S.; bordered by Utah (N), New Mexico (E), Mexico (S), and, across the Colorado R., Nevada and California (W).

Area, 113,909 sq mi (295,024 sq km). 

Most of northern and eastern Arizona lies within the arid Colorado Plateau region, and most of the south and west in the flat desert basins (many now irrigated) and jagged mountain ranges of the Basin and Range region. Major rivers are the Colorado, Gila, and Salt. A total of 20,036,000 acres (8,108,000 hectares), or 38%, of all U.S. Indian tribal lands, are in Arizona; the largest are the Navaho, Hopi, Fort Apache, and Papago Indian reservations.  Phoenix, Tucson, and Tempe are the principal cities. In 1984 Arizona was 91% white, 9% Native American and others.

! #$K K + {bml az3econp.shg}

{ewr MVDIB12, MVDIB12, !AZ_ECONP.BMP}Manufacturing is the leading economic activity, with machinery, electronic and aeronautical products, and electrical and transportation equipment the major manufactures. Cotton is the chief irrigated crop, and some lettuce, hay, oranges, and grapefruit are also grown in the subtropical south. Large cattle and sheep ranges produce livestock and dairy products. Arizona is a leading U.S. producer of copper (at Morenci and Bisbee), and there is a small lumber industry near Flagstaff. The state is also known for its Indian handicrafts. The hot, dry climate, spectacular scenic attractions such as the Grand Canyon and the Petrified Forest (see National Parks), and many Indian reservations attract large numbers of tourists.

! #@ {bmc az_nickp.dib}
{ewc MVMCI12, MVMCI12, [stdcontrol][autostart]!ECHO.WAV}

! #@ {ewl MVDIB12, MVDIB12, !AZ_NICKP.DIB}

! #$K K + {bml az3govtp.shg}

{ewr MVDIB12, MVDIB12, !AZ_GOVTP.BMP}The constitution provides for a governor and for a state legislature of 30 senators and 60 representatives elected for two-year terms. Arizona elects two senators and five representatives to the U.S. Congress and has seven electoral votes.