48 Interesting Facts About Arizona

Everyone knows that February 14th is special for lovers, but for Arizona, it holds another important meaning. It was 105 years ago, on February 14, 1912, that Arizona became the 48th state in the Union.

To honor our home state on its birthday, we thought it would be fun to share some facts about it. Some you may know, others you may not, in any case, it is all good fun.

Here are 48 interesting facts about Arizona:

1. Arizona was the last of the contiguous United States to be made a state.
2. A person from Arizona is called an Arizonan.
3. Cattle, cotton, copper, citrus, and climate -also known as the five C’s- were the building blocks of Arizona.
4. Arizona leads the nation in copper production.
5. The geographic center of Arizona is 55 miles (89 kilometers) southeast of Prescott.
6. The Capitol building’s roof is made up of enough copper to make 4.8 million pennies.
7. Ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment granted women the right to vote across the United States. However, in Arizona, women earned the right to vote eight years earlier in November of 1912.
8. Arizona has the largest percentage of Native American lands, with nearly one-fourth of the state being reservation land.
9. There are currently 22 sovereign American Indian communities in Arizona.
10. Arizona is the sixth largest state, in area, falling behind Alaska, Texas, California, Montana and New Mexico. Arizona is close to 114,000 square miles. It is around 340 miles wide and 400 miles in length.
11. All six states of New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont) plus the state of Pennsylvania would fit inside of Arizona.
12. Only about 17 percent of Arizona is privately owned. The rest of the state consists of forest and park lands, state trust lands, and Native American reservations.
13. Of the 50 states, Arizona is the 15th most populous with over 6.7 million people.
14. The world’s best-preserved meteor crater is found in Winslow, Arizona.
15. You won’t find any dinosaur fossils in the walls of the Grand Canyon because the rocks are a lot older than the oldest known dinosaurs. There are, however, fossils of things like corals, crinoids, sponges, and trilobites.
16. Arizona’s last volcanic eruption occurred between D. 1080 and 1150, creating Sunset Crater near Flagstaff.
17. Because of its diverse geography and climate, Arizona can yield both the highest and lowest temperatures in the country on the same day.
18. In Phoenix and Tucson, the sun shines 85 percent of the year. That is even more than Hawaii and Florida.
19. The official state gemstone of Arizona is Turquoise.
20. The Arizona Trout can only be found in Arizona and is also the official state fish.
21. The official state tree is the Palo Verde. The name means “green stick.”
22. Arizona’s official state flower is the saguaro cactus blossom. The flower usually blooms on the tips of the saguaro cactus during the months of May and June.
23. The official state bird of Arizona is the cactus wren, which loves to build their nests in the protection of the thorny arms of the saguaro cactus.
24. The saguaro cactus is the largest American cactus, and it is also considered endangered. If you cut down endangered cactus like the saguaro in Arizona, you could face up to a year behind bars.
25. With 13 species of rattlesnake residing in Arizona, it has more rattlesnake species than any other state. The Arizona ridge-nosed rattlesnake is the official state reptile.
26. Arizona is famous for the Petrified Forest, so it comes as no surprise that petrified wood is the official state fossil.
27. Arizona is on Mountain Standard Time year-round and does not observe daylight savings time, with the exception of the Navajo Nation, located in the northeast corner of the state. The only other state that does not observe daylight savings time is Hawaii.
28. The World’s Oldest Rodeo is held in Prescott, Arizona every July. The oldest continuous rodeo is in Payson.
29. Arizona, along with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, is a part of the Four Corners. A place in the United States where a person can stand in four states and the same time.
30. There are three national parks, six state forests, 18 national monuments (more than any other state), and 28 state parks in Arizona.
31. Kitts Peak National Observatory, near Tucson, is the home of the world’s largest solar telescope.
32. The largest unbroken Ponderosa pine forest in the U.S. is in Arizona. Around one-fourth of the state is covered by forest growth.
33. The West’s most famous shoot-out, the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, took place in Tombstone, Arizona. It lasted for only around 30 seconds.
34. There are more golf courses than Scotland and more mountains than Switzerland located in Arizona.
35. The Southern Pacific Railroad connected Arizona with the eastern states in 1926.
36. The original London Bridge now calls Arizona home. It was shipped stone-by-stone and reconstructed in Lake Havasu City.
37. The name “Arizona” originated from the Spanish name, Arizonac, which in turn derived from the O’odham name “alĭ ṣonak” (meaning “small spring”).
38. The two largest man-made lakes in the U.S. are found in Arizona- Lake Powell and Lake Mead.
39. The Arizona flag has 13 rays of red and gold/yellow on its top half, symbolizing the original 13 states in the Union as well as Arizona’s sunsets. The copper star at the center of the flag represents Arizona’s copper mining industry. The blue one the bottom half represents the Colorado River. The red and blue shades on the Arizona flag are the same as the red and blue found on the flag of the United States.
40. The hottest recorded temperature in Arizona was 128 degrees in Lake Havasu City on June 29, 1994.
41. The coldest recorded temperature in Arizona was -40 degrees, recorded January 7, 1971, at Hawley Lake.
42. With 3,928 mountain peaks and summits, Arizona has more mountains than any of the other mountain states (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming).
43. Humphrey’s Peak is Arizona’s highest point, coming in at 12,633 feet.
44. The Four Peaks area of the Matzanal Mountains produces top-quality amethysts.
45. Phoenix originated as a hay camp to supply Camp McDowell in 1866.
46. The Tonto Natural Bridge, near Payson, is thought to be the world’s largest natural travertine bridge. The bridge was discovered in 1877 and is 400 feet long and 183 feet high.
47. It is unlawful to refuse a person a glass of water in Arizona.
48. The land area that is now known as Arizona had the Castilian and Burgundian flags of Spain, the Mexican flag, and the Confederate flag flown over it at one point in time.

As you can see, we love Arizona. More than that, we love the people of Arizona, and we take pride in our part in keeping them safe on the roads. For high-quality auto repair services, give the experts at Virginia Auto Service a try. Call (602) 266-0200 or schedule an appointment online.