Lees Ferry (also known as
Lee's Ferry,
Lee Ferry,
Little Colorado Station and
Saints Ferry) is a site on the
Colorado River in
Coconino County, Arizona in the
United States, about 7.5 miles (12.1 km) southwest of
Page and 9 miles (14 km) south of the
Utah–Arizona state line. (
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Flagstaff (
FLAG-staf) is the
county seat of
Coconino County, Arizona, in the southwestern United States. As of the
2020 United States census, the city's population was 76,831. (
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The known human
history of the Grand Canyon area stretches back 10,500 years, when the first evidence of human presence in the area is found. Native Americans have inhabited the
Grand Canyon and the area now covered by
Grand Canyon National Park for at least the last 4,000 of those years.
Ancestral Pueblo peoples, first as the
Basketmaker culture and later as the more familiar
Pueblo people, developed from the
Desert Culture as they became less nomadic and more dependent on agriculture. A similar culture, the Cochimi also lived in the canyon area. Drought in the late 13th century likely caused both groups to move on. Other people followed, including the
Paiute,
Cerbat, and the
Navajo, only to be later forced onto
reservations by the United States Government. (
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Interstate 15 (
I-15) is an
Interstate Highway, running from
San Diego, California, United States, to the
Canada–US border, through
Mohave County in northwest
Arizona. Despite being isolated from the rest of Arizona, in the remote
Arizona Strip, and short in length at 29.43 miles (47.36 km), it remains notable for its scenic passage through the
Virgin River Gorge. The highway heads in a northeasterly direction from the
Nevada border northeast of
Mesquite, Nevada, to the
Utah border southwest of
St. George, Utah. (
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The
history of Arizona encompasses the Paleo-Indian, Archaic, Post-Archaic, Spanish, Mexican, and American periods. About 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, Paleo-Indians settled in what is now Arizona. A few thousand years ago, the
Ancestral Puebloan, the
Hohokam, the
Mogollon and the
Sinagua cultures inhabited the state. However, all of these civilizations mysteriously disappeared from the region in the 15th and 16th centuries. Today, countless ancient ruins can be found in Arizona. Arizona was part of the state of
Sonora, Mexico from 1822, but the settled population was small. In 1848, under the terms of the
Mexican Cession the United States took possession of Arizona above the
Gila River after the
Mexican War, and became part of the
Territory of New Mexico. By means of the
Gadsden Purchase, the United States secured the northern part of the state of Sonora, which is now Arizona south of the Gila River in 1854. (
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The
geology of the Grand Canyon area includes one of the most complete and studied sequences of
rock on Earth. The nearly 40 major
sedimentary rock layers exposed in the
Grand Canyon and in the
Grand Canyon National Park area range in age from about 200 million to nearly 2 billion years old. Most were deposited in warm, shallow seas and near ancient, long-gone sea shores in western
North America. Both marine and terrestrial
sediments are represented, including lithified
sand dunes from an extinct desert. There are at least 14 known
unconformities in the geologic record found in the Grand Canyon. (
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State Route 85 (
SR 85) is a 128.86-mile-long (207.38 km)
state highway in the U.S. state of
Arizona. The highway runs from the
United States–Mexico border near
Lukeville to the north ending at
Interstate 10 (I-10) in
Buckeye. The highway also intersects
I-8 in
Gila Bend and serves as a connector between I-8 and I-10 and for travelers between
Phoenix and
Yuma as well as
San Diego. SR 85 between I-10 and I-8, as well as I-8 between SR 85 and I-10 in Casa Grande, is touted as a bypass of the Phoenix area for long-distance travelers on I-10. (
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Petrified Forest National Park is a
national park of the United States in
Navajo and
Apache counties in northeastern
Arizona. Named for its large deposits of
petrified wood, the park covers about 346 square miles (900 square kilometers), encompassing semi-desert shrub
steppe as well as highly eroded and colorful
badlands. The park's headquarters is about 26 miles (42 km) east of
Holbrook along
Interstate 40 (I-40), which parallels the
BNSF Railway's
Southern Transcon, the
Puerco River, and historic
U.S. Route 66, all crossing the park roughly east–west. The site, the northern part of which extends into the
Painted Desert, was declared a
national monument in 1906 and a national park in 1962. The park received 644,922 recreational visitors in 2018. (
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The
Phoenix Zoo opened in 1962 and is the largest privately owned nonprofit
zoo in the United States. Located in
Phoenix, Arizona, the zoo was founded by Robert Maytag, a member of the
Maytag family, and operates on 125 acres (51 ha) of land in the
Papago Park area of Phoenix. It has been designated as a
Phoenix Point of Pride. (
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U.S. Route 491 (
US 491) is a north–south
U.S. Highway serving the
Four Corners region of the United States. It was created in 2003 as a renumbering of
U.S. Route 666 (
US 666). With the US 666 designation, the road was nicknamed the "Devil's Highway" because of the significance of the number
666 to many
Christian denominations as the
Number of the Beast. This
Satanic connotation, combined with a high fatality rate along the New Mexico portion, convinced some people the highway was cursed. The problem was compounded by persistent
sign theft. These factors led to two efforts to renumber the highway, first by officials in
Arizona, then by those in
New Mexico. There have been safety improvement projects since the renumbering, and fatality rates have subsequently decreased. (
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Phoenix (
FEE-niks) is the
capital and
most populous city of the
U.S. state of
Arizona, with 1,662,607 residents as of 2024. It is the
fifth-most populous city in the United States and the
most populous state capital in the country. (
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The
Yavapai (
YAV-ə-py) are a
Native American tribe in
Arizona. Their
Yavapai language belongs to the Upland
Yuman branch of the proposed
Hokan language family. (
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The
Navajo Nation Zoological and Botanical Park (
Navajo:
Diné Bikéyah binaaldeehii dóó chʼil danílʼínídi) is located in
Window Rock, Arizona, the capital of the
Navajo Nation. It is the only tribally owned zoological park in the United States and is notable among zoological facilities in that it labels its exhibits in the
Native American Indian language of
Navajo. Having been operated by the Navajo Nation Parks & Recreation Department since its inception in the early 1960s, it became part of the Navajo Nation Department of Fish and Wildlife in September 2006. (
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The
2011 Subway Fresh Fit 500 was a
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on February 27, 2011 at
Phoenix International Raceway in
Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 312 laps, it was the second race of the
2011 season and was won by
Jeff Gordon for
Hendrick Motorsports.
Kyle Busch of
Joe Gibbs Racing finished in second, while Gordon's teammate,
Jimmie Johnson, finished third. (
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Job for a Cowboy is an American
death metal band from
Glendale, Arizona. Formed in 2003, the band's debut album
Genesis was released in 2007, peaking at No. 54 on the US
Billboard 200 and selling 13,000 copies in its first week of release. The second album, 2009's
Ruination, sold 10,600 copies in the United States in its first week to debut at position No. 42 on the
Billboard 200 chart. The band comprises vocalist Jonny Davy, guitarists Tony Sannicandro and Al Glassman and bassist Nick Schendzielos. Davy is the only remaining founding member. (
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The
New Waddell Dam is an
embankment dam on the
Agua Fria River in
Maricopa County, Arizona, 35 miles (56 km) northwest of
Phoenix. It serves as part of the
Central Arizona Project (CAP) while also providing water for the Maricopa Water District. The dam creates
Lake Pleasant with water from the Agua Fria and also the CAP aqueduct. In addition, it affords flood protection,
hydroelectric power production and recreational opportunities. Construction on the dam began in 1985 and ended in 1994. Its reservoir submerged the Old Waddell Dam which was completed in 1927 after decades of planning. (
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U.S. Route 70 (
US 70), also known as the
Old West Highway, is an east–west
U.S. Highway in the U.S. state of
Arizona. The current route starts at
US 60 in
Globe and runs through the
San Carlos Indian Reservation,
Safford and
Duncan into
New Mexico near
Virden. In Arizona, US 70 passes through mostly isolated hilly and mountainous terrain largely paralleling the course of the
Gila River and the
Arizona Eastern Railway. (
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Prescott (
PRESS-kət) is a
city in and the
county seat of
Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. As of
2020 Census, the city's population was 45,827. (
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The
Colorado River (
Spanish:
Río Colorado) is one of the principal
rivers (along with the
Rio Grande) in the
Southwestern United States and in
northern Mexico. The 1,450-mile-long (2,330 km) river, the
5th longest in the United States, drains an expansive, arid
watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states. The name Colorado derives from the Spanish language for "colored reddish" due to its heavy
silt load. Starting in the central
Rocky Mountains of
Colorado, it flows generally southwest across the
Colorado Plateau and through the
Grand Canyon before reaching
Lake Mead on the
Arizona–
Nevada border, where it turns south toward the
international border. After entering Mexico, the Colorado approaches the mostly dry
Colorado River Delta at the tip of the
Gulf of California between
Baja California and
Sonora. (
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Hoover Dam is a
concrete arch-gravity dam in the
Black Canyon of the
Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of
Nevada and
Arizona. Constructed between 1931 and 1936, during the
Great Depression, it was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt. Its construction was the result of a massive effort involving thousands of workers, and cost over 100 lives. In bills passed by Congress during its construction, it was referred to as the Hoover Dam, after President
Herbert Hoover, but was named
Boulder Dam by the Roosevelt administration. In 1947, the name Hoover Dam was restored by
Congress. (
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Petrified Forest National Park is a
national park of the United States in
Navajo and
Apache counties in northeastern
Arizona. Named for its large deposits of
petrified wood, the park covers about 346 square miles (900 square kilometers), encompassing semi-desert shrub
steppe as well as highly eroded and colorful
badlands. The park's headquarters is about 26 miles (42 km) east of
Holbrook along
Interstate 40 (I-40), which parallels the
BNSF Railway's
Southern Transcon, the
Puerco River, and historic
U.S. Route 66, all crossing the park roughly east–west. The site, the northern part of which extends into the
Painted Desert, was declared a
national monument in 1906 and a national park in 1962. The park received 644,922 recreational visitors in 2018. (
Full article...)
Jerome is a town in the
Black Hills of
Yavapai County in the
U.S. state of
Arizona. Founded in the late 19th century on Cleopatra Hill overlooking the
Verde Valley, Jerome is more than 5,000 feet (1,500 m) above sea level. It is about 100 miles (160 km) north of
Phoenix along
State Route 89A between
Sedona and
Prescott. Supported in its heyday by rich
copper mines, it was home to more than 10,000 people in the 1920s. As of the
2020 census, its population was 464. (
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Saguaro National Park is a
national park of the United States in southeastern
Arizona. The 92,000-acre (37,000 ha) park consists of two separate areas—the Tucson Mountain District (TMD), about 10 miles (16 km) west of
Tucson, and the Rincon Mountain District (RMD), about 10 miles (16 km) east of the city. Both districts preserve
Sonoran Desert landscapes, fauna, and flora, including the giant
saguaro cactus. (
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The
2009 Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 was the thirty-fifth and penultimate
stock car race of the
2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the ninth in the ten-race season-ending
Chase for the Sprint Cup. It was held on November 15, 2009, at
Phoenix International Raceway, in
Avondale, Arizona before a crowd of 90,000. The 312-lap race was won by
Jimmie Johnson of the
Hendrick Motorsports team after starting from third position.
Richard Childress Racing's
Jeff Burton finished second and
Denny Hamlin of
Joe Gibbs Racing placed third. (
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There are 15
counties in the U.S. state of
Arizona. Four counties (Mohave, Pima, Yavapai and Yuma) were created in 1864 following the organization of the
Arizona Territory in 1862. The now defunct
Pah-Ute County was split from Mohave County in 1865, but merged back in 1871. All but La Paz County were created by the time Arizona was granted statehood in 1912. La Paz County was established in 1983 after many years of pushing for independence from Yuma County. (
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Arizona is a
state located in the
Western United States. According to the
2020 United States Census, Arizona is the
14th most populous state with 7,151,502 inhabitants (as of the 2020 census) and the
6th largest by land area spanning 113,623.1 square miles (294,282 km
2). Arizona is divided into 15 counties and contains 91
incorporated cities and
towns. Incorporated places in Arizona are those that have been granted
home rule, possessing a local government in the form of a
city or town council. Most of the population is concentrated within the
Phoenix metropolitan area, with a
2020 census population of 4,845,832 (
67.8% of the state population). (
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The
governor of Arizona is the
head of government of the
U.S. state of
Arizona. As the top elected official, the
governor is the head of the
executive branch of the
Arizona state government and is charged with faithfully executing state laws. The governor has the power to either approve or
veto bills passed by the
Arizona State Legislature; to convene the legislature; and to grant
pardons, with the exception of cases of
impeachment. The governor is also the
commander-in-chief of the state's
military forces. Arizona is one of the few states that currently does not have a
governor's mansion or other
official residence. (
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The
Arizona Diamondbacks are a
Major League Baseball team based in
Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks are part of the
National League and play in the
West Division. Since beginning play in
the 1998 season, the Diamondbacks called
Chase Field (formerly named "Bank One Ballpark") their home. The name "Diamondbacks" was inspired by the
Western diamondback snake and was chosen among thousands of entries in a contest to name the team. (
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Arizona has been affected by
hurricanes on numerous occasions. Usually, these storms originate in the
eastern Pacific Ocean, make landfall in the Mexican states of
Baja California or
Sonora, and dissipate before crossing into the United States. Thus, in most cases, it is only the tropical cyclones' remnant moisture that produces heavy rainfall—and in some occasions, flooding—in portions of Arizona. However, approximately every five years, a tropical cyclone retains sufficient strength to enter the state as a
tropical storm or a
tropical depression. Arizonans can expect indirect
flash floods caused by the remnants of tropical cyclones to occur about every two years. (
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On January 8, 2011, United States Representative
Gabby Giffords and 18 others were shot during a constituent meeting held in a supermarket parking lot in
Casas Adobes, Arizona, in the
Tucson metropolitan area. Six people were killed, including
federal District Court Chief Judge
John Roll; Gabe Zimmerman, one of Giffords's staffers; and a nine-year-old girl, Christina-Taylor Green. Giffords was holding a meeting called "Congress on Your Corner" in the parking lot of a
Safeway store when
Jared Lee Loughner drew a pistol and shot her
through the head at
point-blank range before proceeding to fire on others. One additional person was injured in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. News reports identified the target of the attack to be Giffords, a
Democrat representing
Arizona's 8th congressional district. Giffords's
medical condition was initially described as "critical". (
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Hotel Valley Ho is a historic hotel in
Scottsdale, Arizona. Also called the
Valley Ho and, for 28 years, the
Ramada Valley Ho, the hotel was originally designed by
Edward L. Varney. It first opened in 1956 with a forward-looking and futuristic design. Movie stars and famous baseball players stayed, and the building quickly became known for its trendsetting guests and its fashionable atmosphere. The success of the venture resulted in expansion in 1958, with two additional two-story wings of guest rooms extending to the north. Though initially proposed by Varney, a central tower of guest rooms, rising over the lobby, was not built. (
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Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of
Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the
Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder
Winfield Scott, a retired
U.S. Army chaplain, the city was incorporated in 1951 with a population of 2,000. At the
2020 census, the population was 241,361, which had grown from 217,385 in 2010. Its slogan is "The West's Most Western Town". Over the past two decades, it has been one of the fastest growing cities and housing markets in the United States. (
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The metropolitan area of
Phoenix in the
U.S. state of
Arizona contains one of the nation's largest and fastest-growing
freeway systems, with over 1,405 lane miles (2,261 km) as of 2005 (this was before construction on the Loop 303 started). (
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The
O.K. Corral hearing and aftermath was the direct result of the 30-second
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona Territory, on October 26, 1881. During that confrontation, Deputy U.S. Marshal and Tombstone Town Marshal
Virgil Earp, Assistant Town Marshal
Morgan Earp, and temporary deputy marshals
Wyatt Earp and
Doc Holliday shot and killed
Billy Clanton, and
Tom and
Frank McLaury. Billy's brother Ike, who had repeatedly threatened to kill the Earps for some time, had been present at the gunfight but was unarmed and fled. As permitted by territory law, he filed murder charges against the Earps and Doc Holliday on October 30. (
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The
gunfight at the O.K. Corral pitted
lawmen against members of a loosely organized group of cattle rustlers and horse thieves called the
Cowboys on October 26, 1881. While lasting less than a minute, the gunfight has been the subject of books and films into the 21st century. Taking place in the town of Tombstone in Arizona Territory, the battle has become one archetype of the
American Old West. The gunfight was the result of a long-simmering
feud between five outlaws (including two sets of brothers) and four representatives of the law, including three brothers. The trigger for the event was the local marshal's decision to enforce a
city ordinance that prohibited the carrying of weapons into town. To enforce that ordinance, the lawmen would have to disarm the Cowboys. (
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Fossil Creek (
Yavapai:
Hakhavsuwa or
Vialnyucha) is a
perennial stream accessed by forest roads near the community of
Camp Verde in the U.S. state of
Arizona. Primary access is from Forest Road 708 off
Arizona State Route 260 east of Camp Verde. A tributary of the
Verde River, Fossil Creek flows from its headwaters on the
Mogollon Rim to meet the larger stream near the former
Childs Power Plant. (
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Hensley Beverage Company, previously known as
Hensley & Co., is a
wholesaler and
distributor for
Anheuser-Busch beer, and later for a variety of other brands and drinks, that is headquartered in the
West Phoenix area of
Phoenix, Arizona. As of 2007, it was the third-largest Anheuser-Busch distributor in the United States and one of the largest privately held companies in Arizona. (
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Interstate 40 (
I-40) is an east–west
Interstate Highway that has a 359.11-mile (577.93 km) section in the US state of
Arizona, connecting sections in
California and
New Mexico. The Interstate is also referred to as the
Purple Heart Trail to honor those wounded in combat who have received the
Purple Heart. It enters Arizona from the west at a crossing of the
Colorado River southwest of
Kingman. It travels eastward across the
northern portion of the state, connecting the cities of
Kingman,
Ash Fork,
Williams,
Flagstaff,
Winslow, and
Holbrook. I-40 continues into New Mexico, heading to
Albuquerque. The highway has major junctions with
U.S. Route 93 (US 93; the main highway connecting
Phoenix and
Las Vegas,
Nevada) in Kingman and again approximately 22 miles (35 km) to the east and
I-17 (the freeway linking Phoenix to northern Arizona) in Flagstaff. (
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Congregation Beth Israel (
Hebrew:
בית ישראל) is a
Reform Jewish congregation and
synagogue, located at 10460 North 56th Street in
Scottsdale,
Arizona, in the United States. Incorporated in 1920, the congregation affiliated with the
Union for Reform Judaism in 1935. (
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The
Four Corners Monument marks the
quadripoint in the
Southwestern United States where the
states of
Arizona,
Colorado,
New Mexico, and
Utah meet. It is the only point in the United States shared by four states, leading to the area being named the
Four Corners region. The monument also marks the boundary between two semi-autonomous
Native American governments, the
Navajo Nation, which maintains the monument as a tourist attraction, and the
Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Reservation. (
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