Arizona has 3,928 mountain peaks and summits, more mountains than any one of the other Mountain States (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.)
Arizona's climate can yield both the highest temperature in the nation and the lowest temperature in the nation in the same day.
The hottest temperature recorded in Arizona was 128 degrees at Lake Havasu City on June 29, 1994. The coldest temperature recorded in Arizona was 40 degrees below zero at Hawley Lake on January 7, 1971.
The world's largest solar telescope is located at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Sells, Arizona.
In 1912, President William Howard Taft was ready to make Arizona a state on February 12, but it was Lincoln's birthday. The next day, the 13th, was considered bad luck so he waited until the following day. That's how Arizona became known as the Valentine State.
Mount Lemmon, in the Santa Catalina Mountains, is the southernmost ski resort in the United States.
If you cut down a protected species of cactus in Arizona, you could spend more than a year in prison.
Located on Arizona's western border, Parker Dam is the deepest dam in the world at 320 feet.
Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, located about 55 miles west of Phoenix, generates more electricity than any other U.S. power plant.
Oraibi, a Hopi village located in Navajo County, dates back to before 1200 A.D. and is reputed to be the oldest continously inhabited community in America.
Many of the founders of San Francisco in 1776 were Spanish colonists from Tubac, Arizona.
Rainfall averages for Arizona range from less than three inches in the deserts to more than 30 inches per year in the mountains.
The amount of copper used to make the copper dome atop Arizona's capitol building is equivalent to the amount used in 4.8 million pennies.
You could pile four 1,300-foot skyscrapers on top of each other and they still would not reach the rim of the Grand Canyon.
The westernmost battle of the Civil War was fought at Picacho Pass near Picacho Peak in Pinal County on April 15, 1862.
There are 11.2 million acres of National Forest in Arizona and one-fourth of the state is forested.
The longest remaining intact section of Route 66 can be found in Arizona and runs from Seligman to Topock, a total of 157 unbroken miles.
Kartchner Caverns, near Benson, is a massive limestone cave with 13,000 feet of passages, two rooms as long as football fields, and one of the world's longest soda straw stalactites: measuring 21 feet 3 inches.
You can carry a loaded firearm on your person in Arizona with no permit required.
Drivers in the winter months come from almost every state except Hawaii, and display their idiotic driving skills throughout the state, but tend to congregate in the two main cities, Phoenix and Tucson.
ReplyDeleteI just read something that said Phoenix is the city with the best drivers in the U.S.! Thank you lucky stars you don't live in Tucson!
DeleteInteresting. I knew a lot of this but not most of it. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteDe nada.
DeleteInteresting. Before this all I knew about AZ was that you and SWMBO and the BRD were it's premier residents, it had a big hole in the ground that was a major tourist attraction, and it was hotter even than Texas. Two out of three ain't bad. :)
ReplyDeleteS
☺
DeleteI was entirely unaware of most of these facts....and would have preferred to remain unaware of the last.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I saved it until last.
DeleteAnd, it was the first desert I saw, on a visit to the Taylors a few moons ago.
ReplyDeleteI am still fascinated by the age of the Saguaro cactus.
And it is fascinated by you!
DeleteThanks for thw lesson.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many cactus fellers there are in AZ's prisons, and if they're still pulling the prickles out?
ReplyDelete