Phoenix is the capital of the Southwest of the U.S. UU. Known for its year-round sunshine and warm temperatures, it anchors an extensive multi-urban metropolitan area known as the Valley of the Sun. It's known for high-end spa resorts, Jack Nicklaus-designed golf courses, and vibrant nightclubs.
Other highlights include the Desert Botanical Garden, where cacti and numerous native plants are displayed. Phoenix is a city in Arizona. Phoenix is located in the southwestern United States, in south-central Arizona, approximately halfway between Tucson to the southeast and Flagstaff to the north. Our editors will review what you submitted and determine if they should review the article.
With its wide tree-lined avenues, Spanish-style architecture, and surrounding mountains, Phoenix looks a lot like Los Angeles. Like its California counterpart, Phoenix is a metropolis with not one but many centers, all at considerable distances from each other. From its historic heart to the west of Sky Harbor International Airport, the large metropolitan area of which Phoenix is only a small part, has grown to encompass a vast expanse of land that extends almost from the Gila River, south, to the high plateaus and volcanic mountains of the north and east and into the wide valley desert to the west. Growth is a constant in Phoenix's life, with thousands of new residents and millions of visitors arriving there every year.
Phoenix is located near the confluence of the Gila and Salt rivers and is located at the northern end of the Sonoran Desert, an arid ecological zone whose characteristic plant is the nationally protected saguaro cactus. East of Phoenix are the rugged Superstition Mountains, a large volcanic caldera complex that formed about 305 million years ago; the mountains reach about 900 meters at their highest point. The Mazatzal Mountains rise to the northeast; the Verde River flows west of the mountains, entering the Salado River east of Phoenix. The wide valley in which the city is located extends west to the Colorado River and south to the mountain ranges north of Tucson, although Phoenix's geographical boundaries are a long way from those natural barriers.
The Phoenix metropolitan area, the Valley of the Sun, is located at an altitude of 1,100 feet (335 meters) above sea level. The north and east ends of this valley rise to the surrounding volcanic peaks; the rest is flat terrain, dotted with small volcanic mountains of granite and shale. Camelback Mountain, Squaw Peak and South Mountain are the most prominent of these urban peaks, reaching elevations of approximately 2,600 to 2,700 feet (790 to 820 meters). Desert soil is alkaline, and water from local rivers and wells is saline and contains other minerals.
Many irrigated areas in the Phoenix area are embedded with dry mineral deposits, which build up and reduce soil productivity. The water is strangely abundant, given that the city is in one of the driest regions of the continent; the valley covers an underground sedimentary basin that can contain large amounts of groundwater. However, these reserves have been substantially depleted and Phoenix has become increasingly dependent on Colorado River water through the Central Arizona Project (CAP), a 336-mile (541 km) long artificial waterway that extends from Lake Havasu on the California border to Tucson. In addition, water from underground reservoirs is channeled into the valley from peripheral areas.
In the past, virtually all of the region's water was used for agricultural purposes, although an increasing proportion is now being used for municipal use. Phoenix has a dry and warm climate that in the winter months attracts tens of thousands of visitors. The average daily high temperature in winter is close to 70°F (21°C), but summer highs tend to rise to more than 100°F (38°C). It's almost always sunny all year round.
Rainfall averages less than 8 inches (200 mm) per year, divided almost evenly between the winter and summer months. In summer, the so-called monsoon season, much of this precipitation returns to the atmosphere almost immediately through evaporation or transpiration. None of the mountains surrounding Phoenix north and east reach an elevation high enough to attract a lot of moisture. The city depends almost entirely on groundwater flowing from the Salt and Gila rivers, as well as supplementary water brought by aqueducts through the CAP.
Until relatively recently, about three-fifths of the land within the city limits of Phoenix was undeveloped. In the mid-1970s, a plan was proposed to develop these wastelands through a “landfill construction” program, taking advantage of infrastructure that was already in place. However, the city pursued a policy of annexing surrounding communities, expanding outward to accommodate its growing population. Phoenix is the capital and most populous city of Arizona and the fifth most populous city in the United States, it is the seat of Maricopa County.
At the end of the decade, Phoenix adopted the Phoenix Concept 2000 plan, which divided the city into urban villages, each with its own village core, where greater height and density were allowed, further shaping the culture of free market development. The story of Phoenix begins with Jack Swilling, a Confederate veteran of the Civil War who searched the nearby mining town of Wickenburg, in the newly formed Arizona territory. The Arizona Upland subdivision of the Sonoran Desert (of which Phoenix is part) has the most structurally diverse flora in the United States. With the creation of the Phoenix Sister Cities (PSC) organization in 1972, Phoenix became a member of the international sister cities movement.
The Territorial Legislature passed the Phoenix Charter Bill, incorporating Phoenix and providing mayor-council government; Governor John C. Phoenix is also often referred to as the golf capital of the world, with more than 200 golf courses in the greater Phoenix area. Phoenix is also the capital of Arizona, as well as the largest city and largest metropolitan area in Arizona. Phoenix is the anchor of the Phoenix metropolitan area, also known as the Valley of the Sun, which in turn is part of the Salt River Valley.
In 1965, the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum opened on the Arizona State Fairgrounds, west of downtown. The first newspaper in Phoenix was the weekly Salt River Valley Herald, established in 1878, which would change its name the following year to the Phoenix Herald. . .
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