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Phoenix is the largest capital city in the entire United States. |
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More than 5.1 million people reside in the state and 3.1 million live in the Phoenix metropolitan area. |
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Phoenix is the 6th largest city and the 7th fastest growing in America. |
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Annual rainfall is only 7 inches and averages 300 sun-filled days a year. |
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Phoenix has garnered well-earned praise as one of the world's Top 5 golf destinations. |
Attractions
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Phoenix Zoo – The nation’s largest, privately-owned, self-supporting zoo |
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The Phoenix Open Golf Tournament |
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Camelback Mountain – The city’s most famous landmark |
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Arizona Biltmore Hotel –Inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright and completed in 1929 |
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Bank One Ballpark – Home of the Arizona Diamondbacks; the only facility in the world that combines a retractable roof, air conditioning and a natural turf field. |
History
Phoenix, the capital of Arizona, is located on the upper edge of the Sonoran Desert. It is situated in the south-central portion of the state. Phoenix is an agricultural, industrial and service center. It is surrounded by 22 other cities in the Valley of the Sun where western style homes and sprawling shopping malls abound. The prehistoric Hohokam Indians first settled the area about 300 B.C. and dug a system of extensive irrigation canals for farming. The American Indian culture mysteriously broke up in the 1400’s. The site was permanently resettled again by Jack Swilling and "Lord Darrell" Duppa around 1867. Because the city was founded on the ruins of the ancient civilization, it was named Phoenix after the legendary Phoenix bird that could regenerate itself.
Phoenix was incorporated as a city in 1881 and was made the territorial capital in 1889, later becoming the state capital when Arizona was admitted to the Union as the 48th state in 1912. Phoenix is a center of agriculture and commerce. The city of Phoenix is renowned as a leader in local government management and received the 1993 Bertelsmann Foundation aware for the best-managed city in the world.