The Grand Canyon State is a strange blend of the changeless past and the volatile present. On lonely mesa tops high above the plains are Native American villages where ancient rituals are still observed, their origins lost in the mists of time. The modern-day counterparts of tribal medicine men, Lowell Observatory scientists, use the most advanced techniques to map the contours of the moon's surface.
Arizona's population growth in the last half of the 20th century has been tremendous, especially in its major urban centers. Between 1950 and 1960 its population increased more than 74 percent. In the next decade the increase was 36 percent--still larger than any state except Nevada. In the 1970s the increase in residents was more than 53 percent. According to the 1990 census, it was one of the five Southwestern states that continued to attract more Americans in search of a better environment.
Miners and farmers, war veterans and senior citizens, have swelled the number of settlers and visitors. Although Arizona's economy has developed rapidly, employment opportunities and housing construction have not always kept pace with the influx. Irresponsible land-promotion schemes also caused concern. Yet the newcomers continue to pour in, seeking jobs, recreation, or retirement.
The state's name may come from the Pima Indian word Arizuma or from the Papago words aleh-zon or ari-sonac, or ali-shonak, all translated as ''little spring'' or ''place of the little spring.'' The Spanish first used the name for a mining camp by the Planchas de Plata mine. When settlers petitioned for the Arizona district to become a territory, other place-name suggestions were Gadsonia and Pimeria. Arizona's nickname is the Grand Canyon State, after the spectacular gorge in the northern part of the state. Other nicknames have been the Copper State, the Apache State, the Aztec State, the Italy of America (for its mountains), and the Baby State and the Valentine State because it was the last state in the Union when it was admitted on Feb. 14, 1912.
Located in the arid Southwest, Arizona is bounded on the north by Utah, on the east by New Mexico, and on the south by the Mexican state of Sonora. On the west the Colorado River flows for almost the entire length of the state. The river separates Arizona from California and part of Nevada. The Grand Canyon State is almost square. From north to south its greatest length is 395 miles (636 kilometers), and its greatest width is 343 miles (552 kilometers). Its total area is 114,000 square miles (295,259 square kilometers), including 492 square miles (1,274 square kilometers) of water surface. Arizona is the nation's sixth largest state in area.
