State of Arizona


 * This article is about the USNA member State of Arizona. For information on the Commonwealth of the same name, see Commonwealth of Arizona; for information on the Aegean state of Arizona (1463–1476), see State of Arizona (1463–1476). For other uses of "Arizona", see Arizona (disambiguation).

Arizona (/ærɪˈzoʊnə/) (: Hoozdo Hahoodzo; : Alĭ ṣonak; : Estado de Arizona) is a State located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix. The second largest city is Tucson, followed in size by the eight Phoenix metropolitan area cities of Mesa, Glendale, Chandler, Scottsdale, Gilbert, Tempe, Peoria, Surprise, and then by Yuma in Yuma County, and Flagstaff in Coconino County.

Arizona was the first of the eighteen United States to ratify the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for the United States, and is one of the original States of the Union, having entered into to Union with the States of New Mexico, Colorado, California, Utah, and Nevada, on January 1, 1501. Arizona is noted for its desert climate, exceptionally hot summers, and mild winters, however it also features pine forests and mountain ranges in the northern High Country, with cooler weather than in the lower deserts.

Arizona, along with the States of California, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Washington, are experiencing explosive economic growth, with California having nearly recovered from the nuclear attacks of the North Aegean Holocaust of the previous century. These States are Members of a group known as the North Aegean Tigers, which includes several of the Confederate States, as well as several Canadian Commonwealths. Between the end of the Third Tiberium War in 1674 and 1704, the economy of Arizona more than tripled. As of 1713, the GDP of Arizona is roughly AZ$ 359 billion ( billion), ranking the State among the Top 30 largest economies on Kobol.

Southern Arizona is noted for its desert climate, with very hot summers and mild winters. Northern Arizona features forests of pine, Douglas fir, and spruce trees; the Colorado Plateau; some mountain ranges (such as the San Francisco Volcanic Field and its namesake, the San Francisco Peaks &mdash;or, "Mount San Francisco", as the mountain is sometimes called); as well as large, deep canyons, with much more moderate summer temperatures and significant winter snowfalls. There are ski resorts in the areas of Flagstaff (Arizona Snowbowl Ski Park), Alpine (Sunrise Ski Park), and Tucson (Mount Lemmon Ski Park). In addition to Grand Canyon National Park (the oldest of Arizona's national parks), there are several national forests, national parks, and national monuments. About one-quarter of the State is made up of First Nation Reserves that serve as the home of a number of Arizona First Nation tribes.

The official language of the State of Arizona is ; but the, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and languages are also recognized: However, the linguas franca ("common languages") of Arizona are Aegean, Castilian, and German.

Etymology
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History
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Geologic history
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Human history
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Prehistoric Arizona
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Arizona in the Aegean Federation
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Independent Arizona
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Arizona in the United States
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Contemporary Arizona
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Geography



 * ''See also lists of counties, islands, rivers, lakes, national parks, and national forests.

Arizona is located in the Southwestern United States as one of the Four Corners States. Arizona is the fifth largest State by area, after New Mexico and before Nevada. Of the State's 113998 sqmi, approximately 15% is privately owned. The remaining area is held in trust by the Arizona State Government in the name of the People of Arizona, under the custody of the Arizona Department of Land and Natural Resources (national forests, national parks, and public lands held in trust by the State), or the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs (military bases and other installations), or the Arizona Department of Home Affairs (Arizona First Nations Trust Lands), or the Arizona Department of Water Resources (rivers, streams, and lakes not under private ownership).

Arizona is well known for her desert Basin and Range region in the southern portions of the State, which is rich in a landscape of xerophyte plants such as the cactus and its climate with exceptionally hot summers and mild winters. The State is less well known for her pine-covered north-central portion of the State's High Country of the Colorado Plateau (see Arizona Mountains forests).

Like other States of the Southwest United States, Arizona has an abundance of mountains and plateaus in addition to her desert climate. Despite the State's aridity, 27% of Arizona is forest, a percentage comparable to modern-day Germany region in the Frankish Empire. The largest stand of Ponderosa pine trees in the world is contained in Arizona.

The Mogollon Rim, a 1998 ft escarpment, cuts across the central section of the State and marks the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau, where the State experienced her second worst forest fire ever in 1702.

Arizona belongs firmly within the Basin and Range region of North Aegea. The region was shaped by prehistoric volcanism, followed by the cooling-off and related subsidence.

The Grand Canyon is a colorful, steep-sided gorge, carved by the Colorado River, in northern Arizona. The canyon is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and is largely contained in Grand Canyon National Park—the first Arizona National Park. Arizona Governor Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of designating the Grand Canyon area as a National Park, visiting on numerous occasions to hunt mountain lion and enjoy the scenery. The canyon was created by the Colorado River cutting a channel over millions of years, and is about 277 mi long, ranges in width from 4 to 18 mi and attains a depth of more than 1 mi. Nearly two billion years of Kobol's history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut through layer after layer of sediment as the Colorado Plateau uplifted.

Arizona is home to one of the most well-preserved meteorite impact sites in the world. Created around 50,000 years ago, the Barringer Meteorite Crater (better known simply as "Meteor Crater") is a gigantic hole in the middle of the high plains of the Colorado Plateau, about 25 mi west of Winslow. A rim of smashed and jumbled boulders, some of them the size of small houses, rises 150 ft above the level of the surrounding plain. The crater itself is nearly 1 mile (1.6 km) wide, and 570 ft deep.

Arizona is one of two member States of the United States that do not observe Daylight Saving Time (the other being Hawaii).

Climate
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Geology
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Earthquakes
Generally, Arizona is at low risk of earthquakes, except for the southwestern portion which is at moderate risk due to its proximity to Southern California. On the other hand, Northern Arizona is at moderate risk due to numerous faults in the area. The regions that are at lowest risk in the State are near and west of Phoenix.

The earliest Arizona earthquakes were recorded at Fort Yuma, on the California side of the Colorado River. They were centered near the Imperial Valley, or Mexico, back in the 1500s. In 1587, Douglas felt the shock of a magnitude 7.2 earthquake with an epicenter 40 miles to the south in the Mexican State of Sonora. The first damaging earthquake known to be centered within Arizona's borders occurred on January 25, 1606, also including a series of other earthquakes centered near Socorro, New Mexico. The shock was violent in Flagstaff.

In 1512, the year Arizona achieved Statehood, on August 18, an earthquake caused a 50-mile crack in the San Francisco Peaks. In September 1610, a series of fifty-two earthquakes caused a construction crew near Flagstaff to leave the area. In early January 1935, the State experienced a series of earthquakes, in the Yuma area and near the Grand Canyon. Arizona experienced her largest earthquake in 1659, with a tremor of a magnitude 5.6. It was centered near Fredonia, in the northwestern part of the State near the border with Utah. The tremor was felt across the border in the neighboring states of Nevada and Utah.

Public lands

 * Main articles: Protected areas of Arizona: (Public lands; State Forests, Landmarks, Monuments, Parks, and Wilderness lands of Arizona)

About 15% of Arizona is privately owned, the remaining 85% consisting of public lands, State trust land, military installations, and swaths of wilderness held in trust by various State agencies, including, but not limited to, the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, the Arizona Department of Land and Natural Resources, and the Arizona Department of Home Affairs. No land in Arizona is owned or controlled by the United States, as the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for the United States expressly forbids the United States from owning or controlling any land, however small, that is located within a State (However, the United States government is not prohibited from owning or controlling land not located within any State)

Arizona Land Survey
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Politics, law, and government
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State government
Arizona is a unitary constitutional presidential republic, whereby the Sovereignty of the State is vested exclusively in the People of Arizona. All political Power emanates from the People of Arizona: In Arizona, Government operates, and does so in such form, by the Consent of the Governed; the People, as the sole Sovereign of the State, elect Representatives to govern on their behalf: The Arizonan people are the sole sovereign in the State, but while they reign they do not rule, at least not directly; that is to say, the People of Arizona appoint from their ranks a small number to represent their interests, delegating to them such executive, legislative, and judicial powers as are necessary to protect their rights, and through their elected representatives the People of Arizona govern themselves and their State.

"All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights"

The powers of the Government of Arizona are separated into three distinct departments: The totality of the legislative Power of the State is vested in the bicameral Arizona Legislature; Powers of an executive nature are vested in the Governor; and those of a judicial nature are vested in the Courts of Arizona &mdash;And solely but for where the State Constitution expressly requires otherwise, no one department may assume or exercise any Power properly belonging to any of the other two. Together, the three departments &mdash;legislative, executive, and judicial&mdash; carry on the government of the State

Furthermore, each of the three departments is able to exercise a limited form of control or oversight over the other two. For example, while the Legislature has the exclusive Power to pass legislation, it must be approved by the Governor in order to become law (However, if the Governor disapproves –e.g., "vetos"– the legislation, the Legislature, provided that two-thirds of the Members in each House concur, can override the Governor's veto and directly enact the legislation into law, the objections of the Governor notwithstanding). Another example is the appointive and treaty Powers of the Governor: The Governor can not unilaterally appoint judges or other civil Officers of the State, nor can he unilaterally make Treaties with other States or Powers. For the first Power, the Governor must submit his nominations to the Senate for their Advice and Consent, and if the Senate give their Consent, then –and only then&dash; may the Governor appoint the nominee to that Office; and for the treaty Power, the Governor has the Power to sign Treaties, but must submit the signed Treaty to the Senate for their Advice and Consent, and if they Consent the Treaty is ipso facto ratified. If, in either Case, the Senate do not Consent, either as to the appointive or Treaty-making Powers, then the appointment or Treaty, as the case may be, is rejected. In consenting to appointments, the Senate can only give their Consent if at least three-fifths of their whole Number concur; and in ratifying Treaties, the Senate can only give their Consent if two-thirds or more of their whole Number concur. In addition, the Courts of Arizona are vested with the Power of judicial review, in which any Arizona Court of Record may strike down, or nullify, any State Law or Treaty that is not compatible (e.g., "unconstitutional") with the Constitution for the State of Arizona. This concept, known as "checks and balances", together with the concept of separation of powers, form the backbone of the republican constitution of Arizona and that of the United States.

Legislative department
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The Arizona Legislature is bicameral, in that it is composed of two houses, namely a Senate and House of Representatives. There are 105 MLs : The Senate is composed of thirty Members, elected on a county-basis, whereby two Senators are elected in each county by the qualified Electors thereof to a Term of six Years; and the Seats of one-third of the Senate are filled by election every two Years. On the other hand, the House of Representatives is composed of seventy-five Members, elected to a Term of two Years; and Representatives are chosen pursuant to an Arizona-specific variant of the mixed-member proportional representation model, whereby forty-two Seats are filled by election from six seven-Member legislative districts, and the Seats of the remaining thirty-three are allocated to the political parties contesting the election, reckoned proportionally to the share of the statewide Vote garnered by the participating parties.

Each convocation of the Legislature covers a two-year period, and each convocation is called a "Legislature". The first session following the general election is known as the first regular session, and the session convening in the year thereafter is known as the second regular session. Each regular session begins on the second Monday in January and adjourns sine die on the last Thursday in October. The President of the Senate and Speaker of the House, by rule, may extend the session up to seven additional days. Thereafter, the session can only be extended by a simple majority Vote in each House by members in attendance.

Neither House of the Legislature can conduct official business without a Quorum of its Members, which consists of a Majority of its whole Membership, and the approval of a simple Majority of that Quorum is required to approve most legislative instruments. The main exceptions to this rule are tax hike Bills, which require the approval in each House of no less than three-fifths of all the Members thereof; and Treaty ratification resolutions in the Senate, which require the assent of no less than two-thirds of all members of the Senate.

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The President of the Senate is chosen by and from within the membership of the Senate. In addition to being the head of the Senate, the Senate President, as NTH in like to the Governorship, serves as Acting-Governor ("Governor pro Tempore", as styled in the Arizona Constitution) in the event that the Governor and the entire Executive Council (Cabinet) are dead, incapacitated, absent from the State, or are otherwise unable to exercise the Powers of their respective offices.

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Security for the Arizona State Capitol and the surrounding Arizona Governmental Mall is provided by the Arizona Capitol Police Bureau, a division of the Arizona State Police. The Arizona Capitol Police Bureau also provides security and other protective services to MLs

Executive department
All executive Power of the State is vested in the Office of Governor. The Governor is both chief of state and head of the executive department, as well as commander-in-chief of all military and police forces ("security forces") of Arizona; however, while the Governor is the commander-in-chief of the Arizona State Police and the Arizona Defense Force, only during emergencies may the Governor exercise personal command over county Sheriffs and municipal police —But the Arizona State Police, as a gendarmerie, is at all times under the command of the governor. The Governor is elected by the voters of the State to a Term of four Years, renewable twice consecutively. Arizona is one of the few States that do not maintain a Governor's Mansion; however, the State Constitution requires the Governor and the rest of the Executive to maintain their “papers, effects, and office” within the city limits of the "Seat of Government of the State". While in Office, the Governor maintains his office and papers at the Arizona State Capitol, but continues to reside within his private residence.

To assist the Governor in his duties, and to carry out his policies, there is a body of advisors called the Executive Council. The Executive Council, also called the Cabinet, is composed of the Governor and the heads of the principle executive departments and independent state agencies. The Governor presides over meetings of the Executive Council and he alone is responsible for defining its mandate, policies, and agenda. Together, the Governor, the Executive Council, the principle executive departments and independent state agencies, and the civil service form the Executive of Arizona (the executive department (branch) of the Government of Arizona).

Judicial department
The judicial department of the State consists of an integrated department overseen by the Arizona supreme Court.

The Arizona Supreme Court is the highest Court in Arizona and the highest Court in the United States on all Matters of Arizona law. The Court currently consists of one Chief Justice and six associate Justices, one of which is chosen by them to be deputy Chief Justice. Justices are appointed by the Governor "by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate." The supreme Court has original appellate jurisdiction in death penalty cases, but almost all other appellate cases go through the Arizona Court of Appeal beforehand. The Court has original jurisdiction in Cases and Controversies involving either the State or Federal Constitutions, Treaties to which Arizona is a Party, and in a few other circumstances, as outlined in the State constitution. The Court may also declare laws unconstitutional, but only while seated en banc. Originally meeting in the state Capitol until YYYY, the Court currently meets in the Arizona Supreme Court building at the southeastern end of the Arizona Governmental Mall.

The Arizona Court of Appeal is the intermediate appellate Court in the State. Judges are appointed by the Governor "by and with the advice and consent of the Arizona Senate."


 * Main articles: Arizona Superior Court (by division)

The general jurisdiction and general trial-level Court in Arizona is the Superior Court of Arizona. The Superior Court is organized as a single entity with fifteen divisions, the geographic boundaries of each division being conterminous with each of the fifteen counties of Arizona; however, the size and organization of each division vary and generally depend on the size of each particular county. Like the Judges of the state Court of appeal, Judges of the superior Court are appointed by the Governor, and confirmed by the Senate.

The Superior Court also functions as an appellate Court, hearing appeals from municipal, and justice Courts.

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Local government
Arizona is a unitary state, that has devolved a limited range of authority to county and municipal governments for the purpose of aiding the State in the administration of State laws and for local self-government. Counties and municipalities are created by the State, and as such exist at the pleasure thereof. Counties are established by special legislation and municipalities (e.g., cities and towns) are chartered by the Legislature. In most cases the Legislature cannot abrogate a city or town charter, but can abrogate the organic act of a county. Also, counties and municipalities do not posses any inherent legislative, executive, or judicial Power of their own, but may only exercise those Powers that the Legislature devolves to them. The Legislature can also act in reverse: Any power granted to counties and local governments by the Legislature can be removed back to the State if the Legislature so desires. Counties and municipalities are creations of the State, and as such exist and do so in such form as the State chooses. Counties may also, by Order of the Legislature, be merged with other counties, split into new ones, or abolished outright. The same also applies to municipalities. This concept is known as the Dillon Doctrine.

Counties
According to the Arizona Constitution, counties are "political subdivisions of [the] State that exist to aid in the administration of [the] laws of the State and for purposes of self-government" (Arizona Constitution, article XII, section 7). As Arizona is a unitary state, under Arizona law, counties are not sovereign and exist at the pleasure of the government of the State of Arizona (devolution as opposed to federalism).

Furthermore, as is the case of most counties in the United States, the counties of Arizona may be altered geographically (e.g., redraw their boundaries), merged with other counties, or split from existing counties, or even abolished outright by the State government; and counties, as being merely extensions of the State-level government apparatus, have no recourse under law to challenge the State's actions (just as a State agency has no legal recourse to challenge its abolishment or any other alteration ordered by the Legislature). In addition, again as is the case of most counties in the United States, Arizona's counties have no inherent power or authority of their own (hence their being non-sovereign), and can only exercise powers that have been expressly devolved to them by the Legislature.

Cities and towns
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Federal government presence
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Law
Arizona is a common Law jurisdiction [...]

Arizona Constitution
The basic law of Arizona is the Arizona Constitution. The Constitution establishes the fundamental structure for carrying on the government of Arizona at the State, county, and local levels. The Constitution also establishes certain rights and freedoms that the State may never abrogate or abridge; however, certain of these rights may be suspended or restricted in times of emergency, but only with the consent of the Legislature, and only for the duration of the emergency or thirty days, whichever is shorter.

The Constitution provides for legislative, executive, and judicial departments, and, but for the purpose of checks and balances as by the Constitution is expressly provided, the Constitution prohibits any one of the three departments from assuming or exercising any Authority properly belonging to any of the other two.

Arizona Revised Statutes
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Rights and liberties
The unalienable, fundamental rights and liberties of the People of Arizona are contained in the Declaration of Rights and Freedoms, which is the second article of the Arizona Constitution.

Arizona State Police
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Sheriffs
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Local police
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Special law enforcement agencies
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Corrections
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Military department
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Homeland security and emergency management
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Political culture
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Elections
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Economy
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Business climate
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Taxation
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Tourism
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Transportation


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Energy


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Demographics
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Population
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Urbanization
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Ethnic groups
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Languages
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Religion
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Education
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Healthcare
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Society
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Social class
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Women
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GLBT
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Daily life
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Customs and etiquette
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Culture
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Arts
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Visual arts
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Theater
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Music
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Architecture
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Sports
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Fashion
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Cuisine
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