Arizona

Phoenix is an agricultural, industrial and service center, which is enclosed by 22 other cities in the Valley of the Sun where western style homes and high shopping malls flourish. Phoenix is the largest and capital city of the state of Arizona. It is a metropolitan city and has everything from world-class dining to exhilarating adventure, trendy shopping, modern nightlife and enriching culture. It is among the America’s fastest growing metropolitan area. On February 5, 1881, Phoenix was given the status of a city. It is a capital seat of Maricopa County and the main city of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Phoenix is an exclusive travel destination, which is surrounded by desert and is an embodiment of different cultures. The Hohokam Native Americans were the first people to settle and farm in the Phoenix area around 300 B.C. They built an elaborate canal system that brought water from the Salt River and fed their crops and villages. Until after the Civil War, the area remain a secluded destination since these ancient people vanished from the area following a long drought.

Phoenix's modern history began in the second half of the 19th century, when Jack Swilling, a Confederate Soldier founded the city. He founded the area suitable for farming and established an irrigation canal company and began digging canals. The town was named “Phoenix” by Phillip Darrel Duppa because the city's irrigation system was developed from the Hohokam ruins and Phoenix aptly suggested the rise of town from the ashes of the ancient cultures who had occupied the land so long before. He also named Tempe after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. In 1874 a government grant for the site of Phoenix was issued by Ulysses S. Grant and the city was officially incorporated on Feb. 15, 1881. The total cost of the Phoenix Townsite of 320 acres (1.3 km2) was $550, including all expenses for services. Coming of the railroad in the 1880s was the first of numerous important events that modernized the economy of Phoenix. In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the National Reclamation Act, which made it possible to build dams on western streams for recovery purposes. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge traded 13,000 acres of South Mountain to the city of Phoenix for $17,000. Currently it covers 16,500 acres of land and is the largest metropolitan park in the world. Phoenix remained a small agricultural and undeveloped community until the 1930s when tourism caught the boom due to the warm climate and healthy environment. In 1940 the war completely transformed Phoenix from a farming center to a distribution center.

The population grew rapidly, making Phoenix the 7th largest city in the U.S. today. Phoenix is among the eight U.S. cities to house teams in all four major professional sports, The Arizona Cardinals (NFL), The Phoenix Coyotes (NHL), Arizona Diamondbacks (MLB), and Phoenix Suns (NBA). The Phoenix International Speedway hosts stock car NASCAR races every year in the month of November and the Indy Racing League in the month of March. Phoenix city houses outstanding schools, varying from business and technical schools to the state’s biggest educational institution, Arizona State University. The Phoenix metro area has some of the best bars and nightclubs in the world. Phoenix has some noticeably attractive inns and hotels, which offer the dramatic scenery, ultra-luxurious housing, and serene isolation. The Greater Phoenix area offers unlimited possibilities. From here one can experience the glory of entire Valley with each surrounding city contributing its own exclusive character. Here nearly two dozen Native American tribes maintain strong local traditions. Mild weather conditions allow for a variety of air sports like soaring over the Sonoran Desert in a hot-air balloon. Phoenix experiences an average of 300 sunny days a year. March is the wettest month of the year. Phoenix is uniformly divided into 15 "urban villages" to support the City Council with zoning and planning regulations.