Arizona is a state in the United States of America and is located in the south western part of the country. The official name of Arizona is the State of Arizona. Phoenix is the largest city in the state as well as being its capital. The cities which come after Phoenix with respect to size are Scottsdale, Glendale, Chandler, Mesa, and Tucson, with Tucson ranking second. It was on February 14 in the year 1912 that Arizona was made the forty eighth state of the United States of America, and it has the status of being the last contiguous state which was included in the Union. The climate of Arizona is classified as being a Desert Climate, with the weather in summer being extremely hot and the weather in the winters being mild. The areas in the higher country of the north are dotted with mountain ranges as well as pine forests. The temperature here is cooler as compared to the lower desert areas. Previously, it was Nevada which was the fastest growing state in the United States of America with respect to population. But this place has been taken by the state of Arizona according to the population figures accumulated for the year ended July 1, 2006.

Arizona is surrounded by Utah, California, New Mexico, and Colorado. It also shares an international border with Baja California and Sonora which are two states of Mexico. The border has a length of six hundred and twenty six kilometers. There are a number of monuments, parks, Indian reservations, and national forests located here. But the most famous natural monument is the Grand Canyon.

In the year 2006 the gross state product of Arizona was two hundred and thirty two billion dollars. If Arizona was an independent country it would rank sixty one with respect to economy among all the other countries of the world. It has a larger economy than even New Zealand, Finland, and Ireland.