Phoenix is a city in Arizona which is a state in the United States of America. It has the status of being the city with the most population in the state of Arizona, as well as being its capital. It is also the largest capital of any state in the United States of America with respect to the level of population. With respect to size, it is the largest city in the south west of America and the Mountain Time Zone, as well being ranked second among all the cities in the west. It only comes after Los Angeles. Phoenix is the major hub of economy, culture, transportation, and politics of the region. It is situated on the banks of the Salt River which is usually dry these days. It was on February 25 in the year 1881 when the area was formed as a city. The inhabitants of Phoenix are known as Phoenicians.

In the year 2006 there were 1512986 people living here in the city, and this made it rank fifth among all the cities of the United States of America with respect to population. The city covers an area of around five hundred and fifteen square miles and this makes it rank tenth among all the cities of the United States of America with respect to land area.

It is in central Arizona that Phoenix is situated, and the place is called the Salt River Valley or the Valley of the Sun. It is positioned at an altitude of three hundred and forty meters. The Salt River passes through the city of Phoenix but the river bed is usually dry. The only water is due to the six dams located up river when they release excess water.

In the early times the economy was mostly based on agriculture and the major activities were citrus and cotton farming. But the economy has now been diversified as the population increases and has branched into tourism, electronics, etc.