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Arizona
History
Arizona,
the sixth-largest U.S. state in area, is in the southwestern United States.
Its dominant city is Phoenix, the seat of state government and center
of manufacturing and agricultural activities. The state is bordered by
Utah on the north, Colorado on the northeast, California and Nevada on
the west, New Mexico on the east, and Mexico on the south. The name Arizona
comes from Ari (small) and son (spring or fountain) or Aleh-zone meaning
"young spring," both words of Indian origin.
LAND AND RESOURCES
Physiographic Regions
Arizona comprises three physiographic regions: the Colorado Plateau in
the north; the Basin and Range region in the southern and western sections;
and the Transition Zone, which is the mountainous Mogollon Rim region
separating the two largest regions.
The Colorado Plateau includes parts of Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado
and is drained by the Colorado River. In Arizona, the plateau ranges from
1,524 m (5,000 ft) to 3,851 m (12,633 ft) in elevation and consists of
several types of geomorphic features dominated by basins but also including
uplifts, monoclines, fault blocks, volcanic fields, igneous domes, arches,
and sags.
The Grand Canyon of the Colorado River dominates the topography of this
rejuvenated plateau. North of the Grand Canyon is the higher Kaibab Plateau;
south of the Grand Canyon is the lower Coconino Plateau. Both plateaus
slope generally to the south. The San Francisco Peaks volcanic field is
located on the Coconino Plateau near Flagstaff. Besides the San Francisco
Peaks there are many cinder cones nearby, including Sunset Crater, which
last erupted in AD 1190. Monument Valley, near Kayenta, is another manifestation
of volcanic landforms.
The Basin and Range region covers about 60 percent of the state, extending
into Arizona from southeastern California, southern Nevada, and southwestern
Utah. The most prominent features of this region are fault-block mountains
and debris-filled basins between them. The mountains generally trend north-south
and are flanked by sloping pediments and alluvial fans. The term bajada
is often used to distinguish these sloping fan-pediments. Numerous playas
(salt-encrusted evaporative basins) also exist in this region, the most
prominent being the Willcox Playa, south of the city of Willcox. The Tucson
Basin is in this region.
The Transition Zone trends northwest-southeast, with its northern boundary
being the Colorado Plateau, called the Mogollon Rim. It consists of about
16 percent of Arizona's topography and grades into Basin and Range on
its southern margins. It extends from the Grand Wash Cliffs near Lake
Mead to the New Mexico border. Its topography is diverse, featuring peaks,
deep canyons, and mesas. The area is a drainage divide, and much of the
surface water in the state has its origins there. Arizona's White Mountains
and Bradshaw Mountains are in this region.
Rivers and Lakes
The principal river of Arizona is the Colorado River, which formed the
Grand Canyon. It forms part of Arizona's western border with Nevada as
manifested in Lake Mead, the entire western boundary with California,
and, for a short distance, the boundary with Mexico. All of the other
major rivers of the state are tributaries of the Colorado. These include
the Gila and its major tributaries, the Salt, Verde, and the Santa Cruz;
as well as the Bill Williams and the Little Colorado. Many of Arizona's
smaller streams are ephemeral flowing washes or arroyos, which can become
raging torrents of water during flood periods.
Most of Arizona's lakes are man-made reservoirs. The natural lakes are
small and are generally found in the mountainous areas of the Transition
Zone or in isolated mountains scattered around the state. The Colorado
River is one of the most highly dammed rivers in the world, and lakes
formed by these dams are some of the most prominent in the West. These
include Lake Powell (Glen Canyon Dam), Lake Mead (Hoover Dam), Lake Mojave
(Davis Dam), Lake Havasu (Parker Dam), Martinez Lake (Imperial Dam), and
Lake Mittry (Laguna Dam). Several important lakes, including Theodore
Roosevelt Lake (Roosevelt Dam), are on the Salt River. On the Gila River
is San Carlos Lake (Coolidge Dam). The Verde River has two important lakes:
Bartlett Lake (Bartlett Dam) and Horseshoe Lake (Horseshoe Dam).
In addition to surface water, Arizona's groundwater supply has been a
boon to its development in agriculture. Even Tucson, the state's second
largest city, existed entirely on groundwater until the Central Arizona
Project (CAP) aqueduct reached there in 1992. Authorized in 1968 to carry
water from the Colorado River eastward, CAP provides a water supply to
Phoenix and Tucson as well as to some farmers in the state.
Climate
Arizona's climate varies with its topography. In the low basins of the
southwest the arid Sonoran Desert prevails, whereas in the high elevations
of the Mogollon Rim and Colorado Plateau, cold, snowy winters occur. Arizona
is known for its many days of sunshine and its generally low humidity,
conditions that have caused many to settle in Arizona for health reasons.
Although a record 50 degrees C (122 degrees F) temperature in Phoenix
(47 degrees C or 117 degrees F in Tucson) may appear to be unhealthy,
air conditioning counteracts the extreme summer temperatures. A typical
winter day in Phoenix might be 21 degrees C (70 degrees F) at noon. Precipitation
averages for the year range from a low of 76 mm (3 in) at Yuma to 178
mm (7 in) at Phoenix to 279 mm (11 in) at Tucson. Flagstaff, on the Colorado
Plateau, receives 457 mm (18 in), much in the form of snow.
Vegetation and Animal Life
The vegetation of Arizona can he divided into three distinct categories:
desert (42 percent), grasslands (25 percent), and forests (33 percent).
The Arizona desert is part of the Sonoran Desert, most of which lies in
Mexico. The vegetation of the Sonoran Desert is further divided into the
Lower Colorado Valley desert, in the area next to the Colorado River and
extending as far east as Phoenix, and the Arizona Upland desert, which
includes the higher desert extending through Tucson and to the southern
border. The single dominant plant of the entire Sonoran Desert is the
creosote bush, followed closely by the burro bush, or sage. The thickness
and size of vegetation increases along streams and arroyos. As the hot
lower desert grades into the upland desert, plant species increase in
numbers and height. Typical of this desert are the giant saguaro (whose
blossom is the state flower), palo verde, mesquite, ocotillo, cholla,
prickly pear, and barrel cacti.
The grasslands grade from the mesquite-grasslands of the desert margins
to the short grass plains of the rolling hills of higher elevations. Grasses
include blue grama, galleta, and needle grass. A variety of bushes also
grows in this zone. The forests are a result of high elevations and grade
from the chaparral of the grassland margins to the firs and spruces of
the high mountains. Above the chaparral zone of manzanita, scrub oak,
and sumacs is the pinyon-juniper zone. Above this zone are the pines,
firs, spruces, and aspen. The world's largest expanse of Ponderosa pine
forest lies along the Mogollon Rim in the Transition Zone.
Large animals, including bear, bighorn sheep, elk, and deer, live in the
forested mountain regions of the state. In the grasslands and deserts,
javelina, antelope, rabbits, and coyotes are typical. Among the snakes
are a variety of rattlesnakes, sidewinders, rosy boas, and king snakes.
Lizards include the Gila monster, which is rarely seen. A variety of fish
are found in the lakes and reservoirs, including bass, striper, catfish,
and trout. Birds of Arizona include the redtail hawk, broad-tailed hummingbird,
cactus wren, and Gambel's quail. Madera Canyon, near Green Valley, is
a popular area for bird-watchers.
Mineral Resources
Arizona is rich in mineral resources, particularly copper, primarily from
mines located in the southern half of the state. Copper production became
important only after the advent of railroads in Arizona, when bulky ore
could be hauled cheaply to the smelters. Early mining in the state was
for gold and silver. In addition to copper, gold, and silver Arizona has
lead, zinc, molybdenum, and uranium resources. Fossil fuels also are found,
particularly coal, mined on the Black Mesa area of the Navajo Indian Reservation
on the Colorado Plateau. Another important resource is sand and gravel.
PEOPLE
More than 80 percent of Arizona's population is urban and 58 percent live
in the Phoenix metropolitan region; another 18 percent live in the Tucson
metropolitan region. From 1980 to 1990 the population increased about
35 percent, more than three times the national average, and Arizona's
third-largest city, Mesa, growing by 89 percent, was the fastest-growing
U.S. city.
The ethnic characteristic of the population is overwhelmingly white (80.8
percent). People of Hispanic heritage make up 18.8 percent of the population,
while native Americans, African Americans, and Asian Americans make up
much smaller minorities. Approximately one-third of the population is
native to Arizona. Most of the migrants to Arizona come from the Midwest
and California. Those who migrate from foreign countries are a small minority
and come mainly from Mexico.
There are about 20 Indian reservations in Arizona. The largest is the
Navajo, which sprawls over into the adjacent states of Utah and New Mexico.
Indian reservations comprise 28 percent of the land in the state. The
Tohono O'Odham (People of the Desert, formerly called the Papago) are
the second-largest tribe of Indians.
All religious denominations are represented, but Roman Catholics make
up the largest single group owing to the long presence of Hispanic peoples
in the state. Mormons also have had a major influence in Arizona and make
up a sizable group. Protestant denominations include Baptists and Episcopalians.
There is also a fairly large Jewish community.
Education
The first public school in Arizona was established in 1871, and in 1879
the territorial legislature established the office of the state superintendent
of public instruction. The superintendent, an elected official, oversees
education in the state. There is also an appointed board of education.
Education on the Indian reservations is under the Bureau of Indian Affairs
for those children who live far from public schools.
Higher education was first established by the territorial legislature
in 1885. The University of Arizona (founded 1885) was built as a land-grant
college at Tucson on land donated by two gamblers and a saloon keeper.
Arizona State University (1885), in Tempe, was first designated the Arizona
Territorial Normal School. Today it is the state's largest institution.
In 1899, Northern Arizona Normal School, now Northern Arizona University,
was founded in Flagstaff (see Arizona, state universities of). There are
also a number of private colleges and universities and a network of community
colleges. The largest of the state's community colleges is Pima Community
College in Tucson. Lowell Observatory (1894) is a noted research center
at Flagstaff. Kitt Peak National Observatory, west of Tucson, is one of
the National Optical Astronomy Observatories and is the home of the McMath
solar telescope.
Cultural Institutions
Three Arizona cities--Prescott, Tucson, and Phoenix--have served as state
capitals and are rich in state history. South of Tucson in the Santa Cruz
Valley is the San Xavier del Bac Mission; founded by Father Eusebio Kino
in 1700, it remains an active Catholic Church. In Tucson, on the University
of Arizona campus, are the Flandrau Planetarium; the Center for Creative
Photography, housing the Ansel Adams collection; and the Arizona State
Museum, featuring Arizona Indian archaeology. Tucson's Fremont House Museum
displays 19th-century furniture and decorative arts, and its Pima Air
Museum has a large collection of aircraft. In Prescott the Sharlot Hall
Museum includes several period buildings, including the first governor's
mansion. Nearby is Fort Whipple, built by the U.S. Army to protect the
territorial capital (now a veterans hospital). In Phoenix are the Heard
Museum, specializing in the arts of the southwest Indians; the Phoenix
Art Museum; and the State Capitol Museum. In Tempe, on the Arizona State
University campus, is the Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium, the last
major building designed by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright; his winter
home, Taliesin West, is in Scottsdale. Outdoor attractions include the
Phoenix zoo and the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum, near Tucson. Arizona's
two major universities have the largest libraries.
Historic Sites
Among remains of past Indian cultures are cliff dwellings at Montezuma
Castle National Monument, near Camp Verde; Navajo National Monument, near
Kayenta; and Walnut Canyon National Monument, near Flagstaff. Near Coolidge
is the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, a well-preserved Hohokam site
that includes a main building and irrigation canals of a people who lived
in Arizona AD 150-1450. Hopi Indian villages at Walpi and Oraibi are also
of historic interest. The Coronado National Memorial, south of Sierra
Vista, marks the famed explorer's place of entry into the present United
States. Picacho Peak State Park houses monuments to the Mormon Battalion's
crossing of southern Arizona in 1846 and to the farthest west battle of
the U.S. Civil War fought there. Tombstone has several historic places,
including Boot Hill Cemetery. Canyon de Chelly National Monument, in the
Navajo country, is where Kit Carson trapped the last Indians in the infamous
roundup and forced internment at Bosque Redondo, N.M., during the U.S.
Civil War.
Recreation and Sports
Professional basketball and football franchises are located in Phoenix.
Boating, water skiing, and fishing on the state's many lakes and streams
abound. Particularly enticing to fishermen are the trout-stocked lakes
on the mountain Indian reservations. Camping and hiking are also a favorite
recreation.
Communications
The first newspaper to be published in Arizona was the Weekly Arizonian
in 1859 in Tubac. The major cities publish daily newspapers, including
the Arizona Republic in Phoenix and the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson.
There are about 100 weekly newspapers in the state. Arizona Highways,
a glossy, full-color magazine featuring the state's attractions, is published
monthly in Phoenix and has a worldwide circulation.
Almost all cities in Arizona have cable television, even in the outlying
areas. The few places that do not can utilize satellite dishes. Cellular
telephone service is available along the major state corridors and in
large cities.
ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
Arizona has relied on the four "Cs" as the basis of its traditional economy:
copper, cotton, cattle, and citrus. A fifth, climate, is responsible for
the large influx of winter residents and other visitors that have made
tourism the second most important source of income after manufacturing.
The growth in service industries has resulted in greater employment opportunities
in that sector than in any other of the economy.
Agriculture
Although agriculture has declined in economic importance, desert farming
has been lucrative during Arizona's history, particularly along the river
valleys where adequate groundwater is available. Irrigated crops use approximately
85 percent of Arizona's water supply. The most important crop is cotton,
both upland (short staple) and Pima (long staple). The most important
cotton-growing counties are Maricopa (Salt River), Pinal (Gila River),
Yuma (Colorado-Gila rivers), and La Paz (Colorado-Bill Williams rivers).
Grains are second to cotton in acres under cultivation, the most important
being winter wheat, corn, sorghum, and barley. Alfalfa hay vies with grains
in acres cultivated. Most is used to support the dairy industry in Phoenix
or is shipped to Los Angeles for feed lots and dairying there. Citrus
is grown primarily in Yuma and Maricopa counties. Vegetables are important
crops in Yuma County and include lettuce, tomatoes, and squash. Maricopa
County is second to Yuma in vegetable farming. A crop growing in importance
in Arizona is nuts, with Pima and Pinal counties important pecan-growing
regions. Crop production makes up approximately 56 percent of the farm
income from Arizona's agricultural commodities, while livestock production,
particularly cattle, make up the remainder. Livestock is raised on large
ranches in the southeast and northern parts of the state, and Bureau of
Land Management lands are utilized for grazing.
Forestry
More than 25 percent of the land in Arizona is forestland, with 15 percent
in national forests. These national forests from north to south in the
state are the Kaibab, which is bisected by the Grand Canyon; the Coconino,
which contains the highest elevations in the state; the Prescott; the
Tonto; the Apache-Sitgreaves; and the Coronado, which comprises a dozen
discontinuous forested regions in the southeastern quadrant of the state.
Although some lumbering operations are conducted at Whiteriver on the
Fort Apache Indian Reservation, it is not a major industry in Arizona.
Mining
Arizona has an important mining industry. The leading minerals produced
are copper, molybdenum, sand and gravel, silver, stone, lime, and gold.
Arizona is the leading U.S. state in copper production, producing some
60 percent of the nation's total. Gemstones associated with copper mining,
such as turquoise, are also important. Coal is mined on the Navajo Indian
Reservation in northeastern Arizona. Overall, the leading counties in
mineral production are Pima and Pinal.
Manufacturing
Like many states of the U.S. "Sunbelt" region, Arizona has experienced
rapid growth in its manufacturing sector in the post-World War II years.
The Phoenix metropolitan region is the leading area for manufacturing,
with nearly 75 percent of the value added by manufacturing occurring there.
Motorola is the largest manufacturing employer, and electronic equipment,
including communication equipment, is the leading product. Pima County,
with its major city of Tucson, is second in manufacturing importance;
its principal manufacturing employer is Hughes Aircraft Company. A distant
third center is Flagstaff, with a smattering of industries located throughout
the state, including in the rapidly growing Prescott area.
Tourism
Grand Canyon National Park, with more than four million visitors annually,
dwarfs all other tourist attractions in Arizona. The Saguaro National
Monument in Tucson is the state's second most popular tourist spot. Meteor
Crater in northern Arizona is popular with people visiting the nearby
Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona's other national park. In addition,
there are historic sites, national monuments, national memorials, two
national recreation areas (Glen Canyon and Lake Mead), and many state
parks.
At Havasu City, tourists flock to visit the London Bridge, and the twin
cities of Nogales, Ariz., and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, are destinations
for thousands of tourists in southern Arizona each year. Jerome is a classical
old mining town turned arts center. Winter visitors flock to Arizona's
desert areas from November to April every year. In some cities the population
doubles. Many recreational vehicle parks have been built to house these
seasonal U.S. and Canadian migrants.
Transportation
Arizona has an excellent land and air transportation system. Interstate
highways provide good access both north-south and east-west to most of
the state. In addition, there are U.S. highways, state highways, and Indian
routes that interlace the state, even in remote areas. Major international
airports are located in Phoenix and Tucson, while most other cities are
served by commuter airlines. There is also rail freight and passenger
service. Water transportation is extremely limited by dams on the major
rivers.
Energy
About half of the electricity generated is from coal, much of it mined
in New Mexico. On Arizona's Black Mesa, coal is sent by slurry pipeline
to the Navajo Generating Plant at Page, and to the Mohave Generating Plant
in Nevada for conversion to electric power. Natural gas from New Mexico
and Texas also is utilized. The Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant, west of
Phoenix, generates electricity for that area as well as for California.
Gasoline is imported to Arizona via pipelines from California to Phoenix
and from Texas to Tucson. The Colorado and Salt rivers supply hydroelectric
power.
GOVERNMENT
Arizona is governed under the constitution approved in 1911, as amended.
The chief executive is the governor, elected for a four-year term. In
Arizona there is no lieutenant governor; the secretary of state is next
in succession. There is a bicameral state legislature. The judicial branch
consists of a State Supreme Court, with five judges elected to six-year
terms. The State Court of Appeals has divisions in Phoenix and Tucson.
There is also a superior-court system with courts in each of Arizona's
15 counties.
Counties are governed by a board of supervisors. Cities generally have
a mayor-council form of government. Larger cities also have a city manager.
Some smaller cities are governed by home-rule charters from the legislature.
During its early political history Arizona voters favored the Democratic
party. After 1952, with the election of Sen. Barry Goldwater (U.S. presidential
candidate in 1964), Republicans became a major force in the state. Notable
national figures from Arizona besides Goldwater include former Congressman
Morris Udall and U.S. Supreme Court justices Sandra Day O'Connor and William
Rehnquist (the chief justice). U.S. secretary of interior Bruce Babbitt,
Arizona's governor from 1978 to 1987, serves in the Clinton administration.
In 1988, Arizona Gov. Evan Mecham was impeached and removed from office;
he was the first Arizona governor to be impeached. The Arizona legislature
passed a bill to move the date of the state's 1996 presidential primary
from mid-March to February 27, one week later than New Hampshire's; Arizona
Governor J. Fife Symington (R) signed the bill into law on Apr. 19, 1995.
HISTORY
Paleo-Indians crossed the Bering Strait from Siberia to Alaska and followed
big game southward, arriving in Arizona probably about 10,000 BC. The
archaic culture lasted perhaps to AD 150, when major civilizations evolved.
The Hohokam culture in southern Arizona used canal irrigation and cultivated
crops in the Salt-Gila river valleys as well as the Santa Cruz Valley.
Other advanced people of this period included the Anasazi (of which the
Hopi are descendants) on the Colorado Plateau, the Patayan of western
Arizona, the Mogollon of the Transition Zone, and the Cochise of southeastern
Arizona. All of these early cultures mysteriously disappeared about AD
1450.
Descendants of the cultures are thought to be the Indian tribes found
in Arizona by the Spanish. The major exceptions to this possible ancestry
are the Navajo and Apache, Athabaskan-speaking Indians, who arrived in
the 1500s just prior to the European explorers. Both of these tribes wreaked
havoc on the sedentary Indians already present.
The Spanish Period
The earliest Europeans known to have explored the region of Arizona were
the Franciscan friar Marcos de Niza, an Italian in the service of Spain,
in 1539, and Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, in 1540. Both were searching
for the famed Seven Cities of Cibola, which proved to be a fruitless endeavor.
Among Coronado's expedition was Garcia Lopez de Cardenas, the first white
man to view the Grand Canyon (1540). Other Spaniards searched for and
found minerals, while still others founded presidios (military outposts)
and missions. One such Jesuit priest, Eusebio Francisco Kino, founded
20 missions in northern Mexico and southern Arizona, including in 1700
the "White Dove of the Desert," San Xavier del Bac, located just south
of the present city of Tucson. The Spanish missions and presidios suffered
under Indian attacks, and many lives were lost during this period. The
presidio at Tubac, established in 1752, was removed to Tucson in 1776
to protect citizens from attack.
The Mexican Period
Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821. Arizona was then part
of Mexican territory, but few settlers could live peaceably because of
the Apache Indian attacks on their farms and ranches. During this same
period the American mountain men explored the region for valuable fur-bearing
animals. Among these famed trappers and traders were William Sherley (Bill)
Williams, Pauline Weaver, Kit Carson, Antoine Leroux, James Ohio Pattie,
and Joseph Walker. These men opened up Arizona to the conquest of the
Americans. The only settled part of Arizona then was in the south, where
by 1835 most of the ranches had been abandoned. There was still some farming
near Tucson, but for all practical purposes the Mexicans were driven out
by the Apaches.
U.S. Annexations
The Mexican War (1846-48) was fought over land. The Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo resulted in the U.S. acquisition of Arizona north of the Gila
River. It was not until the Gadsden Purchase in 1853 that southern Arizona
was also acquired; both areas were part of New Mexico Territory and governed
from Santa Fe. Much of southern Arizona was settled by Texans and other
Southerners, and, when the U.S. Civil War began, Arizonans sympathized
with the Confederacy. In February 1862, Confederate troops occupied Tucson,
and Arizona south of the 34th parallel became a Southern territory. Arizona's
one military engagement of the war occurred at Picacho Pass in April 1862.
The area was freed by Colonel James Carlson's California Column in May
1862. On February 24, 1863, Arizona was proclaimed a separate U.S. territory.
President Abraham Lincoln was convinced that the new territory's gold
and silver would help pay for the war.
U.S. Territorial Period
The first capital of Arizona Territory was at Fort Whipple near Prescott.
It was moved to Prescott as soon as buildings were readied. In 1867 the
capital was moved to Tucson, where it remained for ten years. In 1877
it was moved back to Prescott, and finally in 1889 it was moved permanently
to Phoenix. During this period whites and Apaches, led by the chiefs Mangas
Coloradas, Cochise, and Geronimo, battled. It was not until Geronimo surrendered
to federal troops under General Nelson Miles in 1886 that peace was established.
Beginning in the early 1880s, the Santa Fe Railroad was built across northern
Arizona, and the Southern Pacific Railroad was built across southern Arizona,
providing a boon to the newly founded copper industry. Several agricultural
settlements were established, including Phoenix in the 1860s. Ranching
began in the 1870s and 1880s with the establishment of large cattle and
sheep ranches. In 1877, silver was discovered in the area that became
Tombstone (founded 1879). As mining and irrigated farming expanded, Arizonans
sought statehood, although territorial residents rejected proposals for
the creation of a single state that would have included both Arizona and
New Mexico.
Statehood Period
Arizona became the 48th state on Feb. 14, 1912. The first governor was
George W. P. Hunt, a Democrat, who served for seven two-year terms altogether.
As a result of World War I cotton and copper production made great strides.
Goodyear established a town by that name to process cotton fiber for rubber
tires. Copper was needed for ammunition and cattle for beef for the troops.
The Depression of the 1930s brought thousands of migrants from the Dust
Bowl states, heading through Arizona for California; many, however, stayed,
settling in the Phoenix and Tucson regions. World War II brought more
settlers, and Arizona developed into an urban state as defense installations
and manufacturing cropped up in the metropolitan areas. In the 1950s and
later there were mass migrations to California and the southwest.
As new defense technologies of the cold war spawned clean industries,
where lightweight electronics could be manufactured anywhere there was
a skilled labor pool, many such firms relocated to Arizona. This relocation
from California and the older industrial areas of the Northeast has continued,
and Arizona remains one of the fastest-growing states in terms of population
and industry. In addition, large retirement communities, including Sun
City, near Phoenix, and Green Valley, near Tucson, have proliferated.
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