Arizona Flag, Facts, Information

Capital City: Nickname:	Phoenix Grand Canyon State
Admission To Statehood:	February 14, 1912
Square Miles In Area:	113,635 Square Miles
Arizona State Bird:	Cactus Wren
Arizona State Tree:	Palo Verde
Arizona Colors:	Blue, Old Gold
State Fossil:	Petrified Wood
Arizona State Song:	Arizona March Song
Largest Cities:	Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, Glendale, Scottsdale, Chandler, Tempe, Gilbert, Peoria, Yuma
Population:	5,939,292 (2005 Census)-RANKED #6 in the country (click here for more info)
Arizona Gemstone:	Turquoise
State Fish:	Arizona Trout
State Mammal:	Ringtail
Arizona State Flower:	Saguaro Cactus Blossom
Census Demographics:	http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/04000.html
Major Rivers:	Colorado, Salt, Verde, Gila
Major Lakes:	Mead, Powell, Havasu, Roosevelt, Lake Pleasant, Saguaro, Canyon, San Carlos, Mohave
Highest Point:	Humphries Peak, Flagstaff Arizona

Flag of Arizona - The Arizona Flag was designed by Colonel Charles W. Harris and was officially adopted as the state symbol of Arizona in 1917. The red and yellow rays represent the rays of sunshine and the original 13 colonies. Those were also the colors of the Spanish Conquistadors flag that entered into the territory in 1540. The lower half is a plain blue field. The copper star represents copper mining, the major natural Arizona resource.

Origin of Name - Arizona is derived from "Aleh-zon"' two Indian words meaning "Little Spring." It was called Arizona by the Spaniards at least as early as 1736.

Territory of Arizona - President Abraham Lincoln signed an act of Congress granting separate territorial status to Arizona on February 24, 1863.

State of Arizona - On February 14, 1912, when President William Howard Taft signed an act passed in 1911, Arizona became the nation's 48th State.

State Tree - The Palo Verde is one of the beautiful trees of the desert and desert foothills regions. When it blooms, it is a blaze of shimmering yellow gold.

State Genstome - Turquoise, the official state gemstone, is found primarily in the popular Indian jewelry produced in Arizona and the Southwest.

Official Neckwear - Bola Tie

State Bird - The Cactus Wren, a woody brown bird with speckled breast, is the largest wren; growing up to seven inches long compared to most wrens, who do not grow over five inches. They have probing type beaks in order to pluck insects from cracks and crevices in tree bark. Arizona's Cactus Wren likes to build her nest in the protection of thorny desert plants, often the arms of the giant saguaro cactus. She builds several nests, using only one as a home and the others as decoys from her enemies. Nesting time begins as early as March and extends into June.

State Flower - The state flower is the blossom of the saguaro cactus, the largest cactus found in the United States. The saguaro (sah-war-oh), or giant cactus (Carnagiea gigantea), is found in Arizona and northern Mexico with a very few scattered along the Colorado River in California. This cactus grows to a height of forty to fifty feet, lives to an age of 150 to 200 years. Its pure white waxy flowers appear in May and June.

State Motto - "Ditat Deus" means "God Enriches"

State Seal - In the background of the seal is a range of mountains with the sun rising behind the peaks. At the right side of the range of mountains there is a storage reservoir and a dam, below which in the middle distance are irrigated fields and orchards reaching into the foreground, at the right of which are cattle grazing. To the left, in the middle distance on a mountainside is a quartz mill in the front of which, in the foreground, is a miner with pick and shovel. Above this is the motto "Ditat Deus," meaning "God Enriches." In a circular band surrounding the whole seal is inscribed: "Great seal of The State of Arizona" and the year of admission into statehood 1912.