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ARIZONA |
ARIZONA HIGHLIGHTS
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ARIZONA |
CONTENTS
Arizona's diversity and beauty still surprises and awes visitors. The popular
image of barren wastes under a burning sun dates back more than a hundred years,
when most early travelers kept to the south, avoiding potentially hostile tribes
farther north. Hollywood perpetuated the stereotype, preferring to play out dramas
across rippled sand dunes beneath soaring rock spires, rather than in flower-filled
meadows. Yet the northern and eastern parts of the state have extensive coniferous
forests and rushing mountain streams. Even desert areas can be astonishingly verdant,
as both winter and summer rains refresh the Sonoran Desert, supporting towering
saguaro and a host of other striking and adaptable plants.
Although not on the ocean, Arizona has a coastline hundreds of miles long! The placid
waters of the Colorado River form the western shore with countless boating and fishing
opportunities. Rugged cliffs inhabited by desert bighorn sheep rise above the river
in Black Canyon, just below Hoover Dam, and in Topock Gorge, just above Lake Havasu.
You can venture into these canyons in canoes and other small craft, because the
lower Colorado River has no rapids. Also, two of the nation's largest reservoirs—Lake
Mead and Lake Powell—lie in the northern part of the state, where their dark-blue
waters contrast with the surrounding desert. Each reservoir has a very different
setting: Lake Mead is in more open and mostly volcanic country, while Lake Powell
lies deep in canyons of gracefully curved sandstone. Countless coves along both
reservoirs offer quiet corners to explore. Between the two lakes, the Grand Canyon
slices nearly a vertical mile into the geologic layer cake of the Colorado Plateau.
You'll be impressed by the immensity and complexity of this majestic wonder as you
watch the patterns and soft colors of the rock layers change during the day and
into the golden sunset. Hidden wonders reveal themselves as you venture on trails
or on a river trip into the depths.
Movements deep underground
have uplifted much of northern Arizona into lofty plateaus. Here you'll see hundreds
of well-preserved volcanoes, now quiet, which once blasted magma into the air. The
starkly beautiful cinder cones and lava flows at Sunset Crater Volcano National
Monument, northeast of Flagstaff, look as if they had just cooled yesterday. Farther
south in the state, shifting and faulting of rock layers created rugged mountain
ranges. "Sky islands," the most spectacular of these, rise from the desert
and provide cool-climate homes for rare species of plants and wildlife. Paved roads
lead up some of the sky islands and all have great hiking possibilities. In winter,
you can soak up the desert warmth in the morning and play in the snow atop a mountain
in the afternoon. Mt. Lemmon, in the Santa Catalinas just north of Tucson, has the
nation's southernmost ski area. All this churning of the Earth's surface has resulted
in a great range of climates and vegetation zones—you can find ideal conditions
somewhere in any season. The forested uplands offer delightful conditions in summer,
the plains and rocky hills of the desert provide spring-like weather in winter,
and almost every area enjoys a pleasant climate in spring and autumn. Elevations
within this varied land extend from just 70 feet above sea level where the Colorado
River enters Mexico to 12,633 feet atop Humphrey's Peak, a weathered stratovolcano
in the north.
Native Americans know this land well, and some
can trace their clans back thousands of years through legends and rock art. Tribes
across Arizona represent many cultural traditions. You can explore their beautiful
lands and perhaps get an insight into their beliefs. In northeastern Arizona, the
Navajo have the largest population of all the tribes in the United States and a
vast reservation renowned for its scenic splendor. The Hopi, surrounded by Navajo
lands, have villages and traditions that date back more than one thousand years.
Arizona's cities provide a sophisticated art and entertainment scene, though never
far from the natural world. You'll find the most varied cultural offerings, nightlife,
and sporting events in the two largest metropolitan areas of Phoenix and Tucson.
Arizona State University in the greater Phoenix area and the University of Arizona
in Tucson add much to the energy of each place. Similarly, Northern Arizona University
up north in Flagstaff makes this mountain town a far livelier place than its population
figure would suggest. When you feel like getting away from it all, the many resorts
let you do just that. You'll find most of them in the Phoenix and Tucson areas,
where you can rest beside a pool in a beautifully landscaped setting, spend the
day on an immaculate golf course, or ride your horse amidst saguaro-studded hills.
