Here Is Some
Information
About Our Great State - ARIZONA!
Geographically,
Arizona is very diverse. You can be playing in the snow in
the
morning and be hiking in the desert heat by lunchtime. Why is
that? Well, it mostly has to do with elevation.
Depending
on where you are in Arizona, you are in one of six climatic zones,
generally defined by elevation. Each zone
is distinct, has its own flora and fauna types, and is
beautiful
in its own way. Here's some information on the
zones. There may be a pop quiz.
The
Six
Climatic Zones of Arizona Lower
Sonoran Zone This
is where the Webers live! This zone extends from sea
level to about 4,500 feet. This zone, which contains much of the
Sonoran Desert, is what most
people think of when you say Arizona and is the zone that receives less
than 10 inches of rain per year. This zone is the lower
desert,
home of saguaros and cholla cacti, palo verde and mesquite trees,
coyotes,
and heat, lots and lots of heat.
The
temperature here in our part of the Lower Sonoran Zone is
now:
Upper
Sonoran Zone From
about 4,500 feet to 6,500 feet, this zone typically receives
between 8 inches and 20 inches of rain per year. The Upper
Sonoran Zone flora includes scrub pine, juniper, pinion, along
with some small
oaks.
This zone makes a great escape from the desert heat. Transition
Zone From
about 6,500 to 8,000 feet in elevation, this zone receives between
18 inches and 26 inches of precipitation per year. This is
the
terrain found on the
Mogollon Rim and near Flagstaff. It includes douglas fir
and oak trees.
The largest stand of ponderosa pines in the U.S. is found in this
region. It extends east from Williams, AZ to the New Mexico
border.
Canadian
Zone Between
8,000 feet and 9,500 feet elevation, the Canadian Zone receives
25 inches to 30 inches annually of precipitation. This zone includes
aspen, fir, and spruce
trees.
This zone is usually damp and cool.
Hudsonian
Zone From
9,500 feet up to 11,500. You'll find fir, spruce, and some pine
here. The tree line ends near the top of this zone.
Guaranteed
to be cold! Annual precipitation is between 30 inches and 35
inches.
Alpine
Zone Above
the timberline on the San Fransisco Peaks (11,500 feet to the top
of Mount Humphreys at 12,643 feet)! This is above the tree
line. You
will find species of plants that grow nowhere else in the world.
However, this zone can have arctic weather just like
the
tundra,
so be careful! Annually, this zone recceives between 33
inches
and 40 inches of precipitation. This zone is typically snow
covered from late November to early April. Here
are some quick facts and useful links for all your Arizona information
needs!
Arizona's
"5 Cs" are: Copper, Cattle,
Cotton, Citrus,
and Climate. Arizona's agricultural interests also include
dairy
products, lettuce, nursery stock, and hay.
Industry: Copper and other mining,
electric equipment,
transportation equipment, machinery, printing and publishing, food
processing, electronics, and tourism.
The
Arizona State Flag (along with the Ohio State Flag):
The red and the gold on the top
half of the Arizona flag represent both the 13 original colonies of the
Union
(some histories indicate the rays represent the original 13 counties in
Arizona - there are now 15 counties)
and the rays of the Western setting sun. Red and gold were
also the colors carried by Coronado's Spanish expedition in search of
the
Seven Cities of Cibola in 1540. The bottom half of the flag has the
same Liberty blue as the United States flag. Since Arizona was the
largest producer of copper in the nation, a copper star was placed in
the flag's center. The flag design was officially adopted in 1917. Now
for an interesting fact and another coincidently eerie
link between Arizona
and Ohio,
the Webers' home state. In 1911 a rifle team from
the Arizona Territory was scheduled for a competition match in Ohio and
needed a flag to represent their team, especially since the other teams
all had flags. Charles Harris (the Adjutant General of the territory)
quickly designed what was to become the state flag. OK, maybe
this wasn't really eerie, but was it at least interesting? Oh yeah, in
a recent
survey, the Arizona state flag was voted in the top ten of best state
flags. The Ohio state flag, above, is another great flag.
The irregular shape of the flag of the "Buckeye State", I
believe, adds
to its
appeal. Many Ohioans are irregularly shaped but have little
appeal. Seriously, take the mascot of the Ohio State
University,
Brutus the Buckeye - he's a squatty round guy. That's because
a
buckeye is the nut from the Buckeye Tree, the state tree of Ohio.
Did you ever hear the joke "What is a Buckeye"? The
punch
line is
"A worthless nut". So it goes, as Kurt Vonnegut's
Tralfamadorians
would say. But I digress ...
Flower: Saguaro
Cactus Blossom
Carnegiea
Gigantea. Cathy
has grown several of these from seeds!
Origin
of State's Name: Some say the word "Arizona" comes from
the Spanish
interpretation of
"arizuma," originally an Aztec indian word meaning "silver-bearing."
Some say it is based on
the Pima Indian word "arizonac" for "little spring place."