The Grand Canyon is the most popular natural attraction in Arizona.  About 5 million people visit it each year.  Almost 1 out of every canyon visitors are from outside of the United States.   Of the visitors from the United States it may be surprising to learn that Arizona is not where most of the come from. In fact, more Californians visit Grand Canyon than Arizonans.

The most popular private/man-made attraction is Tempe Town Lake which draws about 2.7 million visitors each year.  This two mile long lake was formed when a giant rubber dam was placed in the Salt River.  The inflatable dams are designed to be deflated should flooding occur in the Salt River.  It takes less than one hour to inflate or deflated the dam system.

Sources: Arizona Department of Tourism, Wikipedia, Town Lake Operations Center.

In a book I wrote in 2000, Arizona Myths Fallacies and Misconceptions (still available in electronic form), I debunked the oft told “fact” that Arizona has more boats per capita than any other state.  I have heard this claim for years and you can still find it quoted on many Arizona travel and tourism websites.  I’m not sure where it originated but the myth persists.

The truth is that, based on 2004 statistics, Arizona ranks near the bottom at 43rd.  This is what you might expect for a state that has so much desert. What state have the most boats?  As you might expect, its Minnesota.  The state with the least, a surprise to say the least, the Islands of Hawaii.

The website About Phoenix updated my 2000 statistics and they can be found at:

http://phoenix.about.com/library/blboats.htm

According to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names there are 65 places in Arizona with the word “Hell” in the name.  Among them are: Hell’s half Acre, Hell Hole Valley, Big Hell’s Gate, Little Hell’s Gate and Hell’s Hip Pocket.

It’s Memorial Day weekend and the forests and desert trails are buzzing with the sound of ATVs (All Terrain Vehicles) an OHVs (Off Highway Vehicles).  According to Arizona state agencies, then number of ATVs/OHVs has increased 347% in the last ten years.  Twenty percent (one out of every five) adult Arizonans consider themselves an OHV users. (I’m one of them) 

Despite the fact that thousands of Arizonans enjoy these vehicles every day, they are not without their hazards.  According to ATVsafetynet.org, 52 Arizonans have died between 2005 and 2007 in ATV accidents.

In January 2009 new Arizona laws went into effect that require all ATVs to display a special tag on their license plate. The tag can be purchased online on the ADOT website.   ATVs riders also need to be aware that they need to obey the following regulations, even if the ATV is not street legal and is intended to be used off-road only.

The dome of Arizona’ Capital building, located in Phoenix,  is covered in fifteen tons of copper.  How much copper is that?  You could make 4,800,000 pennies from it!

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Arizona ranks near the bottom when it comes to taxes per capita.  We are currently ranked 40th and pay an average of $1,854.  The lowest paying state is South Dakota, which pays $1,430 per capita. Vermont residents pay the most and average $3,600 per year.

Although many people think that Arizona is just a big desert, it is home to 15,600 farms.   Are these little family farms? ….not quite. The average size of an Arizona farm is almost 1,700 acres.

Who are these farmers? More than half are Native Americans.  Most of the remainder are white.  Other minorities make up a only tiny percentage of the rest.  Arizona farmers tend to be older.  The average age is 59.

How does Arizona rank in terms of crop production compared to other states.  We are the third largest producer of vegetables, melons, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.  Arizona is the nation’s 3rd largest lettuce producer and over 66,000 acres are used for this crop.  The State is the nation’s 9th largest producer of cotton.

In terms of livestock there are over 1,000,000 cattle on Arizona farms.  About 165,000 of Arizona farm animals are hogs and 150,000 are sheep.

The average Arizona farm has $177,000 in sales and about 500 farms have sales in excess of $500,000.

In 2006 Arizona farmers received about $101,000,000 in farms subsidies.  Twenty eight farms received subsidies in excess of $500,000 and six farms received subsidies exceeding $1,000,000 that year.  One single farm near Sacaton, received over $2,000,000 is subsidies.

Sources: USDA, Farm Subsidy Database

During the tens years between 1992 to 2002, 570 people died in Arizona as a result of exposure to Arizona’ hot weather. Of these, about 55% of the deaths were of Arizona residents.  The remainder of the deaths were of visitors or illegal immigrants. Not surprisingly the most common month for heat related deaths is July.  Most deaths occurred in Pima and Maricopa counties. On average, about 30 Arizona residents die annually from heatstroke or sunstroke.

Source: Arizona Department of Health Services.

Kindle and iPhone Users – You can now have FactiZONA delivered wirelessly to your Kindle or iPhone through the Kindle Storefront at Amazon.  See link in right column.

In 1917, anti-union vigilantes rounded up about 2,000 members of Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) labor union. This action was in response to a strike against the Phelps Dodge copper company. The nation was at war and many believed that a strike,during wartime, was unpatriotic. Some of the men were freed but 1,200 were loaded on to boxcars, shipped to New Mexico, and dropped off in the desert without food or water. Later many of the vigilantes were charged with kidnapping, although a local Arizona court acquitted them.