In 2008:

• More than 4% of Arizona mothers were 17 years old or younger and over 12% were 19 or younger.
• For patients with AHCCCS (Medicaid) about  1 out of every 5 births were to mothers 19 years old or younger.
• About 2% of Arizona mothers were over 40 years old.
• 45% of Arizona mother’s were not married at the time of the birth.
• 52% of all Arizona mother were on AHCCCS (Medicaid)  program.
• Only 2% of Arizona mothers had no prenatal care.
• The most popular boy baby name was Anthony followed by Angel and Daniel, for girls it was Isabella, Sophia, Emma.

Source: Arizona Department of Health Services.

This being Flag Day I thought I’d provide you with some trivia about the Arizona State Flag.

The Arizona state flag was officially adopted on February 17, 1917. It was designed in 1910 by Colonel Charles W. Harris. It was originally meant to be the flag of Arizona Rifle Team and they flew it when competing.

Some sources say that the 13 rays at the top represent the original 13 colonies of the U.S. Other sources say it was meant to represent the original 13 counties in Arizona. The rays are meant to portray the setting sun. The large copper colored star in the center was included as a tribute to Arizona’s once powerful copper industry. The shades of red and blue are supposed to be the exact same color as the official colors in the U.S. Flag. It has also been stated that the red and yellow colors are the same colors as those flown by the Spanish Conquistadors when they explored the area that became Arizona.

Not everyone was pleased with the flag’s design. When the vote was held to approve the flag there were many dissenting votes and the Governor Campbell even refused to sign the bill, which became law without his signature.

In a 2001 poll conducted by the North American Vexillological Association, the Arizona flag was identified as one of the “10 best flags on the continent.” (Vexillology is the study of flags)

Where is the world’s largest rose bush.  Right here in Arizona. It is located in Tombstone, the “Town Too Tough to Die.” The rose bush “Too Tough to Die” is of a variety known as Lady Banks’ rose. 

It was believed to have been planted in 1885 by Mary Gee, a boarding house owner, and continues to thrive today.  It covers 8,000 square feet and the trunk has a circumference of 13 feet.

It is located at the Rose Tree Museum and Books in Tombstone, Arizona (520-457-3326).

We all know the Grand Canyon is big.  That is obvious just by looking at it.  However, few people really understand how big it is.  The Grand Canyon is about 18 miles across at its widest part and averages between 4,000 and 6,000 feet deep.  To put that in perspective, recall that a mile is 5,280 feet.  Its length is also truly amazing.  It is over 280 miles long.  The National Park that encompasses much of the canyon covers 1.2 million acres.  Compare that to Yosemite National Park is only about 760,000 acres in size.

The largest fish caught in Arizona, according to official records kept by the Arizona Fish and Game Department was a flathead catfish which was 53 inches long.  It was caught at Roosevelt lake in 2006.  The record fish, measured by weight, weighed in at  a whopping 74 pounds.  It was also a flathead catfish.  It was caught at Laguna Dam in 1998.