Arizona is located in the Southwestern United States and, together with Colorado, New Mexico and Utah, forms the famous Four Corners region, the only quadripoint in the United States. Thanks to its world-famous landscape, Arizona is also called the Grand Canyon State. Over several million years, the Colorado River carved its way into the rock layers of the Arizona desert, creating the canyon. It is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and 6,093 feet (1,857 m) deep. The native Pueblo people revered the Grand Canyon as a sacred site and built settlements in the cliffs. Other indigenous peoples of Arizona include the Hohokam and the Mogollon. Today, around a quarter of Arizona belongs to the Navajo Nation, the largest reservation in the United States.

European exploration began in the 16^th century with the arrival of the Spanish. Following the Mexican-American War, most of the present-day state became part of the incorporated Territory of New Mexico in 1848, while the southern area was a territory of the Confederate States during the civil war. In 1912, Arizona was admitted to the Union in its entirety as the 48^th state. The Latin state motto "DITAT DEUS" means "God enriches".

Phoenix is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States. Today a center for financial and high-tech companies, it was economically dominated for a long time by the "Five C's", cotton, cattle, citrus, climate and copper. After copper mining surpassed gold and silver extraction, Arizona was nicknamed the "Copper State". The mines in Arizona continue to generate two thirds of the copper revenue of the entire Unted States.

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