PHOENIX, the capital and largest city of Arizona, U.S.A., and the county-seat of Maricopa county; on the Salt river, at an altitude of i,ioo ft., midway between El Paso and Los Angeles.
It is on Federal highways 8o and 89; has a municipal airport ; and is served by the Santa Fe and the Southern Pacific railways. The population was 29,053 in 1920 (Si% native white) and was in 1930, 48,118 by the Federal census. The climate of the Salt River valley is mild, dry, and clear, and Phoenix is an important health and pleasure resort. The average monthly mean temperature ranges from 51.2° F in December to 89.8° in July ; the average annual precipitation is 7.87 inches; the amount of "possible sun shine" averages 84%. It is estimated that tourists spend $3,000, 000 in the city in a year. The city occupies 5.75 sq.m. in a vast saucer-like valley, encircled by mountains, which is irrigated from the Roosevelt dam, 7o m. N.E., and other projects. Cotton (largely a long-staple variety), alfalfa, lettuce, cantaloupes, grapes, citrus fruits, olives, apricots, and other fruits and vegetables are leading crops. Date palms, pepper and eucalyptus trees, and the mag
nificent saguaro cactus, are features of the landscape. The state capitol, of native tufa, is set in a io-acre park where all the trees and shrubs indigenous to the region are represented. The Papago Saguaro National Monument (1,940 acres) lies 3 m. E.; 6 m. S. is the city's mountain park of 14,00o acres; at Tempe, 8 m. E., is a State Teachers' college; and the State experimental farm is near Mesa, 15 m. S.E. Phoenix has an assessed valuation of $57,625, 882 (1928) ; bank deposits on June 30, 1928, aggregated 801; and post-office receipts for 1927 were $428,637. Since it has. had a commission-manager form of government. Phoenix was founded in 1871, incorporated in 1881, and became the capital of Arizona in 1889. In 1890 the population was 3,152; in 1900, 5,544; in 1910, 11,134. Between 1910 and 1920 it increased 161%.