Arizona Trivia and Little-Known Facts

There is so much more to Arizona than just the Grand Canyon. Today's post is all about the weird and interesting things you may not know about Arizona:

• Arizona is the 4th largest state in terms of area and 16th largest when it comes to population.
  
  
• The "Five C's" of Arizona are: cotton, cattle, citrus, climate, and copper.
  
  
• Arizona's highest point is Humphrey's Peak at 12,633 ft.
  
  
• Arizona became the 48th state on February 14th, 1912.
  
  
• Arizona is home to Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (PVNGS), the largest nuclear power plant in the country.
  
  
• The tallest building in Arizona is the Chase Tower in downtown Phoenix. It is 40 stories tall and 483 feet high.
  
  
• The Phoenix Art Museum is the largest institution of visual art in the Southwestern US.
  
  
• The founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, lived in Phoenix during the 1950s.
  
  
• Phoenix is the largest city in the Mountain Time Zone.
  
  
• Arizona does not observe Daylight Savings Time (except for the Navajo Nation).
  
  
• There are 19 major flood-control dams in Arizona.
  
  
• Arizona's only Civil War battle took place near Picacho Peak in April of 1862.
  
  
• Arizona is home to 31 State Parks, 25 National Parks, 18 National Monuments, and 6 National Forests.
  
  
• Arizona has very strict laws regarding the ownership of exotic animals as pets.
  
  
• There are 2 driving tunnels: Deck Park Tunnel and Queen Creek Tunnel.
  
  
• There are at least 6 open pit mines in Arizona.
  
  
• Meteor Crater, 40 miles east of Winslow, is the best-preserved meteorite crater on earth.
  
  
• The "Mini Stack" is Arizona's busiest freeway interchange, with traffic averaging 300,000 vehicles per day.
  
  
• There are over 1,400 lane miles of freeway in the metro Phoenix area.
  
  
• Arizona is home to Biosphere II, which was once the largest airtight research facility in the world.
  
  
• Arizona is home to 11 EPA Superfund sites.
  
  
• Arizona's state reptile is the Arizona Ridge-nosed Rattlesnake.
  
  
• The official neckwear of Arizona is the Bolo Tie.
  
  
• The official State Gun of Arizona is the Colt single-action Army revolver (as of April 2011).

Believe it or not, everything above is all true! I hope you have enjoyed my interesting facts and tidbits of information about Arizona. What bits of trivia do you have to share about our state? Post your thoughts as a comment by clicking the comment link below.