Arizona

Arizona, a territory of the United States of America, bounded north by Utah, east by New Mexico, south by Mexico, and west by California and Nevada. It comprises a tract of land ceded to the States as part of New Mexico in 1848; while the S. part was purchased from Mexico 1854: but it was not organised as a separate territory till 1863. The area is 113,916 square miles, a large proportion of the population consisting of Indians. Much of the surface is occupied by a barren plateau, 11,000 feet above the sea level, through which the Colorado river passes in a stupendous gorge, or "canon," 300 miles long, and from 3,000 to 6,000 feet deep. South of this lies the valley of the Little Colorado or Flax river, and farther south still the fertile district about the Mogallon mountains, whilst near the Mexican frontier is the basin of the Gila river with its tributaries. Gold, silver, and copper mining yield nearly a million and a half sterling per annum, yet the resources of the country are but half developed. Abundance of timber is produced, and grapes, figs, oranges, tobacco, and every variety of cereals grow well in the lower lands. Prescott in Yavapai county is the capital, Arizona city and Tucson are growing towns.