During my caching adventures over the past five plus years now I
have traveled throughout the Country with a new perspective. Not
like I used to… before I would travel around and not even
take a second look at the city or state I was in. I have always
traveled for work and pleasure but never took the time to
“see” where I was going. I would hit a town do my work
and go back to the hotel and sit in my room clicking the clicker
until the wee hours of the morning or go to the “one”
spot and miss everything else around me.
Now, with every new town and state I pass through it is
refreshing. I thrive on the new treasures I see… monuments I
would have whizzed by. They are now new nuggets of knowledge, vista
points I would have passed by without a blink are now postcard
images burned in my mind, and side streets of towns are secret
treasures that only non tourists find. Geocaching has made me stop
and smell the roses.
Hopefully, this little puzzle will help enlighten you on the
State of the Nation for Arizona and maybe make you “stop and
smell the roses” too.
N 34° 43.ABC
A = Arizona was the 48th state in the
USA and was admitted in 19(A)2 (it had been part of Mexico
before the Mexican War).
B = Arizona is home to one of the most
well-preserved meteorite impact sites in the world. The Barringer
Meteorite Crater (better known simply as "Meteor Crater") is a
gigantic hole in the middle of the high plains of the Colorado
Plateau. A rim of smashed and jumbled boulders, some of them the
size of small houses, rises 150 feet above the level of the
surrounding plain. The crater itself is nearly a mile wide, and
5(B)0 feet deep.
C = The hottest recorded day in
Phoenix was June 26, 1990, when the temperature hit 12(C)
degrees.
W 114° 26.DEF
D = The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
was a gunfight that took place on Wednesday, October 26,
188(D), in Tombstone, Arizona Territory of the United
States. Despite its name, the gunfight did not actually take place
at the O.K. Corral but in a vacant lot next to Camillus Fly's
photography studio, six doors down Fremont Street from the rear
entrance to the O.K. Corral. Although only three men were killed
during the gunfight, it is generally regarded as the most famous
gunfight in the history of the Old West.
E = The Grand Canyon is a colorful,
steep-sided gorge, carved by the Colorado River, in northern
Arizona. The canyon is one of the (E) natural wonders of the
world. Grand Canyon National Park was one of the first national
parks in the United States. President Theodore Roosevelt was a
major proponent of designating the Grand Canyon area, visiting on
numerous occasions to hunt mountain lion and enjoy the scenery. The
canyon was created by the Colorado River cutting a channel over
millions of years, and is about 277 miles long, ranges in width
from 4 to 18 miles and attains a depth of more than 1 mile. Nearly
2 billion years of the Earth's history have been exposed as the
Colorado River and its tributaries cut through layer after layer of
sediment as the Colorado Plateaus have uplifted.
F = The highest point in Arizona is
Humphreys Peak ranging at 12,(F)33 feet above sea
level.
Some other interesting tidbits about Arizona:
State Capital & Largest City – Phoenix
State Nickname – Grand Canyon State
State Motto – “Ditat Deus,” God
Enriches
State Song – Arizona March Song
State Bird – Cactus wren (Campylorhynchus
brunneicapillus)
State Flower – Saguaro Cactus Blossom (Cereus
giganteus)
State Tree – Palo Verde
State Gem – Turquoise
State Fossil – Petrified Wood
State Flag – The official state flag of Arizona was
officially adopted on February 17, 1917. It was designed by Colonel
Charles W. Harris (adjutant general and chief administrative
officer of Arizona) and was first sewn by Nan D. Hayden. The 13
yellow and red rays represent both the Sun's rays and the original
13 colonies of the United States of America. The colors red and
yellow are used because they were the colors of the flag of the
Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, who
entered Arizona in 1540 (looking for the legendary Seven Cities of
Cibola). The copper-colored star in the middle represents copper
mining, since Arizona produces more copper than any other state in
the USA.
State Seal – Arizona's main enterprises and
attractions are represented in the seal, which was adopted in 1911.
In the background of the seal is a range of mountains with the sun
rising behind the peaks. At the right side of the mountains are a
water storage reservoir and a dam, with irrigated fields and
orchards. There are cattle grazing on the right, and a quartz mill
and a miner with a pick and shovel on the left.
I would like to thank ppikem1 for
being my sponsor for State of the Nation – Arizona.
You can check your answers for this puzzle on
Geochecker.com.
As always, enjoy.