The State of Arizona is known for its Five C's
Arizona was made famous by its Five C's; Cattle, Copper, Citrus, Cotton and Climate. If you like the old west and Cowboys & Indians, then by default you were a fan of cattle... and that is the reason for all the horses in Arizona Territory - notwithstanding the fact that in those days the horse was the main mode of transportation.
Today only a fraction of the horses in the state are engaged in the cattle business. Having said that, many ranches still use the horse as the most practical method on herding and moving cattle. Lots of pleasure riding, lots of horse shows, and every town seems to have one place, at least, where you can steer rope on Friday night!
Grapefruit, Oranges, Lemons, Limes and others
Since the 1860s when the Hohokam canal was rebuilt there have been citrus growers in Arizona. Citrus is still and important agricultural product for the state. The key is water, water is everything in the dry state (Orange tree in Chandler, Arizona below).
Since the 1880s
When the Hashknife brought cattle into Arizona Territory in 1886 it is said to have purchased 50,000-75,000 head of Texas cattle.
By 1918 there were around 1,750,000 million cattle in Arizona. Today there are still beef grazers on the Mogollon Rim Country each summer. There are also many thousands of head of dairy cows on the edges of the cities in Arizona.
The highest recorded temperature in Arizona is 128° Fahrenheit, in Lake Havasu City on June 29, 1994. The lowest temperature is -40° Fahrenheit, in Hawley Lake on January 7, 1971.
With a statewide average of around 8" of rain per year Arizona is a dry state! However, with well over 300 clear days per year we are a tourist attraction due to the climate. We do have our annual monsoons that provide rain, hailstorms, microbursts and haboobs! Flash floods and heavy local rainfall are not uncommon.
Weather in the high country is milder in the summer but sometimes subject to deep snows in winter.
The photo below shows how the summer heat goes... sometimes!
Arizona is a state with wealth of metals and minerals.
A quarter of the population in Arizona Territory of 1863 was employed in the mining of the earth. Copper is still mined today. The State Mining Engineer once said there was much more still in the ground than has been removed! Other metals like gold and silver have also had an impact on Arizona. This is a photo of the Ray Copper Mine.
Cash crop since 1910
The famous Pima extra Long Staple Cotton was not only a cash crop for Arizona farmers but a very necessary production part in World War II. When the Germans took over north Africa the cotton supply for tire making was in jeopardy. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company came to Arizona and started farming cotton on the west side of Phoenix in an area that would soon be called Goodyear!
