1. Arizona Statehood February 14, 1912 48th state

2. Statehood • Numerous attempts to become a state • Recall of judges a major issue • President William Howard Taft signed statehood papers • February 14, 1912 • State capitals • Prescott • Tucson • Prescott • Phoenix

3. Counties of Arizona • 15 Counties

5. Fun Facts • Spanish Franciscan friar Marcos de Niza was the first European to explore Arizona. He entered the area in 1539 in search of the mythical Seven Cities of Gold.

6. Fun Facts • Camels were imported in the 1850s to survey the future Route 66 across northern Arizona

7. Fun Facts • The city of Phoenix was named for the mythical Egyptian phoenix bird—which burst into flame and was reborn from its ashes—because the town sprouted from the ruins of a former civilization.

8. Fun Fact • The Saguaro cactus is the largest cactus found in the U.S. It can grow as high as a five-story building and is native to the Sonoran Desert, which stretches across southern Arizona.

9. Fun Fact • Petrified wood is the official state fossil. The Petrified Forest in northeastern Arizona contains America’s largest deposits of petrified wood.

10. Fun Fact • Arizona grows enough cotton each year to make more than one pair of jeans for every person in the United States.

11. San Xavier de Bac(The white dove of the desert)

12. San Juan Capistrano