The Grand Canyon's walls reveal more than a billion years' worth of geological strata, and there are no fossils to be found except a few trilobites, corals and sponges. How come? The rocks are too old, laid down before complex life took off. And the legendary 1881 Gunfight at the O.K. Corral took place in the Arizona Territory town of Tombstone, a famous fight that only lasted 30 seconds. Wild.
It can take 100 years for a Saguaro cactus to grow an arm in such low rainfall.
Colossal Cave is one of the planet's biggest dry caverns, an awe-inspiring sight studded with massive stalactites with scary names like Bonecrusher and Fang.
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Visit Flagstaff for astounding natural wonders
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See arty Sedona, a desert town ringed with vivid red rock cliffs, steep canyon walls and deep pine forests
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Discover Scottsdale, set in the beautiful Sonoran Desert with Phoenix to the west and the McDowell Mountains to the east
Experience all three towns for a vivid picture of the unique Arizona lifestyle, personality, culture, nature and friendly locals. Then explore deeper into this fascinating, arid state where rain is as rare as hens' teeth.
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Attractions of the West
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The sun shines in Phoenix and Tucson 85% of the year, a hot, dry heat that makes the state even sunnier than Florida and Hawaii. The weather makes visiting its many spectacular attractions even more of a pleasure.
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Arizona has almost double the amount of wilderness as the whole of the mid western US, so go explore the great emptiness
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Visit the small town of Carefree and see one of the world's biggest sundials
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Explore the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum with its zoo, aquarium, botanical garden, natural history museum and art gallery
Head to downtown Phoenix for fun in the Arizona Science Center, a hugely entertaining journey through the amazing world of science. Then visit Biosphere 2 in Oracle, a fascinating earth systems research facility very like Britain's Eden Project.
Keep your eyes on the skies... the curious 1997 incident of the 'Lights Over Phoenix', when residents watched an 'otherworldly' aircraft hovering over the desert for 106 minutes. It's still a mystery.
Phoenix Zoo houses 1,400 animals including more than 30 different endangered and threatened species. The Heard Museum reveals the fascinating history of local native cultures and their art. And Oak Creek Canyon is the Grand Canyon's younger sibling, along the Mogollon Rim in northern Arizona between Flagstaff and Sedona, less of a tourist draw but equally awesome. The enormous Hoover Dam is in Arizona, a massive man-made spectacle. And this is home to Cathedral Rock, a range of bright orange and scarlet towers made from rock laid down at the bottom of an inland sea then cut by aeons of wind and fast-rushing waters. Look out for vortexes, dramatic swirls of red hot wind and sand that tear across the desert floor
Want to avoid rain? Perfect - There isn't any here. As one local said, “You know you're an Arizona native when a rainy day puts you in a good mood.” Discover historic Mission San Xavier del Bac, a beautiful old Spanish Catholic mission about 10 miles south of Tucson on the Tohono O'odham San Xavier Indian Reservation. You really can't beat sitting on an old steam locomotive puttering through the dusty desert vistas. It's the Grand Canyon Railway, a passenger line running from Williams and through the magnificent Grand Canyon National Park South Rim, and it's a wonderful way to experience the area's natural beauty.