Tucson
City in Pima County in southeast Arizona, USA, on the Santa Cruz and Rillito rivers, 105 km/66 mi north of the Mexican border; population (2000 est) 486,700. It stands 760 m/2,500 ft above sea level in the Sonora Desert; the Santa Catalina Mountains rise to about 2,750 m/9,000 ft to the northeast. The area's winter sports and mild, dry, sunny winter climate have made the city a popular winter residence and resort. Industries include copper-smelting, and the manufacture of aircraft and electronics. Cotton and cattle are marketed and processed from the surrounding irrigated agricultural area.
History
In about 1700 the Jesuit mission San Xavier del Bac was established just to the south of an American Indian village which occupied the site of the present city. A Spanish fort had been built by 1776 to guard against American Indian Apache hostility, and a community evolved within its walls. Tucson passed from Mexico to the USA in 1853 as part of the Gadsden Purchase and was the territorial capital 1867–77. The arrival of the railway in 1880 and foundation of the University of Arizona in 1885 boosted the city's service and manufacturing functions. Its development as a tourist and residential centre after World War II caused rapid growth in the metropolitan area.
Features There are 85 entries on the national register of historic places including university buildings, historic districts, and a water tower. The University of Arizona, St Augustine Cathedral, Arizona State Museum, and Tucson Museum of Art are located in the city. Kitt Peak National Observatory, Saguaro National Monument, Coronado National Forest, the Arizona–Sonara Desert Museum, and Biosphere 2, a self-sustaining environment enclosed by a glass dome, lie nearby. |
Climate Tucson's January mean temperature is 10°C/50°F, and annual rainfall averages only 285 mm/11 in. Summers are very hot; the July mean is 29°C/84°F. |
| The Central Arizona Project, completed between 1973 and 1992, created 540 km/336 mi of aqueducts and tunnels to take water from Lake Havasu to the area around Tucson. |
