Arizona State Facts:

Year of Statehood: 1912 - Population: 4,778,332 in 1999

State Capitol: Phoenix

State Motto: Ditat Deus (God Enriches)

Largest City: Phoenix

State Nickname: Grand Canyon State

State Size: 113,909 square miles

State Flag: The lower half of the flag is a blue field, the upper half divided into thirteen equal segments, six light yellow and seven red. In the center of the flag is a copper-colored five-point star. The red and the blue are the same shades as the flag of the United States of America, and it measures four feet high and six feet wide. The flag was designed by Charles W. Harris and first sewn by Nan D. Hayden. Blue and yellow are the Arizona colors, and red and yellow the colors of the Spanish Conquistadores headed by Coronado who first came to Arizona in 1540. The copper star represents Arizona as the largest producer of copper in the nation.

State Seal: Arizona's main enterprises and attractions are represented in the seal. 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 is 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. State Songs: "Arizona March Song" and "Arizona"

State Flower: Blossom of the Saguaro cactus. This pure white flower blooms on the tips of the saguaro cactus during May and June

StateGem: Turquoise. It's a blue-green, waxy-surfaced stone used for centuries in Southwest Indian Jewelry. It can be found throughout the Southwest and is composed of hydrous oxide of aluminum and copper.

Official Neckwear: Bola Tie. It originated in Arizona and is usually made by silversmiths and leathermakers in almost every size and shape, most often with silver and turquoise.

State Tree: Palo Verde. Its name means "green stick." It blooms a brilliant yellow-gold in April or May.

State Bird: Cactus Wren. It measures 7 to 8 inches in length, and its back is brown with white spots, and its throat is lighter colored with black spots. Its bill is curved down and there's a white line over each eye. Cactus wrens eat insectes, seeds, and fruit. They often build their nests inside a cactus to protect them from predators.

State Fossil: Petrified Wood

State Mammal: Ringtail Squirrel

StateReptile: Arizona Ridge-nosed Rattlesnake

StateFish: Apache Trout

State Amphibian: Arizona Treefrog