Surrounded by scenic mountain ranges just waiting to be hiked, located in the Sonoran Desert the Tucson and surrounding Pima County areas contain the two units of the federal governments Saguaro National Park and Coronado National Forest. Tucson is the second-largest city in Arizona offering both tourists and residents about everything that Metropolitan Phoenix has to offer, and a lot more. There are well rated golf resorts, varied cuisine at the many local restaurants, art museums, galleries, cultural activities, and lots of sunny weather year round. Tucson has a very long history that mixes its American Indian, Spanish Colonial, Occidente State of Mexico, Territory of the United States of America, Mormon Batallion, Chinese, Territory of the Confederate States of America, and again later United States of America roots.
At
the Saguaro National Park, you can explore the massive
Saguaro Cactus that
have come to symbolize the
Sonoran Desert. At the
Arizona Sonora Desert Museum-Zoo
enjoy the variety of
desert flora and
fauna of the area. Hike or take a
horseback ride up one of hundreds of trails that spread out into the
wilderness from the edge of
Pima County. Beyond the cactus and
sand you might find
Tucson is still a
desert oasis with nearby
waterfalls,
swimming holes, and even a
pine forest just minutes from
downtown.
The Tucson area has been occupied for many thousands of years. Officially, founded by the Spanish Army in 1775, the military practice of that era saw it built on top of the existing Pima Indian Village to establish who was in charge. The name "Tucson" came about from the Spanish Soldiers themselves mispronouncing the Pima Indian word "Chukeson" meaning 'The Spring At The Base Of Black Mountain.' Chukeson referred to the hill once called 'Sentential Peak' where lookouts watched twenty four (24) hours a day for approaching Apache Indian Raiding Party's searching for supplies. The hill in modern times became known as 'A Mountain' after a group of University Of Arizona students in 1919 boldly painted a huge 'A' on the hills eastern side, and have continued the practice yearly ever since. Between the years 1867 to 1877 Tucson served the capital of the then Territory of Arizona. However, that changed due to some smoke filled room decisions by wealthy powerful politicians and businessmen in 1877, and the capital was moved very late one night under the cover of darkness to Phoenix. The result left Tucson not developing as nearly as fast as its fledgling northern neighbor Phoenix. Tucson still manages to hold onto some of its Spanish, Mexican, American Indian, and Wild West heritage.
This site is copyrighted© and registered® TUCSON MUSEUM, TUCSON MUSEUM AND LIBRARY, TUCSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY - No part of the information or content found here may be reproduced or duplicated in any form whatsoever without the prior written permission of 'TUCSON MUSEUM, TUSON MUSEUM AND LIBRARY, TUCSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY'. All rights reserved. You may not, except with our express written permission, distribute or commercially exploit the content. Nor may you transmit it or store it in any other website or other form of electronic retrieval system with the exception of 3rd party items and others contained within the website that are in the public domain and or except for educational purposes under U.S. Fair Use Copyright Laws and a link back and acknowledgement of the Tucson Museum is mandatory.