Welcome To Phoenix SAFeDATA

Phoenix (pronounced /`fi??n?ks/, O`odham Skikik, Western Apache Fiinigis, Navajo Hoozdo, Mojave Hachpa `Anya Nyava) is the capital and the most thickly settled city of the U.S. state of Arizona and the county seat of Maricopa County, as well as being the largest state capital in the U.S. by populus. It is located along the banks of the now normally dry Salt River. It was incorporated as a city on February 25, 1881. Residents of Phoenix are known as Phoenicians.The city`s estimated populus as of 2006 was 1,512,986, making it the fifth largest inner city in the US. At 515 sq miles, its city proper is the 10th largest land area for a city in the US, resulting in a lower populus density. As of 2006, the Phoenix Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) was the 13th largest in the US, with an estimated populus of 4,039,182.

The Salt River course runs westward through the city of Phoenix; the riverbed is normally dry except when excess runoff forces the release of water from the six dams upriver. The city of Tempe has built two inflatable dams in the Salt River bed to create a year-round recreational lake, called Tempe Town Lake. The dams are deflated to allow the river to flow unimpeded during releases.

The Phoenix area is surrounded by the McDowell Mountains to the Neast, the White Tank Mountains to the west, the Superstition Mountains far to the east, and the Sierra Estrella to the southwest. Within the city are the Phoenix Mountains and South Mountains. Current development (as of 2005) is pushing beyond the geographic boundaries to the N and west, and south through Pinal County. According to the US Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 475.1 sq miles (1,230.5 km²); 474.9 sq miles (1,229.9 km²) of it is land and 0.2 sq miles (0.6 km², or 0.05%) of it is water.

As with most of Arizona, Phoenix does not observe daylight savings time. In 1973, Gov. Jack Williams argued to Congress that energy use would increase in the evening, as refrigeration units were not used as often in the morning on standard time. He went on to say that energy use would rise "because there would be more lights on in the early morning." He was also concerned about children going to school in the dark, which indeed they were. The exception to this are lands of the Navajo Nation in Northeastern Arizona, which observe daylight saving time in conjunction with the rest of their tribal lands in other states.

Phoenix has an arid weather, and its avg annual maximum temperature is the highest of any major US city. In fact, out of the world`s large citified areas, only some cities around the Persian Gulf, such as Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Baghdad, Iraq, and some cities in Pakistan such as Multan and Karachi have comparable summer temperatures. The temperature reaches or exceeds 100°F (38°C) on an avg of 89 days during the year, including most days from early June through early September. On June 26, 1990, the temperature reached an all-time high of 122°F (50°C).

The dry desert air makes the hot temperatures more tolerable early in the season, but the influx of monsoonal moisture, which generally begins in early July and lasts until mid-September, raises humidity levels and discomfort due to mugginess. For the most part, the winter months are mild.