Phoenix

What it's known for

Phoenix is the capital and largest city of Arizona and the centre of a large desert metropolitan area known as the Valley of the Sun. It has been the capital since 1889, when the territorial capital moved there from Prescott.

Fun facts

1. Early settler Darrell Duppa suggested the name Phoenix, after the mythical bird reborn from its ashes, because the town rose on the ruins of an earlier civilisation.
2. Long before the city existed, the Hohokam people dug about 217 km of irrigation canals here, and the later Arizona Canal followed some of their paths.
3. In an average year, Phoenix has more than 100 days with a high of at least 100 °F (about 38 °C).