The 7 Wonders of Arizona

Cool Maps: 7 Wonders

Hoover Dam

"The dam, located 48 km (30 miles) southeast of Las Vegas, is named after Herbert Hoover, who played an instrumental role in its construction, first as Secretary of Commerce and then later as President of the United States. Construction began in 1931 and was completed in 1936, over two years ahead of schedule. "

Meteor Crater

"The crater was created about 50,000 years ago during the Pleistocene epoch when the local climate on the Colorado Plateau was much cooler and damper. At the time, the area was an open grassland dotted with woodlands inhabited by wooly mammoths, giant ground sloths, and camels. It was uninhabited by humans, the first of whom are thought to have reached North America only around 13,000 years ago."

petrified forest

"Petrified Forest National Park is located in northeastern Arizona, along Interstate 40 between Holbrook and Navajo. It features one of the world's largest and most colorful concentrations of petrified wood, mostly of the species Araucarioxylon arizonicum."

Grand Canyon

"The Grand Canyon is a very colorful, steep-sided gorge, carved by the Colorado River, in the U.S. State of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park - one of the first national parks in the United States."

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

"The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is one of the most visited attractions in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1952, it combines the attractions of a zoo, museum, and botanical garden. "

Mission San Xavier del Bac

"Mission San Xavier del Bac is a historic Spanish mission located about 10 miles (16 km) south of downtown Tucson, Arizona on the Tohono O'odham San Xavier Indian Reservation. Named for a pioneering Christian missionary and co-founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuit Order), the Mission is also known as the "place where the water appears" as the Santa Cruz River (which runs underground) surfaces nearby. "

Painted Desert

"The Painted Desert is famously known for its bright red rocks that are especially beautiful when it turns into shades of violet, blue, and red at sunset or sunrise. Many hardened sand dunes are found in the desert, most notably along a stretch of highway on U.S. Route 160 near Cameron. The hardened sand dunes are "painted" with bands of gray and bright red and are shaped by natural wind patterns. Also, many mesas and buttes sharply rise from the desert. The desert is also home to a variety of desert flora and fauna."