For over a thousand years, prehistoric farmers inhabited much of the present-day state of Arizona. When the first Europeans arrived, all that remained of this ancient culture were the ruins of villages, irrigation canals and various artifacts.
Fort Bowie commemorates in its 1000 acres, the story of the bitter conflict between the Chiricahua Apaches and the United States military.
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (NRA) offers unparalleled opportunities for water-based & backcountry recreation.
It's not a castle and Montezuma was never here. Nestled into a limestone recess high above the flood plain of Beaver Creek in the Verde Valley stands one of the best preserved cliff dwellings in North America.
For its time and place, there was no other pueblo like Wupatki. Less than 800 years ago, it was the tallest, largest, and perhaps the richest and most influential pueblo around. It was home to 85-100 people, and several thousand more lived within a day?
At the base of sheer red cliffs and in canyon wall caves are ruins of Indian villages built between AD 350 and 1300.
Twenty seven million years ago a volcanic eruption of immense proportions shook the land around Chiricahua National Monument. One thousand times greater than the 1980 eruption of Mount St.
The Grand Canyon is more than a great chasm carved over millennia through the rocks of the Colorado Plateau. It is more than an awe-inspiring view.
Petrified Forest is a surprising land of scenic wonders and fascinating science. The park is located in northeast Arizona and features one of the world's largest and most colorful concentrations of petrified wood.
Navajo National Monument preserves three of the most-intact cliff dwellings of the ancestral Puebloan people (Hisatsinom). The Navajo people who live here today call these ancient ones "Anasazi.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument celebrates the life and landscape of the Sonoran Desert.
The staff at Saguaro National Park invite you to ?Experience Your America? in a way that only the Sonoran Desert can offer. This unique desert is home to the most recognizable cactus in the world, the majestic saguaro.
People must have been warned by tremors and earthquakes before red-hot rocks exploded from the ground and rained down on their pit houses and farmland. Perhaps some stayed to watch as their homes and farmland were buried under slow-moving lava flows.
Well-preserved cliff dwellings were occupied by the Salado culture during the 13th, 14th, and early 15th centuries. The people farmed in the Salt River Valley and supplemented their diet by hunting and gathering native wildlife and plants.
Tumac*cori National Historical Park in the upper Santa Cruz River Valley of southern Arizona is comprised of the abandoned ruins of three ancient Spanish colonial missions. The Park is located on 45 acres in three separate units.
Hike down into Walnut Canyon and walk in the footsteps of the people that lived here over 900 years ago. Under limestone overhangs, the Sinagua built their homes. These single story structures, cliff dwellings, were occupied from about 1100 to 1250.
Bartlett Dam and Lake, Salt River Project, is the closest lake to the Phoenix area on the Verde River. It is 22 miles east of Carefree.
Horseshoe Dam and reservoir are features of the Salt River Project. The recreation site is available for camping (14 units), camp trailers, picnicking, fishing and boating. Like Bartlett, it is open year-round.
Glen Canyon Dam, which is a feature of the Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP), impounds Colorado River water to form Lake Powell, one of the most popular and scenic lakes in the world. Lake Powell is part of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
Formed by Horse Mesa Dam, Apache Lake is long and narrow and is the second largest Salt River Project lake.
WestWorld is located in north Scottsdale at the base of the McDowell Mountains.
This newly expanded reservoir has 114 miles of shoreline for family recreation uses. The reservoir boasts a 10-lane boat ramp; parking for 200 vehicles. Recreational facilities concentrated primarily on the reservoir's western shore.
Saguaro Lake, 41 miles from downtown Phoenix, is the Salt River Project lake closest to Phoenix. The reservoir was created by the construction of Stewart Mountain Dam.
Theodore Roosevelt Dam, the first major structure constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation on the Salt River Project (SRP), spans the Salt River to form a huge reservoir. The dam is 280 feet high and 723 feet long.
Mittry Lake Wildlife Area lies in and adjacent to the floodplain of the Colorado River between Laguna and Imperial Dams. Mittry Lake covers approximately 750 acres, with much of the shoreline covered with cattails and bullrush.
Located 8 miles north of the City of Laughlin on the Nevada side and 10 miles north of Bullhead City on the Arizona side of the Colorado River.
The La Posa Long Term Visitor Area (LTVA) was created in 1983 to fulfill the needs of winter visitors and to protect the local desert ecosystem from over-use.
Back country byways traverse scenic corridors that are off the beaten path.
Day use parking andboat ramp on a water storage reservoir near ImperialDam in California.
The Imperial DamLong Term Visitor Area (LTVA) was created in 1983 tofulfill the needs of winter visitors and to protect the localdesert ecosystem from over-use.
This area is an unrestricted playground for ATVs and other off-highway vehicles. The site includes parking area, unloading ramp, and vault toilets. Vehicles must be street legal or have state required off-highway vehicle stickers. Resort facilities nearby.
Full service resort just south of Parker Dam offers amenities such as a golf course, a grocery store, tennis courts, gas, restaurants, public phones, and lodging.
Wild Cow Springs Recreation Site is situated in a grove of oak and large ponderosa pines within the Hualapai Mountains, at a 6, 200 foot elevation.
This area is an unrestricted playground for ATVs and other off highway vehicles. The site includes parking area, unloading ramp, and vault toilets. Vehicles must be street legal or have state required off-highway vehicle stickers .
Swansea offers a rare glimpse into the real old west of gold seekers and gamblers. This abandoned mining town is found on the edge of the Swansea Wilderness.
The San Pedro riparian area, containing about 40 miles of the upper San Pedro River, was designated by Congress as a National Conservation Area (NCA) on November 18, 1988.
Betty's Kitchen and Interpretive Area is a lush, shady spot along the Lower Colorado River, with a picnic area, 0.5-mile interpretive trail, and fishing pier.
The Black Hills Back Country Byway offers 21 miles of back country driving adventure through the northern end of the Peloncillo Mountains in southeastern Arizona.
The Mittry LakeWildlife Area includes about 600 acres of water surfaceand 2400 acres of marsh or upland. A wide variety ofvegetative and wildlife species can be found here, with ascenic backdrop of three mountain ranges.
Adjacent to rapidly expanding communities, the 71, 000-acre Agua Fria National Monument is approximately 40 miles north of central Phoenix. The monument encompasses two mesas and the canyon of the Agua Fria River.
The Parker Strip Area is a long stretch of land surrounding Lake Havasu, formed on the Colorado River by the Parker Dam.
Hot springs, river rafting, birdwatching, and miles of trails make this National Conservation Area popular among those in the know. Bonita Creek wildlife viewing area is accessible and has numerous interpretive displays and shade shelters.
Windy Point and Packsaddle Recreation Sites are situated two miles apart along the crest of the Cerbat Mountains, high above the old mining town of Chloride, Arizona.
In a state where desert arroyos, washes, and many streambeds remain bone-dry most of the time, the year-round flow of Cienega Creek makes it a highly valuable resource.
This Corps lake is managed by Arizona State Parks. The project web address links to the Arizona State Parks web pages. Alamo Lake is one of the best bass lakes in Arizona. Also, the area has good wildlife viewing opportunities.
Located in northern Arizona, lies the Kaibab National Forest. The Grand Canyon of the Colorado River divides the North Kaibab and Tusayan Ranger Districts of the Kaibab National Forest.
Snuggled along the crest of the Mogollon Rim and stretching 90 miles south, the Tonto National Forest spreads over a spectacular 2.9 millon acres of pine and cactus country just northwest of Phoenix, Arizona.
The Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests encompass two million acres of magnificent mountain country in east-central Arizona and New Mexico.
Located in central Arizona, lies the Coconino National Forest. Northward lies the Colorado Plateau, a high, cold desert of flat-lying rocks and sheer-walled canyons.
Located in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico, lies the Coronado National Forest. The forest covers 1, 780, 196 acres.
The Forest is located about 70 air miles northwest of Phoenix, Arizona, contains approximately 1, 237, 000 acres, and is composed of two distinct divisions.