Many ask, “What are the Five C’s of Arizona?” And it’s certainly a great question, with the answer being that they are perfectly represented in the simple illustration found in the center of the Great Seal for the State of Arizona. On the seal, the year 1912 is the year of Arizona’s statehood, and the Latin phrase, Ditat Deus, means God Enriches.
The miner on the Great Seal represents this abundant ore that has been so vital to the economy since before statehood. Copper is an important electrical conductor, also used in piping and modern electronics. Copper mining towns in Arizona include Globe, Miami, Superior, Morenci, and Bisbee.
It may be an old Western stereotype, but cattle ranching remains a vital part of Arizona’s economy. Currently, the state can boast raising 870,000 head of cattle on some 3,800 ranches throughout the state. Actor John Wayne thought highly enough of Arizona cattle ranching that he owned a working ranch, the 26 Bar, near Eagar, and raised Hereford cattle.
With a favorable climate and limited frosty evenings, Arizona is one of only four citrus producing states in America, along with California, Florida and Texas. Among Arizona’s more popular crops are oranges, lemons, tangerines, and grapefruit. Citrus groves thrive in Mohave, Maricopa and Pinal counties, but no county is more productive than Yuma. Backyard lemon and orange trees are also common in those communities.
In 1910 Arizona led something of an American cotton revolution with the development of Pima cotton, named after the Pima Indian tribe that grew it. Pima cotton was an improvement over the once-popular Egyptian long-staple cotton. By 1920, tire and rubber manufacturers such as Goodyear, Dunlop and Firestone, grew Pima cotton, making it the most popular crop in Arizona, covering around 800,000 acres. In 1954 a higher quality cotton, Supima, which combined the words “superior” and “Pima” was introduced. Today, Supima remains the only cotton grown in the American southwest.
The sun and rain clouds on the Great Seal are indicative of what Arizona is best known for. From low desert to high plateau, Arizona offers a great climate variety and it is the only state with all of North America’s four deserts: Mohave, Sonoran, Great Basin, and Chihuahuan. How about this for variety? Arizona’s record low temperature of -41 degrees was recorded in January, 1971 at Hawley Lake, while Lake Havasu City scored the record high at 128 degrees in 1994. But as well like to tell ourselves: “it’s a dry heat.”
And today, with the huge and growing economic influence that Canada now plays across our great state, (housing, commercial real estate, businesses, tourism, trade and direct investment) one could almost add a Sixth C… that would stand for Canadians.
