Really cool Arizona fact alert! Surprisingly, Arizona is the country’s top rose producer. They love dry air and heat, so as long as they get enough water they thrive here. (The roses in my profile pic are from my garden in Tempe) I love your videos, you are always very genuine!
Yep! Tuscon has the largest “rose bush” in the world! It’s currently a tourist attraction, but it’s so large that they have a restaurant there that is entirely underneath the rose bush with lots of outdoor tables for eating.
I moved to Phoenix from there. Phoenix just seems like one big giant Marana repeating itself over-and-over. However Tucson is becoming Phoenix. I just hope Tucson is able to plan for this in transportation infrastructure projects and making it a walkable city. Also encouraging more diverse home building but I doubt that's going to happen. Prepare California and other high cost cities residents are coming in unfortunately creating more suburbanization. At least Tucson, compared to Phoenix, has more affordable housing in the city center. Which hopefully stays that way.
What is this? I’m just curious cuz other people have mentioned it too, only I don’t know what the acronym means. Someone even called it BLM but I was pretty certain they didn’t mean Black Lives Matter from the context!
@@christinafidance340 prior to every Major League Baseball season, half of the MLB teams play exhibition (practice) games in the Phoenix area and the other half are down in Florida. There's a bunch of games every single day throughout the valley at different baseball stadiums all over Phoenix. It usually goes through a small amount of February and ends at the end of March. Fans can buy tickets and go watch the games and usually see young players and the main players but in a smaller stadium setting.
@@christinafidance340 Not sure if you're kidding, but I'll go out on a limb and think you're serious. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was established in ... let me look it up ... 1812 (at least a predecessor to the present day department).
I was born in Georgia, but I moved to Arizona when I was 11 and have lived here for over 10 years now. I definitely believe Arizona is one of the most beautiful states in the country (Utah and Colorado are also high up there for me). I know most people think Arizona is just a big hot desert, and though they aren’t wrong, Arizona is so much more than that, and I think you did an amazing job in showing that. Keep up the good work Kyle!
The White Mountains in eastern AZ also have its own microclimate where its a lot more rainy during monsoon season than most of the state, I wouldn't call it a desert
I used to live in Arizona. It's such a misunderstood place. I think it is the most beautiful state (although Utah, California, and New Mexico are close contenders). The main thing I miss is hiking! My profile pic features Mummy Mountain in Paradise Valley, which I used to hike regularly.
@Andrew Verkovod Piestewa is actually an even better view than Camelback, although it's not a pleasant hiking terrain (very rocky!). The biggest draw is it can be hiked at night. Make sure to bring a light if you do that!
5:34 _"Sedona is a city about halfway between Phoenix and Flagstaff."_ In terms of distance, Sedona is nowhere near halfway between Phoenix and Flagstaff: It's 120 miles from Phoenix vs. 30 miles from Flag. However, in terms of drive time, it might be a bit closer to half (2 hours vs. 45 minutes, respectively), due to the fact that there’s a 75 MPH interstate for much of the trip to Phx vs a narrow, twisty road with a much lower speed limit to Flag.
This is super cool! I love these profile videos; if you make one covering Alabama, I’m from a small town called Wetumpka just north of Montgomery. There is an impact crater from an asteroid collision right where they built the town. It’s a pretty cool gem and you may find some unexpected oddities all through the state! Anyway, I adore your channel and it has inspired me to study geography in college!
Kyle, this channel is a treasure. Thanks so much for assembling these eclectic, interesting subjects into digestible video programs. Didn't know about your channel until three days ago, and now I'm hooked!
I’ve become a huge fan of your channel- I have been binging your videos off and on for the last week and honestly they are the best geography videos on RU-vid! Thank you for delivering so much high-quality and informative consonant it is truly appreciated. But I finally had to comment on a video after seeing the misfits earth A.D. album in the background behind you- Totally awesome dude! Love your perspective, love the content, and I love your taste in music!! THANK YOU
As in Arizona and I had no idea that cheese crisps weren't a common thing across the entire country. I also had no idea that chimichangas were invented here. Thanks for the video
I consider myself very good at Geography but you are in fact the Geography King this series on the States is the bomb I can't wait to see my home state.
I was born in Arizona,on Luke Air Force base,but i was moved to South Carolina only months after i was born,i grew up in South Carolina/Georgia.Thank you for the information on my birth state,because i have not been able to visit since,and i leaned alot about Arizona from your video.I appreciate it so much,much love❤
The meteor impact crater in northern Arizona is truly phenomenal - just the scale of the scale of the hole. A great springboard of understanding of our relationship to the universe. I did see a picture of it… But maybe a word or 2 of the significance of the Arizona landmark. I love your channel!
To be nerdy, Arizona isn't quite as deserty as people think. Actually, only about 39% can be classified as true desert. Grasslands occupy 25%, Woodlands (oak and piñon/juniper) 18%, and forests (ponderosa pine and mixed conifer) 18%. There are even a few square miles of tundra.
I agree that he didn't cover the biomes of the state. Arizona does have more acres of forest then many eastern states. Covering the ecology of Arizona and all the towns and history would made they video long. So perhaps that why these were skipped over.
I know that the 26 miles of I-15 in the northwestern corner are barely even thought of as being part of Arizona, but the drive through the Virgin River Gorge is one of the most breathtaking drives directly on the interstate. Now that would be a good top 10 list: the most scenic stretches directly on an interstate.
Awesome video! I agree - Arizona is a geologic wonderland like no other state. And the biodiversity is equally impressive. I mean to think - you have THREE national monuments named after specific endemic Sonora desert plants. One thing I might say is a slight overstatement - is suggesting that only up until 20 years Arizona's economy was relatively inconsequential on the national level. My Dad was an engineer and project manager working for Motorola and made several business trips to Phoenix as there was a Motorola plant there when I was growing up in the 80s. Even in the 80s the state was moving beyond just copper mining, irrigated agriculture/ranching, and master planned resort/retirement communities. There was a large and growing electronics manufacturing sector even at that time.
Thanks for covering AZ! I’m from there and I love it here especially nature. No matter how long I’m here though, I can never get over the heat. Gotta stay inside as much as possible
My wife and I contributed the Phoenix and Maricopa counties standing as the fastest growing city/county back in May and we love it. Lived in TX, WA, and OR before and AZ is by far our favorite kind of a mix of the good from alot of places as long as you don't need a glitzy major downtown city feel. Phoenix does have way more people than Dallas and Seattle but Dallas and Seattle have much more impressive downtowns with more and taller skyscrapers
The main reason Phoenix doesn't have very tall skyscrapers is because of the definitely perfect (sarcasm) location of Sky Harbor. Skyscrapers would pose a threat for aircraft taking off and landing.
Dallas actually has more people in its metro area, which I think is a better indicator for the amount of skyscrapers to expect. Seattle's metro area does have a smaller population though.
@@noosurprises this is actually something I considered, however Dallas metro also contains ft worth with its own very large population and formidable downtown highrise distict which makes the need for downtown type infrastructure in Dallas proper substantially less than the metro population suggests as ft worth takes alot of that but wouldn't contribute to Dallas city skyline, whereas in phoenix all the metro population Is centered around Phoenix there is no other major downtown that has been historically developed with high rises so thats why I think that a city of this metro size should be on par with Dallas, though maybe not a hypothetical combined downtown of Dallas and Fort worth
Hey Kyle- I’m a college student looking for some advice. If there’s even the smallest chance of you seeing this, I just wanted to thank you for your awesome videos. I’m a college student and just recently realized that I have a huge love for geography so I changed my major from agriculture business to physical geography! I’m very interested in both topography and climatology (and the relationship between the two), and spend an excessive amount of time looking up geographical features near me ( Specifically the Allegheny Mountain range of the central Appalachian mountains) and exploring them in my free time. I also love meteorology and learning about the interactions between land/bodies of water and weather, and I am fascinated by interesting geological formations and why our planet looks the way it does today. I’m a little lost in my search for a career and have no idea where to take my talents and passions. I know this is a little bit of a shot in the dark but if you have any suggestions whatsoever about what sort of careers might involve my interests it would be great to hear back from you! Of course I could be a meteorologist or a geographer, but I was wondering if there might be a specific field where these interests meet? Thank you so so much for your amazing videos, and I hope your channel continues to grow!!
Thank you very much for your comment. We need more geographers! There's actually too much to go over in a comment what you asked, but one of my next videos is on that exact subject of what you can do with a geography degree. There's a lot more than you might expect and you can study virtually any subject and add a geographical component to it.
I used to live in a place called Huachuca City, which is 60 miles South of Tucson, right by the historic Fort Huachuca Army Installation. Tombstone was about an hour from where I lived. Sure, it's a tourist trap, but they have a lot of great restaurants. Bisbee was another city I visited. They have a lot of great artwork, the oldest baseball park in the country and great food.
I would've liked to heard you say a little something about meteor crater. I saw the image but no comments, so I'll say it for you🙂. It's the most well preserved meteorite crater on earth. It's huge! Definitely worth a visit. Great video, love your style!
Hi Kyle. I enjoyed your interesting and thorough profile of Arizona. While we are on the subjects is state profiles , maybe I missed it, but I do not recall that you did one on my home state of Michigan. I know you are partial to deserts, but some people have referred to Michigan as the most beautiful state east of the Mississippi River. Many people are only familiar with the southern part of the state noted for its rust belt auto industry and headquarters. I bet a lot of people would be surprised at the beauty of the northern lower peninsula and the semi wilderness of the upper peninsula. Also Michigan, surrounded by water on 3 of 4 sides has that snowier than, but not as cold as winter as nearby states Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota. I would be interested in your take on THE GREAT LAKE STATE. Thanks again for this video on Arizona.
Thanks for making a video on one of my home states! This is a really good rundown. There are a few places I would add. The Mogollon Rim (pronounced roughly "muggy-own") North and East of Phoenix is higher, cooler, and more forested than the big city. This and the fact that it's only an hour and change away makes it a popular place for locals to get away. The nearby Superstition Mountains and the Apache Trail are popular as well. Continuing South and East, the area around the towns of Miami and Globe is also relatively untouristed; the main industry here is copper mining, and it resembles Kentucky and West Virginia more than Phoenix in some ways. That said, there is some great hill and mountain scenery here, and the Salt River Canyon is almost as spectacular as the Grand Canyon, with only a small fraction of the tourists. The drive from Globe to Tucson is serenely beautiful and is usually not crowded.
Between Phoenix and Tuscon is Rooster Cogburn's Ostrich Ranch. A tourist site not to be missed. If you'd like to try fishing (yes, fishing) for ostrich, they can make it happen. Grapefruit slices act as bait. The tours of the ranch in a monster bus are pretty good too... Don't miss it!
Hey King. Next time you’re in AZ, if you haven’t already been, check out downtown Prescott! Historic buildings, little cafes like The Raven, The Dinner Bell, Wild Iris, blocks and blocks of really unique and affordable antique shops all up and down the main roads, and it’s super close to Watson Lake where I usually end my little Prescott day trips watching the birds. :)
I can attest that monsoons in Arizona can be CRAZY and shouldn’t be underestimated. My family began a summer house-boating trip in Lake power about 15 years ago. Right at the end of the boat-tutorial the guy mentioned as an afterthought, “oh yeah, you might have to deal with monsoons.” Less than 2 hours later our houseboat lost one of its engines as it spun around with dishes flying out of its cabinets. The smaller boat we had lost its Bimini top and we the boat almost crashed into a jagged wall on the side of a narrow lake canyon while hail showered down on us. Be sure to take cover quickly if you’re ever outside in the dessert in the summertime and spot dark clouds coming in.
I like Tucson, too. My first professional job out of college was there back in the early 70s. It's grown a lot since then. Areas that were nothing but desert northwest of the city are now their own towns, and covered with houses. We go there for winter getaways now, escaping from New England. There's a nice multicultural fusion between Spanish, Native, and classic American cultures.
I like the Misfits record hanging out in the background. I commented on your New Mexico video that I'm considering moving there one day, but Tucson is also on my list of possible places to go. I love the Saguaro National Park, the Sonoran Desert in general, and the vibe of the city. I hope the pandemic doesn't change it too much, since some of the charm is the local restaurants and breweries. Another cool place that is a state park is Tonto Bridge, which is a very unusual and scenic natural landmark near Payson. And the strip of land north of the Grand Canyon is wonderfully desolate and beautiful.
That's my favorite part of the country. I'm not a huge fan of Phoenix (too big for my taste) but the state is great. New Mexico is my favorite. Tucson and Albuquerque are almost identical in size and it would come down to personal preference but both are pretty great. I've got a video about Top 15 Medium Sized Cities and both Tucson are Albuquerque are on it. One of the big differences is that because it's lower elevation Tucson will get hotter and stay hot for more of the year which can make outdoor activities in the summer not very fun. But the flipside is that the winters are more mild.
Thank you. I will probably not be doing a video on Greece anytime soon. My videos are about places I've been to and have experienced. Unfortunately I have never been to Greece, but it's pretty high on my list of places I want to visit. I'd love to visit Athens, hike in the mountains, and cruise through the islands. But I wouldn't feel comfortable doing a video when I haven't been there.
@@GeographyKing after the pandemic come. i dont live in athens (in an island) so if you are interested i can show you around my island (crete- the largest).
I moved to Arizona from the Central Valley California about 3 years ago. I really enjoyed your video on the San Joaquin valley and this video on Arizona. Both videos were very informative, interesting, and accurate! Also I’m Kyle too lol 😂
I'm currently live in the central valley and now i'm curious, how is Arizona from your perspective? Do you like it there better? Anything you miss about the CV?
I was surprised you didn't mention Page, AZ. It's a pretty sizable town on the Utah border. We were just there a couple months ago and it was an awesome place to visit. Most people go there for tours of Antelope Canyon, but we decided to save a couple hundred bucks and do our own exploring at Glen Canyon Dam and National Recreation Area where there a plenty of beautiful, amazing hikes.
if you come here and ask for that no one will know what you’re talking about. i’m guessing Kyle had it one time here and was told it’s an AZ staple but i’ve never seen a popular blue corn bread here. search “Indian fry bread places” next time you’re here.
The worlds largest Motel 6 is in Phoenix, it has a designated parking spot for the Phoenix police department. I stayed there one night, I noticed the cleaning staff was busy all night long.
We moved here from Southern CA last year.... we were 14 miles from the beach, close to mountains, etc. Having experienced that, I don’t miss it at all (although, TBH, I would love a little bit more humidity!) The sunsets here are SO spectacular... we have a 360 degree Mountain View, look over a valley which stretches for 20 miles (at least!) and live where there’s so much mesquite, it’s quite green. Love our little corner of the world here, and don’t miss the traffic, smog, pollution, trash, homeless, taxes, and congestion of CA. They can have it. Hardly went to the beach, anyways.
I discovered this channel last night, and I've been watching your vids all day. I love them and love this kind of nerdy stuff. But, I have an off-subject question for you that you probably already answered. What's up with the album covers on the wall? I notice that you have one on the wall in your videos and you change it out. This time it was Misfits Earth A D which really caught my eye. Just wondering. Keep making these cool videos. I love them.
I'm surprised you didn't mention the Sonoran Hot Dog as one of Arizona's foods. It has it's origens in Hermosillo, the capital of Sonora, Mexico but the owner of Güero Canelo won a James Beard award for their version. Imagine winning one of the most prestigious culinary awards for a hot dog!
My maternal grandparents were snowbirds in Mesa for my whole childhood. The only time I visited them was when I was 7 (the first time I ever flew); there were 2 other times when my mom & brother went, but my dad & I weren't able to go either of those times.
My dad used to get Arizona Highways in the 50s, where I discovered what a beautiful state it is. Ever do a video on how to see it all? By car, plane, rail, boat or even RV?
You can wander around Arizona deserts and practically kick around some really amazing rocks. Peridots, fire agate, amethyst, jade, opal, obsidian and of course Turquoise, and meteorites. This is totally the place to grow up if you were the kind of kid who collected rocks.
I love the amazing Smoky Mountains. It's mainly Eastern Tennessee that I love. Dollywood, the mountain coasters, tourist destinations, mountain activities, it's just perfect for me. And Bristol is nearby.
@@mr.outrageous Thanks for the reply. One of the reasons I am looking at that area is the lower cost of living. I can sell my current house and take the equity I have in it to buy a new home outright in Tennessee. No rent. No mortgage payment.
Prescott is probably the real hidden gem. Very beautiful and not over crowded. At least not yet. My favorite city in Arizona, but there are a lot of nice cities.
Yeah, I'm sure they don't tell you the table-top mesas and the painted desert are remnants of megafauna in the form of giant trees. The diameter of a table-top mesa is 1/20th the original height of the tree. Great video!
I have never seen, heard of, nor even recall any kind of mention of that bread in my 44 years here! Its funny that "Cheese Crisps" are an Arizona thing. Now I get why my friends call them "Cheese CHRIS" (check my name AzChris). They go nuts for them and always ask me to make it. 1. Large tortilla (I like Lala brand) 2. A bunch of cheese (I like mexican blend) 3. A whole can of diced green chilis 4. Garlic salt 5. Medium heat until the bottom is light brown You can do sour cream, guac, salsa, etc. too.
It gets hot in central Arizona (the Phoenix area), where 110-115 are typical high afternoon temperatures from mid June through the end of July, the average afternoon high is about 105 from June through September, and it got as hot as 122 degrees F (record high) on June 26th, 1990. For those who get shocked when they hear about our hot summer afternoons, we jokingly tell them "It's a dry heat". :-)
You used to see a lot more Indian Fry Bread/ Navajo Tacos around Arizona at festivals. Only a few places to get it in Phoenix that I know of. I don't know why, the stuff is amazing. I'd consider that a local food.
