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The Grand Canyon State

Arizona State Nickname

The U.S. Mint's bicentennial commemorative quarter for Arizona features the Grand Canyon, saguaro and other cacti, and the state nickname: "Grand Canyon State." Arizona became the 48th state in 1912. Public domain image on Wikipedia.

Official State Nickname of Arizona

Arizona's nickname is The Grand Canyon State. Most of the canyon lies within the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona (one of the first national parks in the United States). All State Nicknames

The Grand Canyon is unmatched throughout the world for the vistas it offers to visitors on the rim. The Grand Canyon attracts about five million visitors per year.

The grand canyon was formed by the uplifting of the Colorado plateau and erosion caused by the Colorado River over a period of 6 million years. It is 277 miles long, ranges in width from 4 to 18 miles, and attains a depth of more than a mile. Nearly two billion years of the Earth's history can be observed in the layers of exposed rock.

Prehistoric native Americans built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people considered the Grand Canyon a holy site and made pilgrimages to it.

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