NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Southwestern U.S.

The American Southwest or simply the Southwest is a region of Western United States, warmer than the northern states and drier than the eastern states; the population is less dense and, with moderate Mexican and American Indian components, more ethnically varied than neighboring areas. Contained within this region is the Desert Southwest consisiting of mainly of Arizona and New Mexico. Texas and Oklahoma are generally considered part of the Southwest, with Colorado, Utah, and Nevada also frequently considered part of the Southwest. Kansas, by location and history, is also frequently identified with the Southwest. California, too, is sometimes considered part of the Southwest especially Southern California. When the western frontier of the United States was farther east, Louisiana, Arkansas and Missouri were considered Southwestern states. The states shown striped may or may not be considered part of the informal western United States today. ... An Atsina named Assiniboin Boy Native Americans in the United States (also known as Indians, American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Peoples, Aboriginal Peoples, Aboriginal Americans, Amerindians, Amerinds, or Original Americans) are the indigenous peoples within the territory that is now encompassed by the continental United States and their descendants in... Official language(s) English Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 6th 295,254 kmÂ² 500 km 645 km 0. ... Official language(s) None, English and Spanish de facto Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 5th 315,194 kmÂ² 550 km 595 km 0. ... Official language(s) None. ... Official language(s) None Capital Oklahoma City Largest city Oklahoma City Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 20th 181,196 kmÂ² 355 km 645 km 1. ... Official language(s) English Capital Denver Largest city Denver Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 8th 269 837 kmÂ² 451 km 612 km 0. ... Official language(s) English Capital Salt Lake City Largest city Salt Lake City Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 13th 219,887 kmÂ² 435 km 565 km 3. ... Official language(s) None Capital Carson City Largest city Las Vegas Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 7th 286,367 kmÂ² 519 km 788 km 0. ... Official language(s) None Capital Topeka Largest city Wichita Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 15th 82,277 miÂ²; 213,096 kmÂ² 211 mi; 340 km 400 mi; 645 km 0. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 3rd 410,000 kmÂ² 402. ... Official language(s) English and French Capital Baton Rouge Largest city New Orleans at last census; probably Baton Rouge since Hurricane Katrina Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 31st 134,382 kmÂ² 210 km 610 km 16 29Â°N to 33Â°N 89Â°W to 94Â°W Population... Official language(s) English Capital Little Rock Largest city Little Rock Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 29th 137 732 kmÂ² 385 km 420 km 2. ... Official language(s) English Capital Jefferson City Largest city Kansas City Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 21st 69,709 miÂ²; 180,693 kmÂ² 240 mi; 385 km 300 mi; 480 km 1. ...

Outside the cities, the region is a land of open spaces, much of which is desert. The magnificent Grand Canyon is located in this region, as is Monument Valley. This region contains many Indian reservations including the Navajo, Apache, Hopi, Zuni and Pueblo people. Most of the Southwest once belonged to Spain or Mexico but ownership was ceded to the United States after the Mexican-American War of 1846-48, with the Gadsden Purchase of 1853 following. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo defines sovereignty over this region. A dune in the Egyptian desert In geography, a desert is a landscape form or region that receives little precipitation - less than 250 mm (10 in) per year. ... The Grand Canyon, as seen from river-level The Grand Canyon from inside For other Grand Canyons see Grand Canyon (disambiguation). ... Monument Valley from the valley floor. ... In the United States an Indian reservation is land which is managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interiors Bureau of Indian Affairs. ... Navajo blanket Navajo Nation (Navajo: NaabeehÃ³ DineÃ©) is the name of a sovereign Native American nation established by the DinÃ©. The Navajo Indian Reservation covers about 27,000 square miles (70,000 square kilometres) of land, occupying all of northeastern Arizona, and extending into Utah and New Mexico, and is... Group of Apaches Apache is the collective name for several culturally related tribes of Native Americans, aboriginal inhabitants of North America, who speak a Southern Athabaskan language. ... Hopi woman dressing hair of unmarried girl Part of a Hopi pueblo Hopi House near Grand Canyon, stereoptical view c. ... ZuÃ±i girl with jar, 1903 ZuÃ±i The ZuÃ±i or Ashiwi are a Native American tribe, one of the Pueblo peoples, most of whom live in the Pueblo of ZuÃ±i on the Zuni River, a tributary of the Little Colorado River, in western New Mexico. ... The Zia symbol is on the New Mexico state flag. ... The Mexican Cession (red) and the Gadsden Purchase (orange) The Mexican Cession is an historical name for the region of the present day southwestern United States that was ceded to the U.S. by Mexico in 1848 under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo following the Mexican-American War. ... Combatants United States Mexico Commanders Zachary Taylor Winfield Scott Stephen W. Kearney Antonio LÃ³pez de Santa Anna Strength 60,000 40,000 Casualties KIA: 1,733 Total dead: 13,283 Wounded: 4,152 25,000 (Mexican government estimate) {{{notes}}} The Mexican-American War was fought between the United States... The Gadsden Purchase (shown with present-day state boundaries and cities) The Gadsden Purchase is a 29,640 miÂ² (77,700 kmÂ²) region of what is today southern Arizona and New Mexico that was purchased by the United States from Mexico in 1853. ... The Mexican Cession (red) and the Gadsden Purchase (orange) The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was the treaty that ended the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848. ...

Culture

Mexican heritage continues to exert a strong influence on the U.S. Southwest, which is a convenient place to settle for immigrants (legal or illegal) from farther south. The regional population is growing rapidly, with Arizona and Texas in particular rivaling the southern states as a destination for retired Americans in search of a warm climate. Download high resolution version (900x1325, 187 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (900x1325, 187 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The chile pepper, chili pepper, or chilli pepper, or simply chile, is the fruit of the plant Capsicum from the nightshade family, Solanaceae. ... Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle (called cows in vernacular usage) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... A hippopotamus skull A skull, or cranium, is a bony structure of Craniates which serves as the general framework for a head. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Immigration is the act of moving to or settling in another country or region, temporarily or permanently. ...

Population growth in the hot, arid Southwest has depended on two human artifacts: the dam and the air conditioner. Dams on the Colorado and other rivers, and aqueducts such as those of the Central Arizona Project have made it possible to develop large areas of farmland with irrigation and have brought water to once-small towns such as Las Vegas, Nevada, Phoenix, Arizona, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, allowing them to become metropolises. Las Vegas is renowned as a world center for gambling, while Santa Fe, New Mexico, the historic center of government for much of the Southwest is famous as a center for the arts, especially painting, sculpture, and opera. Another system of dams and irrigation projects waters the California Central Valley, which is noted for producing large harvests of fruits and vegetables. The combined population of the eight Southwest states is around 70 million (2005). Note: in the broadest sense, air conditioning can refer to any form of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning. ... Scrivener Dam, in Canberra, Australia, was engineered to withstand a once-in-5000-years flood event A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment. ... Colorado River in the Grand Canyon from Desert View The Colorado River is a river in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately 1,450 mi (2,333 km) long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. ... The Central Arizona Project Aqueduct (CAP) is a 336 mi (541 km) diversion canal in Arizona in the United States. ... High-altitude aerial view of irrigation in the Heart of the Sahara Irrigation (in agriculture) is the replacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops. ... Nickname: The Entertainment Capital of the World Motto: Official website: http://www. ... Nickname: Valley of the Sun Motto: Official website: http://www. ... Nickname: The Duke City Motto: Official website: http://www. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The California Central Valley Part of the Valley as seen from overhead A typical Central Valley scene at ground level The California Central Valley is a large, flat valley that dominates the central portion of the state of California. ...

See also

The Chihuahuan Desert is a desert that straddles the U.S.-Mexico border. ... The Great Basin is a large, arid region of the western United States, commonly defined as the contiguous watershed region, roughly between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, that has no natural outlet to the sea. ... Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (Mojave is used for the desert while Mohave is used for the native people of the desert. ... Sonoran Desert wildlife Mountains in the Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert (sometimes also called Gila Desert after Gila River) is a North American desert which straddles part of the U.S.-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the Mexican state... Tex-Mex is a highly spiced and vibrant style of cooking that developed as an evolution of Northern Mexican cuisine in Texas. ... The flag of AztlÃ¡n. ... The title mecha RX-78-2 Gundam from the popular anime Mobile Suit Gundam In some works of science fiction, mecha (singular or plural, less frequently meka), mechs (singular: mech), or giant robots) are piloted or remote-controlled limbed vehicles. ... La Voz de AztlÃ¡n (The Voice of AztlÃ¡n) is the webzine of the Nation of AztlÃ¡n, a independence organization headquartered in Whittier, California, United States. ...

Sources

Categories: Regions of the United States | Regions within the American West This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... This list of regions of the United States includes official (governmental) and non-official areas within the borders of the United States, not including U.S. states, the federal district of Washington, D.C. or standard subentities such as cities or counties. ... The Central United States is a bridge region between the Eastern United States and Western United States. ... States that have an Ocean/Gulf of Mexico coastline are shown in red, and states that have a Great Lake coastline are shown in pink. ... Regional definitions vary from source to source. ... Red shows states east of the Mississippi River, pink shows states not fully eastern or western The U.S. Eastern states are the states east of the Mississippi River. ... Regional definitions vary from source to source. ... States that border the Gulf of Mexico are shown in red. ... Regional definitions vary from source to source. ... The Midwest is a common name for a region of the United States of America. ... The Mountain States form one of the nine geographic divisions within the United States which are officially recognized by that countrys census bureau. ... First Flag of New England, 1686-c. ... The Northern United States or simply The North, is a region in the United States of America. ... Regional definitions vary from source to source. ... Regional definitions vary from source to source. ... The Pacific States form one of the nine geographic divisions within the United States that are officially recognized by that countrys census bureau. ... Southern United States. ... The South Atlantic States form one of the nine divisions within the United States that are formally recognized by that countrys census bureau. ... Red states show the core of the South Central, states shown as pink may or may not be included in the South Central, and thus their inclusion or exclusion varies from source to source. ... Regional definitions vary from source to source. ... The Upper Midwest is a region of the United States with no universally agreed-upon boundary, but it always lies within the US Census Bureaus definition of the Midwest and the states of Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well as at least the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ... The states shown striped may or may not be considered part of the informal western United States today. ... In general, the term West Coast is a nickname for the coastal states of the Western United States, comprising California, Oregon and Washington, and sometimes Alaska and Hawaii (see Pacific States). ... International Border states are shown in red on this map International Border states are states in the United States that share an international border with another country. ... The Great Lakes states are colored red in this map. ... The Great Plains is the broad expanse of prairie which lies east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States of America and Canada, covering all or parts of the U.S. states of New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota and North Dakota and the... Darker red states are always part of the Pacific Northwest. ...

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Sources

Culture