Wikipedia:Today's featured article/September 27, 2005



The documented history of Arizona began when Marcos de Niza, a Franciscan, explored the area in 1539. Coronado's expedition entered the area in 1540–42 during its search for Cibola. All of present-day Arizona became part of Mexico's northwest frontier upon the Mexican assertion of independence from Spain in 1810. The United States took possession of most of Arizona at the end of the Mexican War in 1848. In 1853, the land below the Gila River was acquired from Mexico in the Gadsden Purchase. Arizona was administered as part of the Territory of New Mexico until it was organized into a separate Arizona Territory on February 24, 1863. With the encouragement of Brigham Young, Mormons went from Utah in the mid-to-late 1800s to the Phoenix Valley (or Valley of the Sun), Mesa, Tempe, Prescott, Snowflake, Heber, and many other Arizona towns to settle there. Arizona was admitted into the Union&mdash;officially becoming a U.S. state&mdash;on February 14, 1912.

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