Phoenix, Arizona

:This article is about the city in Arizona. For the mythical creature see Phoenix, and other uses see Phoenix (disambiguation).

Geography

Phoenix is located at 33°31'42" North, 112°4'35" West (33.528370°, -112.076300°){{GR|1}} in the Phoenix Valley or "Valley of the Sun" in central Arizona. It lies at a mean elevation of 1,117 feet (340 m) in the heart of the Sonoran Desert.

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The Salt River course runs westward through the city of Phoenix; the riverbed is normally dry except when excess runoff forces the release of water from the four dams upriver. The city of Tempe has built two inflatable dams in the Salt River bed to create a year-round recreational lake, called Tempe Town Lake. The dams are deflated to allow the river to flow unimpeded during releases.

Related Topics:
Salt River - Tempe Town Lake

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The Phoenix area is surrounded by the McDowell Mountains to the northeast, the White Tank Mountains to the west, the Superstition Mountains far to the east, and the Sierra Estrella to the southwest. Within the city are the Phoenix Mountains and South Mountains. Current development (as of 2005) is pushing rapidly beyond the geographic boundaries to the north and west, south through Pinal County towards Tucson, and beginning to surround the large Salt River and Gila River reservations.

Related Topics:
McDowell Mountains - White Tank Mountains - Superstition Mountains - Sierra Estrella - Phoenix Mountains - South Mountains - 2005 - Tucson - Salt River - Gila River

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According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1,230.5 km² (475.1 mi²). 1,229.9 km² (474.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.05% water.

Related Topics:
United States Census Bureau - Km² - Mi²

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The Phoenix Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) (officially known as the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale MSA), is the 14th largest in the United States, with a total population of 3,251,876. It includes the Arizona counties of Maricopa and Pinal. Major cities include Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, Glendale, Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, and Peoria. Several smaller communities are also included, such as Goodyear, Fountain Hills, Litchfield Park, Anthem, Sun Lakes, Sun City, and Sun City West. The community of Ahwatukee is a part of the City of Phoenix itself, but is almost entirely separated from it by South Mountain.

Related Topics:
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) - Phoenix - Mesa - Scottsdale - 14th largest - Maricopa - Pinal - Glendale - Tempe - Chandler - Gilbert - Peoria - Goodyear - Fountain Hills - Litchfield Park - Anthem - Sun Lakes - Sun City - Sun City West - Ahwatukee

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Climate

Phoenix has an arid, semitropical climate, with little seasonal change during the year. Clear blue skies are typical on most days, with an average of 300 sunny days per year. The temperature reaches or exceeds 100 °F (38 °C) on an average of 89 days during the year, including most days from early June through early September. On June 26, 1990, the temperature reached an all-time high of 122 °F (50 °C). The dry Arizona air makes the hot temperatures more tolerable early in the season; however, the influx of monsoonal moisture has been known to make August in Phoenix almost as humid as summers in the Southeastern United States.

Related Topics:
F - C - June - September - June 26 - 1990 - Monsoonal - Southeastern United States

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The normal annual rainfall at Sky Harbor International Airport is 8.29 inches (211 mm). March is the wettest month of the year (1.07 inches or 27 mm). Rain is particularly scarce from April through June. Although thunderstorms occur on occasion during every month of the year, they are most common during the monsoon season from July to mid-September as humid air surges in from the Gulf of California. These can bring strong winds, large hail, or tornadoes. Winter storms moving inland from the Pacific Ocean occasionally produce significant rains but occur infrequently. Fog is observed from time to time during the winter months.

Related Topics:
Sky Harbor International Airport - March - April - June - July - September - Gulf of California - Hail - Tornado - Pacific Ocean

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At the airport, the mean date of first frost is December 12 and the last is February 7; however, these dates do not represent the city as a whole because the frequency of freezes varies considerably among terrain types and elevations. Some areas of Phoenix may see frost for a month or more before and after the airport readings. The earliest frost on record occurred on November 3, 1946, and the latest occurred on April 4, 1945. Successive winters without any frosts at the airport have been recorded, and the longest period without a freeze stretched from November 23 1979 to January 31 1985. The all-time lowest temperature in Phoenix was recorded at 16 °F (-8.8 °C) on January 7, 1913.

Related Topics:
December 12 - February 7 - November 3 - 1946 - April 4 - 1945 - November 23 - 1979 - January 31 - 1985 - January 7 - 1913

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Snow is extremely rare in the area, though still can occur from time to time. Since it was officially recorded in 1896, snowfall has accumulated to 0.1 inch (0.25 cm) only 7 times. The heaviest snowstorm occurred on January 20-21 1937, when 1 to 4 inches fell (2 to 10 cm) in parts of the city and did not melt entirely for four days. Another 1 inch (2.5 cm) fell on January 20 1933. On February 2 1935, 0.5 inches (1 cm) fell. Most recently, 0.4 inches (1 cm) fell on December 21-22 1990. Snow also fell on March 12 1917, November 28 1919, and December 11 1985.

Related Topics:
Snow - 1896 - January 20 - 21 - 1937 - 1933 - February 2 - 1935 - December 21 - 22 - 1990 - March 12 - 1917 - November 28 - 1919 - December 11 - 1985

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