What is the capital of Arizona?

The capital of Arizona is Phoenix.

Phoenix is Arizona’s political center and the seat of the state legislature, governor, and major state agencies. The city lies in the Salt River Valley within the Sonoran Desert and is the county seat of Maricopa County. Its broad metropolitan area is also the largest urban concentration in Arizona.

Phoenix was settled in 1867 near the confluence of the Salt and Gila rivers. Early growth depended on canals that revived ancient irrigation routes and supported farms producing cotton, citrus, alfalfa, and hay. The settlement was incorporated in 1881 and became the capital of Arizona Territory in 1889. It remained the capital when Arizona joined the Union in 1912.

The name Phoenix refers to the mythical bird that rises again, a fitting choice for a community rebuilt around old Hohokam canal systems. A common error is choosing Tucson, Arizona’s second major city; Tucson is important historically and culturally, but Phoenix has been the state capital since the territorial era.