tooˈsŏnˌ, city (1990 pop. 405,390), seat of Pima co., SE Ariz.; inc. 1877. Situated in a desert plain surrounded by mountains, Tucson is an important and rapidly developing transportation and tourist center; its dry, sunny, and extremely hot climate attracts vacationers and health seekers. An international airport is there. The city also has large electronic, optic, and research industries and serves as the processing and distribution center for the cotton and livestock raised in the area and for the many mining (chiefly copper) operations. Tucson is one of the fastest-growing U.S. cities, marked by a population increase of more than 52% between 1970 and 1990.

The first Spanish settlers arrived in the late 17th cent., and in 1700, Father Eusebio Kino founded Mission San Xavier del Bac 9 mi (14.5 km) south of the Native American village of Tucson. The city was established (1776) as a walled presidio. Tucson became a military border post of New Spain, of Mexico, and, after its transfer under the Gadsden Purchase, of the United States. It served as territorial capital from 1867 to 1877. In 1873, Fort Lowell was built 2 mi (3.2 km) north of the city. The Southern Pacific RR arrived in 1880.

Among the city's many points of interest are the "Old Adobe" (1868); Colossal Cave; Fort Lowell (reconstructed, now a museum); the beautiful nearby San Xavier mission (present building erected 1783–97); and Tucson Mountain Park—with "Old Tucson Studios," a movie-set replica, and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum—and Saguaro National Park to the west. A fiesta and rodeo is held each February. Tucson is the seat of the Univ. of Arizona. Nearby military installations are the large Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and U.S. Fort Huachuca, an army electronic proving ground, with strategic communications headquarters and an intelligence school.

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright© 2004, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. All rights reserved.

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