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Interesting Facts
- El Tiradito, Spanish for Wishing Shrine, is said to be the only shrine in North America dedicated to a sinner. In 1880, following a love affair with his mother-in-law, Juan Olivera was killed at this very spot by his father-in-law. Because of the sinful nature of his "crime," Juan could not be buried in consecrated ground and was buried where he died. Today, visitors to the shrine light a candle and make a wish. According to popular belief, if the candle burns down to its base, the wish will come true.
- Just west of Tucson lies "A" Mountain. During the earlier days of "cowboys and Indians," the mountain served as the lookout point for soldiers watching for aggressive Indians. Many years later, in 1915, football fans of a local university painted the A after defeating Cal State Pomona.
- How the west was won! Old Tucson studios has been the film location for many well-known westerns since 1939. More than 250 features have been filmed here including the movie "Young Guns II" and the hit television series "Gunsmoke" and "Little House on the Prairie."
- Just 30 miles northeast of Tucson resides the interesting world of Biosphere 2, a three-acre glass-enclosed "earth." This "little earth" was built to resemble Biosphere 1, our original Earth. Complete with tropical rainforest, savanna, desert, farmland, marsh, ocean and human-habitat ecosystems, a tour is probably the best way to gain full understanding (well, almost full understanding) of this cutting-edge experiment.
- The University of Arizona in Tucson is rated in the top ten of US public universities in research funding, and is the top astronomy school in the nation. In fact, the university has worked on several projects for NASA, including the gamma ray spectrometer used by the Odyssey spacecraft for mapping elements on Mars. The 72" telescope at Kitt Peak was made by the university, as well as the near-infrared camera and multi-object spectrometer used on the Hubble Space Telescope.
- Much of the vegetation you'll see in and around Tucson consists of various species of cactus there's even a nearby park devoted solely to one of the largest types. Saguaro National Park preserves the fragile habitat of these monstrous plants, which can grow to a height of 50 feet over the course of a 150-year lifespan. The saguaro's large, creamy colored flower blooms from late April through early June, and is Arizona's state flower.
- For a real taste of the wild, wild west, Tucson is your place the area has the greatest concentration of guest ranches in the country. So, sit high in the saddle and rustle up some cattle. Giddyup!
- Anytime is a great time to visit Tucson. Known for its superb weather, the city is warm and sunny throughout most of the year, with incredibly low humidity. Bring along a sweater, though the temperature drops at sunset allowing for cool but comfortable evenings.
- The name Tucson is derived from the Indian word "chuk-son" meaning "village of the dark spring at the foot of the mountains."
- Known as Old Pueblo, Tucson is one of the fastest growing urban areas in the US. Its population is expected to reach one million around 2010.
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