Phoenix, Arizona is situated in the southwestern United States, in south-central Arizona. It is located approximately halfway between Tucson to the southeast and Flagstaff to the north. Phoenix is the capital and most populous city of Arizona, as well as the fifth most populous city in the United States. It is also the seat of Maricopa County. Phoenix's first newspaper was the weekly Salt River Valley Herald, established in 1878. The following year, it changed its name to the Phoenix Herald.
In 1972, Phoenix became a member of the international sister cities movement with the creation of the Phoenix Sister Cities (PSC) organization. The Arizona Upland subdivision of the Sonoran Desert (of which Phoenix is part) has the most structurally diverse flora in the United States. At the end of the decade, Phoenix adopted the Phoenix Concept 2000 plan that divided the city into urban villages, each with its own village core, where greater height and density were allowed, shaping the culture of free market development. The Territorial Legislature passed the Phoenix Charter Bill in 1881, incorporating Phoenix and providing mayor-council government; Governor John C. Fremont signed it into law. Phoenix is also known as the golf capital of the world with more than 200 golf courses in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Phoenix is the anchor of the Phoenix metropolitan area, also known as the Valley of the Sun, which in turn is part of the Salt River Valley.
The story of Phoenix begins with Jack Swilling, a Confederate veteran of the Civil War who searched for gold in nearby mining town of Wickenburg, in the newly formed Arizona territory.
