Tucson

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City in Pima County in southeast Arizona, USA, on the Santa Cruz and Rillito rivers, 105 km/66 mi north of the Mexican border; population (2000 est) 486,700. It stands 760 m/2,500 ft above sea level in the Sonora Desert; the Santa Catalina Mountains rise to about 2,750 m/9,000 ft to the northeast. The area's winter sports and mild, dry, sunny winter climate have made the city a popular winter residence and resort. Industries include copper-smelting, and the manufacture of aircraft and electronics. Cotton and cattle are marketed and processed from the surrounding irrigated agricultural area.

History
In about 1700 the Jesuit mission San Xavier del Bac was established just to the south of an American Indian village which occupied the site of the present city. A Spanish fort had been built by 1776 to guard against American Indian Apache hostility, and a community evolved within its walls. Tucson passed from Mexico to the USA in 1853 as part of the Gadsden Purchase and was the territorial capital 1867–77. The arrival of the railway in 1880 and foundation of the University of Arizona in 1885 boosted the city's service and manufacturing functions. Its development as a tourist and residential centre after World War II caused rapid growth in the metropolitan area.

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