Situation and characteristics
Tucson, the "City of Sunshine" and metropolis of the desert-like region of southeastern Arizona, lies in the wide valley, flanked by high hills, of the Santa River. The main pillars of the local economy in the past were the railway workshops, foodstuffs
and textile firms and cattle-rearing. In the surrounding area copper, silver, lead and other minerals are mined. Lucrative irrigated farming (citrus fruits, winter vegetables, cotton) has also developed in the immediate surroundings of the city. In recent years, too, various high-tech industries (anti-aircraft missiles, electronics, etc.) have been established. The warm, dry climate has long attracted tourists, convalescents and people seeking an escape from winter in less favored areas.
History
A Jesuit mission station was established here at the end of the 17th century. In the 18th century a permanent settlement was founded which in 1857 became a posting station on the route from San Antonio in Texas to San Diego in California. In the second half of the 19th century Tucson was for a time capital of the territory of Arizona. The construction of the Southern Pacific Railroad increased the importance of the town, in which the University of Arizona was founded in 1891. After the Second World War Tucson developed at an explosive pace, its population rising from 46,000 in 1950 to six times as much in the mid seventies.
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