Scottsdale, Arizona

The city is in the Salt River Valley, or the, "Valley of the Sun", in the northern Sonoran Desert. To the east and northeast of Scottsdale is the McDowell Mountain Range. Scottsdale borders the city of Phoenix and town of Paradise Valley to the west, Tempe to the south, and Fountain Hills to the east.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 477.7 km² (184.4 mi²). 477.1 km² (184.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (0.12%) is water.

Scottsdale was originally inhabited by Hohokam. From 800 to 1400, this ancient civilization farmed the area and built ingenious irrigation canals.

The city was incorporated in 1951. The seal, which shows a mounted cowboy surrounded by a 64-pointed star burst, was designed by Mrs. Gene Brown Pennington.[6]

There are many businesses in Scottsdale. Many of them are in a business park known as The Scottsdale Air Park. Some of these companies are: AXA, GE Capital, DHL,[7] Discount Tire Company, Tempo Creative,[8] Fidelity Investments, JDA Software and The Vanguard Group.[9]

Scottsdale is seen as an upscale tourist and shopping destination. It is also known as a good model of western American style. The New York Times described downtown Scottsdale as "a desert version of Miami's South Beach." The Times article also stated there was "plenty of late night partying and a buzzing hotel scene".[10]

Scottsdale is governed by a mayor and city council, all of whom are elected "at large" to represent the entire city. A city manager is responsible for the leadership of the city staff. He also helps carry out the council policies, develops programs and budgets to respond to council goals, and makes sure that people get effective and efficient city services. The city manager also serves as the city treasurer.

The current mayor is Jim Lane.

The Scottsdale City Hall was designed by architect Bennie Gonzales in 1968, and was designed with an area for community meetings.[11]

Public education in Scottsdale is provided by the Scottsdale Unified School District. Some parts of the town fall under other school districts in the Phoenix Metro Area, including the Cave Creek Unified School District, Paradise Valley Unified School District, Phoenix Union High School District, Tempe Union High School District, and the Balsz Elementary School District

There are five major high schools in Scottsdale: Arcadia High School, Chaparral High School, Coronado High School, Desert Mountain High School, and Saguaro High School.

The primary college in the city is Scottsdale Community College. The college actually lies inside the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Reservation. Many students also commute to nearby Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. Penn Foster College, a distance education college, is based in Scottsdale[12]

Scottsdale is also home of the International School of Arizona, a non-profit language school that teaches children who speak a foreign language (French or Spanish).

Scottsdale has four branches within the Scottsdale Public Library System.[13] A fifth is currently being built.[14]

Scottsdale has seven sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International: [15]

• Official government website
• Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce
• Scottsdale Convention and Visitors Bureau Archived 2012-08-30 at the Wayback Machine