Mesa, city in Maricopa County, south central Arizona, in the Phoenix-Mesa metropolitan region. It is a commercial, manufacturing, agricultural, and tourist center; products include electronic equipment, processed food, aerospace equipment, automobile airbags, and heavy machinery. Several of the nation's largest firms have headquarters in Mesa. Each year thousands of people take up temporary residence in the city, escaping winter weather in northern states and Canada.
Cultural institutions include the Mesa Southwest Museum, with cultural displays on Native American civilizations, and the Arizona Museum for Youth. The east campus of Arizona State University (1885) is in the city at the site of the former Williams Air Force Base, and the city has a community and junior college. The Mormon Temple is a principal landmark, and its annual display of Christmas lights is a noted attraction. Dominating the skyline to the east are the Superstition Mountains, in the Tonto National Forest.
