Tucson, city in southern Arizona, located on the Santa Cruz River. Tucson is the seat of Pima County and the second largest city in Arizona, after Phoenix. Situated in a high desert valley and surrounded by mountains, the city's dry, sunny climate has contributed to its growth as a tourist, retirement, and health center. The city also has an expanding industrial economy based on the manufacture of optical, aerospace, and electronic equipment. Federal, state, and local governments and educational institutions are major employers. Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is in the area. Commercial air transportation is provided through Tucson International Airport.
Tucson is the seat of the University of Arizona (1885). Other educational institutions include the University of Phoenix (Tucson) (1979) and a community college. The Saint Augustine Cathedral (begun 1896) is a noted landmark in the city. Nearby is the Barrio Histórico, a concentration of adobe buildings from the late 1800s. Tucson has numerous museums, prominent among them the Arizona State Museum, with one of the most comprehensive collections about the Hohokam and Mogollon peoples; the University Museum of Art, with a noted collection of sculpture; the Tucson Museum of Art; and the Arizona Historical Society Museum. Near the city is the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, which combines aspects of a zoo and historical museum. Other major attractions are Old Tucson, a movie set re-creating the city in the 1860s; Kitt Peak National Observatory, one of the world's largest collections of optical telescopes; and Biosphere II, containing several ecosystems sealed inside an airtight glass structure. Desert environments are preserved in Saguaro National Park and Tucson Mountain Park.
