Tucson, Desert city in southern Arizona, United States.
This settlement stretches across a valley in the Sonoran Desert, framed by five mountain ranges that rise along the horizon and marking an elevation of roughly 730 meters above sea level. Wide streets cross neighborhoods of low buildings, parks planted with cacti, and avenues lined with palm trees.
A Spanish fort was established here in 1775 on the foundation of earlier native settlements. The town later became the capital of the Arizona Territory from 1867 to 1877, before the role shifted to Phoenix.
Local life carries traces of the Tohono O'odham people, Spanish settlers, and Mexican families, visible in flat-roofed adobe buildings and in the food served at neighborhood restaurants. Street festivals draw musicians with guitars, and galleries sell handmade pottery, leatherwork, and woven blankets patterned with desert motifs.
An international airport sits south of the center and offers connections to several cities across the United States. A streetcar line runs through the downtown core, linking different neighborhoods and making it easier for pedestrians to reach shops and restaurants.
A laboratory at the local university grinds giant mirrors for telescopes that are later mounted on mountaintops. This workshop has turned the town into a key location for astronomical research, and several observatories are scattered around the surrounding area.
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