Phoenix is the capital of Arizona and the seat of Maricopa County. It lies in the midst of the Sonoran Desert, surrounded by mountains and lush fields of cotton and citrus fruits. The sun shines almost every day in Phoenix, which is why the Navajo refer to it as Hoozdo ("the place is hot").

A thousand years before the city of Phoenix was founded, the Salt River area was occupied by a civilized community of farmers. These industrious and imaginative people built an irrigation system of some 135 miles of canals, and kept the land fertile. The fate of this ancient civilization remains a mystery, but it is generally believed that they were destroyed or driven away by a prolonged drought. They have come to be known as the Hohokam, from the Pima Indian phrase for "those who have gone."