Arizona Sun Corridor
The Arizona Sun Corridor, shortened Sun Corridor, is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of Arizona. The Sun Corridor is comparable to Indiana in both size and population. It is one of the fastest growing conurbations in the country and is speculated to double its population by 2040. The largest metropolitan areas are the Phoenix metropolitan area – Valley of the Sun, and the Tucson metropolitan area – The Old Pueblo. The regions' populace is nestled in the valley of a desert environment. Similar to Southern California, the urban area extends into Mexico, reaching the communities of Heroica Nogales and Agua Prieta.
Arizona Sun Corridor | |
|---|---|
Megaregion of the U.S. | |
Counter-clockwise from top: downtown Phoenix skyline, downtown Tucson, Mesa City Hall
Phoenix Tucson Sierra Vista Casa Grande Nogales Prescott Selected cities of the Arizona Sun Corridor | |
| Coordinates: 33°N 112°W | |
| Country | US |
| State | Arizona |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 5,517,131 |
| • Rank | 10th |
| • 2040 Projection | 10,100,000 |
Its population is composed of five metropolitan areas: Phoenix, Tucson, Prescott, Sierra Vista-Douglas and Nogales. Of these, two are metropolitan areas with over 1,000,000 residents: the Phoenix metropolitan area with 4.85 million residents and the Tucson metropolitan area with over 1 million residents. The Arizona Sun Corridor is made up of all of Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties, along with parts of Yavapai, Santa Cruz and Cochise counties. It is home to over 86 percent of Arizona's population.
Most of the Arizona Sun Corridor is in the Sonoran Desert. To the south of the region is the border between the United States and Mexico, and to the north and east is the Arizona transition zone and the Mountains of Arizona. The Southern California Megaregion is to the west and is the nearest other Megaregion to the Arizona Sun Corridor.