Well, if you're looking for that kind of information, then you've
come to the right place :-). There is some interesting tidbits that most
people don't know, even the ones that live here.
In Arizona| Arizona | (air-i'-ZON-u') | The State of Arizona comprises the extreme south-western portion of the United States. It is bounded on the north by Utah, on the east by New Mexico, on the south by Mexico, and on the west by California and Nevada. |
during the
summer, it often reaches into the high 110s and sometimes even into the
120s. However, our humidity is very low. The term, "But it's a DRY heat,"
was coined because those from more humid areas know that 90 degrees in
100% humidity is much less desirable than 110 degrees with 10% humidity.
With more humidity, it becomes increasingly less comfortable.
However,
what people don't know is that while lower humidity coupled with higher
temperatures may be more comfortable than higher humidity and lower temperatures,
it's much more dangerous. Dehydration is a more serious condition than
discomfort, and occurs often, seemingly without warning. The symptoms,
however, are hard to miss when you know about them: thirst, dizziness,
fatigue, headaches, and nausea. As you can see, this is much worse then
feeling a little discomfort from excess sweat in a higher humidity environment.
Another
common unknown is the existance of flash floods| Flash Floods | (fla'sh flu'dz) | Because of the low rain and high heat, the desert floor is baked to a thick crust that has difficulty absorbing water. This makes drainage difficult, and causes flash floods. When rains start, especially heavy rains during the monsoon, it is typical for a completely dry area to become flooded in a matter of minutes. |
. People are usually well aware that
we get very little rain here, being a desert and all. When an area doesn't
see much rainfall, the ground becomes hard and resistant to absorbing water.
This can easily cause floods when it does rain, because the water has
no immediate place to go. A flash flood is when an area floods within
about 15 minutes of seeing heavy rain. Areas that are prone to this are
normally labeled with signs along the road.
I can't really think
of any Arizona-specific games; we like to play horseshoes though when we
go camping :-).
Hope some of this helps.
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