About Scottsdale

Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder Winfield Scott, a retired U.S. Army chaplain, the city was incorporated in 1951 with a population of 2,000. As of the 2020 census, the population was 241,361, up from 217,385 in 2010. Its slogan is "The West's Most Western Town". It has been one of the fastest growing cities in the United States over the past decades.

Scottsdale, 31 miles (50km) long and 11.4 miles (18.3km) wide at its widest point, shares boundaries with many other municipalities and entities. On the west, Scottsdale is bordered by Phoenix, Paradise Valley and unincorporated Maricopa County land. Carefree is along the western boundary, and shares Scottsdale's northern boundary with the Tonto National Forest. To the south Scottsdale is bordered by Tempe. The southern boundary is also occupied by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, which extends along the eastern boundary, which also borders Fountain Hills, the McDowell Mountain Regional Park and more unincorporated Maricopa County land.

The area that includes what became Scottsdale was first inhabited by the Hohokam people, from approximately 300 BC to 1450 AD. This ancient civilization farmed the area and developed a complex network of irrigation canals that was unsurpassed in pre-Columbian North America. At its peak, the canals stretched over 250mi (400km)s. Many remain today, some having been renovated and put into use in the 20th century. Under still-unknown circumstances, the Hohokam left the area about 1450 or 1500, most likely because of a prolonged drought. The next inhabitants, the Akimel O'odham (Pima) and the Tohono O'odham (Papago), are thought to be the Hohokam's direct descendants.
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